On Tuesday, February 20, some friends and I decided to do the Drink This Now! Lesson 2 activity, and a Wine and Cheese pairing (looking for that review next). This lesson focused on the glassware of wine. We were to find an aromatic white and red wine, and then pour the wines in different glasses. Then take notes on how the smells were in each glass.
We gathered the materials needed for this activity the day before. The glasses were provided between the three of us that were doing the lesson together. Additionally, we did buy some bread, as instructed in the lesson. We bought a Ciabatta Baguette since it was a non-flavored bread. The two wines that would be used for this lesson are:
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White Wine
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Red Wine
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| Name: |
Fetzer Gewürztraminer |
Dancing Bull Zinfandel |
| Variety: |
Gewürztraminer |
Zinfandel |
| Region: |
California |
California |
| Vintage: |
2015 |
2014 |
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| Fetzer Gewürztraminer |
|
 |
| Dancing Bull Zinfandel |
|
Note: My notes for the smell and taste are listed below the step-by-step.
Step 1: First, we collected the necessary cups and bowl for this activity. We had a shot glass, rock glass, water glass, small wine glass, large wine glass, and a big bowl. We did not have a 'large flared wine glass', but we did indeed have a large wine glass and substituted it for the 'large flared wine glass.' The big bowl was set aside till the end for the red wine and the shot glass to large wine glass was used for both the white and red wine portions.
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| Order of glasses from smallest to largest |
Step 2: We made sure to chill the white wine for at least an hour before this activity. Then we opened the Gewürztraminer first and pour a shot in each of the glasses, minus the big bowl.
Step 3: Then we proceeded to smell and record what we initially smelled in each glass. As we were doing that, we decided on munch on some of the bread, though we still were not sure what the bread was for. Then we went through the glasses again and smelled the wine for a second time and recorded those impressions.
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| Gewürztraminer poured in each glass |
Step 4: After smelling each glass, we each took a sip of the wine and recorded our impressions.
Step 5: After completing the Gewürztraminer, we moved onto the Zinfandel. But first, we washed out the glasses and dried them. Then repeated Steps 2 through 4 for the Zinfandel.
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| Zinfandel poured in each glass |
Step 6: Then once we finished with the Zinfandel assessment in the regular glasses, we moved onto the bowl. We poured the wine that was left over into the bowl and then two of us proceeded to heat and swirl the bowl. With the large wine glass and the bowl, we smelled the wine in each of the containers and recorded our impressions.
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| Slow motion video of the swirl in the bowl |
White Wine Notes:Fetzer Gewürztraminer
Shot Glass
- Smell (Step 2): At first, it was really hard to judge the distance to smell from. When your nose is about an inch away from the glass it isn't very obvious to smell. You could smell a subtle peach and apricot aroma. But as you got your nose closer to the glass, the smell got too strong. It was almost overwhelming how strong for a white wine.
- Sniff and Taste (Steps 3-4): There was wine all over the place, you could not swirl the glass at all. When you drank the wine, it was almost like drinking water or white grape juice, but not in a pleasant sort of way. The smell was just overwhelming because the wine was right on your nose.
Rock Glass
- Smell (Step 2): This was much better to smell than the shot glass. It was a to bit harder get a lock on the smell though. But the smells were the same as the shot glass, just a lot more subtle.
Water Glass
- Smell (Step 2): It was almost impossible to get an actual smell in this glass. In a way, the smells were almost like a really watered down white grape juice and a hint of butter. The butter smell was a bit of a surprise.
Small Wine Glass
- Smell (Step 2): For some reason, I managed to detect a floral scent, but the smells were still pretty diluted. But that is mainly because I was not swirling the glass. As I moved up the sizes, the smells got less and less detectable.
- Sniff and Taste (Steps 3-4): This tasted so much better in the wine glass than in the shot glass. I found it to be really pleasant. When you swirl the wine, there was a nice blend of honey and peach aroma coming through your nose. The peach and apricot taste was really refreshing on my nose and palate. When I did drink the wine I did get a tingly feel, almost like a carbonated fizz feel.
Large Wine Glass
- Smell (Step 2): Nothing but air--that's essentially what I got. If at all, I may have gotten a slight fruity or floral scent, but it wasn't strong enough to truly get it narrowed down.
- Sniff and Taste (Steps 3-4): Swirling the wine in this glass made it slightly easier to smell the aromas, but the aromas did seem more muted in this glass than in the small wine glass. I also found that the smells and taste was less pungent in this glass compared to the shot glass. Additionally, I found the taste to be more acidic in this glass compared to the small wine glass. But the smells was the same as the small wine glass, just more subtle.
Red Wine Notes: Dancing Bull Zinfandel
Shot Glass
- Smell (Step 2): Wow, I thought the white wine was strong. This was over the top. There was mainly a nutty and berry smell.
- Sniff and Taste (Steps 3-4): This immediately gave off a pungent smell as you were drinking this wine. There was a raspberry taste and an acidic and tingly aftertaste. The spices within the wine were too much in the shot glass.
Rock Glass
- Smell (Step 2): The smells were less overwhelming in this glass than the shot glass. The most prominent smell was of black cherries and wood.
Water Glass
- Smell (Step 2): In this glass, there was more of an earthy and watered down juice smell going on. I'm not sure if the water from washing the glass affected the 'water' smell I was getting. The berry aromas I had smelt earlier came across more like juice than wine in this glass.
Small Wine Glass
- Smell (Step 2): This time there was a rubbing alcohol smell, which was surprising since the previous glasses gave no indication of this smell.
- Sniff and Taste (Steps 3-4): The wine was much smoother to drink in this glass than in the shot glass. I could take the black cherries and raspberry together better in this glass. I did find it to be a bit too tannic in this glass though.
Large Wine Glass
- Smell (Step 2): The main smell that came across to me was burnt wood and black cherry. You can really smell the mixture of spices and berries that the viticulturist tried to achieve.
- Sniff and Taste (Steps 3-4): Tasting this wine the smokey wood, earth, and dirt smell was more apparent. At this point, I was pretty done with this wine. It was a really bold and tannic wine, and it present itself as such in the large wine glass.
- Smell with Bowl (Step 6): The smells were a lot better in concentration compared to the bowl. It was easier to smell the peppers and ethanol smell.
Bowl
- Smell (Step 6): Overall, you could hardly smell anything. You really had to shove your face into the bowl to smell anything. But the two most prominent smells I found was rubbing alcohol and vanilla. The vanilla was a bit of a surprise and I'm not sure if my nose was just making up smells at that point.
