2004 Crane Lake Chardonnay

I haven't found any solid information about Crane Lake Cellars, but they produce bargain table wines in California. Supposedly the grapes come from the Central Valley and are bottled in Napa. I grabbed a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Chardonnay, and here I'm talking about the latter. Again, at $4, I'm happy to use it for everyday cooking and casual quaffing. (Supposedly they make a Petite Syrah at the same price point--the manager of a local shop is getting a case of it based on my interest, and if I like it I'll certainly spread the word.)

This Chardonnay really isn't a bad wine. It's unoaked, and has a crisp initial feel with a mellow following. A slightly floral nose with some apple and pear flavors. I used it to enhance some slow simmered black beans to accompany a homemade Cuban Sandwich (more on that in a future post).

I'm really pleasantly surprised by this wine. It's not sour, it doesn't have a harsh aftertaste, and while it's not the most complex wine out there, I've had California Chardonnays costing five times as much that were terrible. This is definitely a good picnic wine, or something to sip beside the pool, or something to bring along to an informal gathering of non-serious wine drinkers.

The background and taste of this wine really remind me of the bargain Burgundy Roncier Blanc de Blancs. I've also got to give them credit for a classy label--simple and elegant text, with an dictionary-style etching of a crane.

2003 Hayman & Hill Edna Valley Pinot Noir

Based on my experience two weeks ago with this venture's Shiraz-Viognier, I decided to try the 2003 Hayman & Hill Edna Valley Pinot Noir. (No link because I didn't even see a review.) Around $12, I figured it was worth a shot.

I really need a tattoo on my right hand that says "Do Not Buy Pinot Noir Under $20". Perhaps in gothic script with thorny vines going around it. I worked in graphic design for 8 years, maybe I can work up something.

As my blog shows, I'm a big fan of inexpensive (but well-made) table wines, but I don't think it's really possible with this grape. I did devote a good bit of time in the evaluation of this wine, giving it a lot of consideration. Though it's only 13.5% alcohol, the aroma is predominantly alcohol with just a touch of black cherry or plum. A garnet color, nothing surprising for a two year old Pinot. The taste is smooth on the beginning with a harsh, tannic finish. Not much fruit in the flavor, nor is there that subtle, mellow loveliness that you get from a well-balanced Pinot Noir.

I tried it alone and then with a simple but delicious dinner, roast pork/potatoes au gratin/broccoli. My dinner host had similar opinions about the wine, and I left the remaining third with him. It's a bad sign when I can't kill off a bottle of wine, but I just wasn't up to it tonight. (And yes, my nose is working fine. Had a martini earlier in the evening and had no problem picking out all of the herbal elements as well as those of the garnish.)

And where is the Edna Valley? It's in the Central Coast of California, around San Luis Obispo. Doesn't have quite the same ring as Napa or Sonoma, but I'm not willing to hold the geographic name against a wine. There's a town not far from Memphis called Bucksnort, and a friend of mine was born in the local hamlet of Frog Jump.

However, I can still vividly remember Hayman & Hill's Shiraz-Viognier, and they've bought themselves a great deal of goodwill in my book. I'm willing to give their Zinfandel a chance sometime in the near future.

Quick Update

Sorry I skipped Wine Blogging Wednesday... I've had a little summer cold all week and haven't been in the mood for wine (or food for that matter). Plus, up through yesterday I couldn't smell anything, which would have made for pretty dull wine notes. I'm feeling much better though, and should have some reviews up this weekend.

Comments

By popular demand, comments will be enabled for the next couple of posts. If I have any problems with spam, I might turn on the "word verification" feature. I know it's a pain, but hopefully it won't come to that. Just a couple of caveats: I tend to post at weird hours, and don't necessarily look at the posts every day. So if you ask a direct question, I'll try to answer it when I get around to it, but if there's any sort of lively discussion I probably won't be participating. In good conscience I try not to visit or think about this blog at work--when reading and writing about wine I really prefer to be relaxed and not handling an e-commerce problem with a client in Brazil.

One other thing: I've already heard from a couple of wineries that disagreed with my reviews and have offered to send me a free bottle for re-evaluation. First off, I'm deeply flattered, but due to laws here in the highly enlightened state of Tennessee, I can't receive wine or liquor through the mail. All shipments that cross state lines have to pass through the hands of a distributor. I weep at the thought of some generous gift being intercepted at the post office and being ceremoniously poured down the drain. However, if you want me to give your wine a second shot and you're friendly about it, let me know anyway and I'll try to get around to it in the next couple of months at my own expense. I do realize that there's dozens of things that can make a single bottle go off and that it's not indicative of the vintage as a whole.

It's fun hearing from wineries, particularly the ones where I gave positive reviews. And if I didn't like your wine, don't take it personally--I'm not an expert, and this blog has a lot more to do with my personal tastes and quest for wine education. I also think that wine can be much better evaluated with food, whereas the majority of wines listed here are based off small samples at wine tastings. Even if I say I'm not enthusiastic about a particular wine, it doesn't mean that it's bad, just that it didn't pique my interest. I don't think there's many terrible wines out there, most stuff on the market tends to be average and drinkable with a few that stand out above the herd.

Corks Redux

Barbera over at winosandfoodies.com was kind enough to participate in my earlier, mostly ignored cork photo/statistics challenge. Thanks for playing! Any future contributors will be listed in this post.

Huzzah for the Wineblogs!

I've been writing this thing since January... At first, it began as only a convenient way for me to keep notes on wines I've liked or disliked, combined with a strong desire to link to the producers of the wine as well as making sure that I spell the damned thing right, regardless of how many special characters I hâvè tó üsê. After an e-mail session with the Professor resulted in a link, I decided to spruce it up a bit and publicize the blog. Thus far it has been an informative and rewarding experience.

For instance, my last post on a Shiraz-Viognier blend resulted in several e-mails, including one who had tasted that very wine from the barrel in California, and another who opined on a Shiraz-Viognier blend in Australia. And since I liked it so much, a bit of research turned up the fact that this is the combination used in the classic Rhone appellation Côte Rôtie. Though I'm anxious to explore that wine region, it's fun to try the less expensive versions from other parts of the world. For instance, as much as I love Malbec, I've still never seen a Cahors here in Memphis.

Since I've lurking about the wine blogs for a couple of months, I haven't seen a lot of drama, animosity, wine snobbery, or infighting. There's a chance I've missed it, but things seem to be pretty amiable. Is it because the community is so small, or is it because we're all focused on a delicacy that makes social occasions convivial, and that there's a good chance that we post with a glass of wine beside the keyboard?

Regardless, it's been fun, and I look forward to many more posts here. And for all new readers, feel free to nose through the archives.

2002 Hayman & Hill Shiraz-Viognier

I've heard good things about the Shiraz-Viognier blends out of Australia, but I don't think I've had one before. A local shop just got in a few cases of the 2002 Hayman & Hill Shiraz-Viognier from Monterey County, California. It's 93% Shiraz and 7% Viognier. I couldn't find a separate website for this wine, but it appears to be made at Blackstone by two of the vintners.

This is definitely a fruit bomb. Raspberry dominates, with maybe a bit of cherry or blackberry in the background. Low tannins, so it's a good summertime sipper. The viognier I think softens the edge while providing just a little herbal complexity. Retails for around $14, but I got it for $11. I served it with a rich chuck roast/cream sauce casserole.

Wine-Food Pairing Challenge: Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I received a challenge from the author of the Spittoon wine blog: match a wine with your favorite grilled cheese recipe.

Now, as a lifelong resident of Memphis, Tennessee, I have to admit that I was partially raised on the following recipe: two slices of generic grocery store wheat bread, slathered with cheap margarine, with one slice of Kraft American cheese and four dill pickle slices, grilled in a skillet. Cut in half horizontally or diagonally depending on mood. It's honestly one of the first things I remember learning how to cook. I remember making it for my Dad after he came home from the night shift, after long hours of loading bags at the airport.

(Years later, Dad once woke me up in the middle of the night to eat smoked salmon and drink Cognac when I was about 15. The salmon was less than 48 hours out of the seas off Norway, and had skipped customs in several places. The Cognac was a gift from some Japanese businessmen. Dad did move up in the company, but never forgot his roots.)

But these days, here's my favorite grilled cheese recipe... Take two pieces of decent sourdough, some good unsalted butter, and equal amounts of Norwegian Jarlsberg and good sharp Vermont cheddar, both thinly sliced. Now, you'll make it similar to the above--coat the outside of the sandwich with a thin layer of soft butter, and cook in the skillet until nice and brown on each side. Don't be afraid to flip often, just make sure the cheese doesn't run everywhere. For an added flair, if using an electric stove, take the finished sandwich and just kiss it to the hot eye for a second or two on each side to get some nice grill marks. Serve with some kosher pickle spears or a good, homemade tomato soup.

As for the wine? Buttered toast and cheese really cries out for a California Chardonnay. And since this is something that I'd definitely be eating alone and not serving as a meal for others, I'd go with one of my long time favorite table whites: the 2003 Hess Select Chardonnay. This is a great $10 or less California Chardonnay that I've been drinking over many vintages. It's never complicated or surprising, but rather reliable and delicious. And again, the toast aromas and buttery texture really go great with this kind of food. Since I often cook with this wine (it's amazing in soups and sauces), it's not unusual for me to have some leftover in the fridge for a late night snack... such as a grilled cheese sandwich.

2004 Concha y Toro Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot

Another cheap $4 table wine here... the 2004 Concha y Toro Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot. There's some chocolate and earth on the nose, but you really have to hunt for it. As for the flavor, it's odd. There's barely a hint of tannins, maybe a touch of stewed fruit. All in all, there's nothing to get excited about in this wine, but it's not bad for a table wine. If it's any indication, I'm drinking this with some shredded pork tamales and a couple of clementines. As unexciting as the wine is, it would probably still make a good house red for any mom and pop restaurant. I've certainly had worse at higher prices.

Corks

After having a half dozen corks fall off my computer desk, I decided it was time to round all of them up... See the pile in the photo. I'd been stashing a bunch of them with the corkscrew and in kitchen drawers, with a few scattered here and there. (One of my dogs has eaten a few, so I try to keep them off the floor.) I counted them up and threw all of them in a box. The totals: 54 standard corks, 11 synthetics, and 14 Champagne/sparkler corks. And while I'm fine with screwcaps for everyday table wine and young whites, I don't tend to keep those--they're kind of flimsy and don't survive well like old beer or soda bottle caps.

I'm not consciously saving these things, I just tend to stick them in my pocket or in a drawer after opening wine. Last year, I saved a bunch for a friend of a friend, who is covering his entire kitchen walls with corks. I might make a trivet or something out of these things... And while I probably ought to just throw them away, there's something nice about touching them, seeing the stain on one end, and remembering that wine.

I could make this a sort of Wine Blogger Challenge--gather your corks and sort them out, but I don't think I'm that well known yet... However, if anyone else feels like participating, link back to this post.

2004 Concha y Toro Frontera Sauvignon Blanc

Back in January, I blogged about drinking the lowest and highest wines from the Concha y Toro vineyards in a single evening. I've always enjoyed their products, particularly the Marques line. Even though I've been drinking a lot more Argentinian wine recently, I still have a soft spot for Chile.

One of my local tiny wine shops often has a pallet of inexpensive table wine near the front door, and the selection is constantly changing. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's boring, but they're usually worth having for the price. (Here in Memphis we don't get "Two Buck Chuck", but this is pretty close.) Obviously lots of places do this, but with this particular store, due to the limited space and high turnover, inexpensive wines don't sit around forever slowly turning into undrinkable swill. And the owners typically do a decent job of picking out stuff that's halfway decent.

So I got a couple of the Concha y Toro Frontera wines, their bargain table wine label. Tonight I'm sipping on the 2004 Concha y Toro Frontera Sauvignon Blanc. At $4 a bottle, it's hard to pass up for casual summer consumption. Initially it has a harsh nose, not flawed, but fortunately it mellows out by the second glass. It's slightly tart but not crisp, with mild lemon flavors and a soft finish. (I think the splash of Sémillon makes a pleasant addition.) Would be a good casual party or picnic wine if you're not amongst serious wine drinkers. In fact, I'm having it with some leftover potato salad and fresh local tomatoes.

After a long day at work, it was a pleasant way to grab a snack and unwind... I grabbed my beloved copy of the Larousse Gastronomique and just bounced around to random entries, finding the wine and history of French cooking to be a great way to get e-commerce and malfunctioning printer problems out of my head.

Tasting Notes for August 20, 2005

This week's theme was "forgotten reds". Not forgotten on my table or in the hearts of my countrymen, but simply not covered in this summer's single-grape tastings. Again, all were tasted blind, and I accurately guessed the grape on about half of them.

Wine 1: 2002 Magpie Estate "The Fakir" Grenache. Barossa Valley, Australia. Good round fruit, a touch of raspberry with a dry finish. Seems like this variety can be a little sweet coming from Down Under, but this one wasn't. $23.

Wine 2: 2002 Abundance Old Vine Zinfandel. Lodi, California. Luscious, strong wine with firm tannins and a bold finish. Needs a hearty meal. $15.

Wine 3: 2000 Rust en Vrede Shiraz. Stellenbosch, South Africa. Well rounded and soft, with great black cherry and plum flavors. The lack of pepper threw me off and made me think that it was an older Zinfandel. $24.

Wine 4: 2004 The Wishing Tree Shiraz. Western Australia. Looks like it comes from near Perth, which my grandfather once described as "way on the other side of nowhere". Strange nose, almost medicinal. Herbal notes on the palate. Strange little wine. $15.

Wine 5: 2000 Mazzocco Zinfandel. Dry Creek Valley, California. Light with an excellent red cherry flavor and a short, tannic finish. Has definitely mellowed well with age. $16.

Wine 6: 2002 Morande Terrarum Carménère. Maipo Valley, Chile. Used to be one of the blending grapes of Bordeaux until phylloxera killed it off. However, it had survived in Chile from plantings back in the mid-19th century. Dark earth and leather aromas, with full dark plum flavors. An amazing wine for the price, and it would be great to bring to a blind tasting to throw everyone off. $12.

Wine 7: 2002 Peju Zinfandel. Napa Valley, California. A confusing wine on the palate, but not bad. I got heavy tannins with a long finish, and wasn't able to discern any major fruit tastes or aromas. $26.

Wine 8: 2001 Lolonis Winegrower Selection Syrah. Redwood Valley, California. A Syrah that stands up and proudly announces its identity. Peppery black cherry, excellent fruit forward flavors. Delicious wine. $30.

Wine 9: 2003 Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache. Barossa Valley, Australia. A little bite on the beginning, with dark fruit flavors and a hint of spice. Would taste better in a blend. $17.

Wine 10: 2003 Concannon Petite Sirah. Central Coast, California. Another wine that was unmistakeable on first taste. Blackberry and blueberry on the tongue, surprisingly soft tannins for the grape and age. Excellent balance and great price. $12.

Wine 11: 2003 Antis Malbec. Mendoza, Argentina. Mild and mellow, slightly bitter. I picked it out as a Malbec, but wasn't overly enthusiastic. $15.

Wine 12: 2002 Jade Mountain Mourvèdre. Contra Costa, California. The first pure Mourvèdre I've ever had. Firm tannins, dark fruit, and very dry. Interesting. I was neutral on the wine itself, but it would be fun to get a bottle of this plus a pure Grenache and a pure Syrah to make your own Rhône-style blends.

A few oddballs...

From a gathering at a friend's house before heading out for dinner...

The woman I'm dating brought back a couple of bottles of wine from a recent trip to Germany. We had one tonight: 2003 Klaus Zimmerling Kerner Trocken Landwein. Basically that means that it's a dry high-quality table wine made from a grape that's a hybrid of Trollinger (a red) and Riesling, from the estate of Klaus Zimmerling. More info? It's estate bottled ( Erzeugerabfullung), from Dresden-Pillnitz in the region of Sachsen in the former East Germany, near the Czech border. Finally, the high school German classes are useful. As for the wine? Basically like a very dry riesling, with a unique flavor that's very hard to pinpoint. Slightly sour in a very pleasing manner. Acidic without crispness. I don't even know if this stuff is available over here in any quantities, but it's a nice little wine. Comes in a half liter bottle, no idea about the price.

Our hostess poured some other leftover wines she had on hand... Not sure how long these had been uncorked, recorked and left out (several days or a week?), but I don't think I could give them fair reviews. However, keeping with the odd theme of the evening, these were two Italian wines using grapes one normally doesn't associate with the region. The second wine of the evening was the 2002 Morassutti Merlot from the Friuli region in northern Italy. Retails for around $6. Hey, I'm getting to use my college Italian tonight as well.

The third and final was a Sicilian Shiraz--I kid you not. The 2002 Mandrarossa Shiraz was reminiscent of the hotter vineyards of Australia, with a bit more tannins to please the Italian palate. I'd actually like to try this one again with some grilled meat. Retails for $8 or so.

The Woes of a Tennessee Wine Drinker

As I might be getting some traffic this week from the Wine Blogging Wednesday, I thought I might expound a bit on what it means to be a wine drinker in Tennessee, specifically the Memphis area. Some of this I covered before, but I'll expound on the issue:

• I can't buy wine anywhere other than a wine/liquor store or an in-state vineyard. I can't order it online or through the mail, and I sure as hell can't get it in a supermarket. Some of the purists amongst you might find this a silent blessing, but there are many liquor stores that are horrible places to buy wine--a five year old Yellowtail merlot will sit on the shelf slowly oxidizing and waiting for the first unsuspecting customer. There are some good wine-focused shops, but you really have to get in good with the local "wine underground" to know where to go and who to talk to. I've been very fortunate to have good friends and connections in this regard.
  
  
• In line with the above, all wine in this state has to go through a distributor. Individuals or store owners can't order wine directly from the producer. This may change due to the recent Supreme Court ruling, but I doubt it--if anything, our wine laws will probably get more strict. I'm good friends with some distributors, but at the same time, the system is rough if you want to try something from a vineyard that isn't popular locally. Of course, I can ask any of those distributors to order a case for me as a favor, but I'm not a teenager passing a handful of bills to a homeless guy with strict instructions to pick up a dry, claret-style young Bordeaux.
  
  
• Though I enjoyed getting decent wines from grocery stores in Europe when I was 19 and on a few subsequent trips, it was only recently that I discovered that much of the nation is able to buy booze at the supermarket. I am 28.
  
  
• I can't purchase wine after eleven at night, before ten in the morning, or on Sunday at all. I can get wine at pretty much any hour from a restaurant (though our local wine taxes border on criminal--a glass of the cheapest, crappiest table wine will set you back at least five or six bucks, enough to buy an entire magnum retail).
  
  
• Beer's a bit different, but like I said before, you can't get it in a liquor store unless it's a "big beer". In theory you can buy beer in supermarkets or convenience stores 24/7, but in reality it's illegal to buy it between two and eight a.m., or noon on Sunday, something like that. This generally isn't a problem, but I discovered once after an 18-hour shift at work that I couldn't get a cold one at the 24-hour grocery store. Damn the state government!
  
  
• Outside of the "wine underground", wine drinking in this town seems to be considered a women's thing, and then only within the bounds of white zin and affiliated sweet wines. I've actually known guys who loved wine in private who wouldn't dare drink it in public. I've made some converts through my dinner parties, but it's a hard sell in this part of the world. I try to tell them that the goddamned Vikings drank wine out of the skulls of their enemies, but somehow it's still an effeminate beverage.
  
  
• Given the strict regulations regarding wine and stronger beverages, it is inevitable that homegrown solutions would emerge over the years. I'm proud to say that I've had many fine homebrewed beers. And I've had one or two hombrewed wines that weren't terrible. And I've had some moonshine and affiliated beverages that could strip the paint off a boat--viscous, evil liquids that I'd really rather forget.

Tasting Notes for August 13, 2005

Today's themed grape was Chardonnay... I don't drink a lot of Chardonnay, because a good oaked one is going to cost at least $20 (such as a decent Pouilly-Fuissé), and inexpensive oaked Chardonnay (I'm looking at you, California) can taste awful. On the other end, inexpensive unoaked Chardonnay is often delightful--there are some good table-variety white Burgundies and similar wines from Australia. However, I was pleasantly surprised by several of Saturday's selections.

Wine 1: 2003 Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay. Santa Maria Valley, California. A little buttered toast aroma on top, fruity and acidic. Really powerful flavor. $24.

Wine 2: 2002 Louis Latour Pouilly-Vinzelles "En Paradis". Burgundy, France. Clean and crisp aroma, watery and just too mild. This is an unoaked wine, but it really could have used just a bit more punch. $16.

Wine 3: 2002 Chateau Reynella Chardonnay. McLaren Vale, Australia. The winery is owned by Hardy Wine Company, which is owned by Pacific Wine Partners, which is owend by the Constellation conglomerate. I was able to find a little more information on the winemaker, but not much about the specific wine. I found it lemony and slightly sweet, with firm acids. A well balanced wine. Probably fantastic with a spicy seafood dish. $16.

Wine 4: 2003 Elderton Unwooded Chardonnay. This had a really strong, musky aroma--not corked, but more like overripe fruit. However, it had good citrus flavors and a decent finish. $14.

Wine 5: 2003 Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay. Columbia Valley, Washington. Mild butter flavors and an overall mellow impact on the mouth. Really delightful. $20.

Wine 6: 2003 Catena Chardonnay. Mendoza, Argentina. This is the biggest wine producer in Argentina, responsible for several different product lines. This bottle had soft fruit nose, very mild, well rounded flavors. It's always nice to find a well-balanced wine. $19.

Wine 7: 2004 Red Bicyclette Chardonnay. Vin de Pays d'Oc, France. Very fruity aroma, though I got apples where others smelled peaches. Lightly oaked, not overly powerful or weak. I've only had this on one or two occasions, but I recognized it immediately. I know it's fashionable to hate the Red Bicyclette wines, but they're not bad for the price. $11.

Wine 8: 2004 Glen Carlou Chardonnay. Paarl, South Africa. Melony, musky aroma. A little sweet with a harsh aftertaste. Not enthusiastic about this one. $14.

Wine 9: 2003 Sonoma-Loeb Private Reserve Chardonnay. Sonoma, California. Some ripe fruit flavors, but an aftertaste that made me want to quit and brush my teeth. The only wine out of the tasting that I really couldn't stand. $30.

Wine 10: 2002 Ruffino Libaio Chardonnay Toscana I.G.T.. Tuscany, Italy. Oak and butter, with hints of stewed fruit on the tongue. A good little wine. $12.

Wine 11: 2003 Morandé Terrarum Chardonnay. Maipo Valley, Chile. Great aroma of raisins on top, with good full fruit and a slightly crisp finish. $12.

Wine 12: 2004 Chehalem "INOX" Chardonnay. Willamette Valley, Oregon. Fruit all over the place, though a slightly bitter aftertaste. Would probably work better with food. The name INOX refers to inoxidable, the French word for stainless steel. $19.

Bachelor Dinner

It's a week late, but here's the photoessay of the Bachelor Dinner I cooked for my brother, the fathers, and the groomsmen. A great time was had by all. Here's a shot of the seafood course, grilled bacon-wrapped scallops with asparagus and heirloom tomatoes:



I've also got a separate page up with all of the wines that were drunk that evening (including photos of the labels). Most of them have been reviewed here at one time or another, and I try not to repeat myself too often.

It should be noted that most of those in attendance weren't big wine drinkers, so I tried to stick with fun, flavorful, and inexpensive wines, but ones that are solidly put together. I did a little presentation on each one, just thirty seconds or so to tell them a little about what they were drinking.

Wine Blogging Wednesday

Over at Dr. Vino's blog, I saw a post about Wine Blogging Wednesday, an occasion for wine bloggers to post on the same topic on the same day. This month's charge is to drink a wine from the nearest winery and post on the results. I won't be drinking any of their wine today, but I can tell you a lot about my closest winery.

Tennessee isn't a big wine-growing state. There's a lot of fruit wines and cordials made throughout the state, but none that are really popular or move far beyond their home towns. I almost went to a Tennessee wine festival in Nashville a couple of months ago, but work got in the way. I live at the far southwestern end of the state, in a suburb of Memphis called Cordova. And there's a winery almost within walking distance of my house.

Cordova Cellars is a nice place to visit. The buildings look great, it's fun to take the tour and see how grapes become wine, and the cellar is certainly a cool place to hang out during our hot summer days. They occasionally have concerts, parties, and picnics out on the lawn.

They don't actually grow grapes there anymore--some disease killed off the vines one year and they didn't want to start over with all new plants. Instead, the grapes come from farms around the Mid-South. Obviously this is nothing compared to a tour through Napa or Sonoma, but there's just not a lot of wineries in this part of the country.

As for the wines, they tend to be very sweet, though the lineup changes every year. I seem to recall the Merlot being pretty rough, but I have a soft spot for the dark and smoky sweet flavors of their Muscadine wine (in small quantities). There's a sort of novelty wine they make called Spring Fling, that incorporates a bit of peach nectar with the grape juice. Years ago I really enjoyed some of the whites, but my tastes have changed and refined over the years. Ain't much, but it's all we've got.

Odd side note: it's the only retail establishment in Memphis where you can purchase a bottle of wine on a Sunday. You can get wine in a restaurant (or in church, I suppose), and of course you can drink it from sunup to sundown. The winery gets an exemption because it's technically a farm and is subject to different laws from liquor stores. In Tennessee you can't buy wine or liquor in the grocery stores, only beer. And beer isn't sold in the liquor stores, unless it's a "big beer".

Folie à Deux Menage à Trois... ou neuf?

For my brother's wedding reception, we took advantage of our friendship with a local distributor, who got us a great deal on everything. I've already talked about the amazing Saint-Meyland, but what about the other wines for the reception?

Most of the guests were beer and vodka drinkers; we went for Heineken, Bud Light, and Ketel One. For others, we had some decent single malt whisky Glenfiddich and a surprisingly smooth and tasty French gin by the name of Citadelle. (Full disclosure: I'm drinking straight ice cold Citadelle as I type this. Can't wait to try it in a traditional martini.) It's distilled four times, and the herbal components are based on a recipe from 1771.

The grubby-faced kid tugs at my pant leg. "But mister, what about the wine?" All right...

Again, the number of serious and casual wine drinkers at this wedding could be counted on one hand. A hand that belonged to a particularly inept high school shop teacher. But instead of going cheap, we just went fruit-forward and a bit on the sweet side. For that reason, we used all three varieties of the Folie à Deux Menage à Trois. Now let the record show that I think their Amador County Zinfandel is one of the greatest wines under $20 to hit the market in years. The Menage à Trois line is a little sweet for my tastes: the white is comprised of Moscato, Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc, though the musky sweet flavor of the Moscato tends to overwhelm the other whites; the rosé is made out of the unholy but tasty combination of Merlot, Syrah, and Gewurztraminer (actually a bit drier than the white, has a nice apple flavor to it); and the red is made from Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Out of the three, the red is my favorite with the rosé a close second. The red, while a bit too much for casual sipping, makes a great wine to pair with smoked pork barbecue (an important matching tip here in the South) or as a non-threatening introduction for those who say they hate red wine. The rosé goes great with Mexican, Indian, or anything spicy, plus it has an absolutely gorgeous color--sort of a desert rose with just a hint of lavender during the pour. (The French have dozens of words to describe pink wines, all of them quite poetic. None of them are useful outside of the backroads of Provence.)

I'm not a fan of the white, but that doesn't mean it's not a good wine. In fact, it's an excellent stepping stone if you want to wean anyone off White Zinfandel. Might be a good match for Thai cuisine as long as you're not eating something with a sweet coconut milk sauce.

All three went over quite well, and as last man standing at the end of the reception, I took home the majority of the alcholic leftovers. I did leave the catering staff with every bottle that was less than half full plus a case of beer, and told them to drink and be merry.

Tasting Notes for August 6, 2005

Just because I had a wedding to attend in the evening didn't mean that I couldn't make it to the early afternoon tasting, particularly because the grape of the week was Pinot Noir. A lot of these wines were delicate, and would probably come through with stronger flavors over the course of a full glass or two. Most of the wines poured on this day were fantastic. As usual, everything was tasted blind and then matched up to the labels afterwards.

Wine 1: 2003 Laetitia Pinot Noir Estate. Arroyo Grande Valley, California. A slightly harsh nose, but with a strong start and mild finish. Didn't pick up any outstanding flavors, but it's a solid wine. $26.

Wine 2: 2003 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvée Pinot Noir. Willamette Valley, Oregon. Light cherry flavors, very mild and mellow. Great example of Oregon Pinot Noir, just wish the region wasn't so pricy. $33.

Wine 3: 2003 Louis Latour Marsannay. Burgundy, France. I got flavors and aromas of stewed fruit and dried cranberries. Good balance with a dry finish. $23.

Wine 4: 2002 Block 13 Pinot Noir. Sonoma, California. Amazing black cherry flavors with firm tannins. $20.

Wine 5: 2002 Saintsbury Carneros Pinot Noir. Carneros, California. This was another powerful one, with full flavor and reminiscent of Shiraz at moments. $26

Wine 6: 2003 Nobilo Icon Pinot Noir. Marlborough, New Zealand. I think this is the first NZ Pinot Noir I've ever tried. Mild cherry, very light, maybe too thin. $20.

Wine 7: 2003 Ninth Island Pinot Noir. Tasmania, Australia. Another first, in this case the first wine of any type that I've tried from Tasmania. It's a small growing region, and not a lot gets exported to the US. By far my favorite of the tasting. Great balance of dark fruit with a hint of pepper, and firm tannins on the long finish. A big, fruit forward wine as opposed to some of the thinner selections of the day. $18.

Wine 8: 2002 Gérard Bertrand Vin de Pays d'Oc. Languedoc, France. Thin with just a small bite on the finish. Not bad, but I was wanting more fruit flavor. $17.

Wine 9: 2002 Bourgogne Roncevie Domaine Arlaud. Burgundy, France. Raisins and dried cranberries. Sounds odd, but tasted great. Well rounded with a soft edge from start to finish. $23.

Wine 10: 2003 Mirassou Pinot Noir. Monterey, California. I think this is the third or fourth time I've had this wine, and it's tasted different on each occasion. There's a touch of stewed fruit with a little spice on the finish. Easily drinkable and a good bargain. $10.

Wine 11: 2002 Bottega Vinaia Pinot Noir. Trentino, Italy. Another Italian wine from the upper northeast near Austria. Seems like we've had a lot of those recently. I also realized this was probably an oddball, as it was the only wine in a Bordeaux-style bottle as opposed to the Burgundy-style you see with most Pinot Noirs. As for the wine? I found it watery with no prominent flavors or aromas. Not bad, but just too light for my tastes. $20.

Saint-Meyland Brut NV

For the wedding toast last night, we used the Saint-Meyland Brut, a non-vintage sparkling wine from Burgundy. Made in the méthode champenoise style, it contains Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gamay & Aligote. A bargain at around $10 a bottle, this is a surprisingly good wine. The Pinot Noir really stands out, giving the wine just a hint of a salmon color. It's got a slightly yeasty nose, lots of bubbles, and good crisp fruit flavors like apple and pear. Of course, I had been drinking Glenfiddich with my father for most of the evening, so don't take too much stock in my tasting notes there.

Broquel Wines

Tonight at the rehearsal dinner, I had two glasses of wine from the Broquel line of the Trapiche winery out of Argentina. I've commented before on their inexpensive Malbec and Pinot Noir, the former of which I used for a reduction sauce last night.

I had the Malbec and the Cabernet Sauvignon, both from 2002 and retailing for around $15 a bottle. I preferred the Malbec, but I'm pretty biased there. It's a deliciously jammy dark wine that isn't overly fruity. Lovely plum aromas. The Cabernet Sauvignon was surprising, with some chocolate and tobacco, but I think it would be better in a year or two of mellowing. Strangely, I don't recall seeing these wines on the shelf in the Memphis area, but I'll be on the lookout.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Argentina remains a great source of bargain table reds that don't taste like crap. Sort of like Australia ten years ago if you knew where to look.

Thanks, Professor!

The great legal scholar and wine blogger Professor Bainbridge was kind enough to link to this blog, so here's a hearty thanks and a welcome to all new visitors. I'll try to reciprocate and start a blogroll on the side of this site.

My brother's getting married tomorrow, so I should have a bunch of wine reviews to post on Sunday. (Dad just picked up cases and cases of wine, vodka, and other goodies for the reception.) And I might link to a couple of my food/wine photoessays where I get to show off my cooking skills... This isn't something I've blogged about before, but I might as well share it with the world. For example, the recent Rack of Lamb Dinner. For those who don't feel like reading the whole thing, here's what the final plate looked like:



I'll probably have a similar writeup about last night's Bachelor Dinner.

In the meantime, Cheers!

Tasting Notes for July 30, 2005

My usual tasting featured nothing but Pinot Grigio (or Pinot Gris) and Pinot Blanc (or Pinot Bianco). Two different kinds of grapes, pretty similar as far as I'm concerned. I damned near skipped it. In fact, I didn't show up until halfway through the scheduled time. Even though I don't particularly like this grape, I finally decided to go and see if something surprised me. And while I had fun at the tasting (seeing the gang, trying to guess regions), I experienced my standard Pinot Grigio disappointment: there's just not much flavor. Given that, if you're a fan of this grape these reviews will be completely useless for you.

Wine 1: 2003 Nobilo Icon Pinot Gris. Marlborough, New Zealand. Sweet and acidic, a bit surprising, but not enjoyable. $19.

Wine 2: 2002 Firesteed Pinot Gris. Oregon. A lot of people liked this one--it's dry and slightly musky, but I didn't find it memorable. Good bargain, though. $10.

Wine 3: 2004 Adelsheim Pinot Blanc. Oregon. Dry and lemony, very short finish. Probably a good solid Pinot Blanc, but this grape just doesn't click with me. $18.

Wine 4: 2004 Luna Pinot Grigio. Napa, California. Lovely label. I found it dusty, but with a more concentrated flavor than some of the other wines. $20.

Wine 5: 2002 Trimbach Pinot Blanc. Alsace, France. Tasted like a watered down Chardonnay with a squirt of lemon juice. $14.

Wine 6: 2003 Chateau Ste. Michelle Pinot Gris. Yakima Valley, Washington. Really harsh flavors, it almost tasted like it had been oaked, but it's all stainless steel fermentation. $14.

Wine 7: 2003 Tiefenbrunner Pinot Bianco. Delle-Venezie, Italy. From the upper northeast where things start to turn German. This wine tasted like watery ash. Blech. $17.

Wine 8: 2002 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve. Alsace, France. Another one from Trimbach, and this is one that nearly every person had a bad reaction to. There was a really horrible smell coming from the wine--I think it was brettanomyces, but no one present was familiar enough with the scent to back me up. Other people smelled ammonia, and one guy described it as "a high school science experiment gone horribly wrong". All of that aside, it didn't taste too bad. $20.

Wine 9: 2003 Bollini Pinot Grigio. Trentino, Italy. Soft and rounded, with some decent fruit, but lacks punch. $13.

Wine 10: 2004 Benton Lane Pinot Gris. Willamette Valley, Oregon. Sweet, but not overpowering. This is one that I'd actually like to drink with a good seafood meal. $15.

Wine 11: 2004 Au Bon Climat Pinot Gris/Binot Blanc. Santa Barbera, California. I enjoyed this one. Hints of raw sugar and caramel on top, but it's not sweet. Good round flavor. Definitely my favorite of the bunch. $20.

Wine 12: 2004 Geretto Pinot Grigio. Delle Venezie, Italy. Sweet and musty, almost like a Riesling. Not bad, definitely unusual and a decent price. $12.

Wine 13: 2003 King Estate Pinot Gris. Willamette Valley, Oregon. Aromas and flavors of apple and pear, but way too watery. $16.

2004 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Rosé

Continuing with the Summer of Dry Rosés, I tried the 2004 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Rosé. From Spain, it's a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. Perhaps the most striking thing about this wine is the color--I haven't seen a good example of it online, but it's got an orange tint to it that's really captivating. As for the wine itself, it's not bad, but not impressive either. I actually thought that it would make a really interesting sangria.

Tasting Notes for July 23, 2005

Today's competitive blind tasting was all about Merlot...

Wine 1: Terre Palladiane White Merlot. Veneto, Italy. This is the first White Merlot I've had, and I'm not anxious to try another. The Merlot grape has a sort of delicate flavor to begin with; made like White Zin, it's very watery, with just a touch of pink color. Slightly musky aroma with a medium sweet flavor. A lot of people seemed to enjoy it, though. $10.

Wine 2: 2002 McWilliam's Hanwood Estate Merlot. Southeast Australia. Bright and slightly sweet, tart with a bit of plum flavor. Really enjoyed this one. $11.

Wine 3: 1999 L'Ecole 41 Columbia Valley Merlot. Washington. Dark cherry aromas and flavors, good fruit and slightly sweet. Not bad, but not spectacular. $33.

Wine 4: 2002 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Merlot. Columbia Valley, Washington. I've had this before, and it's a big wine. Softer now than when I first tried it, but still deep and dark with solid fruit flavors. $20.

Wine 5: 2000 Chateau Siaurac Lalande-de-Pomerol. Bordeaux, France. From the right bank, this is a combination of Merlot and Cabernet Franc with a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon. Herbal nose, strong tannins. Would probably survive for quite a while longer in the cellar. $19.

Wine 6: 1999 Artesa Napa Valley Merlot. California. Great dark fruit aromas and fresh strawberry flavors. Good little wine. $19.

Wine 7: 2002 Toad Hollow McDowell Vineyard Reserve Merlot. Sonoma, California. Dark cherry flavors, a bit of sweetness, with a delightfully soft finish. Enjoyed this, but I prefer the lower-end offerings from this winery. $20.

Wine 8: 2002 Eyzaguirre Merlot. Colchagua Valley, Chile. A wine that comes wrapped in a burlap sack for safe transport. I found this wine almost like Beaujolais, but not sweet. Very soft and delicate, with almost no tannins. Fun little wine. $10.

Wine 9: 2001 Zenato Merlot. Delle Venezie, Italy. Dark cherry, short finish. Showing a bit of age. $20.

Wine 10: 2003 Bogle Merlot. California. Almost French tasting. Crisp tannins on the front, but softens out. Very well rounded. $12.

Wine 11: 2003 Bianchi Particular Merlot. Mendoza, Argentina. Not much of a nose, and a short finish. Well rounded, but not worth the price in my opinion. $30.

Wine 12: 2003 Domaine La Milliere VDP. Vaucluse, France. An off aroma--there's something like licorice that I can't quite put my finger on. Huge tannins in this wine. $13.

Wine 13: 2002 Blackstone Napa Valley Merlot. California. Definitely a step up from the standard Blackstone line. This has great sour cherry flavors and firm tannins. Would love to try this in a couple of years. $18.

2004 Clos LaChance Estate Central Coast Rosé

Continuing with my love of dry rosés, I picked up a bottle of the 2004 Clos LaChance Estate Central Coast Rosé. It's a bright red cherry color, made from Grenache and Syrah. Pleasantly dry with a crisp acidity and great berry flavors. I had it with a chicken sandwich. It's an easy drinker as well--I was surprised at how quickly the bottle disappeared. Highly recommended. $11.

Tasting Notes for July 21, 2005

All of the wines tonight came from the same producer, Trinchero Family Estates out of California. This is the family that is responsible for first creating white zinfandel back in the 50s. Under their Sutter Home label they're one of the largest producers of table wine in the world. The revenues from that business are used to make smaller, higher quality wines, using grapes sourced from all over the state. (Each of these bottles listed the percentages from Napa, Sonoma, etc.)

Wine 1: 2004 Trinchero Sauvignon Blanc. A bit of a toasted almond aroma on top. It's quickly bottled after fermentation in stainless steel, so it's got a thin feel to it. I found the wine a little sour. Also contains about 15% Semillon. $15.

Wine 2: 2003 Trinchero Chardonnay. Apple aromas, but a normal California Chardonnay flavor. Boring, forgettable. $15.

Wine 3: 2002 Trinchero Merlot. Sort of a strawberry cheesecake aroma. Good black cherry flavors. Nice and light with mellow tannins. $15.

Wine 4: 2003 Trinchero Cabernet Sauvignon. High alcohol smell, dark fruit aromas and flavors. Short finish with a good balance. $15.

Wine 5: 2002 Trinchero Petite Verdot. Wow! This is one that is not commercially available around here, the distributor just happened to bring a bottle by. It's 100% Petite Verdot, one of the five red Bordeaux grapes. I've had it in blends several times, but only in trace amounts. It was a dark purple color, with incredible plum and smoke flavors. Dry and with surprisngly balanced tannins. Probably around $30.

Tasting Notes for July 16, 2005

Similar to last week, this was a blind tasting of 12 Sauvignon Blancs. I wasn't overly impressed with most of them, and a few had really horrible aftertastes. Some of these I've tasted before, but they're scattered all over the place, and none really merit metalinks.

Wine 1: 2004 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. Marlborough, New Zealand. A lot of grapefruit with a good rounded flavor. Fruit explosion. $15.

Wine 2: 2004 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc. South Africa. Just a bit of lemon flavor and aroma, but with a thin feel. Not bad, but pricy. $20.

Wine 3: 2004 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc. Marlborough, New Zealand. Grapefruit flavors, but a little boring. Rough aftertaste. $11.

Wine 4: 2004 Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc. Napa, California. This may have been an off bottle, but I was getting this weird sweaty, musky aroma off the top of the glass. It wasn't me or anyone around me, and the wine didn't taste weird, but it was hard to get past that smell. $16.

Wine 5: 2004 Famiglia Bianchi Sauvignon Blanc. Mendoza, Argentina. I've had this wine before and enjoyed it, but this bottle fell flat. $15.

Wine 6: 2003 Yorkville Sauvignon Blanc. Mendocino, California. Powerful aroma of motor oil, with terrible chemical flavors. Oddly, this is a certified organic wine. $13.

Wine 7: 2003 Vacheron Sancerre. Loire Valley, France. Well balanced, a bit of a rough aftertaste. Otherwise a solid but uninteresting wine. $30.

Wine 8: 2004 Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc. Sonoma, California. I found this one sour and bitter, with a very harsh aftertaste. My previous experience with this bottle was far more positive. $17.

Wine 9: 2004 Kathryn Kennedy Sauvignon Blanc. Santa Cruz, California. Good grapefruit flavors, tart and dry. Very refreshing, but that price... $25.

Wine 10: 2003 Castle Rock Sauvignon Blanc. Napa, California. Little bits of butter and toasted marshmellow aromas on top, but the wine overall doesn't really stand out. $10.

Wine 11: 2003 Verget St. Bris. Burgundy, France. No real aroma, no fruit, tasted thin and bitter. Maybe I was just way off this day... $20.

Wine 12: 2003 Paradise Ridge Sauvignon Blanc. Sonoma, California. Sweet and tart, with bright citrus flavors and aromas. Good one. $18.

2004 Goats Do Roam Rosé

Hurrah! Another rosé from a beloved producer... As soon as I saw it I had to grab the 2004 Goats Do Roam Rosé. Had it for dinner with a turkey sandwich and caesar salad. Great little wine with a ton of grapes in it. It's dry, but has a pleasant red berry flavor to it. Perfect summertime wine, highly recommended. $10.

Weekend Wines

For dinner Friday night, Paul and I split a bottle of the 2003 Zolo Malbec from Argentina. A good bargain at $10, but with great leather and dark fruit aromas. Solid flavor, but the tannins were easy enough not to overwhelm the roast rack of lamb and broiled goat cheese that formed the basis of dinner. Definitely recommended.

I used a $7 bottle of 2002 Hogue Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot as the basis for a sauce. It wasn't bad, but I think it was a year past its prime. It's almost half and half of the named grapes with a splash of Cabernet Franc in there. I'd like to try a newer vintage of this.

On a whim, I picked up a $6 bottle of the 2003 NO Sauvignon Blanc. I don't have a link, and it's damned near impossible to find any information on it. You can read a review here if you like, but I can tell you now: don't bother. The label says "NO oak aging. NO cork. NO malolactic fermentation. NO attitude. NO kidding." Might I add "NO flavor, NO good". It's an inexpensive screwcap white with a funky aroma and little or no flavor. Think about drinking Pinot Grigio while wondering if there's a peach rotting in the garbage can. Blech.

Tasting Notes for July 9, 2005

This is the first of eight rounds of blind tastings at the local wine shop... Each week they'll focus on a single grape or varietal, allow the tasters to vote on their favorite, and then towards the end of the summer, all of the big winners will be tasted together. Saturday's grape of choice was Cabernet Sauvignon. Cab Sav is great, but I get kind of bored with it. To get a good one, it costs more than I'm willing to spend on a regular basis, and I have a lot of fun with the lesser-appreciated grapes and regions. I've also had several of these wines before and wasn't just thrilled with them.

Wine 1: 2001 Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon. Washington. High alcohol smell and taste, a little sweet with just a bit of black cherry flavors. Not impressed. $11.

Wine 2: 2002 Franciscan Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. California. Actually a claret-style blend using four Bordeax grapes. Very dry with solid tannins. I think this will age pretty well. $32.

Wine 3: 2001 Chateau Souverain Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. California. High tannins, a bit harsh and almost Italian tasting. $20.

Wine 4: 2001 Recanati Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Israel. This is the second wine I've had from this producer. There's some nice complexity here, and definite potential for aging. Plus, it's kosher, and you're supporting Israeli agriculture. $27.

Wine 5: 2002 Paul Hobbs Cocodrilo Cabernet Sauvignon. Argentina. High alcohol with a port like aroma, but dry and short on fruit flavors. $15.

Wine 6: 2003 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon. Chile. Good plum flavors, low tannins, and delightful youthfulness. Fun little wine and a good bargain. $11.

Wine 7: 2002 Henry's Drive Cabernet Sauvignon. Australia. Sweet and fully rounded, with medium tannins. Decent wine, not sure about the price. $37.

Wine 8: 2002 Bell Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. California. Lightly sweet and fruit-forward with good plum and black cherry flavors. A little thin. $41.

Wine 9: 2003 Marquis Philips Southeast Australia Cabernet Sauvignon. Lots of great fruit, smooth tannins, always a delight. $18.

Wine 10: 2002 Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon. California. Smoky and slightly herbal nose but not much in the way of flavor. $15.

Wine 11: 2002 Penfolds Thomas Hyland South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon. Firm beginning and smooth finish, very dark but not too heavy on the flavor. Well balanced. $15.

Wine 12: 2000 Javier Asensio Cabernet Sauvignon. Spain. The one wine that I really loved, and there's nothing on the website. This wine has left bank Bordeaux written all over it. Loved the aroma (green tomato leaves and spices), beautiful dark color, and great flavor. $24.

Wine 13: 2002 Block 13 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon. Sweeter, with soft tannins but a surprisingly firm finish. An odd duck, but not bad. $20.

2004 Trapiche Malbec

A cheap import from Argentina, much like one of those amazingly well-engineered vintage cameras you can grab from Buenos Aires, as long as you are willing to believe that it was engineered in South America and not in Germany between 1939 and 1945. Anyway, this is a fun little wine... the 2004 Trapiche Malbec. It's 100% Malbec from Mendoza, one of my favorite grape/region combinations, close to the NZ Sauvignon Blanc/Marlborough.

There's not a lot on the nose here, but it's a very smooth drinking red wine. Just a hint of tannins on the finish, you get dark fruit and leather flavors on the amazingly soft beginning. Not sweet, sour, or otherwise tainted by the usual flaws of cheap wine (only $6 per bottle). My only question is, why use a natural cork? This one really deserves a screwcap. Not only would it knock fifty cents or so off the price, but it would make it a perfect wine for outdoor BBQs, tailgate parties, and other events where you might be without a corkscrew. As much of a wine geek as I am, I have found myself in places without corkscrews before, and it's never pleasant. One hates to take the sorority girl route and use a butter knife to drive the cork deep enough into the bottle that one is able to pour easily.

Tasting Notes for June 25, 2005

The theme for this tasting was Fourth of July/picnic beverages, as such, there are some odd ones towards the end. Normally I skip these on the wine blog, but Saturday's selections were interesting.

Wine 1: Broadbent Vinho Verde. Portugal. The famous "green wine" of Portugal, this is a lightly fizzy, low alcohol, medium sweet wine. Decent enough flavors, but the kind of thing you want to serve to a novice drinker, a teenager, or the elderly. Give me something that fights back, damnit! $10.

Wine 2: 2004 The Jibe Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand. Everything I love about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc--firm acid, amazing grapefruit flavors, and a light finish. Perfect summertime wine. $15.

Wine 3: 2002 Red Bicyclette Chardonnay. France. This is part of Gallo's attempt to rebrand French table wines for the anti-French American market. How do they do this? By focusing on romantic pastoral views of the French, the more positive stereotpes. This strategy has been very successful. I enjoy the Merlot, but this Chardonnay is forgettable. There's a lemondrop aroma and slight lemony flavor that I found offputting, with a slightly bitter finish. If you want an inexpensive French Chardonnay, go for non-vintage white Burgundy. $10.

Wine 4: 2004 Wine Block Chardonnay. California. Comes in a 1.5 Liter box, made by Kendall-Jackson but not found on the website. This is a very basic unoaked Chardonnay, thin with a mild flavor. Unimpressive, but a bargain. $10.

Wine 5: Black Box Chardonnay. California. 3 Liter box. I had been looking forward to this wine, as I'd heard it was a higher end boxed wine, and might be good to keep in the fridge for cooking and occasional consumption. Ack. I actually dumped most of my sample out and drank a few glasses of water. There's a very cheap white wine flavor--hard to describe, but think rotten fruit and eye-watering acidity. Nasty. $25.

Wine 6: 2004 Clos La Chance Rosé. California. Hurrah! A delightful dry rosé. Slight strawberry nose and flavor, made from Grenache and Syrah. I really enjoyed this one. $13.

Wine 7: 2003 Cavalchina Bardolino. Italy. Delightful little Italian wine that will surprise you--almost no tannins, this tastes a little like a Beaujolais. Banana aromas on top, with a very light cherry flavor. Fun wine. $15.

Wine 8: 2002 La vieille Ferme La Sira. France. A very tannic, dry and ashy Rhone blend, Grenache and Syrah. Unimpressive but not bad. $10.

Wine 9: 2003 Laetitia Estate Pinot Noir. California. Amazing wine. Soft on the start, good dark plum flavors, light tannins, and a smooth finish. $23.

Wine 10: Hardy's Stamp Shiraz. Australia. 3 Liter box, couldn't find a website. Supposedly this is the same wine that they put in bottles, so the quality should be the same. I haven't tried them side by side, but there's no reason why this wouldn't be true. It's a light wine with no tannins, very little black pepper aroma, and not much in the way of fruit. It's not bad, but not something I'd get either. $17.

Cocktail 1: Cuervo Golden Margarita. 1.75 Liter bottle. This is a premixed margarita aiming for a more top shelf flavor than the other premixed cocktails. It's made with José Cuervo Gold, lime juice, and Grand Marnier. The full list of ingredients isn't in there, but there's a heavy dose of sugar. If it weren't for the sugar, this would be perfect, but I think it will sell better as is. Very smooth flavor, and you can't even really taste the tequila. Lovely golden color, but you can't taste a lot of the lime (the orange from the liqueur overwhelms the lime). Probably a great idea for a party, but needs to be served over ice in small quantities. $20.

Cocktail 2: Party-A-Go-Go Lime Margarita. 1.75 Liter box, no website found. Imagine rubbing alcohol with a cup of sugar thrown in it. Couldn't taste anything else, but supposedly there's lime of some sort in there. This was one of the most foul beverages that has ever passed my lips. Avoid at all costs. Another dump, rinse, and couple of glasses were required to get over this turkey. Spend the extra buck and go for the Cuervo. I think this company makes a whole line of other premixed cocktails in a box, but I'm going to stay away. $19.

Liqueur 1: KeKe Beach Key Lime Cream Liqueur. Wow--this was really delicious. It's the pale green color of pistachio pudding. Tastes just like key lime pie filling, and I was picking up a bit of graham cracker flavor, but that could have been psychological. (Hey, it looks like they really add a touch of graham flavoring!) Like I said, this is really good, but I couldn't say how or when to serve it, except as a post-dinner light dessert. Could be fun to boost the flavor of a key lime pie. $18.

Liqueur 2: Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur. No website. Think about the flavor of a chai latte, concentrated with cream and a bit of alcohol. Quite tasty on its own, it supposedly goes great with coffee or black tea. $24.

Weekend Wines

Friday night, I grabbed a bottle of the 2003 Bogle Chardonnay, ostensibly for the purposes of cooking. However, it turned out to be a great little sipper. Even though there's some barrel fermentation, you really don't taste it. There's a sweeter, fresh fruit taste that was unexpected (as opposed to the old overripe fruit you get in a lot of Chardonnay). Highly recommended. $10.

Saturday afternoon, I made an impulse purchase of the Bouvet Ladubay Rosé Excellence, a Loire sparkling wine made solely from Cabernet Franc. This is a very rare thing, and the only other sparkling Cabernet Franc I've ever seen was a thing of pure magic I had at a dinner party last year. Unfortunately, I wasn't really impressed with this wine. There was little or no flavor, just heavy fizz and a bitter aftertaste from the notoriously tannic grape. Beautiful color, but ultimately disappointing. $15.

Toad Hollow Erik's the Red

There was a Far Side cartoon that showed a group of generals sitting around a table, and one guy says, "What if we had a war and everybody came?" That's kind of the idea behind Toad Hollow's Erik's the Red, which is a blend of 15 red grapes from Paso Robles in California. From the site:

The majority of the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, and Rofosco with a small amount of Syrah, Primitivo, Sangiovese, Merlot, Zinfandel, Dolcetto, Cabernet Franc and Petit Sirah only to be polished at the end with Grenache, Mouvedre, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

Wow. I'm surprised they didn't throw in a splash of Pinot Noir just for the hell of it.

It's a firm wine--smooth beginning and tannic finish. A fun wine to drink (and it would be hilarious to take one to a blind tasting), but I don't know what food I'd match it with. Every sip tastes a little different, as you pick up different elements from the various grapes. No one grape stands out. It's non-vintage, but tasted pretty fresh. With all those tiny grapes like Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it could age well, but I wouldn't go to the trouble. $13.

Tasting Notes for June 16, 2005

Odd tasting from the past Thursday, run by a local distributor. These are all wines carried exclusively in this market by his company.

Wine 1: 2004 Las Brisas Rueda. Spain. An unusual white wine--50% Verdejo (same as Verdelho), 25% Viura, and 25% Sauvignon Blanc. Strong aroma of ripe fruit on top, pears and grapefruit. Nicely sweet, a little bitter on the finish. I grabbed a bottle for later consumption, and I can say that it's much better with food than on its own. $10.

Wine 2: 2003 Sebastiani Sonoma County Chardonnay. California. A little buttered toast aroma, hints of apple and light fruit on the palate. Just a bit of barrel aging, not enough to make it too dark or heavy. Not bad, but then again, it's just another California chard. $13.

Wine 3: 2004 Ferrari Carano Fumé Blanc. California. For anyone reading, Fumé Blanc is the same thing as Sauvignon Blanc, it's just a marketing term used here in the US. Acidic fruit flavors, good general balance but it was a little hard on the finish. Very full bodied. A good wine, maybe not a great value. $16.

Wine 4: 2003 Códice. Spain. An unusual but delicious wine. It's pure Tempranillo, which is generally fairly tannic, but this has been made in a very light style, like a Grenache or Gamay. Fun and a good bargain. $10.

2004 Toad Hollow "Eye of the Toad" Pinot Noir Rosé

Here's a fun summer wine: the 2004 Toad Hollow "Eye of the Toad" Pinot Noir Rosé. About $10, made from pure Pinot Noir. The website says that it's only available in their tasting room, but I grabbed it off the shelf at a local wine shop. First off, I've got to say that even as a childhood lover of The Wind in the Willows, this is one of the ugliest wine labels I've ever seen. Not only is there a drawing of a toad, but one eye is open and replaced with a bit of red foil, meaning that if the light is right, the toad is staring at you with a glowing solid red eyeball, no pupil or iris.

As for the wine? It's quite good. Very mild berry flavors, dry, no tannins, and a short finish. Serve cold with just about anything--I had it with a burger and fries. It goes down pretty smoothly, like a Beaujolais Nouveau. Good wine for turning someone away from White Zinfandel.

Roncier Rouge NV

Lately I've been seing more bottles of the Roncier Rouge, an inexpensive non vintage red Burgundy (again, pinot noir). I really loved the Blanc version, but found that it lost its fruit over time. I'm not sure if they're making more of this or if it's old stock. The idea behind Roncier is that they take a lot of leftover grapes from decent wineries throughout Burgundy, and then package it as an inexpensive table wine. The rouge has held up well enough--still a lot of good fruit flavors, and it benefits from just a little breathing. $10.

Tasting Notes for June 11, 2005

Interesting tasting format--blind tasting in groups of two. The wine couplets were identified by name, but you didn't know what the order was. Additionally, the wines were of the same varietal and had the same high score via Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate, but were much different in price. I did pretty well, correctly identifying 10 of the 12--the sauvignon blancs threw me for a loop with a grapefruit-flavored South African versus a bland New Zealand offering. In many of the cases, the more expensive wine was slightly older, though I tended to prefer the less expensive bottles.

Wine 1: 2003 Yalumba "Y Series" Riesling. Australia. I always enjoyed Yalumba wines, including their very affordable ports. For an inexpensive riesling, this was medium sweet and had a nice whiff of petrol on top. Good lemon flavor, a little acidic. Good summer wine, great match for Asian food. $12.

Wine 2: 2004 Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling.Washington state. Slightly musty, more refined, lemon flavors again, but drier than the Yalumba. $23.

Wine 3: 2004 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc. South Africa. Great grapefruit flavors, acidic and dry. I really thought this was from New Zealand, but was quite happy with it. Not as excited about the price. $18.

Wine 4: 2004 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand. Herbal, grassy, slightly musky aromas, medium sweet but with a stale and boring finish. There are much better wines for the price and region. How did this score a 91? $12.

Wine 5: 2003 Rosemount Show Reserve Chardonnay. Australia. Decent offering from Rosemount--I've never had any of their higher-end wines. Good buttered toast flavors, obvious well-oaked. Great bargain, and though a well-crafted wine, not the kind of thing I personally like. $14.

Wine 6: 2002 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay. California. How did I know it was from California? It looked more like a urine sample than the Aussie chard. That's not a slam, it's just the way they oak Chardonnay in California tends to give the wine a deep gold color. Buttered toast flavors again, but a bit milder than the first wine. Don't think I'd buy it at this price. $25.

Wine 7: 2003 Argyle Reserve Pinot Noir. Oregon. Amazing black cherry flavor, yet dry and light on the tongue. A great wine. $18.

Wine 8: 2002 F. Magnien Ruchots Morey St. Denis. France, no link. A solid red Burgundy, meaning it's all Pinot Noir. Unlike the above, it doesn't have as much fruit flavor. Instead, there's a sort of claylike quality that you find in a lot of French wines, as well as higher tannins. Probably awesome in a couple of years, but too rich for my blood. $50.

Wine 9: 2003 Goats Do Roam in Villages. South Africa. I've had this one before, and had the simpler version just last week, so I spotted that weird pinotage flavor in a heartbeat. Herbal and tannic, I'm still not a big fan. $14.

Wine 10: 2001 Guigal Chateauneuf-du-Pape. France. This was my first exposure to the heralded Rhone blend. I was unimpressed, finding it dark, sour, and not well balanced. Why would you grab this when CDR is so much tastier and cheaper? $40.

Wine 11: 2002 Paringa Cabernet Sauvignon. Australia. Amazing little wine. Dark purple color, dark fruit flavors. Well balanced, good fruit-forward feel, incredible price. I loved their Shiraz, and am equally impressed by this wine. $10.

Wine 12: 2001 Hedges Three Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Washington State. I think this is the first wine that I've had from the tiny Red Mountain region. Black pepper aromas on top, but with a hot and dry flavor that I found offputting. $21.

2003 Fairview Goats Do Roam Red

Consider this a followup to my earlier review of the same winery's Goats Do Roam in Villages. I didn't like that wine, even though I love the story behind it. But the regular Goats Do Roam was only $8, so I thought, what the hell? I sipped it along with a traditional pizza margherita. The breakdown has varied a bit over the years, but one list I found broke down the ingredients as follows: 33% Pinotage, 22% Shiraz, 13% Grenache, 13% Carignan, 10% Cinsault, 5% Gamay Noir and 4% Mourvèdre. In other words, this is like taking the native grape of South Africa and throwing it in a blender with all the major grapes of Southern France. And I liked it. Dry, and nicely tannic, but not overly fruity (in other words, well balanced). It doesn't have that sour smell/taste one asscociates with cheap red wine. This is definitely a great table wine, and I think it would go well with an afternoon barbecue. In fact, I plan on bringing a couple of bottles to the family Fourth of July BBQ in Murfreesboro next month. Definitely recommended. My dream is to serve one of these wines with goat cheese and roasted goat, as I love those two foods deeply, and this is the only wine I know of that is specifically crafted to match those two dishes.

Tasting Notes for May 28, 2005

No real links here, but most of the wines came from one Australian producer, Trever Jones. To fill out the list, there were three wines from Marquis Philips, also Australian. All of the info on the Trever Jones wines can be found here, and I came across a page with brief reviews of the Marquis Philips.

Trever Jones was there to promote his wines, and was an incredibly nice chap. Ruddy complexion, big handlebar moustache, and the thick, calloused hands of a farmer who actually gets his hands dirty. I got to sit with him for a spell while trying the wines, and learned a good bit about Australian winemaking. He hails from the Barossa Valley in South Australia.

Wine 1: 2004 Marquis Philips Holly's Blend. 100% Verdelho, this was a great little wine. Great fruit flavors, and a good sipper for the summer. This is an interesting grape, and a good change of pace from Chardonnay or some of the other big whites. Great bargain, too. $10.
Wine 2: 2004 Trevor Jones Boots White. A blend of Muscat and Riesling, this isn't as sweet as you'd expect, though it's not dry either. I had mixed feelings about this wine, but I know a lot of people who would love it. Might be fun with spicy Asian food. $13.

Wine 3: 2003 Trevor Jones Virgin Chardonnay. I'd never heard of "Virgin" Chardonnay, and the guy pouring the wine didn't know what it was either. This is the best thing about having the winemaker right there. "Hey Trevor, what's Virgin Chardonnay?" His explanation: it's 100% pure Chardonnay, made without oak. But putting "unoaked" or "no oak" on a bottle would sound cheap, so he started calling it Virgin. This wine had good fruit, a soft feel in the mouth, and low acids. While I love unoaked Chardonnay, you can get much better deals from Burgundy. $20.

Wine 4: 2002 Trevor Jones Boots Grenache. A favorite of everyone--this is a Spanish-style Grenache with a little Cabernet Franc mixed in. According to Trevor, this was made from vines that are 70-80 years old. I'd love to eat this with roast pork. It screams for a hearty pork sandwich. $14.

Wine 5: 2000 Trevor Jones Cabernet-Merlot. I didn't think this was very well balanced. There was a lemony acidity to the wine that made it difficult to appreciate the fruit. Might be a bit too old. $38.

Wine 6: 2001 Trevor Jones Dry Grown Shiraz. Good black pepper on the nose, and amazing black cherry flavors on the tongue. A great wine, but a bit steep for me. "Dry grown" means that the grapes were grown without any irrigation or watering, just from the natural rainfall, which tends to result in very low, intense yields. $37.

Wine 7: 2003 Marquis Philips Cabernet Sauvignon. I've had this wine a couple of times before, and have always loved it. Amazing complexity for such a young wine. Soft tannins, a short finish, and delicious dark flavors. $18.

Wine 8: 2003 Marquis Philips Shiraz 9. I first saw this wine a few months ago when I was purchasing a bottle of the above cab sav. The guy at the wine shop pointed out the Shiraz 9, and drew my attention to its 16% alcohol content, though due to the wiggle room in Aussie labeling, it may be as much as 17%. Way too much for a wine. It tasted like a thin port. It's not a bad wine, but I don't know if I'd pay for it, and I think it would be difficult to serve. $37.

Wine 9: Trevor Jones Sparkling Red NV. We were all excited about trying this wine. Unlike some of the Italian red sparklers I've tried, this was not sweet. It's 60% Grenache and 40% Shiraz, with a medium level of fizz. Maybe I'd built it up too much, but I found this wine lacking. There was a good flavor, but it tasted watered down, almost as if you'd taken a Rhone-style wine and diluted it with sparkling mineral water. $18.

Wine 10: Trevor Jones Jonsey Tawny Port NV. The Robert Parker review of this wine gave it 93 points, but falsely claimed that it was 46 years old. In fact, it's four to six years old. It looked more like sherry than port, i.e. dark brown like coffee with no red tint. And it tasted a lot like sherry, probably due to the Pedro Ximenez grape, but it also contains Shiraz and Grenache. A good value, but I don't think I'd buy it. $11.

2004 House of Nobilo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

I know this has been a theme recently, but in the heat of summer (which arrives early here in Memphis), it's really nice to turn to light whites and sparklers that can be chilled and enjoyed early in the meal so that you can cool off. Thus I grabbed a bottle of the 2004 House of Nobilo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, a great little wine from New Zealand. All you need to know about this is grapefruit, grapefruit, grapefruit. It tastes and smells like unsweetened grapefruit juice, though not as bitter or acidic. I had it with some leftover pizza, and it was a happy combination. $11.

Tasting Notes for May 19, 2005

Wine 1: Domaine Ste. Michelle Cuvée Brut. Now I've tried 3 of the 4 basic sparklers from Domaine Ste. Michelle. I still like the blanc de noirs best. This one didn't impress me--I got mostly yeast aromas on the nose, and it was crisp and dry but with little or no flavors. $11.

Wine 2: San Simone Di Paolo Prosecco. A frizzante style sparkling wine, meaning it's only lightly fizzy. Made in the northeast corner of Italy near Venice, this is a great little sipper--light, dry, and mild citrus flavors. I don't know how well it would go with food, but I enjoyed it the more I drank it. (So there was a spare bottle left over at the end... Always make friends with the people that do the pouring.) I picked up a bottle the following day, and I think it will be great on a hot day this summer. $10.

Wine 3: 2001 Montevina Amador Zinfandel. I tasted this back in January, but liked it a lot better this round. Maybe it was the increased age, maybe it was the individual bottle, but there was something magical here. The wine smelled and tasted like Christmas. Seriously, we were all getting peppermint and pine and gingerbread aromas and flavors. It tasted great, though it felt a little out of place in the heat of May. Doesn't have a lot of strong Zinfandel flavor, but I think it's serviceable. $12.

Wine 4: 2002 A Mano Primitivo. The ancestor of Zinfandel, this wine was made in the bootheel of Italy. Personally, I thought it was a little thin, but for that reason, I think it would make an amazing reduction sauce for grilled pork. $11.

Tasting Notes for May 14, 2005

The theme for this tasting was "Sippable Summer Wines", and I think the slate fit that bill fairly well.

Wine 1: Candoni Prosecco NV. Very interesting bottle design. I love this grape, though this sparkler was a little too brut for sipping on its own. Needs food. $14.

Wine 2: 2003 Cavalchina Bianco di Custoza. Fairly boring Italian white, lots of different grapes, but the fruit and acids fell completely flat. Could have been an off bottle. $15.

Wine 3: 2003 Domaine Félines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet. Great basic white wine from the south of France. Good acid levels and light citrus flavors. $13.

Wine 4: 2003 Castle Rock Sauvignon Blanc. I got a lot of pine aromas on top, though it's a reasonably rounded wine. That pine scent really lingered--I had to rinse my glass twice before the next pour. $10.

Wine 5: 2004 Paringa Chardonnay-Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc. Too much going on in this wine. Firm acids, but too many competing flavors. $12.

Wine 6: 2003 Pepi Pinot Grigio. A flat pinot grigio, nothing spectacular. Surprise, surprise. $12.

Wine 7: 2004 Don Rudolpho Torrentes. (No web info found.) The first time I'd ever had the Torrentes grape, which is the big white of Argentina. Very enjoyable--great fruit and balance, with just a bit of dusky flavor that reminded me of muscadines. $12.

Wine 8: 2004 Saint M Riesling. Made by Ste. Michelle in Washington, this isn't a bad riesling. Nothing special, but a good basic wine for introductory wine drinkers. $13.

Wine 9: 2004 Bonny Doon Big House Pink. A bood basic Italian-style rosé, ought to be perfect with fish or chicken, though it drinks smoothly enough for casual sipping. Also comes with a screwcap, making it perfect for impromptu occasions. $13.

Wine 10: 2003 Georges Dubœuf Beaujolais-Villages. From the famous "Vintage of the Sun" in 2003, this is holding up quite well. More tannins than you'd expect, but there's still that lovely aroma of bananas on top. Another great one for the introductory wine drinker, as well as something to show more experienced drinkers that there's life beyond Beaujolais Nouveau. $10.

Wine 11: 2003 Jumilla "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon-Monastrell. From the Jumilla region in Spain, this is a hearty red that takes its name from the famous quote from Noel Coward, that "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun." Herbal and grassy, but I think it needs a little time to soften. $10.

Wine 12: 2002 Ravenswood California Zinfandel. Firm tannins, not much in the way of good Zinfandel flavor. Take it or leave it. $13.

On Wine Websites and Names

Consider this an addendum to the manifesto... I'm deeply annoyed by the number of wine-related websites that make you jump through an age verification hurdle in order to just read about the wine. Because we all know that if kids read about malolactic fermentation, they'll become drug addicts and cook a baby in a microwave. One of the big arguments against online sales of wine in certain states is that kids will order wine over the internet. Yep, a kid will take a credit card and order a case of $350 a bottle Montrachet (plus tax and shipping) and ditch school in order to meet the UPS man at the door and wear a false beard and glasses in order to fool the delivery driver. Puh-leeze. Any kid that wants a drink will do one of three things: 1) steal sips from Mom and Dad's stash; 2) get an older friend to buy it; or 3) pay a homeless guy to buy something for them. Meanwhile in the state of Tennessee, there's no way for me to legally consume the products of many smaller wineries. I'm anxious to try some of the creative offerings of Virginia and Texas, but I can't unless I beg one of my distributor friends to get it for me. Which is basically just like #2 above, except that I'm an adult now and refuse to engage in such behavior.

Unrelated, but I guess it's part of the manifesto: In these reviews, I attempt to properly spell all elements of the wine's name. I realize I probably don't get everything 100% correct, but I do make the attempt. And since they influence pronunciation, I dig up all the ASCII codes to properly display letters with the proper diacritical marks above or below them. In a few cases, I think that going to the trouble of spelling these wines properly will actually reduce the number of Google hits that show up. Also, why do I always put the year first? It's a habit. It's also pretty much the only wine label info that's standard across the entire globe, and if a wine is non-vintage, you can generally assume it's of table quality or fairly informal. Generally I try to do Year - Producer - Grape, simplifying everything to the vaguely Californian label convention. Naturally for Old World wines, I stick to region or family or whatever is appropriate. And a lot of domestic wines tend to place the subregion on the label, but I don't typically include that unless the producer has a line of similar products from slightly different regions.

2002 Don Miguel Gascón Mendoza Malbec

The proprietor of one of my local haunts pressed this bottle into my hand the other day... It wasn't on the shelf, and there's not much of it in town: 2002 Don Miguel Gascón Mendoza Malbec. It's a $10 Malbec, which is a grape that I've been loving lately. This is kind of an odd wine, it's what I tend to think of as backwards--smooth on the front, high tannins and acid as you swallow. Not much on the nose, but the flavor is pleasant enough. Definitely better with food. I had a glass with another BBQ pork sandwich, where it matched beautifully. The second glass on its own, not as good.

Tasting Notes for April 30, 2005

Yesterday's wine tasting had a fun theme, the "Anti-Miles Merlot Tasting". As a retort against the declining Merlot sales sparked by Sideways, we ran through eleven decent Merlots from around the world. Since this grape tends to have a short aftertaste, it was possible to still appreciate flavors in the last couple of wines.

Wine 1: 2001 Christian Moueix Merlot. From Bordeaux, this had a pretty agressive start. Not sure that I liked it, but a good bargain. $11.

Wine 2: 2001 Mirassou Merlot. California, but not as fruit-forward as you'd think. Apparently it's got Pinot Noir in there too. Well balanced, but not exciting. I just haven't had great luck with this winery. $10.

Wine 3: 2001 Recanati Merlot. With a vaguely Italian name and an Old World label, I thought this was from Italy or the south of France. But the region name at the bottom of the label said "Galilee". I picked up the bottle and read the back, only to discover that it was made in Israel. L'chaim! With firm tannins and a bright flavor, this would be a fun substitute for Chianti or other Italian wines. $16.

Wine 4: 2003 Penfolds Rawson's Retreat Merlot. This particular product line, at the bottom of the Penfolds offerings, can be fun, but I wasn't really happy with this wine. There was a musky aroma and fairly harsh tannins. Could have been an off bottle. $8.

Wine 5: 2002 Castle Rock Napa Valley Merlot. Great fruit flavors, soft tannins, everything that you're supposed to hate about California merlot, but I like it. $10.

Wine 6: 2001 Red Diamond Merlot. From Washington state, supposedly owned by Ste. Michelle. It's soft and rounded, easily drinkable. $11.

Wine 7: 2001 Crane Family Merlot. Great black cherry flavors, don't know if it's worth the price. $40.

Wine 8: 2000 Chappellet Napa Valley Merlot. Good plum flavors, strong tannins. Could probably age for a while longer. $27.

Wine 9: 2001 Pine Ridge Crimson Creek Merlot. Amazing balance, it's always nice to find a wine that feels perfectly put together. $30.

Wine 10: 2003 Bookwalter Columbia Valley Merlot. Great fruit on the nose, but not so much on the tongue. $25.

Wine 11: 2000 Chateau Jean Voisin St. Emilion Grand Cru 2000. (Couldn't find a website with good info in English.) And now we're back to Bordeaux. I loved this wine, I mean really loved it. You wouldn't think that it's a Merlot, as it's rich and complex. It has a great herbal, freshly chopped vegetation aroma, with good spice on the tongue. So nice, but out of my range. $40.

Korbel Extra Dry

In my continuing quest for an inexpensive (but tasty) sparkling wine to use for my brother's wedding, I decided to try the Korbel Extra Dry. Made from Chenin Blanc and Colombard, there's some decent citrus flavors, but it's not spectacular. I served it with pulled pork sandwiches and baked beans, where it performed admirably, so think about it as a good picnic or cookout wine rather than one to enjoy on its own. $10.

Even though it's called "Extra Dry", it's actually in the middle range of sweetness. For marketing reasons that go back centuries and have to do with differing French and English tastes, here's the range of sweetness, listed here from driest to sweetest:

• Extra Brut - probably the driest you'll see, though there are sparklers out there with no sugar at all (Brut Nature, Pas Dosé or Dosage Zero)
  
• Brut - considered the proper choice for serious Champagne
  
• Extra Dry - sometimes called Extra Sec, it's actually not that dry
  
• Sec - the word means "dry", but it's actually sweet
  
• Demi Sec - ditto
  
• Doux - sweet like soda