Wine Reviews You can Use

Nice purple hue with aromas of pungent tart pie berries,  (sill cold) Palate--Baked berry pie, nice stricture, rich body with lightly bittered mid palate, more fruit in the finish that lingers. I bought this $24 Zin marked down to $12 at my fave out of state liquor store. It's a big wine, lot's of flavor, well made.  Should have bought more...  The story of my life.  (I once owned Apple at $16 and sold it........ Yup.  LOL raise a glass! 

  Lovely black cherry hue with aromas of dark berry, with a very subtle flash of fresh ripe dark grapes, Chinese Five Spice.   Palate--Delicious, fresh dark berries, savory spice with loads of subtle flavors that again, need to open up.  Thus far out of the gate I am impressed!  This comes in around the $12 price point but can be found for a couple bucks cheaper.  It is definitely a player and a value Cab that doesn't taste "manufactured." The vast majority of wines at this price point made in the USA tend to be a bit offensive in that they sport the Cabernet label but it just doesn't taste like anything other than a "popular wine product."  Now does this taste like classic Cabernet Napa/Sonoma style?  NO!  Does it taste like Cabernet Washington state style?  NO.  It tastes like Cabernet that has been made carefully and with some finesse. It will get better over the next 3 years and will hold for another 3 or more.  Raise a glass!

Very pale yellow nearly clear, with big aromas of luxuriant tropical fruits, sweet banana flavored candies, (think marshmallow circus peanut candy of a day now gone)  Lemon juice, and mango. Palate--Mouth filling flavors of super sweet fresh squeezed lemons, and tropical fruit salad, green melon and not a touch of *grass.  Fumé blanc which is Sauvignon Blanc was coined by the Napa Valley icon, Robert Mondavi. This Fumé was vinified in Stainless steel without a touch of oak.  It is bone dry and yet super "sweet." Which means there is basically no residual sugar and yet due to the uber fruitiness of the grapes, it tastes sweet.  And the reason I put an * by the word grass, is that most Sauvignon Blancs I have tasted from all around the world have a characteristic "grassy" bouquet.  This one does not. I paid a bargain price for this at around $10 but sells more around the $16 price point.  At either price it is a keeper. I am serving scallops on a bed of Basmati pilaf

  Pinot hue with light crystalline burgundy red hue with aromas of Raspberry hints, cinnamon red hots very gentle, spice Palate--Lively minerals on the front palate, robust structure, lovely slightly tart raspberry and strawberry flavors with a gentle lingering of strawberry fruit.  I paid $10 for this Pinot from the Central Coast of Ca. and it's quite a nice wine for the price! Raise a glass!

  First impression is a subdued bouquet on an almost inky dark black cherry hue.  Loads of savory spices edge their way through the yet too cold wine brought up from my temp. controlled cellar. Cigar ash, with loads of Dark cranberry and minerals at the outset.  Palate--Intense dark fruit with gentle tannins, a touch weak structure, rather simple, a fleeting finish. This is a 20 megaton fruit bomb which a lot of wine people don't care for or at least they say they don't... (Insert snide looking smirk here) A super fruity, rich, uncomplicated wine seems to be anathema to some trying to be "wine aficionados."  I DO understand the legitimate sentiments on this point but they fail on the fact that that people like what they LIKE! I am confident that the majority of people who might taste a classic wine with some age on it would not want a second glass.  What I would say to give perspective is that a ton of people love Thomas Kinkade "art."  But to a "real&q

Sorry--Blogger is messed up again! NO label pics and wonky layout. Very pale straw with tropical fruit aromas of warm peach nectar,  baby powder, mango, lemon/lime and sweet spiciness. Palate--Luscious fruit with a decent acidic line carrying the tropical fruit melange, in this off dry, tasty Gewurztraminer.  Pronounced-- ga-VERTZ-tra-meener this is a wine that gets no respect which is too bad because it is a lovely aperitif, a great summer quaff all by itself chilled down, or a nice accompaniment to briny raw oysters or a steamed lobster or clam or seafood chowder.  Some people will taste this and blurt--"I don't like sweet wines!"  But this wine is not sweet, it is just mega-fruity which makes people think sweet.  Because they are so unappreciated you can find some decent ones around the $10 price point as this one is.  But there are better ones out there as this one is bit mediocre.  Tasty but mediocre. :) 

  Beautiful dark purple hue with ever so slight bricking at the rim.  Aromas abound of glorious ripe raisins, sweet black berry bon bons above the rim, dark berry cream, cigar ash, sweet cream to boot.  Palate--Lovely ripe blueberry, intense sweetness of all the berry, prune raisin loveliness all wrapped in one continuous blanket of joy.  Finish just keep reminding you of why Porto is so much joy. I grabbed this from a local shop for $35 which seemed a bit over the top for a LBV but this one is special and worth the price.  If you can't afford a nice aged vintage port, this is a great affordable alternative that gets you close.  Enjoy it, and raise a glass! 

  Intense purple with aromas of light yeasty bread, bright bold dark berries, darkCherry cream bon bons, gentle savory spices Palate--Nice first impression with big flavors, gentle though immature tannins, rich textured foundation of loads of big berries with a lingering finish that hangs on for some time. This is obviously young but made to  be enjoyed right out of the gate. It will pair well with my grilled steaks and should be enjoyable for the next 5-8 years.   At $11, this is kind of ridiculous for a Napa Valley cab so take advantage of a nice value and raise a glass!

  Dark black hue with aromas of milk chocolate, baked bread, ripe black berries, and loads of spice. Palate--Relaxed structure, with nice fruit forward first impression with loads of rich blackberry, dark berry, nicely integrated acidic foundation, and ripe tannins. Seghesio gets lots of shrift in the Zinfandel world which in my limited experience with them is over-hyped or perhaps better, over-priced.  This is a tasty Zin for sure but it cost me $26!  It is Good--yes; it is very good and Sonoma is my favorite region for Zin.  But my yard stick are the myriad single vineyard Zins that, for years, were created by Rosenblum.  Once they were purchased their Zins went to crap.  So the bottom line here is this, would I pay $26 for this wine again?  My answer is an emphatic NO. I have since discovered several Zins which cost a third what this one cost and they are just as good or close to it.