After reading wine or coffee tasting notes, people often ask us questions like this. For instance, just today, someone wondered if there were bits of raspberries in one of our coffees because the tasting notes mentioned aromas of smokey raspberries. The answer of course is no – we do not add any flavors to our Vampire Wines or Vampire Coffee. No real winery does that. It’s just when describing what a wine or coffee tastes like, people often refer to the aromas they smell as they sip and taste.
Wine Tasting Notes for Chardonnay
One of the most common aromas in chardonnay is apple. This aroma occurs naturally in most chardonnay-growing regions. And during the fermentation process that some chardonnays go through, that apple aroma is transformed into a creamy sensation. So, the chardonnay is sometimes referred to as creamy once it goes through a malolactic fermentation. (Malo refers to apples, and lactic refers to milk.)
Wine Tasting Notes for Pinot Noir
Similarly, Pinot Noirs are often said to evoke cherry aromas, but unlike a cherry coke, no one adds cherry flavor. Instead, those cherry aromas originate from the dirt from which the grapes are grown, which brings us to terroir, the fancy-sounding French word. There really is truth to the whole “terroir” concept. Pinot Noir wine made from grapes in one part of the world will taste different from Pinot Noir wine made from grapes in a different part of the world.
The Flavors of Vampire Vineyards
When we first moved our wine production from Transylvania to Paso Robles, we of course tasted lots of cabernet wines from Paso Robles, and we had that a-ha moment. There is truth to the terroir mystique, and because of this, tasting notes reflect the aromas one picks up from the earth from which the grapes come from.
With that said, have a try of our Vampire Pinot Noir or Vampire Chardonnay, and see if you pick up aromas of cherry in our pinot or a smooth creamy or a buttery sensation in our chardonnay.
Cheers!
The Count