Look! What's on Tap? Provisions Pinot Gris (Original First Tasting date: 08/28/18)
Happy Saturday Nooksters! Today we are bringing to you something very exciting. We’re starting a fun project that we hope you guys love as much as we have so far. Because of how adamantly we’ve been singing the praises of box wine, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. Wine Nook is starting box wine reviews!
Besides wanting to share our love of box wine, what made us decide to do this? Well, Wine Nook is growing everyday, and as we’ve grown, we’ve decided we want to be a resource for box wine lovers everywhere. The box wine industry in the United States is growing too. This means more and more premium box wines are being produced and are waiting to be enjoyed. Here’s where we come in. We want to take the guesswork out of buying and trying box wine. So if there’s a box wine you want to see us review, let us know! You just may see it here very soon ;).
Our humble tasters are Cindy Saadeh and Kim Snider-aka our lovely Co-Founder and Creative Director, respectively. They’ve agreed these tastings should be blind. Meaning, they won’t be reading the tasting notes provided by the wine companies beforehand. They will be giving their genuine first impressions and thoughts for each wine.
It’s important to note, we aren’t wine experts. We’re wine enthusiasts! We like to think we have moderately good “noses” for wine. But in a way, isn’t this more realistic? Would you rather know what master sommelier Jean from Paris says is the best wine to serve with your sole meunière? Or would you rather know what your best friend says is the best wine to serve to your with dinner to your party guests? I thought so.
The Set-Up
A light lunch with wine is always a good idea. We decided to taste the Provisions Pinot Gris on this bright, summer day. We had chilled the wine in advance, and we both paired lunch perfectly for a white wine. Think: a light salad with berries, walnuts, and vinaigrette, maybe a fresh panini. We poured about 4 oz of wine each into our stemless glasses.
The Tasting
Every good wine tasting starts off with inhalation. Half the flavor of a wine is in the aroma after all. I first took a large inhalation of the bouquet with my nose deep in my glass. Cindy did the same. My first reaction was that I took in the aroma of wet cement. After looking through some descriptions, ‘wet stone’ seemed to fit my initial perception. I noted that pear fruit was my second impression. For Cindy, pear was her only impression. The “wet stone” impression is interesting. Wines aren’t famous for their ability to preserve mineral content after grape harvesting and wine fermentation. Therefore, this aroma of “wet stone” is probably a “...combination of natural grape acidity and tangy sulphur-bearing compounds produced by yeast during fermentation,” At least according to The Globe and Mail (LINK) https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/wine/how-can-wine-taste-like-stone-or-maybe-wine-writers-are-getting-stoned-on-other-things/article18590404/
The next step is the taste. A sip, a swirl, and a flourish. Cindy noted that the wine was crisp, tasted of pear, and had a dry finish. I also tasted pear, but after an initial salty burst. And yes, the wine was dry.
How Do We Compare?
The wine is described as, “Light and refreshing, with melon and candied lemon aromas, this Pinot Gris’ grapefruit and floral flavors linger on a balanced, zesty finish. Well. We didn’t get lemon or citrus at all! Maybe we can attribute the pear we detected as the soft melon flavors we were supposed to taste? We definitely agree it was light and refreshing!
Final Thoughts
- The wine was dry, crisp, and light.
- The dominant flavor we detected was Pear.
- We thought it paired well with our lunch picks, but we think it would go even better with seafood.
- We see this wine as a perfect option for brunch or a bridal luncheon.
- Overall, we would give this 4 out of 5 Taps, and would definitely serve this to guests!
– Lindyn Snider
