Wine Tasting - "Ox-Eye Riesling 2010"

Name: Ox-Eye Vineyards Riesling 2010

Variety: Riesling

Region: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia

Country: U.S.A.

Year: 2012

Price: $18.00

Winery Review (3/31/2012): My original wine tasting for Ox-Eye Vineyards was at the end of march, and was the first of three different wineries visited that day (included Barren-Ridge and Trump Vineyards). It was a different concept to my wine tasting experiences. Instead of being in the middle of rolling hills or a vineyard, the tasting was in a separate historic room in downtown Stanton. It was a very intimate, casual tasting and we received undivided attention the through the entire visit. We were also fortunate enough to go on the vineyards anniversary so the tasting was half-price! Thinking about that day of wonderful wine, each was very different from one another but Ox-Eye stuck out as all around enjoyable experience.  All of the six wines tasted were excellent and I ended up purchasing the Riesling along with the Cabernet Franc 2009. 

 

My Review (5/14/2012): My initial wine tasting was a couple of months ago and hard to remember specifics, so I enjoyed finally opening up this Riesling again. The bouquet of the wine was more dynamic that other Rieslings I have purchased, which tend to be bland on the nose. Somewhat of a citrus smell and I also picked up on how acidic it would taste through the nose of the wine. My initial taste was overwhelmed with tropical fruits and then a second go left me with more of a sweet honey flavor. Not too sweet or dry. And then I proceeded, along with a friend, to finish the bottle. A side note, I have found my increasing preference towards wine with a honey flavor. Very refreshing and has a great zing of acidity (balanced well with cheese and cracker). By far, one of my favorite white wines perfect for summer at a reasonable price. Will be driving to Stanton to purchase more!

At wine tasting it was served with gigantic oyster crackers. My most recent tasting with my purchased bottle was accompanied by water crackers and laughing cow creamy Swiss cheese wedges. I personally love having crackers and cheese with wine because it coats my mouth and softens the effect of the wine’s flavor, making it extremely drinkable – which I prefer.