Red Wine Tasting: Month 1 Reviews

Alright alright .... the moment you have all been waiting for! My honest opinion on the first round of red wines! As some of you may have seen on social, I have embarked on a new endeavor to taste red wines and find some that I like since I have primarily been a white wine and rose drinker. I have never really had a taste for red wine. The occasional nice glass at dinner would be the extent of my red wine consumption and I never paid much attention to it.

I have always been interested in wine. In college I took a whole course on wines, their origins and history. We even had a non-alcoholic wine tasting with it (I wasn't 21 when I took it obviously...) So, I have always wanted to explore wine beyond my day to day white favorites again and try to find some new options, enter my self appointed red wine challenge.

So, after 3 weeks of tastings here are some (very honest) notes on some of the recommendations that friends gave me on IG when I crowd sourced on where to start in my tastings. And if you want to follow along with my notes and my running list. Check HERE (elizabethsreviews.com coming soon HA!).

Walt: Pinot Noir - You’ll sense a theme here that I really started out strong with the Pinot Noir’s. This one was a solid B for me. It was really smooth and good flavor. It’s a bit more than I would spend for a daily glass of wine kind of bottle, but would be lovely for entertaining.

Josh Cellars: Pinot Noir - Not. Great. This is bottom of the barrel. I think that if you just needed to grab something from the grocery store and / or needed a good red cooking wine, this is your man. But to sip and savor, I would not go this route.

Tenuta di Renieri: Chianti - Good price point and a nice taste! It is definitely a bit heavier to me than the Pinot Noir's that I have been into, but I would do this one again. I think this is more of a "with food" kind of bottle and not so much of a sipping at the end of the day, but I recommend!

Flowers: Pinot Noir - Obsessed!! I could drink this one all day every day! The price point isn't great for day to day drinking, but for a nice dinner or special occasion, she's your lady. She is easy on the toungue and really doesn't leave any after taste which has often been my issue with reds.

Decoy: Pinot Noir - This one is perfection for just your average Tuesday glass of red wine! I think that it is comparable to the qualities of Flowers, with a lower price point and just a bit "thicker" going down but I would highly recommend.

Apothic: Red Blend - Garbage. I dumped this one out after one glass. I could not even get this one down for more than a glass. The price point is low, which is honestly the only positive to this one if you need something on the conservative side. Overall it was just very bitter and left a taste in my mouth that I couldn't get over.

Can't wait to share more next month!

Cheers,

E