Matt 0:17

Welcome to Matt and Friends Drink the Universe! Welcome back everyone to Matt

Classy Rocket Rankings Kickoff

Matt 0:28

and Friends Drink the Universe. Today we are going to be doing Ranking Kohita. Rockanton Ranking. Classifica Razo. Today a classier rocket ranking.

Various 0:46

Falling asleep. Yeah. Wow. Did you want the original?

Siobhan 0:50

No. It's classier, so keep it that way. Alright? Okay.

Various 0:55

Alright, I figured we're tasting white wine here. That didn't work.

Siobhan 0:59

Is that classy? Alright, well then I feel great.

Andy 1:01

I mean, more classy than the budget beer that we're about to do.

Siobhan 1:06

Oh, yeah. Well, I guess fine, fine, fine, fine.

Matt 1:09

I just felt like having Rob and Ice Cream Rocket Rankings at you before we tasted white.

Siobhan 1:14

White wine. Okay, well, that's fair.

Matt 1:15

Might have been a little off here.

Siobhan 1:19

White girl at brunch. You just need that version of it instead.

Matt 1:22

So let's go around the table here and I'll have my the rest of my basic bitches introduce themselves. Starting with I'm Andy.

Siobhan 1:30

I'm Siobhan, basic bitch. I'm Josh.

Matt 1:34

Complex bitch.

Siobhan 1:35

Yeah, right. That's true. I have a lot more layers than you think.

Matt 1:39

As Josh is sitting next to me pouring wine here, layers, donkey. Layers. Ogres have layers.

Siobhan 1:44

Like an onion.

Matt 1:45

Like onions. So we're gonna be tasting some white wine. Do we want to run down the total list before we get started here? Sure. We're all gonna rank these. We'll give you our rankings at the end, and uh, we'll see how this turns out here.

Josh 1:58

So we have I don't have Siobhan's bonus wine on here. Remember what it was called?

Siobhan 2:04

Uh I don't remember the winery. I remember what type of wine it is, but I don't remember the winery. It's from Seneca Lake and it's a it's a dry Riesling.

Josh 2:11

Okay, that's our bonus wine, and I'll tell you the name of it when we get there. Yes. Uh then we have Dreaming Tree Sauvignon Blanc from California. We have Robert Mondavi Private Sections, uh selection Sauvignon Blanc, also from California. We have Gieson Uncharted Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. We have Clover Hill Riesling. Clover Hill is local to us. Sure done. Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

Matt 2:34

You want me to take the next one? Sure. So we have Gran Baton from Alberinho. It is an Eniquita Verde.

Josh 2:43

Alberinho. Gran Bazon is an Alberinho. That's the grape. Oh, okay. It's from this location.

Siobhan 2:49

You can't say it, Josh?

Josh 2:50

How do you say that? Rias Baixas. It's Rias Baixas.

Siobhan 2:53

Okay.

Josh 2:54

In Spain. In Spain, yes. Yes, thank you. We have uh Sol Volcano, which is a Bianco from Aetna, from the Aetna Volcano Mountain in Sicily. We have Trivento White Malbec. So that is a red. That's parading as a white from Mendoza, Argentina. And we have the Luigi Chardonnay from France. Mm-hmm. A little bit of representation from all over the world. Different uh different varietals, different taste profiles. We're gonna start with our first three are going to be all Sauvignon Blancs. So we have two from California and one from New Zealand. And we're gonna taste through and then kind of everyone's gonna rank them. Yep. And then we'll tally up the scores at the end and see what we thought as a group was the best. Do the worst.

Matt 3:42

So our first tasting here is the dreaming tree. I gotta say, I do not like the smell of this one.

Siobhan 3:47

Oh.

Josh 3:48

Let's see. So it smells good to me.

Siobhan 3:51

Is that this has nothing to do with Dave Matthews band, right? Like, cause that is a Dave Matthews band song. So funny you would say that.

Matt 3:58

But I looked some of these up earlier.

Siobhan 4:00

Yeah.

Matt 4:00

Dave Matthews did partially or partially. That's what I kind of thought for a second.

Siobhan 4:04

Because I I don't know where in the back of my punch bowl brain I thought I remembered that about this wine, but that feels right that I'm the one that brought this one too. I don't know if we're not supposed to say that, but like are you a big mumble rock fan? So I'm not, but I have been to so many Dave Matthews band concerts. So the fact that it's like in my DNA enough to grab the wine from there like randomly is pretty funny. So okay.

Matt 4:29

I just envision uh just a ton of ants marching back and forth across the winery.

Josh 4:33

So I like to read um the back of these bottles, so it gives us a little bit of what the winery kind of feels and thinks about this wine. So this is

Three Sauvignon Blancs Head To Head

Josh 4:42

Dreaming Tree Sauvignon Blanc from California. It's a 2024 vintage. And it says the Dreaming Tree offers sustainably sourced wines that capture the spirit of California's wine country. This Sauvignon Blanc is truly a crowd pleaser with tropical notes of passion fruit, pineapple, and kiwi, and a crisp, clean finish, best served, shared, comes at a 14% ABV. Is Cher coming?

Siobhan 5:06

Oh I don't know. That wasn't a good share. Woo! That's a good share. Woo!

Josh 5:11

Alright, so does it taste better on the palate than it's a few years? It does taste better.

Siobhan 5:14

Maybe we'll see.

Andy 5:15

I I don't think it's overly interesting of a taste, but to me, it's just kind of fine.

Josh 5:20

Oh it tastes better than I get a ton of the pineapple that they mentioned.

Siobhan 5:24

It's very fruity, yeah. Or fruit forward. Not fruity, but yeah.

Josh 5:29

Indicative of most Sauvignon Blancs.

Matt 5:32

Yeah. I don't get a real strong finish on the back end. I get a lot of fruit in the front end. Nice.

Siobhan 5:36

That's kind of nice. I like that. Text jokes. I don't know. Oh, that wasn't even supposed to be that.

Josh 5:42

Uh my dreaming tree. Come on.

Siobhan 5:45

All right, everybody.

Josh 5:47

Oh man. I mean, they're not uh Sauvignon Blancs aren't gonna have super crazy long finishes and be really big. I mean, this is meant to be a nice light.

Siobhan 5:55

Well, again, now we went down the wrong road on all of this.

Josh 5:59

This is wild. This is only wine one. Wow.

Siobhan 6:02

Good.

Matt 6:02

It's not the size of the tree, it's the motion of the leaves.

Josh 6:05

I listen, why don't I pour some more wine while you guys talk about this wine for a second? Tell me what you guys think of it.

Siobhan 6:11

I think it's super drinkable and it's very light, and I like it.

Josh 6:14

I would agree.

Siobhan 6:14

Which is what I would go to a Sauvignon Blanc for. I don't need 84 layers. That's not why I'm trying to drink this wine.

Matt 6:21

So I feel like that's I'm probably gonna throw an ice cube in it and have it on my back porch.

Siobhan 6:26

I'm not so sure that I'm would go to ruin it that way.

Matt 6:28

However, I'm thinking unfortunately, right now here in Pennsylvania, it is a cold winter's day, the exact opposite of when I would want to drink this. I would want this on a spring day, a summer day.

Siobhan 6:40

Spring day would be nice, actually. That's very fair.

Josh 6:42

Would you classify this as a patio pounder?

Siobhan 6:45

I don't know.

Josh 6:46

I don't think could you sit and drink a bottle of it on your patio without having to drink a few. So I guess yes.

Siobhan 6:51

Sorry, now that we've defined it, yes, that's what I could do.

Josh 6:54

Yeah.

Siobhan 6:54

Yeah, this is it's light, it's nice. It still has something to it, though. It's not like it's not trying too hard, but I'm here for that.

Josh 7:01

Okay, so in your glass number two, and when I say glass, I mean this beautiful little tiny solo uh plastic clear cup that Matt was so nice to provide us with.

Matt 7:10

I don't think these are solo, just for the record.

Josh 7:12

Well, they're close enough.

Matt 7:13

They're Sam's Club.

Josh 7:15

In glass number two, or cup number two, we have the Robert Mondavi Private Selection from the back of the label here. Robert Mondavi Private Selection was founded in 1994 by Robert Mondavi to capture the delicious flavors from California's best coastal vineyards. This spirit of exploration has continued to inspire us ever since. We invite you to experience our Sauvignon Blanc. Smell grapefruit and lime, taste, lemon, melon, and herbs, pair with grilled shrimp and roasted chicken. Not Andy. Oh, not chicken. And a little quote from Robert Mondavi drink what you like and I bring poison. Drink what you like and like what you drink. And we come in at what's the ABB on this one? 13 and a half.

Matt 7:59

Just a general reminder, this is a poultry-free podcast for our friend Andy.

Andy 8:03

Unless Matt is the one I brought, right? Turkey bacon. Which tells the listeners how much I put through. I really looked at the label.

Siobhan 8:11

Well, it's not there's no poultry in it, Andy. So I think you're fine.

Josh 8:15

I mean, Robert Mondavi is a really well-known name in the winemaking uh world, so clearly knew that. Everyone would be able to pick this off the shelf or a list. It's definitely not that I like the label. Very fruity. I get a lot more of the lemon on this one. Yes. Smell lemon.

Siobhan 8:28

Yeah, it's a bit brighter for sure. It's nice.

Matt 8:31

I find it less of a sour finish.

Siobhan 8:33

Oh, I do like that. Mm-hmm. That's yummy. More than the first? Oh, yeah. Just in general. I was just curious about it. The first one was just kind of like, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Andy 8:40

But this one is actually like, oh, there's there's a little bit there.

Siobhan 8:42

Like there's layers. Lay layers.

Josh 8:44

More bodies for this one for sure. Layers. Don't forget to keep a running list of where you think things rank, because I think I don't know if we're gonna have room for all these cups on the table by the time we're done.

Siobhan 8:55

Yeah, no, we'll uh we will organize. It's okay, everybody.

Matt 8:58

We fit the magic of podcasting. If it's ten bottles worth of bourbon up here, I we can do uh nine bottles of wine.

Siobhan 9:04

That's crazy. Yeah, okay. I'm a I'm a Sauvignon Blanc fan. I mean, I realize that everyone listening to this knows that I'm a white lady. So I feel like I'm shocking no one when I say that I like Sauvignon Blanc, but like I do.

Josh 9:17

Lovely. Some might describe you as the whitest lady.

Siobhan 9:20

I some might. She prefers her screen in triple digits.

Andy 9:24

Correct.

Siobhan 9:24

I don't prefer that, but I have to deal with it.

Andy 9:27

I would definitely say, like, I'm I'm not a picky wine guy. Like I enjoy wine, but I'm not picky about it. Generally speaking, I'm more on the drier red side. This is good. I I would definitely drink this again.

Matt 9:40

If you put the last two in front of me on the patio and says which one are you drinking, I would grab the uh Bobby Mondavi over there.

Siobhan 9:46

I feel like it definitely has a little more to it.

Josh 9:48

I'm with you, Andy, on the on the reds as my preference. But I think wine is such an occasion thing that, you know, if you're sitting outside and you are having lighter grilled seafoods and things like that, then the whites just make sense. And obviously, I I think wines are so good to pair with food. Um so these are things uh when I'm tasting wine with people or tasting people on wine, as is one of my jobs, we like to talk about what it's going to pair with and and how would you pair a Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon Blanc, yeah. I mean, in general, all these Sauvignon Blancs, I would love to take them to a seafood restaurant that does a raw bar. Sauvignon blanc with raw oysters or shrimp cocktail or ceviche, things like that. I mean, absolutely phenomenal salads, uh bright citrus dressing salads, salads that have like grapefruit or orange segments, things like that. Lighter cheeses, like fresh cheeses, like goat cheeses and things like that. Um I really like a Sauvignon Blanc with There's two routes you can go when you're pairing food.

Andy 10:47

So definitely a good like cocktail hour.

Josh 10:49

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Or this is a light enough wine that it doesn't need food. There are some red wines, a lot of red, and some even Chardonnays, heavier whites, that really lend themselves more

Food Pairing Rules That Work

Josh 11:01

to like you need to have food with this. Not that you no one's gonna no, no wine police are gonna come slap the wine out of your hand, but but like sometimes you're like, oh my gosh, this just needs anybody brings Merlot.

Siobhan 11:12

I feel like are there is there not sort of even like food you can pair stuff with that actually enhances some of it too? It's not just oh you should have food with this, but it's like, hey, if you get some acid or you get this other thing, like it's almost better.

Josh 11:24

Yeah, 100% it is a two-way street. You're pairing the food with the wine and the wine with the food. I would say an easy way to kind of think about what is good to go with that wine, think about regionality and where does the wine come from and what do they eat there? Because the people that are making the wine in that region are making wine to go with the food that comes from that region. So that makes sense. If we're talking about Italy, if you're talking about coastal cities in Italy, they are eating a lot of seafood. So their wines go with seafood. If you're talking about Florence, which is a huge like beef producer, their reds go with a big juicy ribeye steak. Right. And it's very easy to like, you don't even have to think about it. Where does it come from? What do they eat there? And move on. Now it's a little tougher with American wines because we eat everything. Um, we we have you know, where the mixing goes.

Siobhan 12:09

We also make all the wine, don't we? Or we at least attempt to like do it. Like poor than we should be, maybe sometimes.

Andy 12:19

I don't think that would go well with a hot dog. Pinot Grigio. There you go.

Siobhan 12:22

Oh, and we don't have any of those, thank God. Yeah. Oh, you know.

Matt 12:27

Unfortunately for everybody, I prefer uh I prefer like a pork and chicken hot dog. And uh I actually think the Savion Blanc would go well at the ballpark.

Josh 12:35

So pork and chicken dog. Siobhan, as our resident Savillon Blanc uh and Sauvignon Blanc and White White Girl and White Wine drinking girl. Do you generally go to New Zealand Sol Blanc? I do. Okay, I do. That's where I'm a fan. That's where we are now.

Siobhan 12:49

Yes.

Josh 12:49

So we're at the Geeson Uncharted Sauvignon Blanc from Marlboro, New Zealand. This is a 2023, a little lower on the ABV here, 12.5%.

Siobhan 12:57

Gotta have more. There you go.

Josh 12:58

On the bottle, it says discover an uncharted region of New Zealand, poised on the edge of the world. The cool purity of its river valleys, glacial plains, towering mountains, and crashing seas, help the Geesen brothers create some of the world's best cool climate wines to share with their friends and family. They invite you to do the same. Theo, Alex, and Marcel Geesen. So when they're talking about cool climate, you're gonna get a lot more of those bright, fruity, crisp flavors. Which I love. Yeah, super warm areas that are producing Chardonnay are gonna have a lot more of those buttery. Full bottled. The butteriness comes from the oak treatment, but um, but their grapes tend to be fuller and not as not as light and crisp.

Matt 13:38

You said New Zealand, there's an eagle on the front. I'm at Laurier of the Rings. That's how my brain works. Yeah, there's a whole talk.

Siobhan 13:44

50% of this was I like New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, and 50% of this

New Zealand Sauv Blanc And Travel Dreams

Siobhan 13:49

is this label is awesome. Yeah. I loved this label.

Josh 13:53

I assume that's the three brothers that we just named on there.

Siobhan 13:55

Yeah. I just love how much brighter this even smells, because that's what I really like about this, too.

Josh 14:01

So New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs generally are gonna have that bright grapefruit note on the nose.

Siobhan 14:06

Delish.

Josh 14:07

Some also say a little bit of cat pea. Um, I didn't want to say anything, but it's that acid.

Siobhan 14:15

Like it's pretty, it's very bright.

Andy 14:17

Yeah, grassiness. And it does linger. Some of that grassiness. I like the initial flavor of it, but that lingering acid, I'm I'm not a fan of. I would agree. It's still more interesting than that first one. So I still put it above it.

Siobhan 14:32

Fair enough. Yeah.

Josh 14:33

But I don't like that lingering flavor. Same. But I I I like New Zealand Sauv Blancs a lot.

Siobhan 14:38

I just love that it's unique. I don't know. It just feels like you get a sense of like where it's from and like what it's trying to do, and like that's like way more layered.

Matt 14:46

It's a unique pla flavor profile. Yeah, it is a very unique flavor profile. Yeah, I I would not drink it.

Josh 14:52

For those of you who are listening that are Sauvignon Blanc drinkers, I wouldn't say it's super unique as far as what it is. Like it's a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to the T. It's it's exactly what you would expect from a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. So I got exactly what I think.

Siobhan 15:06

If anyone knows that, like right. Yes. Which I do. People will love it.

Josh 15:10

My wife would know exactly what I'm talking about because she likes New Zealand Sauve Blanc.

Siobhan 15:14

It's very different than the other two. Like the American.

Andy 15:18

Again, not being the hugest wine drinker, having those three Savions right next to each other and like completely different flavors.

Siobhan 15:27

Absolutely.

Andy 15:27

Oh, yeah. Like that's really interesting.

Siobhan 15:29

I don't know. It's just so much brighter, and you're like, oh, a white wine. Like I feel like I should be out on a patio. Just yeah, it's like feels summery, springy. Yes. Like I love that.

Josh 15:38

Yeah, feels like you're outside on a summer day. Yeah.

Siobhan 15:41

Or in New Zealand.

Josh 15:42

Yes. That sounds funny.

Siobhan 15:43

Which would be awesome. At the Shire. We'll do it.

Andy 15:46

Do we know anybody that could uh help us book a trip to New Zealand?

Matt 15:49

I'm sure Poppins Travel Company could get us to New Zealand. Those flights are long. Perfect setup. That's okay.

Siobhan 15:54

I'll do it.

Matt 15:55

I've looked. You want to go visit Hobbit. If you want to be a Hobbit, I do. Call John and Shalise from Poppins Travel. It's a good wine tasting.

Siobhan 16:02

Stop in Hawaii.

Andy 16:02

I'd be down.

Siobhan 16:03

It's halfway.

Andy 16:04

Oh yeah. I used to think I couldn't deal with the long flights, but I've done a couple long flights recently.

Siobhan 16:11

Andy.

Andy 16:11

Yeah. I've done a couple like 10 plus hour flights now.

Siobhan 16:15

I feel like it's also worthwhile saying to you that you've also flown to Lithuania on an army plane. So I feel like sitting in a cargo almost do anything at this point.

Matt 16:24

Like this this flight to New Zealand would feature air conditioning and private batteries. Maybe hit that bar cart when it comes by, you know?

Siobhan 16:33

Exactly. All right, next.

Josh 16:35

This is Trevento White Malbec. White Malbec is fairly new in the market. It's a red grape, obviously. Malbec grapes are red. No, they don't filter it. So once they press it, all the juice inside of grapes is white. Okay. What turns red wine red is contact with the skin as the juice is sitting there either fermenting or or just even before the fermentation starts. So sometimes you can get a rose by letting the skin sit on the juice for a little bit of time and then taking it off. Yeah. These are pressed and the skins never touch the juice.

Matt 17:07

That was actually what I meant by filter.

Josh 17:09

Which is why you're getting no color in this, because a lot of the golden color that comes for in some of those other white wines comes from some of that skin contact, but they're you they can't leave the skin on this or else you'd just have a rose. Um so this is a white Malbec, should have no tannins, no, no tannic structure to it. The tannins are those things in red wine that make your uh mouth dry out, make your tongue like go.

Siobhan 17:31

And give you a headache.

Josh 17:32

I don't know about that. So

White Malbec Explained And Debated

Josh 17:35

I've heard we'll have to do myth butthbusters on that. Are you sure you're not talking about sulfites?

Siobhan 17:39

Am I sure? Absolutely not.

Josh 17:42

Sulfites will give you a much worse headache. Bothes is what people say, give them a headache, and people say they're allergic to people say a lot of things. So anyway, as they said, this is this is crystal clear. It almost looks like water. The back of the bottle says, Three winds created the ideal land for growing wine and reveal the symbol that has guided us to this day. Discover an epic origin, discover Trevento, well-known Malbec, newly styled with aromas of cherry and raspberry and notes of green apple with fresh acidity. This is also listed as a vegan and certified B Corp wine. Um B Corp, if you're not familiar with it, is beyond sustainable. There's there's sustainability stuff they have to hit to be a B Corp. There's nice, there's components that have to do with how much they've done for their community, how they treat their employees, how much they're giving back to the land. There's like it's a it's a really big deal. That's really cool.

Unfiltered Studios Guy 18:35

Yeah.

Matt 18:35

Um yeah. So So to be a non-vegan wine is most would inherently be. I know some for clarity have been historically filtered with like egg and things like that. Egg whites, yes. Egg whites, yeah.

Josh 18:46

Yeah.

Matt 18:47

So I'm trying to think of what else would make a wine not vegan. That's really it.

Andy 18:51

Yeah.

Josh 18:51

Yeah.

Andy 18:52

I mean, there is that debate about honey. Sure.

Josh 18:56

But they don't put honey in in wine generally. That would be that would be the only thing I could think of. Uh but no, they use they use egg whites as a clarifying agent in some wines, uh in a filtering agent. So give it a taste, give it a smell, give it a taste.

Matt 19:08

I get a little raspberry from this. Sure. This is Argentinian as well. Mendoza, yep. Yeah, which I I tend to like. Argentine wines. Oh, kind of enjoying them. I don't get a ton of anything on the nose.

Siobhan 19:21

Oh, yeah. No, the nose is isn't it. Well, it's different than the last round, I'll say, but still.

Andy 19:26

Actually, honestly, to me, this smells like the first one we had. I'm getting some raspberry, but I I don't like the lingering flavor.

Josh 19:33

There's a decent amount of acidity to it. I think that's it.

Siobhan 19:35

I think there's too much of a I don't mind it.

Josh 19:38

Some of those red berry fruits.

Siobhan 19:39

Yes. You get a little more of the red sort of flavor in here for sure.

Matt 19:44

That's probably why I like it because I'm a red wine. I also they noted on the bottle the hint of green apple, and I am a big green apple fan. I I enjoy this one quite.

Siobhan 19:54

I sort of feel like this is kind of cool because, like, if there are red wine drinkers that are like white wines for basic bitches, like whatever, I feel like this might. I mean, it's definitely different.

Josh 20:05

I mean, they have a giant sticker on the front that says the first white Malbeck. It's it is a an experiment, in my opinion. I don't know if it's gonna stick around in the wine world. Um interesting. I don't have an issue with it. It doesn't taste bad, but it's not what I would go for first, probably.

Andy 20:22

I think if somebody poured me a glass of this and then offered there was other options, I would go for another one.

Siobhan 20:27

It feels like a gateway almost. Like it's like, hey, if you like if you like a Malbec, try this. If you haven't had a white, it's like I don't know.

Josh 20:36

I feel like we're gonna have a more um appropriate gateway would then be to get a rose. Sure. Oh yeah. I would love a rose. I do like a rose. We need a rose. Do we do a rose? We did not do a rose.

Andy 20:47

We didn't rose the sparkling episode. I bought a rose. Yes, and that was very good. That was the wine project in the water. And it was the winner. No, we need we need a rose. The surprising thing was I bought another bottle of it recently, and it wasn't nearly as good.

Matt 21:02

Really? Maybe it was the company. They say that half of what you get out of wine is the company.

Andy 21:08

I mean, no, I mean I'm saying it it was the exact same wine from the exact same place. Like I picked it up at the Eastern Wine Product.

Siobhan 21:15

He means the people around you.

Andy 21:16

Oh.

Siobhan 21:17

Not the literal company that makes the wine. I hear you. Yeah.

Andy 21:20

I hear you. So you're saying because I was drinking it by my translation in a sad corner of your house. What I was actually was depression. Is that what you're saying?

Siobhan 21:31

You're like on a Tuesday, and I was sad. Yeah. What you need is Prozac, no.

Matt 21:37

Like I need a depressed drinking drop.

Siobhan 21:39

Okay, that was nice to try though. Like I feel like that was a good mix from the first set of Sauvignon Blancs. This is a nice, like, very different profile to give them to the next set.

Josh 21:49

It's a fun wine and it's something like sitting around. And if you're doing something where your friends are like, hey, we're all gonna bring a bottle, we're gonna end up with three Sauvignon Blancs. Yeah. Maybe somebody brings something different. You know?

Siobhan 22:00

Not me. Bringing a Savillon Block. Sorry.

Matt 22:02

I again I don't think this one's out of place, a little chicken on the grill during the summer, lemon chicken, something like that. There's a little bit of salinity in the finish.

Siobhan 22:09

Yeah, it was like I yeah, there's a little bit of that salt sort of I like that.

Josh 22:14

Which would lend itself fine with food, I think. Some some again, some of these sort of the same stuff I was talking about before.

Siobhan 22:21

Makes me wish I liked seafood.

Josh 22:23

Lighter white grilled meats, things like that would be cool with this too.

Matt 22:26

For the record, Siobhan and I not seafood folk. So when Josh was describing seafood earlier, we were basically convulsing opposite cheese.

Andy 22:34

I was drooling.

Siobhan 22:35

Super judgmental, these two. Okay, listen. Sorry, dude. Let's do an oyster man.

Josh 22:41

I'm here for it.

Siobhan 22:42

Good for you, not for me.

Josh 22:43

As long as there's no poultry, I'll try it.

Siobhan 22:45

Right.

Josh 22:46

I don't generally put chicken on my list.

Siobhan 22:50

No chicken broth in your seafood preparations.

Josh 22:55

Okay. So everyone's got their rankings so far.

Andy 22:59

I'm ready. So far, I've got that one in last place.

Siobhan 23:03

Same. That's funny though. Interesting. Even be even like under the dreaming tree.

Andy 23:08

Yeah.

Siobhan 23:09

Interesting.

Josh 23:10

Okay, so. Just laughing at this.

Siobhan 23:14

Oh, yeah.

Josh 23:16

This was a wedding favorite to Siobhan. I was gonna say it's very cute.

Siobhan 23:19

It's Justin Agron's wedding favorite. Oh, nice. Yeah, he was on the favorite. Justin, you didn't invite me on our way. I know. What a bummer. It was a fun wedding in in Philly. Yes. So it was a good time.

Josh 23:31

And that was nice of them to give away bottles of wine.

Siobhan 23:33

Justin's family goes to the Finger Lakes all of the time, so this is from the Finger Lakes.

Josh 23:38

All right, so my German's bad, but this is Herman J. Weimer.

Siobhan 23:43

You look at me. I would assume Weimer. I would assume Weimer. Sure.

Josh 23:47

Herman J. Weimer Vineyard. It is a dry Riesling from 2021. That sounds sweetish. The Weiman Vineyard.

Siobhan 23:55

It's okay. We'll be all right.

Josh 23:56

Hort Bork Borg and Doigan.

Siobhan 23:57

Somebody correct us if we need to. That's fine.

Josh 24:00

State bottled and grown at Seneca Lake AVA in the Finger Lakes of New York. It says that HJW Vineyard pushes the limits of wine, excellence, and sustainable farming to craft remarkable wines that reflect our enduring winemaking tradition. Herbicide-free farming, wild ferment, no finding additives or adjustments. Ooh, interesting. Who here wants to talk about wild ferments?

Siobhan 24:28

I mean, I know what it is kind

Finger Lakes Dry Riesling And Wild Ferment

Siobhan 24:31

of. Go ahead. Everyone's gonna be very nervous to talk to you about it. Exactly. However, I do feel like I know that who used to be there was there used to be uh at the silk mill, I think, in Easton. Who was it? Soul, soul Seoul used to do Soul's not a thing anymore, but Soul had like a uh an experimental brewery kind of thing and they talked about wild fermenting beer there, and they would just open it up to kind of like let whatever bacteria sort of in the local area kind of like it's natural form the yeast producing and like all of that. So it's like, but they also bought like I think I've seen a thing before where somebody bought like a giant log from somewhere and just like chucked it in somewhere and just was like, let it do its thing.

Matt 25:17

And I was like, that sounds creepy, but so it not for nothing, up until I want to say, and Josh, correct me if I'm wrong, like it was fairly recently, it wasn't, you know, in the grand scheme of things, like maybe 1400, something like that, somewhere in there, where the human race figured out that yeast was a thing. Before that, that you did open up your alcohol and let it naturally ferment. But what else are you doing? What to do with it? Yeah, and then they were like, oh, there's this bacteria thing that loves sugar, and here we are today. Right.

Josh 25:48

Yeah, so it's I don't know the date, so I can't tell you that. But you some time ago um where wild fermentation means they're not pitching yeast, right? If you've ever brewed your own beer, you pitch yeast in, right? You you dissolve the yeast in a little bit of warm water to kind of wake it up, and you put that into your your mash or your wart, and the yeast starts to eat the sugar, and fermentation is happening. Uh wild fermentation is where they just open the top of these vats and they let the naturally occurring yeast that's in the air start the fermentation process. I can taste it right away when I tasted it. Yeah. What that what that will give you is some of these. If you've ever had a farmhouse ale or a farm kind of stuff. Yeah, a sour beer that's been naturally fermented. You get that little bit of that like barnyard, that funk that is a nice earthy flavor. I get that right here in this wine. Right off the bat. It's actually pretty cool. This is a this is a very unique wine. Yeah, it is. It is listed as a dry Riesling, but it's by far the sweetest thing we've had so far.

Siobhan 26:52

Yes. Well, for sure.

Josh 26:54

But but it's still on the on the drier side for for Rieslings.

Siobhan 26:58

Yeah, the funk is in there.

Andy 27:00

And I'm not generally a funk fan. Well, and it's not that funky to be fair.

Siobhan 27:04

Yeah.

Andy 27:05

But it's I'm done with pulling the gang, but but there's another winery close to us called Cellar Beast, and they have one that's very close to this that Rachel and I have gotten several times, and yeah, it's it's right up the same alley. This is good. I'd I would drink this again.

Siobhan 27:21

Yeah.

Matt 27:23

I'm trying to figure out if this is oak fermented, and I don't think it is.

Josh 27:27

Judging the gun color, I would be surprised if it is.

Matt 27:30

It rieslings are not generally what's throwing me is it almost with that earthy flavor. You get a little bit of that without the oaky tannin. I'm gonna punch you in the tongue. I've spent a while in French oak.

Josh 27:44

You get the apple that's that's indicative of Riesling, and uh a little bit of that citrus. It's a good one. It's like solid wine. Yeah.

Siobhan 27:51

Thanks to Justin and Brianna, yeah, for sure.

Matt 27:55

Happy matrimony.

Siobhan 27:56

Yeah, for you know, September of 24.

Andy 28:00

Well, I'm a little late, but hey.

Siobhan 28:02

Oh no, that's okay.

Andy 28:03

This is definitely, you know. This is a fun wedding, so this is a good summer wedding beer.

Siobhan 28:08

Mm-hmm.

Andy 28:09

Like outdoor wedding. Or I said beer automatically. I'm so used to it. It kind of drinks like a beer. It does drink like a beer. It does drink like being like a farmhouse. Yeah.

Siobhan 28:18

Oh, well, because of the funk. Yeah, that's kind of sour, sour beer. Yeah, absolutely.

Josh 28:22

There's almost a little bit of frizzante to it that like almost some bubbles you get there.

Siobhan 28:28

I'll have to share this with Justin and be like, hey, tell me if this is what you're thinking was. Yeah. We're talking about natural fermentation.

Matt 28:35

I haven't used this one in a while, and I just want to press a button.

Siobhan 28:39

Science. Science. I feel like this is great because I sort of brought this as a random. So I feel like I would love if this is the the like winner. We're we don't know. Okay.

Andy 28:54

We're literally like halfway through, but I'm bouncing between this and um the second one.

Josh 29:00

Well, Herman the German come out on top of the Bobby Mandavi.

Andy 29:03

Yeah. The more I'm sipping on this, the more this is moving up to first place.

Matt 29:08

Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm ready to go all the way up to first on this one. We shall determine. If Herman the German will come in first.

Siobhan 29:15

Indeed. Nice.

Matt 29:16

Just first so far.

Josh 29:18

Okay, moving to Spain. Whoa. It's quite a bamboo.

Siobhan 29:24

From Seneca Lake to Spain.

Josh 29:27

So this is the Gran Baizon. It's an Alberinho. That's the grape. Gran Baizan. It's a thing. Sure. T H. And it's from the Rias Baijas. Alberinho is a medium-ish body grape, if I recall correctly. From Spain. It's it's from Spain.

Siobhan 29:43

España. There you go.

Josh 29:46

From Barcelona.

Siobhan 29:47

Barcelona. This is horrible. I'm so sorry, everyone.

Josh 29:51

No, we're not. Nobody from Spain listens to this. This is his podcast. Right. That's true.

Matt 29:57

Should we say his address out loud? I feel like it is my podcast, but I lost control a long time ago.

Siobhan 30:04

Listen. Oh boy.

Matt 30:06

Right. I feel like this is appropriate as it's a good one. When things are going on right now, we're drinking around the world.

Siobhan 30:10

Yeah.

Matt 30:11

Yeah.

Siobhan 30:12

I mean, that's a it's nobody brought anything from Italy. Yes, you did. You did.

Josh 30:16

Oh well, Sicily.

Spanish Albarino With A Frizzante Vibe

Siobhan 30:19

I was like, you literally brought the Mount Etna wine. I know. You already talked about it though. No. Okay.

unknown 30:27

All right.

Andy 30:27

So this is at least has been.

Josh 30:28

Ran by San is a classic Alberino from hand-picked grapes sustainably grown within sight of the Atlantic Ocean. Bottled after resting at least three months on its fine grapes. How are they singing? The grapes have eyes.

Siobhan 30:42

That's the that feels like a Muppet version of a horror movie. The grapes have eyes. Like remember the grapes? The Muppet Grapes? Yeah.

Josh 30:49

It's what keeps the French up at night. Bottled after resting at least three months on its fine leaves, preserving maximum freshness. This is a 2024. Also listed as vegan and fair and green. And the ABV is 13%.

Matt 31:07

So I got this as a recommendation from a guy I know that works at the liquor store locally here in Nazareth, PA, friend of the family. I saw him and said, Mike, what uh would you recommend? I got a white wine tasting. He pointed this out. Said that him and his family have been drinking a lot and that they enjoy this one. I said, sure, what the hell? Instead of just walking blindly towards the shelf with my hand outstretched and grabbing something, I thought I'd take his recommendation.

Siobhan 31:29

Feels like a judgment against you, Andy.

Matt 31:34

It really wasn't. And picked a green sound. I'm happy with my random choice. That was not so I I did that for the beer ranking that we're gonna do awfully soon, and you will see that. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Siobhan 31:45

Sorry for you all.

Andy 31:45

Yeah. So this tastes like a sparkling that's not sparkling. That's an interesting take on it. Yeah. There's for sure some of that.

Siobhan 31:54

It tastes better than it smells to me.

Andy 31:57

That's just like statement, but the smell reminds me of a sparkling again.

unknown 32:04

Okay.

Matt 32:04

I have a cold, so I'm having so much trouble smelling things. I can taste, but I can't smell. Josh is drinking out of his own cup, quarantined in the corner of the room now. Oh my god. I lick everyone.

Andy 32:15

None of us are sharing cups anyway.

Siobhan 32:16

I mean, duh.

Matt 32:17

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

unknown 32:18

Of course we're not.

Siobhan 32:20

This is a professional podcast, everybody.

Josh 32:24

Yeah, right. It's very wasteful. Gross.

Matt 32:26

Using all the single page plots. It's okay.

Siobhan 32:28

We're recycling. We're recycling.

Matt 32:30

Everything does end up in recycling.

Siobhan 32:34

Sooner or later to get ourselves on the recycling trade. I like this. It's lovely. I like it.

Josh 32:39

The carbon footprint of our cups is isn't even close to the carbon footprint of the AI Matt uses to write the script for the fair.

Siobhan 32:47

If you don't keep that in, I'm going to be real mad.

Josh 32:49

I'll keep it in. I'll keep it in. I enjoy heavily sourced wines and uh also Matt Axel. Matt's dumping gasoline out the window into the street.

Siobhan 33:04

Okay.

Josh 33:04

Um ChatGPT's gonna check in later. Don't worry.

Siobhan 33:07

The more that I drink this, the more I like it. I think this is very nice. Yeah. It definitely has more to it than like give me some nice seafood paill.

Josh 33:18

Looking at the Atlantic Ocean.

Siobhan 33:19

Paella. That would I I wanna love paella. I clearly already made the seafood comment. But yeah, there's other. I would just, you know, whatever other Spanish food I can have. From grilled octopus.

Matt 33:32

Yeah, that's what I think I was thinking as well. This would go nice.

Josh 33:36

I'm in. Tell me, you and me were sitting in Spain looking at the Atlantic Ocean and they bring us paella and without the chicken and grilled octopus in this bottle of wine. I'm in. Boom.

Siobhan 33:46

All right.

Andy 33:46

Yeah.

Siobhan 33:47

Good for you guys. I'll just drink. Lovely sunset happening over the like the more I'm drinking this, like I'm and to me it's like I like a complex time. Well, it's not complex, but like I like if I'm screaming, hold on, sorry. I like the fact that I'm continuing to drink it and I'm noticing different things as I'm drinking it. Like it's not like a kind of one note where I'm like, oh, like that's fine. Like I'll deal with it. This feels like okay.

Andy 34:12

I like this. The only thing that's holding it back for me is like I said, this reminds me of a sparkling that's not sparkling.

Siobhan 34:19

So you need to soda stream it, is what you're saying.

Andy 34:21

I think I would prefer stream.

Siobhan 34:24

I'm just kidding.

Josh 34:26

I I think I would rather just have a sparkling. There's a word for it. It's called Frisante. It means it's got a little bit of bubbles to it. Okay. Yeah. I think I want more Frisante. I can't. Uh this is like this is uh indicative of wine sales 101. Put the wines that you want them to buy at the end, because they've they just like the wines more and more as they go along. That's true. Why do I like this one so much?

Siobhan 34:55

No, it is good though. Like, I just yeah, I mean, and it is, I can obviously tell that it's different from the ones we had in the beginning, and not just because I'm drinking wine. Like it's it feels like it has more to it.

Josh 35:06

By the time we get to the last one, which is shard, you're gonna be like, I love shards now.

Matt 35:10

Let's say you guys, time out, time out. Wine salesman who just made that pitch. Did you put your wines at the end of our tasting here?

Josh 35:16

No, he one of mine went already.

Siobhan 35:18

Yeah, he had the white malbec.

unknown 35:19

Yeah.

Josh 35:20

I'm not trying to sell you these wines. The wines that I'm selling can only be sold to restaurants. You can't buy mine in the store.

Siobhan 35:26

Also, if the wine doesn't taste good, I'm not gonna like it. So, like, that's the deal. Like, I'm not like if I don't like it, I don't like it.

Matt 35:33

I'm surprised you didn't bring your wine device 5,000. Uh Josh Corovin. Yeah, Josh has the uh wine pour the equivalent of the Benford 5,000. Like you put it in, you don't have to actually pop the cork. It goes through the cork like a needle.

Josh 35:48

Oh, yeah. Not like a needle, it's a needle. Yeah, well, exactly like that.

Siobhan 35:52

I have like an aerator thing at my house, but that's all I have.

Josh 35:55

I mean, I have a decanter, but I also have an aerology waste of money.

Siobhan 35:58

I mean, I didn't pay for it. It was a it was a wedding registry. Hell yeah.

Matt 36:03

Shout out to Siobhan's relative who wasted money on an aerator.

Siobhan 36:06

I listen, you didn't because I use it.

Andy 36:08

So yeah, I'm putting that as a three. I got the finger lakes as my number one. Yeah.

Siobhan 36:14

We don't want to know. Don't say it, Andy. Spoiler alert. Dang. All right, we got another round.

Matt 36:22

We have three wines to go here in the White People 500.

Siobhan 36:25

Mm-hmm. Okay, listen.

Andy 36:28

Next week is our rating pumpkin spice latte.

Matt 36:31

Yeah, round.

Siobhan 36:32

Yeah, yeah. Yep.

Matt 36:34

All right, and next up, wine related.

Josh 36:37

Uh yeah, sure. Let me go get wine. All right. Some all Josh, our last three. Let's go. I'm gonna pour us our next wine, which is a Donna Fugata Sol Volcano Etna Bianco. That's a lot of words. Bibita babida bubada. Donnafugata is the winery. Fugata use the. It is native to Sicily. And on the back of the bottle it says elegant notes of aromatic herbs, citrus, fruits, and flint. Fresh and savory, perfect with crustaceans, vegetarian first courses, and porcini mushrooms. So specific. Uh serve a 10 to 10. Second vegetarian course, only the various one. And this is from 2019 and it's 12.5%

Mount Etna Bianco And Oak Talk

Josh 37:42

ABV. Alright, so we have volcano wine going. Volcano wine, yep. Caracante grape.

Siobhan 37:48

Definitely getting into sweeter territory.

Josh 37:50

Yeah.

Siobhan 37:51

In my opinion.

Josh 37:52

Refined partly in tanks and partly in French oak. Second and third passage bariks for 10 months. And then at least nine months in bottle before release. You said that you think they were getting sweeter. I would disagree. I think it's fruit forward up front, but it's dry. Oh, it would be considered a dry.

Siobhan 38:12

So sorry, that is a that's definitely a better way to say that.

Josh 38:15

Yeah, so a lot of times when I'm tasting wine with people, they will fruitiness is a perceived sweetness. Sweetness really is about what in wine, uh, what residual sugars are left in these wines. And this would be considered by all measuring metrics a still not super sugar. But not anymore, Josh.

Siobhan 38:38

You just told us how we're supposed to think about it.

Josh 38:40

But if you were listing this on a list, you would not put this under sweet wines. Yeah. It's very fruit forward to start, but it's got that really bone-dry mineral uh finish at the end there. Darkest wine that we've as far as looks go. And I think this is the first one we've had that has any oak aging on it.

Matt 38:57

I like oak flavor in general. I mean, I'm a bourbon guy, I'm a red wine guy. This this trips the trigger, so to speak.

Josh 39:03

But it's not oaky in the way that Siobhan doesn't like her oaky sharks.

Siobhan 39:07

Apparently, yeah.

Josh 39:08

I mean, is it? Do you do you find it to be changed? No, I do not.

Siobhan 39:11

No, I don't. It is a very approachable level of oak.

Andy 39:15

Yeah, approachable is a good word. Approachable, yeah. I was trying to put, I don't think it's bad. I'm not really blown away, but approachable is a very good word.

Siobhan 39:23

Yeah, it's present. Like you're not gonna be able to ignore it. I don't dislike it, I'm okay with it. Rather than like sort of just immediately being put off. Yeah. Which, and then it lingers. Like that was that's what my whole thing with like a very like oaky wine is just like you can't get rid of it. Like it just lit, it just kind of hangs out. Well, a good flavor. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. Right. You don't want a bad aftertaste, right?

Andy 39:48

Or just like weird, like to do do you have to let it linger? Okay. Okay. So what would you pair this with? Because to me, like I can't, I guess it's just the fruitiness. This tastes like a dessert to me.

Josh 39:58

Oh, wow. It's not sweet dessert, but like I would say now you're into your like lighter pasta dishes, uh, but not still probably not like the heavy, creamy pasta dishes.

Siobhan 40:09

Matt got really excited.

Josh 40:10

He was like, Oh, it's eating Alfredo now. I was no, I guess I was thinking about it.

Andy 40:14

I'm in on the mac and cheese with this.

Matt 40:16

Yeah, but no, listen. That's probably similar some easy mac.

Josh 40:20

But like, you know, the uh the pastas that are that are tossed in like olive oil and garlic and stuff like that, I think would be perfectly fine with this. Again, grilled white meats or pork and chicken and stuff like that would be good. You're also on the largest island in the Mediterranean, and you can probably see the ocean from wherever you are. So I'm gonna say it again, but seafood with this would not be a problem at all.

Matt 40:43

Um, I think we're talking about the oakiness. I think this finds its place on the back porch again on a warmer day. It's not out of place, it's not too heavy for me in that scenario. If the oak level was to go up a bit, it's gonna become too heavy, it's not gonna feel as refreshing.

Siobhan 40:58

Totally. I can definitely see this one. Yes.

Matt 41:01

No, I admit I have a higher higher tolerance for that oaky flavor. It's 90 degrees outside. I'm having a glass of bourbon.

Siobhan 41:07

Well, and I also love bourbon. Like that's the other thing. Like, I'm not against it. It's almost like wine for me that's in the middle is not good. Like I like I don't prefer that flavor, I should say. Whereas like the the literal like whiskey barrel kind of thing. If I know that's what I'm signing up for in a bourbon, I'm here for that.

Matt 41:28

Then I'm in it, yeah.

Siobhan 41:29

Mostly I just want, especially a white wine again. I just want like a refreshing. Yeah, I just want something that is just like bright, lovely, hence why I love the New Zealand. Yeah, this is where personal preference is gonna point. Like, yeah, I I'm just here for that. So I like this a lot, though. I love it.

Andy 41:45

You're here for wine and quite a bit of it.

Siobhan 41:47

Yeah. If I was just hanging out.

Andy 41:49

I just would think I want a cigar with this.

Siobhan 41:50

Oh.

Andy 41:52

That's interesting. I definitely don't want that. But I'm here for you. As a cigar cigar. A light cigar on a slightly chilly fall day. Yeah. You're not gonna go with the Robusto in this. You're gonna go with something light. Anyway.

Josh 42:04

All right, so moving on to wine number eight. Now we're about to find out if uh Chivon doesn't like Chardonnay the grape or she doesn't like the oak treatment that some Chardonnays get, because we are in France. This is the Louis Jadeau Chardonnay Bourgogne. Uh-huh. Uh so it's from the Burgundy region in France. It says the origin is maconnay fruits blended with cote chalones, cote d'or, and it's aged in stainless steel for 12 months. Chapaders are having opposite reactions.

Siobhan 42:34

No, no, no, I didn't even try.

Josh 42:35

So 100% Chardonnay, aged in stainless steel only for 12 months. So no oak here. Bright, fresh citrus fruits with slight notes of pear, green apples, and a spicy finish. And shockingly enough, it says it pairs well with roasted fish or grilled vegetables.

Siobhan 42:51

Always. This is not bad at all. So the answer is I do not dislike a stainless steel Chardonnay. I heavily dislike an oaked, buttery too many layers, weird, cloying

Unoaked Burgundy Chardonnay Surprise

Siobhan 43:06

Chardonnay. And so I literally never go for a Chardonnay because I always assume that it's gonna be the thing that I don't like. And I have had stainless steel Chardonnay and been fine with it. And this is lovely. Like this is not bad.

Josh 43:21

Yeah, I mean, this is indicative of uh Burgundian wines, Burgundian reds are Pinot Noirs, and they are uh generally lighter bodied, and this Chardonnay is a nice lighter bodied Chardonnay as well. So for those who may not like a California shard, because that's all they know, go out and try a uh a Burgundian shard.

Siobhan 43:39

I mean, French people know what's up, man.

Andy 43:41

Yeah, man. This is I'm really enjoying this. Nice. Like again, first.

Siobhan 43:48

And he just grabbed it because we all I we all, by the by we all, I mean me. I took a crab on Chardonnay earlier today when we were joking about this. This one?

Matt 43:56

This is lovely.

Siobhan 43:58

It was many crabs. Yeah, yeah.

Matt 44:00

She has what we'll call the shards. Um I enjoy this one. I like the oak. I typically like a Chardonnay. I enjoy a Chardonnay.

Siobhan 44:08

You like uh oaky garbage Chardonnay? Is that what you're saying? You're admitting that to the people.

Josh 44:15

That's not true.

Siobhan 44:15

I am judgmental about people's Chardonnay choices. Let's be specific, okay? I don't care about other people's wine choices.

Matt 44:22

That's fine. You can push it. I haven't done this to you in a long time. Fair. Enjoy. Yeah. Finish your Chardonnay.

Siobhan 44:30

On the white wine episode, I'll take a cosmic chug.

Matt 44:33

There you go. Uh no, I I like an oaky Chardonnay. I like a non-okie Chardonnay. I think this sits nicely in the middle. You get the Chardonnay flavor, but you don't get all the insane oak. This is a solid Chardonnay.

Siobhan 44:46

I don't disagree.

Matt 44:47

I also really like yellowtail Chardonnay, so judge me for that. Josh threw the Josh literally zipped his lips and threw the key at me.

Andy 44:54

So I'm feeling good about my choice. Like for being a rare. This is not a bad choice. This is the first one, like first sip. I'm like, ooh, I like that. There you go.

Siobhan 45:04

Well, and I mean, it's definitely indicative of something that has more to it, right? Than like we started with a Sauvignon Blanc, and that was a very light, refreshing, but not heavily layered. This definitely has more to it than that. So I'm not just saying that because I've been drinking wine for the last hour.

Andy 45:21

Yeah. Which again, as not as not a huge wine drinker. Maybe this just means that I like Chardonnays and I should drink them more. Okay, do it.

Siobhan 45:29

Or you should try them more.

Matt 45:30

As a whiskey guy, you might like the oak shards. Yeah, I bet you will. You could put a light-bodied cigar with this one rather easily.

Siobhan 45:37

What it might also mean is that I actually need to now try more of the Oak Chardonnay and see what I like.

Josh 45:43

Rewind to where she said she'll never have any of it.

Siobhan 45:47

Yeah, that's fine. You can rewind. No. People's minds change, everybody.

Josh 45:52

Listen, we're here to change minds and change lives, all right? This podcast changing hearts and minds since 2022. We have dessert coming up.

unknown 46:00

Ooh.

Josh 46:01

Why nine? Nine.

Matt 46:03

You guys realize we're going on three years of the podcast? Wow. No. It's been, yeah, 2023 was in the first episode. We actually started recording in 2022.

Siobhan 46:10

Okay.

Matt 46:11

But we became crazy to think about. Here's to that.

Siobhan 46:14

Oh, I like that these cups say nine and not the number nine.

Josh 46:19

Okay, so moving right up the street to Clover Hill Winery in the Lehigh Valley. Good old pencil technique. In Pennsylvania. Yep. This is a Riesling. 11.5% ABV. Yeah. Siobhan just smelled. Did you just get a cavity thing? Oh no. I don't have to taste this or smell it to know that it is going to be candy sweet because that's the kind of wine we make here in the Lehigh Valley. Oh. Does it taste like bubblegum or cotton candy?

Siobhan 46:46

I love that there's an either or.

Josh 46:48

Uh bubblegum. There you go. That tastes like straight up bubblegum. Uh-huh. So it doesn't say I didn't get that off the back of the bottle. I just want to be clear on that. The back of the bottle says Riesling houses the traditional aromas and flavors of peach, pear, and apricot. Oh, that'd be hell.

Andy 47:01

Although it is finished.

Josh 47:02

They're classifying this as semi-sweet. It has a higher acidity, which allows this wine to retain the clean, crisp finish Riesling is known for. Quote, we put the same pride, care, and concern into every bottle we make, end quote. The scrip family. So anyway, uh serve at 45 degrees. Consume

Local Sweet Riesling Reality Check

Josh 47:19

within one year. No aging for this. But there is no vintage on the bottle, so I'm not sure how you'd be sure of that. I've had Rieslings in the past.

Andy 47:27

Yeah, I'm gonna start.

Matt 47:28

I've liked Rieslings in the past. You and I are on the same page here, I have a feeling.

Andy 47:31

I have a strong aversion to the flavor of peach. And I know that's weird, but that, you know, it is.

Josh 47:36

Does it taste like peach rings? I haven't tasted it yet. You know what? It tastes like peach rings.

Andy 47:40

I knew it tastes like peach rings with bubble gum.

Josh 47:43

Yeah, some of these Pennsylvania Rieslings tend to be really artificial candy. Yeah, I am not a fan of it.

Siobhan 47:48

Honestly, it's funny because like we obviously we tasted the dry Riesling, and when I tell you, this is like could not be more of a 180.

Josh 47:56

Well, and if you recall, I said that that I said that that dry Riesling was still the sweetest that we tasted. And it was, it probably had the most residual sugar until we got to this for sure.

Siobhan 48:07

Well, and when you even talked about the full volcano smell good with this being fruit forward, when you compare this as fruit forward, anyone that calls the fruit forward one sweet needs to have this clover hill, like right after and be like, No, no, no, you think that's sweet? Try this sugar bomb. This is the sour patch kids of Riesling right now.

Matt 48:30

Liked, but that is I like I get some sweetish fish on there.

Siobhan 48:34

Yeah.

Matt 48:35

I like Riesling. I I enjoy a good Riesling. I did not realize this was going to be as sweet as it was going to be, or I would have picked a different Riesling to bring to the table.

Siobhan 48:45

Well, and here's what's up. I feel like we're also kind of shitting on this, which I kind of feel bad about because like this isn't disgusting. Listen to it.

Andy 48:53

To go back to my season one quote, I think I would choose sobriety over that one.

Siobhan 48:57

Okay, wow. That's a very hefty statement. I'm actually not like horrifically offended by this, but I it is not something I would choose to uh quote Rafiki from The Lion King.

Matt 49:10

It is time.

Josh 49:11

It is time.

Andy 49:12

I thought you were gonna start singing Ali Balming Squash Banani. Dingy Zingy Squash Banani.

Josh 49:20

Okay. You're gonna tell me. I've got them in order. You're gonna tell me where you had to be. Number one is your favorite. Number nine is your least favorite. We will add them up. The wine with the highest score out of the at the end will be our loser. The wine with the lowest score at the end, like golf, will be our winner. Right. And that's all we're gonna.

Siobhan 49:44

How we do this.

Josh 49:45

I'll go from my least favorite to my favorite. So you'll know my rankings as we go, and then you can tell me what your ranking is on them. Okay. So at number nine, I would be shocked if this isn't everyone's number nine, is the Clover Hill Reese from Lehigh Valley. Correct. Okay, so we know that's in the world. We love you, Silver Hill. Sorry, Clover Hill.

Matt 50:04

That one what knit today at the table. You're doing the Lord's work.

Siobhan 50:08

Yeah, you're doing the Lord's work.

Matt 50:09

If we would have gone sweet wine, you'd probably be up at the top. Right.

Siobhan 50:12

And I will not be here for that. I'm so sorry.

Josh 50:14

My second least favorite, I don't think is gonna be a uh clear second least favorite. My eighth place

Final Rankings Plus The Winner

Josh 50:20

wine is the Robert Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc. So, Siobhan, where did you have that? That was the first one.

Siobhan 50:26

I have that was the second one.

Josh 50:28

That was the second one. That was the second Sauve Blanc we tried. The first one was the dreaming tree.

Andy 50:33

See, I just put them in order.

Josh 50:34

Okay.

Siobhan 50:36

I had Mondavi at four.

Josh 50:37

You had Mandavi at number four. Okay.

Andy 50:40

Andy, this is the tech the second salve from California. Correct. Yes. I had that at three.

Josh 50:46

That was your third favorite, okay. And Matthew. Sixth. Sixth favorite. All right, a little bit of a spread there. Next on my list, my seventh favorite wine was the Trevento White Malbec. Siobhan, where'd you have that right?

Siobhan 51:00

I had that at eight.

Josh 51:02

Seven, an eight. Eight as well. Another eight. Five. And a five. Oh. Easy drinker. I enjoyed it. Now, in my sixth position, I go to the dreaming tree Sauvignon Blanc from California.

Siobhan 51:15

I had that at seven.

Josh 51:17

Six and a seven. Seven as well. Don't say it. Eight. A six, a seven, a seven, and an eight. Alright, number five for me, I had the Rias Baixas. That's the Spanish Alberinho.

Siobhan 51:30

The Gran Bazan? Yes. Okay, that's number two for me.

Josh 51:33

Ooh, we got a five and a two. That's a really good one. Four. You had it at a four. Three. Alright, number four for me was the Vimer. That was our dry Riesling from New York State. I had that at a five.

Andy 51:47

Okay. Smack in the middle. And the finger legs, right? Yes. That was my number two. Number two.

Josh 51:54

The wild ferment. He liked it. I liked it.

Matt 51:56

It was a good one. I put Herman deGerman at number one.

Josh 51:59

Number two. Oh, wow. I enjoyed that one quite a bit. All right, we're getting to my top three here. I had the Louis Jadeau, the Chardonnay, the steel Chardonnay from Burgundy. I had that at six. Wow. Six. The opposite, number one. One.

Siobhan 52:14

Sir, listen, when we have a nine wine and the Chardonnay is six, you know it's decent for me. So that's the deal. Yep.

Matt 52:22

I said seven. Seven.

Siobhan 52:24

Good. I don't know if I like being in Matt's lane on that one.

Josh 52:28

But here we are. And last but not least, and well, actually far from the least, for me, my top wine was the geese in Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. That was also my number one. I knew it would be your number one. That was my number six. And Matt? I said eight?

Siobhan 52:43

Did we do this one?

Josh 52:44

Oh shit. The volcano one. I had it written the wrong way.

Siobhan 52:47

I mean, we talked about it.

Josh 52:48

Yeah, but like I was like, what do you mean? We definitely tasted it. Sorry, Donna Fugata was my number two, the Sol Volcano.

Siobhan 52:53

That was also my number two.

Josh 52:54

Number two for you? My number five. Two. Two? Oh, that's three twos. Okay.

Siobhan 53:00

Actually, correction. That was my number three. Because the Grand Bazan was my number two. So I don't want to mess with our ratings. I'm so sorry. Oh, yeah, that's right. It was actually my number three.

Unfiltered Studios Guy 53:10

Math. E equals M C Hammer.

Josh 53:13

We're talking about numbers. Welcome back. Josh has done some math.

Siobhan 53:18

The math. Josh.

Josh 53:20

I'm going to read you from reverse order. We all know what's in last place. Now we're not. With an average ranking of nine. Out of four people that ranked it. Was the Clover Hill sweet, sweet, candy Riesling from the Lehigh Valley. Then in a tie for seventh place at this point. Uh two wines, both with an average ranking of seventh. The Dreaming Tree Sauvignon Blanc from California and the Trevento White Malbec from Mendoza. Moving up to sixth place with an average ranking of five point two five. We would go with the Robert Mandavi California Sauvignon Blanc. Moving into fifth place with an average ranking of four point two five is the Luigi Doe Steel Aged Chardonnay.

Siobhan 54:06

Wow.

Josh 54:07

Moving to fourth place, we had with an average ranking of four, the Geeson Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

Siobhan 54:14

What?

Josh 54:15

Yep.

Siobhan 54:16

I'm sad.

Josh 54:16

I know that had two first place votes. Oh my god. Sorry, I pulled you down.

Siobhan 54:21

Sorry, Kiwis.

Josh 54:22

We love you. Moving to third place. Moving to third place, we have our Alberinho with an average ranking of 3.5. And then our two first place winners with an average rating of third, third place, was the Vimer, which is our fingerlakes recently.

Siobhan 54:42

Yes.

Josh 54:43

And the Donna Fugata, the Sol Volcano. However, I'm going to make an executive decision, even though I'm not the executive here. And in the spirit of the Olympics, which are happening right now, and figure skating, I'm going to throw out the highest and lowest score on each of those, which would leave Donna Fugata as our winner for the day, because the highest was a five and the lowest was a three, and the other two were second places. So Donna Fugata's our winner for the day.

Siobhan 55:09

Amazing. Absolutely.

Andy 55:12

I'll definitely say like anything above what I had ranked as number seven, I would happily drink again. Agreed. Absolutely. Yeah.

Matt 55:18

Absolutely. I don't I don't think we had a bad wine on the table. Yes.

Siobhan 55:23

Oh, the that racing from Clover Hill, I don't need to see again.

Matt 55:27

One more time, our winner, please.

Josh 55:29

Full title. Our winner was the Donna Fugata Sol Vulcano Etna Bianco from 2019.

Matt 55:35

That makes it our stellar sip of the episode. Thank you very much for listening.

Outro and Podcast Information

Unfiltered Studios Guy 55:48

This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information.

Matt 55:59

This episode's boosted quote comes from the one and only Galileo Galilei, who said wine is sunlight held together by water. Would you like to suggest something for us to drink? Give us some feedback, or have your brand featured on Matt and Friends Drink the Universe? We would love to hear from all of our listeners. Please check our episode descriptions down below for links to send us a text, support the podcast, and visit our merch store. To keep up with our latest news or share your stellar ships with us, please like and follow Matt Friends DTU on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Threads, Blue Sky, and Reddit. For more information about the podcast and links to all of our episodes, please visit www.mattfriendsdtu.com. That's MattfriendsdTU.com. Cheers, friends.