Comments on: Online Wine School – Lesson 3

By: Shannon

Shannon — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:54:33 +0000

I compared the Cesari to the Flichman, on the theory that the baseline similarity between merlot and malbec would level the playing field somewhat and keep the focus on style. Yesterday, with white bean and artichoke pizza, the Cesari was easily the happier match–although I should mention that Billy is right, and its tartness keeps a person hungry (not necessarily desirable, when trying to deal with post-holiday weight gain ). I wound up very happy indeed with the Cesari; I’ve been having heavier-weight, and commensurately more serious, reds lately, and this wine was refreshing and also nostalgic, a reminder of student parties twenty years ago. Good times. A random side note: I put the wines in different glasses to keep track, and when I switched the Cesari to the white wine glass, it tasted better. The Flichman was happy in both the white wine glass and the red balloon.

Tonight I opened both up again. Both survived a night in the fridge, with a vacuum seal, nicely, but the Flichman went better with jerk chicken, and not just because I expected it to. Definitely spicier, picking up the allspice and the sugar from the marinade, and this time it tasted juicy rather than heavy–the Cesari tasted a bit tinny.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:49:41 +0000

I thought that both wines were okay, but neither were on the `buy more list`.

I found the Merlot to be super dry and tasting by itself was not great. When I paired it with a tomato-based pasta, it improved, but was still did not grab me.

I preferred the Shirazz, but still not great. I found it to be thicker than the merlot (is this possible), but had a bit of an after taste. Fine with and without food,.

I am a real fan of Ontario reds, so I found my preference intereseting.

By: Gary Killops

Gary Killops — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:04:34 +0000

This was the perfect week to put these two to the test. We were having a little Birthday celebration at our house last night. Nothing too big but some of the best Windsor style pizza was also involved. If you haven’t tried pizza from Windsor, Ontario then you are missing out on some of the best pizza.

Our friends know that I traditionally put out wines from Ontario when we have a gathering so they were a little surprised when three bottlles of CESARI 08 Merlot and CONO SUR 08 Shiraz were on the table.

I need to side track a little here. Usually there are only a couple of bottles of wine on the table but the price of these wines was just too affordable not to be a little excessive. I was worried that at the price I paid for these wines that they might be plonk so did sample before the party. Both passed but I did have a few local wines on hand just in case our guest didn’t approve. I didn’t tell our guest how much the wines cost. They will find out on their own I am sure and probably call me a cheapskate.

The results, the merlot was a hit. All three bottles went first. We still have one unopened bottle of the shiraz and a little over half left in a second bottle.

The merlot is very food friendly and nice for social gatherings. The shiraz had some over ripe fruit tastes and was a little hot.

The $7.25 wine was the clear winner.

Gary

By: Andrew Bloomfield

Andrew Bloomfield — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:34:15 +0000

OK, I’ll play along.
But of course I can’t just follow instructions!

Thought that I’d try a side-by-side Shiraz sampler and substitute a recent plug by Billy (YVON MAU 08 SHIRAZ) for the CESARI 08 Merlot. I love the Italian tendency towards appetite-teasing wine but I’ve never tried the Mau, so I hope that this will be a fair Old World substitute…

Can a French Shiraz really be rugged and rustic? I’m prepared to find out!