No Wine-ing: 2016 Wine Tasting

Briarwood Wine & Spirits Store Manager Laura Collins, who is also a certified sommelier, introduced JFP staffers to the wines in the newspaper’s recent wine tasting.

Briarwood Wine & Spirits Store Manager Laura Collins, who is also a certified sommelier, introduced JFP staffers to the wines in the newspaper’s recent wine tasting. Photo by Imani Khayyam.

It's spring time, so that means it's time for the Jackson Free Press' second annual wine tasting. Thanks to sommelier and Briarwood Wine & Spirits Store Manager Laura Collins for sharing her knowledge with us and Briarwood for providing the wine. Here are our findings.

Wine: Gruet Brut

Age: 2014

Red or white? White

Type: Sparkling wine

Price: $19.99

Aroma?

Zilpha Young: Tart, green apple.

Imani Khayyam: Green apple; white pear; white grapes; vitamins.

Tim Summers Jr.: Fruit; a little pear.

Sierra Mannie: Pear; white grapes.

Mary Osborne: Pear.

Micah Smith: Very light sweetness; very fresh; a light scent; a little sourness.

Amber Helsel: Strong smell; green apple; white pear; white grapes; circus peanuts; Flintstones vitamins.

Kimberly Griffin: Green apple.

Arielle Dreher: Pear; green apple.

Taste?

ZY: Tart; dry. I K: Tart but goes down smooth.

TS: Sharp.

SM: Tart; kick in the back of the throat; green apple.

MO: Tart.

MS: A little tart but also smooth; not quite as sweet as the scent made me expect.

AH: Buttery; like salad; tart.

KG: Green apple.

AD: Fabulous but also fresh.

Body?

TS: Light.

SM: Smooth.

MO: Bubbly.

MS: Smooth; light.

AH: Bubbly; light; clean; tingly.

AD: Light; bubbly.

It reminds me of:

TS: Parties; friends.

MO: A simmering, sexy night.

MS: A day at the beach following a light rain.

AH: Salad.

AD: Summer time; parties.

Wine brand: Alexander Sirech

Age: 2012

Red or white? Red

Type: Bordeaux (cabernet-franc)

Price: $15.99

Aroma?

ZY: Woody; pomegranate.

IK: Full body; vinegary; black licorice; pomegranate; grape jelly.

TS: Rind emphasis; orange on the exhale.

SM: Like sweaters; dying Easter eggs; vinegar.

MS: Apple scent; a sour smell, yet fruity.

AH: Cough syrup (but not the bad kind); rubbing alcohol; subtle; hamburger; syrup; root beer.

KG: Apple cider vinegar; black cherry.

Taste?

ZY: Briney; bitter.

TS: Sharp at the front; smooth.

MO: Pomegranate.

MS: Very bitter; sourness, especially on the front; not as fruity.

AH: Sweet; bitter; briney.

KG: Orange; marmalade; not smooth.

Body?

MS: Dry dry dry, but pleasant.

AH: Light for a red.

KG: Strong; fills your mouth.

It reminds me of:

MS: A field of cotton on a dry day.

AH: Drinking wine at a pub; drinking wine at my apartment.

Wine: Elk Cove Vineyards

Age: 2014

Red or white? White

Type: Riesling

Price: $17.99

Aroma?

ZY: Floral; pineapple; honeydew melon.

IK: Cologne; floral; mango; honeydew melon.

TS: Sharp, tangy aroma.

SM: Clean; pineapple.

MO: Light Vaseline.

MS: Clean, almost like an actual cleaner; a light, tangy smell.

AH: Clean; Pine-Sol smell.

KG: Super clean smell, barely any aroma.

AD: Floral; petrol.

Taste?

ZY: Dry; white grapes; mint?

IK: Dry and bitter.

TS: Melon.

MO: Dry; bitter.

MS: Drier; much less sweetness; a sour taste, especially in comparison to the previous wine.

AH: Dry; bitter; like sugarless grape juice.

KG: Drier than normal for a Riesling.

AD: Fruity.

Body?

ZY: Light; dry.

MO: Dry.

MS: Really smooth; kind of lingers in your mouth.

AH: Smooth.

AD: Dry; smooth.

It reminds me of:

ZY: The beach.

IK: Being on a yacht in the south of France, dressed in all white.

TS: Warm summer afternoons.

SM: Fruit juice—no added sugar.

MS: A house party with a few friends, hanging out on the patio.

AH: Pine-Sol.

KG: The beach.

AD: A yacht in France.

Wine: Charles & Charles

Age: 2015

Red or white? Rose

Type: Rose

Price: $15.99

Aroma?

ZY: Cherry; Starburst; sweet.

IK: Melon; rose; grapefruit.

TS: Watermelon.

SM: Oriental flowers; grapefruit.

MO: Fruity.

MS: Cherry smell; an apple-like smell; very strong scent and sweet; makes me expect a very sweet taste.

AH: Savory; floral; strawberries; watermelon.

AD: Chanel; floral; peonies.

Taste?

ZY: Grapefruit; bitter; sour.

IK: The reverse effect of Sour Patch Kids.

TS: Fruity end; grapefruit?

SM: Drier than expected.

MO: Watermelon; bitter; citrus; dry.

MS: Lighter flavor; very little sweetness.

AH: Suprisingly dry; citrusy; bitter; burns going down.

KG: Bitter on the end; not a lot of sweet on end.

AD: Not too sweet; honey hint.

Body?

ZY: Very full; hard hitting.

TS: Fuller body than other whites.

MO: Dry.

MS: Smooth; dry; full-bodied.

AH: Bubbly and pink.

AD: Light but not too late.

It reminds me of:

ZY: A summer evening.

IK: Summer; porch-drinking wine.

SM: Oriental flora; grapefruit; Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle; "You Da One" by Rihanna.

MO: Sexy summer day.

MS: A wedding reception.

AH: Sitting under a tree in spring time.

KG: Summer.

AD: Summer; it needs to be drank cold on a hot day.

Wine: Matua

Age: 2014

Red or white? Red

Type: Pinot Noir

Price: $12.79

Aroma?

ZY: Earthy; spicy.

SM: Christmas.

MO: Glue.

MS: Sweetness, almost chocolatey; stronger, earthier smell; almost like a Coca-Cola smell.

AH: Dark chocolate; acetone; purple; sour grape juice; woody; cherry sucker.

KG: Chocolate.

AD: Moss; cocoa; oak; earthy.

Taste?

ZY: Dry; sour.

TS: Thick, spicy.

SM: Not as tart.

MO: Sour; tart.

MS: Sour, a bit bitter; very little sweetness.

AH: Sweet and sour; not as dry as I thought; vinegary.

KG: Smooth on the front, strong on the back.

Body?

TS: Full; drinkable.

SM: Smooth.

MS: Very smooth and light.

AH: Medium.

It reminds me of:

ZY: A bonfire next to a lake.

TS: Warm evenings; long velvet curtains.

SM: Christmas.

MO: Cozy, wintery night by the fireplace.

MS: Sitting around a fireplace in a log cabin.

AH: Wine you'd drink while eating a grilled cheese.

KG: Fancy dinner.

Scenes

from Imani Khayyam

"I'm at an old plantation home. I walk back to a screened-in porch. A fan is going. This is 'porch-drinking' wine." (rose)

"I'm Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in the '90s. I'm in an extravagant mansion with Nina Simone singing in the back. There's fur on the chairs. There's an ottoman and a fireplace. There's no TV. The windows are open." (pinot noir)

"I'm horse-riding with my lady, and then we pull up to a dinner table for two in the middle on nowhere." (Bordeaux)

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