I was a bit nervous having others taste the wine we recently bottled. I knew it was better than plonk, but would others agree. It was tested last night when we opened a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot a 90/10 blend and a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon/Tannat an 80/20 blend. Both wines were recently bottled and curiosity got the better of us so we decided to have these two wines with dinner at Bucci Ristorante in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan.

Both Bucci and his wife Shpresa, along with my brothers tasted the wines and passed judgment. Bucci has a great palate and my brother, Tim, has a California Cabernet Sauvignon palate. The verdict was surprisingly good. Just because I liked a wine doesn’t mean that others would like it.

My brother, Todd and his wife Vicki liked the Cab/Merlot blend. This wine has mild tannins, light to medium body and a black fruit and spice taste. The wine is drinkable now however should be bottle-aged for some time.

The Cab/Tannat, however, was the clear winner for the evening. It too offered black fruit and spice taste, however there were more layers on the taste. There were bold tannins that Bucci, Shpresa, Tim as well as Kathy and I liked. Although this wine can benefit from bottle aging it is quite good now. It matched well with food. I recalled that a few California winemakers said that blending Cab and Tannat was not a good idea. That touch (20 percent) of Tannat bumped up the tannins and darkened the Cab a bit. The blend seemed to be married well. The Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from Lake County while the Tanat was sourced from Virginia.

Although Kathy and I decided to make wine to improve our wine writing and interviewing, now we are faced with a decision of whether to continue to make wines. It’s motivational to hear positive comments about a wine from people who have a good palate for wine.

Cheers,
Terry