Drink This Now: #1

This is my first lesson from the Drink this Now! textbook, and I enjoyed this one. I decided to do the first lesson in the textbook, and i used a Merlot because that is what I had. I still tried to follow the lesson as close as I could! Below is the description of the wine that I used for this lesson:

Name: Flora & Stone Merlot

Variety: Merlot

Region: Hopland, CA

Country: USA

Year: 2018

Price: $7.99

Winery Review: An invitation to indulge, this merlot is a tapestry of dark fruit with a sumptuous toasted oak finish. It is composed of grapes from select California vineyards, whose diverse landscapes create a mosaic in the glass. From this unique tangle of flora, stone and sky comes a velvety red with plush tannins backed by notes of black plum, cherry, and clove.

Vivino Rating: 3.5 stars

Wine Folly: Pg. 131: Merlot is known for its black cherry flavors with a smoky or chocolaty finish. It is high in alcohol and body, and is also high in acids and tannins. Merlot is a low-sweetness wine. The main tasting notes on most bottles of Merlot is cherry, plum, chocolate, dried herbs, and vanilla.

During the First Tasting (3/20/2025): The first time I tasted this wine was on Thursday, and I did not decant it in any way. I really enjoyed this wine. From tasting the wine alone, I picked up on plum, black cherry, clove, and dried herb notes. I noted that it was tannic and acidic, but not too much. When I tasted it with the cheese and meat that I picked up, I noticed that the goat cheese overpowered the berry flavors of the wine. I did not think that the cheese and wine that I picked up was supposed to be paired together, as they did not compliment each other too well, but I still enjoyed them separately. 

During the Second Tasting (3/23/2025): I tried this wine again on Sunday, after leaving the cork off of the bottle of three days. This decanted the wine and I noticed that most of the flavors were the same, but I noticed the clove flavor was slightly stronger than it was before. The tannins and acids within the wine were definitely softer and were not as strong as the first time I tried this wine. Overall, I liked the second time that I tried the wine better because it was less harsh and was easier to drink. I also tasted the wine with the same foods that i tried it with the first time and I thought the pairing and flavors were pretty much the same.