The One Minute Wine Master Quiz

One day, hanging out at Barnes and Noble, Melissa came upon a book called "The One Minute Wine Master."  Inside is a quiz to help pinpoint some wines you may enjoy.  We took the book home with us, and Melissa and I took the quiz.  I have been using the suggestions to help guide my wine choices for the exchange.  Given that some of us are "wine selection" challenged, (not naming names) I thought I would post the quiz.  All credit for the quiz goes to Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan, MW, author.

Note: These types of quizes rarely work out well for me - I frequently don't fit into one or more of the categories perfectly, but it was fun to take and see which season I mostly fit into. According to the quiz, I am a Spring and Melissa is a Fall.

The reason I like this quiz is because it introduced me to some new wines that I had never heard of before. I used the results for my last selection, the Grüner Veltliner, and now I am a fan of that wine.  Since one of the purposes of our wine exchange is to broaden our knowledge of wines, I figured this quiz was a good starting point for new wines.

Enjoy!

The One Minute Wine Master Quiz

Question	3 points	2 points	1 points	0 points
1.How do you take your coffee or tea?	Black/nothing added	A little milk or cream	A lot of milk or cream	I don’t drink coffee or tea
2.  How much sugar do you add to your coffee or tea?	None	A teaspoon	Two or more teaspoons	I don’t drink coffee or tea
3. What type of chocolate do you prefer?	Dark, bitter chocolate	Milk Chocolate	White Chocolate	I don’t eat or like chocolate
4.  How often do you put lemon on your fish?	Never	Sometimes	Always	I don’t eat fish
5.  What is your favorite juice	Apple	Orange	Lemonade	I don’t drink juice
6.  How spicy do you like your food	Extremely hot	Medium	Mild	None
7.  If you compare the body of a white wine to the body of heavy cream, whole milk, or skim milk, which would you prefer?	Heavy cream	Whole milk	Skim Milk
8. If you compare the body of a red wine to the body of heavy cream, whole milk, or skim milk, which would you prefer?	Heavy cream	Whole mile	Skim milk
9. What type of perfume or cologne do you like?	Spicy/Intense	Sweet/candied	Floral/fresh	I don’t like perfume or cologne
10.  What type of gum do you prefer?	Spicy (cinnamon)	Bubble gum or fruity gum	Fresh (mint, violet, etc)	I don’t chew gum
11.  What is your favorite snack?	Something rich like a chocolate or a candy bar?	Something savory like chips or crackers	Something light like a piece of fruit or carrot sticks	None of these

 Total Points:

Key: Spring: 1 - 13 Points

        Summer: 14 - 19 Points

        Fall: 20 - 25 Points

        Winter: 26 - 33 Points

Based on the season, the following wine recommendations are made (sorry, Jennifer, but I couldn't reconstruct the colorful, nifty answer wheel in your book, so we are reduced to a list)

Spring: Riesling, Savignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Albariño/Alvarinho, Grüner Veltliner, Marsanne/Roussanne, Anything Rosé, Beaujolais, Berbera, Pinot Noir

Summer: Soave, Chenin Blanc/Steen, Torrontés, Viognier, Dolcetto, Bonarda, Monastrell, Nero D'Avola, Cabernet Franc, Merlot

Fall: Chardonnay, Gewürztraminter, Pinot Gris, Carménére, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Pinotage, Syrah/Shiraz, Garnacha/Grenache, Primitivo/Zinfandel

Winter:  Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Nebbiolo, Melback, Petite Sirah, Amarone, Aglianico, Touriga Nacional, Merlot, Zinfandel

Smart Cookie Red Blend

First of all I, Erin, have to say that I am totally disappointed in my wine picking abilities.  However, this time I shall not take the blame alone.  Smart Cookie red blend was in the sweet section of our wine store.  The display said sweet, fruity medium bodied wine.  It also was touted as one of the best sellers at total wines.  The label also made the wine sound right up my alley.

Appearance: very dark plum, very little to no legs

Smell: butter, oak, cherry, vanilla, the label claims that it smells like cookies but we didn't get that, earthy, leather

Taste: turpentine, lackberry, burnt rubber, smooth feeling on the mouth, short finish

Pairings: better with cheddar, Gouda has no effect, chocolate has little to no effect as well

Brit Scale Ratings:

Erin:1
Sherry: 2
Gma: 1
Pap:1
Melissa: 2
Robin: 2
Sarah: 1
Gerry:1

Chateau Landat 2009, March 15

Would like to share my last pick, a French red haut-medoc called Chateau Landat, 2009. It was rated 91 by wine spectator, I think, and was trying to find a French red that we all could find. It cost about $20 and had a good review online.  SO we made it my Friday night pick for March 15.  I must say, it was a disappointment. The wine was appealing visually but had almost no bouquet to speak of, perhaps a hint of spice and licorice but that was faint. I decanted mine for two hours and still did not bring out the bouquet.  Well, the taste was forgettable, very dry, almost no taste except maybe a hinte of spice and faint dark fruit but mostly a bite that was not pleasing at all. Cheese mellowed the bite but still the medoc had almost no taste that one could say was enjoyable.  Next day, same results.  Our concensus was that we should never get this wine again, although I could drink it perhaps with gouda or other cheese.  Brit's rating: 1 star, maybe 2 after extensive decanting and good cheeses with the wine.  Very dissappointing.

Good news, I found two very nice reds the next week from the WSJ wine club, first was a Bordeaux by Christian Mouiex - the genius behind decades of the Chateau Petris line.  This 2009 Bordeaux has nice merlot and cabernet sauvignon flavors, very pleasant to drink with a meal or by itself.  Also, a surpisingly pleasant South African Cabernet Sauvignon by Domaine Rouxvale, vintage 2011 whose flavors exploded on the tongue with cherry/wild cherry sensations, very nice!  I highly recommend these two reds, each considered 3-stars on the Brit Scale.  That's Brit's Corner for March 2013.


Not to promote Total Wines or anything (we in fact have no affiliation with them) but this wine was picked because Brit could go online and see what the rest of us could find in our stores that he could find in his own store in Texas. So it turns out that wine was Château Landat Haut - Médoc 2009.

Appearance: slightly leggy, very dark purple

Smell: merlot, oaky, dry, slightly buttery

Taste: lighter than you would think, dry, oaky, turpentine endnote, wooly texture, grape, smokey

Pairings: filet for Brit, BBQ chicken pizza, Gouda with the wine takes the bite away, cheddar works as well, chocolate makes this wine super dry and sour so avoid it at all costs when drinking this wine, 

Brit Scale Ratings

Erin: 1
Sherry: 2
Brit: 2
Gerry:
Robin:
Melissa:

Grüner Veltliner Ried Sandgrube

So we all have our Grüner Veltliner Ried Sandgrube most of us have the 2011 version and Brit has another vendor with the same wine grapes and year.

Appearance: light, no leggs, slight bubbles

Smell: grapefruit, butter, yeast, lemon, ginger

Taste: grapefruit, lime, mild tasting, very short finish, no after taste, smooth texture, very light and pleasant.  The colder it is the more citrusy it is.

Pairings: salmon stuffed crab meat with as araguus went very well with the wine according to the Swartzwelders, pork also complements the wine according to Brit, pairs well with a sharp cheddar, flavored cheddar also goes well, not good with chocolate though because it highlights the flowery tastes too much.  This is a very simple, light wine.

Brit Scale Ratings:

Brit: 3
Pap: 2 (he likes red flavored wines)
Robin: strong 3
Sherry: strong 3
Erin: 4

Villa Lanata's Moscato D'Asti

We had another first for this tasting (well and the last one too but I forgot to mention it).  We coordinated trips to Total Wine so we could ensure we had the same wines.  We tasted Villa Lanata's Moscato D'Asti.

Appearance: Almost clear, bubble, no legs

Smell: Citrus, honey, grapefruit, ginger ale, peach, pineapple, sweet (anxious honey says Sam)

Taste: Peach, citrus, apple, grapefruit, pear, butterscotch, ginger, honeysuckle, very sweet, Egyptian cotton mouthful feel.

Pairings: Before the wine the Swartzwelders had fajhitas. After dinner dark chocolate brings out the fruit in the wine and takes away some of the tart, milk chocolate doesn't really do anything for it.  Cheese doesn't really go well with it.  It is definately a desert wine only.

Brit Scale Rating:

Gerry: 4
Sam: 3
Melissa: 3
Sherry: 3
Robin: 3
Erin: 4
Brit: 3

Hermes Dry Red Table Wine

 A product of Greece chosen by Melissa.

Appearance: slightly leggy, and dark red. Melissa says it's "Pretty in the light." Smell: dry, cherry, peppery, (tomato Brit says but no one agrees with him) smoky, earthy, buttery, and some citrus rind at the end that we couldn't identify specifically.

Taste: short smooth finish, dry, tastes differently from the smell, peppery notes, very light, fruit at the end note, vinegar at the front, not very grapey

Pairings: For an Actual meal, Sherry and Erin had burgers. Meatball sandwich for Brit. After the initial tasting we found Hermes was good with cheese: Gouda or cheddar. Dark Chocolate brings out the vinegar note.

Overall impressions:

Brit on his own special wine...2
Robin 2
Melissa solid 3
Gerry 1
Sherry 3
Erin 3

 We all agreed that for a dry wine this was very good.