Friends & Family Preview: The Tasting Lineup
Thank you for joining us as we previewed Cork and Copper. Below is the full lineup from the evening: what was poured, the pairing notes, and the thinking behind each bottle we chose. Use it as a refresher, a reference for your next bottle, or an excuse to pour two glasses side by side and keep exploring.
One thing to remember: tasting notes are guideposts, not answers. You may find everything listed here, something completely different, or a little of both. That discovery is part of the fun.
Cune Reserva 2020 & Buffalo Trace
Wine
Whiskey
Pairing Notes
Cune Reserva 2020 pours ruby with hints of garnet around the edge, a first clue that the wine has had some time to develop. On the nose, you may find red and black cherry alongside dried florals, vanilla, clove, cedar, and toast, with touches of leather or earth underneath. On the palate, notice the freshness from the acidity and the gentle drying sensation of the tannin. The wine spends 18 months in American and French oak, and that time in barrel helps build many of those vanilla, spice, and toasted notes.
Buffalo Trace speaks a similar language. Vanilla and baking spice lead into honey, brown sugar, and dark fruit, followed by a lingering spiced finish. Taste the two side by side and pay attention to what seems to travel from one glass to the other. That familiar vanilla, spice, and toast? There’s a good chance it’s the shared influence of oak talking in both.
Why We Chose It
We wanted the first pairing to give everyone an easy way into one of our favorite ideas at Cork and Copper: wine and whiskey may come from different traditions, but they often have more in common than we realize. Rioja's time in oak creates flavors that feel immediately familiar next to a bourbon like Buffalo Trace. That common thread makes it easier to move between the glasses, compare what you're experiencing, and begin seeing how the two worlds connect. It was a natural place to start the evening and a foundation for everything that followed.
Mousset MM Vinsobres Rouge 2023 & The Balvenie DoubleWood 12
Wine
Whisky
Pairing Notes
The Mousset Vinsobres moves us into something darker, richer, and more layered. Raspberry, strawberry and black cherry may show up first, followed by violet, white pepper, black olive and a savory, earthy character underneath. Much of that complexity comes from the blend itself: Grenache brings ripe red fruit and warmth, while Syrah adds darker fruit, pepper, structure and savory notes. On the palate, it is fuller-bodied than the Cune, with more tannin and richness, while enough acidity remains to keep everything lively.
The Balvenie DoubleWood is floral and fruity with honey, vanilla, and a touch of hay on the nose, moving into honey, licorice and dried fruit on the palate, with a medium finish of wood and spice. This whisky approaches complexity from a completely different direction. After maturing in traditional whisky casks, it spends additional time in European oak sherry casks, layering fruit and honeyed richness over vanilla and spice. Alongside the Vinsobres, we found the whisky softened some of the wine's edges while bringing forward an unexpected grassy note on the finish. And those little surprises are exactly why we like tasting these together.
Why We Chose It
With the second pairing, we wanted to explore a simple question: Where does complexity come from? In the wine, two grape varieties bring different characteristics together in the same bottle. In the whisky, two types of cask contribute different layers during maturation. Different processes. Different traditions. A surprisingly similar idea. The Balvenie's fruit, honey, and gentle spice also make it an inviting introduction to single malt Scotch, particularly for someone more familiar with bourbon. Most importantly, the pairing gives you something to explore. Go back and forth between the two glasses and see how each changes your impression of the other.
Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 & Angel’s Envy Finished Rye
Wine
Whiskey
Pairing Notes
For the final pairing, we turned everything up a little. Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel is darker and more concentrated than the wines before it, with ripe black plum, blackberry, black cherry, raspberry, and dried fig alongside cardamom, baking spice, and even a little chocolate-covered cherry. It is full-bodied and generous, but acidity and ripe tannin give all of that fruit enough structure to stay balanced. And despite the name on the bottle, Zinfandel isn't working alone. Petite Sirah, Carignane, Alicante Bouschet, and other red varieties contribute additional color, structure, and complexity.
Then comes the rye. Angel's Envy Rye Finished in Caribbean Rum Casks brings spice and sweetness together: caramel, maple, vanilla, baking spice, oak, and rich rum-influenced sweetness all find their way into the glass. Try it after the Zinfandel and see what happens. During our tasting, the pairing seemed to pull caramelized and sweeter notes forward in the wine while the rye's spice kept everything from becoming too rich.
Why We Chose It
We wanted the final pairing to feel like a finish. The Seghesio is the biggest and most concentrated wine of the lineup, while Angel's Envy brings the unmistakable spice of rye balanced by the richness and sweetness contributed by its rum-cask finish. Both have plenty going on individually. Together, they give you even more to explore. It also brings the evening full circle. We started with oak as a shared connection between wine and whiskey and finished by seeing how additional influences, old vines, blending, rye grain, and a finishing cask, can push familiar flavors in completely new directions.