A few weeks ago, I join a local wine tasting tour... I may use a few posts to write down this wine tasting experience.
＊未成年請勿飲酒＊飲酒過多有礙身體健康＊

The first winery is Beauregard Vineyards. Here, we tasted 2007 Lake County Sauvignon Blanc, 2006 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, 2005 Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot Noir, 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Syrah and 2005 Late Harvest Zinfandel.

Compare the two whites, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The Sauvignon Blanc they have has lighter wine (alcohol) smell. However, when you breathe near the wine glass, you can nose out a smell of peaches, and the same while you drink. The Chardonnay has stronger smell with some fruits flavors. A little bit acidity does not break the balance, but make the tastes better instead. For me, I like the Sauvignon Blanc, because of the smell and taste of peaches.

The follows two are reds. The Pinot Noir has stronger smell of berry fruits, and with some spice smells. The tannins are great and tastes friendly. The Syrah has peppercorn with notes of berry fruits, but the smells and tastes of berries are lighter that the Pinot Noir. However, it tastes smoother than the Pinot Noir, but the tannins are not as good as the Pinot Noir.

The last one is the Late Harvest Zinfandel, a red wine. It tastes like a dessert wine, with the sweet of pepper and the smell of chocolate. And its liquid is denser than the Pinot Noir and the Syrah. The tannins are not harsh and taste very smooth. This wine is my first choice in this winery.

The 2nd winery is Hallcrest. We had picnic lunch here with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. The most impressive is the Cabernet Sauvignon. I never had Cabernet Sauvignon and other reds at the same time, so I can not fully understand the appreciation of Cabernet Sauvignon from the red wine tasting world. Here, this time, I had Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. After tasting these two reds, I finally understood why there are a lot of appreciation of Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon really has full body and the smells are fabulous. While drinking, the tannins expand in your mouth and has a longer remain than other reds. Cabernet Sauvignon may not as fashion as Pinot Noir, Syrah, etc. which have some special smells or tastes, but its "standard" smells and tastes of reds are really invincible.