DTN! Lesson One

 The objective of Drink This Now! Lesson 1 was to taste a red wine at different times after opening it, as well as with cheese and meat, to discover and learn more about how these factors impact the taste of the wine. My friends and I decided to do this lesson together, so we made a journey down to the wine store to pick out one of the bottles from the list. We settled on a Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone from 2019. I will start from Step 1, a basic wine tasting, and then work my way through the lesson step by step

Step 1: Wine Tasting

Name: Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone
Variety: GSM Blend
Region: Rhone Valley    
Country: France
Year: 2019
Price: $15

Winery Review

The color is purple-tinged garnet. The bouquet of aromas offers fresh berries (wild raspberry, blackcurrant, blackberry) and hints of spices. The palate is big and full-flavored, with silky-smooth tannins and red and black fruit flavors. The finish introduces touches of licorice and pepper. A Côtes-du-Rhône with great complexity for everyday drinking.

My Review

We opened up the bottle and immediately pour ourselves a glass each. The wine was a dark ruby, and was completely opaque in the glass. On the nose I got hints of strawberry jam, cocoa, as well as some spiciness. On the palate I noticed  dark cherry and blackberry. It had decent body, with good tannins and a medium length finish. 

Step 2: Let it breath

The second step of the lesson was to leave the bottle open and out of the counter to allow oxygen in to "open up" the wine. We did just that, and upon tasting it we did notice a change to the wine. The tannins were less harsh, making the wine a bit smoother and allowing other flavors, like fruit and spice, to come through. The wine was still recognizable; there wasn't a radical change, but defiantly a noticeable one.  

Step 3: Mouse Style

The third step challenged us to then try the wine with some cheese. We chose to go with an Asiago cheese for this tasting. The pairing of wine and cheese brought out a significant change in the wine. Overall we described this as "mellowing out" the wine. The tannins become much less harsh, and some fruit and spice notes which had previously been muted came forward. The cheese greatly changed the character of the wine, I would say for the better. 

 

Step 4: Bring out the Meats

The fourth step of the lesson instructed us to try the wine with something spicy. We chose pepperoni for this step, and shortly after the cheese was tasted, we dug into the meat. The pepperoni, though not as spicy as we had hoped, still had a profound effect on the wine. This effect was equal, but opposite to that of the cheese. The tannins became heavier, and the wine overall less sweet. Many of the weaker, fruiter notes were gone. Though I found this pairing interesting, I think I preferred the cheese. 

Step 5: One Day Later...

For the final step, we had to leave the wine out overnight and taste it to see how extended periods of oxygen exposure impacted the wine. So the next evening my friends and I reconvened and gave the wine another try. The color was the same as the day before, but the smell was very different. Overall it was stronger, and some pickle or olive notes to it. behind that was increased notes of dark fruit compared to earlier. The taste was likewise very different from the day before. The wine was overall lighter bodied, with lower tannins and more fruity notes. However, the finish was much harsher at this point, which some of my friends found very off-putting. I personally didn't think it was that bad. 

I found this lesson the be an interesting and enjoyable experience. I was honestly skeptical of the whole concept of oxygen changing the nature of the wine. I thought at most there would be a slight difference after a day, or else it would be completely ruined. However, I learned that in the right conditions, oxygen, and especially food, can have a positive impact on the wine drinking experience.