Wine Tasting Blog: Cupcake Pinot Grigio

This input into my wine blog is a result of my girlfriend's affinity for white wines. I have not tried very many white wines, and finally decided to get a low priced white for tasting. I have had this brand of wine in the past, and while it isn't expensive, it was relatively good, which is why I chose it. It is a 2011 Cupcake Vineyards Pinot Grigio. It comes from a northern wine-producing vineyard in Italy. I bought it for about $9 bucks from Kroger and brought it to my girlfriends place so that she could help me in the wine tasting process. Here is a quick review of the wine from cellartracker.com:

Everything from Cupcake tastes good. Was somewhat sceptical about their Pinot Grigio, and was glad to be proven wrong. This wine has enough depth and character to almost pass for a Sauvignon Blanc. Greenish gold color. The nose is a little closed, definitely showing some lemon and lime with a touch of greeness. Very nice job with the acid, which does not overpower the fruit, leaving everything nicely balanced. The citrus, lemon pear fruit is farly subdued. There is a shale type minerality. Good mouthfeel. Refreshing finish.

- Mike Kopanski, cellartracker.com

So since this was my first REAL tasting of white wine where I actually looked for flavors and aromas, I did not expect to get much out of it due to my lack of experience. But I actually had a revelation! I did the swirl, smell, and taste routine, and when asked what I tasted I replied "pears...and lemons". When I said that my girlfriends responded with "did you read the label?" But I hadn't! I had actually sensed these fruits in the wine, and I can honestly say that I have not been able to do this as fast or as sure in any other wines that I have blogged about so far! So either I had a stroke of white wine beginners luck, or I am actually getting the hang of this tasting thing. Furthermore, since the wine is called Cupcake (and I got my girlfriend cupcakes for valentine's day), I sampled this wine with cupcakes and they went very well together. I don't know if these wines are often paired with desserts, but the chocolate flavors and fruitiness of the wine went together pretty nicely. In any case I would certainly recommend this wine to a friend, unless they specialize in whites, then maybe it could be a bit cheap for their taste.