Hi, it’s Tim from Elma Wine & Liquor. Thank you for joining us for another video. As you can see here I have some more wines open today. We are going to be tasting through five wines, there’s a Riesling, a White Blend, a Pinot Noir, a Red Blend, and a Cabernet. I will start with the Riesling, as you should typically work from white to red as long as the white is not overly sweet which this one shouldn’t be.

German Riesling from Mosel

Up first is Nik Weiss Selection Urban Riesling. This is from the Mosel region of Germany. The Mosel region is famous for its Rieslings. The soil conditions are a lot of slate which helps hold the sunlight sun during the evening hours so that they get a little extra heat even after sunset. This one has a really nice nose, bright fruit, and apples. Some apples in the sip as well, a little bit of acidity on the finish which would make it go really well with some spicy foods like Thai or Indian, maybe even some chicken wings. Very nice wine. A little bit of sweetness but not too overpoweringly sweet.

Napa Valley White Blend

Next up is Conundrum white blend. This is a white blend from Napa Valley California. It is made by the Wagner family, they’ve been making wine for decades in Napa Valley. Their white blend is pretty well-known, served pretty commonly throughout the area. Very pale color, very interesting wine. It starts dry and finishes with some sweetness to it, that’s probably because of the grapes that they’re using to blend it. I don’t know exactly what they’re using but I’d say there’s some Chardonnay in there and probably something sweet like a Moscato or Riesling; just small amounts. Very well-rounded, not too acidic just a good sipping wine. Doesn’t need food, you can just drink it on its own.

Russian River Pinot Noir

Next up we have Böen Russian River Pinot Noir. This is also made by the Wagner family. The grapes come from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County California. Russian River is very well known for its Pinot Noirs as well as the Chardonnays. The Böen has a very nice color to it, it’s ruby-purplish in color. Lots of really ripe cherries and berries upfront, a little hint of smoke and spice on the finish. Very nice wine. The Wagner family tends to make the Reds very juicy, very full bodied. This is a little bit heavy for a Pinot Noir but it’s a great wine. Really enjoyed drinking that one.

South African Red Blend

Next up we have Wolftrap Red Blend. This is from South Africa. It’s a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, and Viognier. If you remember our last video and if you haven’t seen it yet go back one episode, I talked about Mourvedre grape. It’s a little bit of an unusual lesser-known grape but I enjoy it very much. This is also pretty dark in color and has a very different kind of nose; that’s the Mourvedre coming through. Lots of Earth, richness and smoky leather, a lot of tannins but still soft and still goes down pretty easily.

The Viognier is actually a white grape. Some red wine makers like to blend in a little bit of white to help smooth or round out their wine. That’s what the Viognier does in this case. A nice wine. If you haven’t had any South African wines, I really recommend you to try some. They do some great quality at very good price points. This Wolftrap is no exception to that.

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Last up we have Faust Napa Valley Cabernet. This has been one of our best sellers in this price category of a Napa Valley Cabernet. The Faust winery is run by a Chilean man. He had some wineries in Chili, sold some of them, and moved to California to focus on California wines.

This Cab is very rich. I get lots of blackberries and some blueberries on the nose. A very little bit of jamminess up front but immediately evolves and starts grabbing your mouth with that tannin and some of the acidity. It leaves you wanting more! It doesn’t completely dry out your mouth but it leaves you wanting more. This is one that can definitely drink a lot more of, a very nice wine, very well made. It’s been very popular lately.

That was our show for today. If you have questions or comments about any of these wines or anything we talked about today, please don’t hesitate to ask. We look forward to them. We really enjoy the feedback and the questions we’ve been getting and hope to get more of them. Thanks very much for watching. Hope to see you soon. Cheers.

Products featured in this video:
Nik Weiss Urban Riesling, Böen Pinot Noir, Wolftrap Red Blend, & Faust Napa Cabernet