My #1 favorite quality about this wine is the screw top cap. Not that I’m lazier than I am thirsty but, you know, sometimes it’s a close call.
My #2 favorite quality about 2015 Central Coast Pinot Noir from Cupcake Vineyards is that it makes an excellent companion to the new remake of Stephen King’s “IT”.
On a side note, should you happen to be cast in a movie and your character’s name is Georgie, it’s a safe bet that your total screen time will be less than five minutes, three of which will be minus an arm. Additionally, don’t talk to clowns in gutters.
There is a predictable amount of oak in Cupcake wines and their Pinot Noir delivers although it is not as oaky as Red Velvet or Black Forest Decadent Red. Still delicious though. Smooth drinking with a nice cherry finish. Cupcake claims it is the alternating bright sun and cool maritime fog of the Central Coast that delivers the skillz to pay the billz. Between you and me, I think it’s the Miracle Gro.
“But how do you know,” I ask, “have you met many angels?”
“Does an angel send you selfies?”
He still says it’s not an angel.
I have to say that there is absolutely nothing about this wine from Cupcake Vineyards that resembles angel food cake.
Not even a little bit.
I would also like to point out that the wine is called Angel Food and not Angel Food Cake. Ergo, you will not see me getting all butt hurt because it doesn’t taste like cake.
You know, just sayin’.
To the contrary, the first sips taste very strongly of granny smith apple. If the label read “Apple Wine”, I wouldn’t have even questioned it.
One of these days I’ll learn to open the wine prior to when I want to drink it.
The reason I say that is because after half an hour or so, somewhere in the 2nd glass, the flavor did mellow out considerably and the sweeter, softer qualities began to come through.
The label describes it as a “creamy mouthful”, which is an unfortunate choice of words, but I concur that after it’s been open for awhile, Angel Food, is indeed creamy and slightly sweet.
Xavier particularly likes white wines that have these types of qualities and when I asked him what he thought it tasted like he said, “It tastes like the past tense. We need to get another bottle.”
There is a McDonald’s in the same parking lot as my office. I am always starving when I leave work and have the same argument with myself over and over again. Playing like a broken record in the soundtrack of my own personal hell, the internal conflict goes something like this, “Let’s stop at McDonald’s. I know it’s overpriced and poisonous but can’t we do it just this once? Please…..”
Immediately countered by my condescending Jiminy Cricket, “So you want to be fat and sick? You’re trying to get diabetes? No, absolutely not, we have food at home. Besides, if you want to waste money on something unhealthy, spend it on wine.”
I’m not a slob after all, I have standards when it comes to choosing a poison.
Some of you may wonder why I couldn’t be kinder and gentler to myself and splurge on both?
Can’t a hardworking gal have a Royale With Cheese and tasty glass of Chardonnay?
No.
Mixing wine with McDonald’s is like dropping Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke.
Xavier and I sat on the couch watching Wine For The Confused with John Cleese and sipping our ice cold glasses of Chardonnay.
It didn’t taste the way I expected. A little harsh, a little tart, a little not like the description on the product label.
Then John Cleese said that wine is often served too cold and I remembered the label on the Chardonnay from Linganore Winery. It read “serve at 55-60 degrees”.
Hmmm.
I decided to let my glass sit for awhile, you know, for science.
As it turns out, Chardonnay is not Bud Light and ice cold is not it’s ideal state.
I wouldn’t have thought that it should make any difference but as the wine warmed an incredible transformation began to take place.
A wine that I initially didn’t care for suddenly became full of delicious flavor.
I’ve read the official tasting notes including the description of what this wine is supposed to taste like. Maybe some people can actually pick out all of those things, caramel and caterpillar legs, but for me the dominant flavors were apple, butter, and oak.
The apple was quite prominent and it reminded me of a fancy, wine-esque, apple cider that I tried recently when I attended a party at Blue Bee Cider in Richmond, VA. It is called Charred Ordinary, an obvious play on the word Chardonnay, and it was hands down the best apple cider I’ve ever had. Blue Bee makes a cider that almost tastes like Chardonnay and Cupcake Vineyards makes a Chardonnay that almost tastes like cider. I would love to do a side by side comparison some day.
My thoughts: I enjoyed the 2014 Chardonnay from Cupcake Vineyards, especially after allowing it to warm up a bit. For best results serve at just slightly cooler than room temperature. Additionally, during the 2nd glass watch the Top Gear episode featuring the Reliant Robin.
At 13.5% alcohol, everything is funnier is wine.
Trust The Devil You Know 