Women Rule in Blending Whitecliff Winery's 2012 Sky Island

The blending began with a little 2009 Whitecliff Sparkling to cleanse our palate. Great sparkling at that!  

The subjects at hand were 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot. 

The mission, to come up with Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery's 2012 Sky Island blend. 

Tasting panel included 3 of Whitecliff's winemakers, 3 women and 2 male guests for a total of 8.

Six blends later a decision was made.  First was the chart that was filled in as each blend was mixed

                            Blend 1              Blend 2           Blend 3            Blend 4        Blend 5             Blend 6

Cabernet Sauvignon	62.5%	47.5%	50%	30%	75%	62.5%
Cabernet Franc	10%	25%	25%	30%	10%	15%
Petit Verdot	2.5%	2.5%	4%	4%	2.5%	2.5%
Malbec	6%	6%	6%	4%	2.5%	5%
Merlot	19%	19%	15%	32%	10%	15%

Blend 1 lots of black cherry and blackberry

Blend 2 black fruit, nice soft pepper spice on finish that fell off as time went on, better aromatics

Blend 3 more red berry, nothing stands out, PV overpowers all the fruit of the other varietals

Blend 4 black fruit, little green pepper notes

Blend 5 nice fruit hint of black pepper on finish, but some green notes throughout. 

Blend 6 big nose, nice, taste the CF at first that then mellows out

After tasting blend 5 we tasted the Cabernet Sauvignon alone and it was one of the best NY Cabernet Sauvignons I've tasted.  We all agreed that this should be bottled as a stand alone, however we were vetoed by the head winemaker due to supply constraints.

Voting time came and it was between Blend 1 and Blend 6.......It was a tie, however all 3 women voted for Blend 6.  Woo Hoo...we dominated and backed it up with good reason for our choice.  All 3 winemakers voted for Blend 1.  Women rule and women dominate most of wine purchases...so Blend 6 it will be.  You will have to wait until the Fall at the earliest to even give this a try.

First Blending Trials of Happy Bitch Wines

You, the extraordinary woman, became our profile to create Happy Bitch Wine. What, in our minds, defines an extraordinary woman? an extraordinary wine!

With that in mind, we sat at the tasting table.  Me, Paul, Keryl, Craig and the Winemaster. Ten groupings sat in front of us, each the different dosage, but with different base blends.  Group A was all the same base Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and Group B was Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Let the fun begin!  That's 10 different blends to try.  Got to remember to spit!

Here are some of my tasting notes:

Appearance: Orangish, Salmon, Medium Salmon, Rougher, Orange,

Nose: Smarties, Sweeter - more aroma, nice-upbeat,

Taste: Dry - too dry, more flavor, flavor better than A but could be more, little sweeter, nice mouth feel, nice flavor, to sweet.

Paul's comments were a bit different: He didn't comment on the appearance.  Guess that is a girl thing. 

Nose: pear to melon, musty at first, fruity, dark fruit, candied, clean, fresh, strawberry, flat, clean

Taste: dry, citrus finish, not much fruit, tannic, slightly acidic, better balance, much 
heavier, flat, slightly , balance, sweet, no acidity, sweet.


Craig's notes were better nose, great mouth feel, floral


Keryl's tasting notes were are pulled from emotion: fun, fruity, happy and yummy!  Ok...she knows what she likes and wants to have fun with it!

Once we decided that 4A met our criteria we set up an appointment for tasting # 2.  At this tasting we will be deciding on the three blends to bring with us to the Hudson Valley Wine Fest.  It is at the festival that you yes YOU, will decide on the first blend.