by Miranda
“Wine adds a smile to friendship and a spark to love.” Edmondo de Amicis
Coffee has always been my preferred drink for any occasion–and 90% of the time it remains to be; however, most will tell you when pursuing a life of elegance, sophistication and affluence it is important to know your wines. That is not to say you need to be on the level of a sommelier, but you should have some knowledge as to what wines suit different meals, occasions, and most importantly your taste. Depending on where you live and the network you have, it is also just as equally important to have some knowledge of spirits and liquors, but that is a conversation for another time. For now, I want to focus on wine.
Now if you cannot tolerate alcoholic, by no means would I recommend trying the wines I will be sharing in this series. If you frequently host or plan events, it may be something you want to keep in the back of your noggin though. There will be many occasions where knowing wines will come in handy. For this reason, I have started a personal inquiry of wines and thought it might be not only intriguing, but helpful to share my findings. By no means am I an expert, as you know coffee is my heart’s drink, yet on a “wine’s quest”, so to speak, I will be sharing the wines that I try, my thoughts on them, and a rating in this new wine tasting series.
Before diving in, I do want to offer some background. I do have astute tastes and do not tolerate dry, bitter, or spicy tastes well. My preferences are sweet–seriously sweet; so sometimes even dessert wines are not sweet enough for me. I tend to go for sweet and semi-sweet white wines, sparkling wines, and champagnes. Due to this, I would definitely suggest taking this into account when trying these wines.
With out further ado, I will be starting the wine tasting series with a pop cult favorite, the brand Stella Rosa, with their Stella Rosa Platinum French Vanilla.
Background
This is a white wine made in Italy and considered to be a part of the Moscato variety. It has 5% ABV. According to its flavor profile it has crisp green apple, vanilla, and elderflower. It also made with honey. The Stella Rosa Platinum French Vanilla is a part of Stella Rosa’s Luxury collection. It is suggested to be paired with aged parmesan, cheddar cheese, shrimp fajitas, grilled pork chops, summer salads, and coffee cake.
Tasting
The wine has a lovely light golden-lime color which changes depending on how you hold it up to the light. When I tried the wine, I did not sniff the aroma, for the reason being that sometimes this can influence or negate subtle tastes, such as vanilla. I also did not read the flavor profile before trying as that too can influence tastes.
I tasted the wine right out of the fridge and after having it sit close to room temp (68 F) which also affected the taste. The wine has a smooth bubbly feel going down. Straightaway you can taste the green apple which, in my opinion, over powers the light tastes. The vanilla flavor comes as an after taste, and I actually noticed more of the honey and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on at the time that I now assume to be the elderflower. The semi-sweetness is pleasant with the green apple flavor. The longer the wine sits, the stronger the green apple flavor tastes. Smelling the wine’s aroma afterwards, the green apple is incredibly strong and the undertones of the other flavors were fairly faint to me.
Rating and Recommendations
Overall, I would rate the wine a 4.7, only because I did not get enough vanilla and that is a flavor, I particularly like. For some reason this wine gives me vibes from Alice in Wonderland and Snow White. This could be because of the curious taste between the flavors, and obviously, who wouldn’t think of Snow White when trying a wine with apple flavors.
If you do not like green apple, I would not suggest trying this because that is the dominant flavor; but if you do, go for it! It is reasonably sweet; of course, I could always go for a touch more, but it doesn’t cause my face to scrunch up, so that’s good in my book. In addition to the brand suggestions, I would also recommend pairing this wine with a brown sugar glazed salmon, bread pudding, crème brulee, and white cheddar macaroni. Drink chilled!
What is your wine preference? Would this be a wine that you would try? If you have, let us know, we would love to hear about more experiences with this wine!
Modestly Miranda 
I really enjoy wine and living in British Columbia Canada we have some amazing wines here. The wine you’re featuring sounds delicious – I don’t mind a bit of crisp apple taste in my wines. My preferences are towards drier wines – with Syrahs, Cab Franc and Merlots being my favourite reds. Our whites represent many of the stone fruits – peaches and apricots etc that are grown in the same area. I love Chardonnay, Bacchus and Gewurztraminer and the occasional rose. Thanks for sharing!
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