Tasting - Heinz Eifle

Name: Heinz Eifel
Variety: Shine
Region: 
Country: Germany
Year: 2010
Price: $8.95

Winery Review: Flint and mineral notes accent pineapple and lime aromas, while on the palate, the wine shows plenty of ripe, citrusy fruit flavors. Tangy acids on the long finish provide balance.

My review:  The color of the wine was pink because I tasted this clear wine after a red.  This wine had a pineapple smell.  For the taste the wine was very sweet and sugary.  It was smooth and even had hints of peach.  This was a very good wine, and would be easy to drink on its own. I don't know what type of food I would pair this with.


I tasted this on its own with no food.    

Tasting - Don Ramon

Name: Don Ramon
Variety: Tinto
Region: 
Country: Spain
Year: 
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: 75% Grenache, 25% Tempranillo. Aged 3 months in American Oak casks. Ruby red in color, with creamy aromas of earth and cherry.  Flavor turns toward deeper and darker black cherry and raspberry on a medium framework. A subtle earthiness underneath the bright fruit adds some depth and complexity.

My review:  This wine came out of the bottle black!  But on the edges of the glass you could see the wine was clear and red.  The nose was fully of strawberries and raspberry.  The wine was very smooth but had some dryness towards the end of the taste.  The wine was not the most flavorful it was really just too dry and tannic.  I would not recommend this wine on its own.  Maybe it would be good with a big juicy steak.

I tasted this on its own with no food.    

Tasting - Resonata

Name: Resonata
Variety: Nero D'Avola
Region: 
Country: Italy
Year: 
Price: $6.95

Winery Review: Dense ruby red with violet reflections. Lush and ripe bouquet full of mulberries, blackberries and spice. Harmonious and well balanced with good berry fruit in a spicy background.

My review:  This wine had a brownish red color and was not super clear.  The boquet of the wine was very strong and fruity.  It also smelled like pepper, spices and a little cinnamon.  The taste had some pepper but was mostly tannic, dry and acidic with a burnt after taste.  The wine was medium bodied, it was OK.


I tasted this on its own with no food.    

Tasting - Protocolo

Name: Protocolo
Variety: Blanc
Region: 
Country: Spain
Year: 
Price: $6.95

Winery Review:  87 Points, Stephan Tanzer

Greenish gold. Subtle aromas of mint, lemon and orange, with a

hint of honeysuckle. Dry, understated and focused, offering clean

citrus and melon flavors and slow-building sweetness. Finishes

dry and brisk, with an echo of lemon. As usual, this is an

outstanding value

My review:  This wine was OK.  It had a pale gold color.  It had a slight smell of bread which is rather unusual for wine.  It did not have much of a bouquet.  The taste was like drinking a plant, with a grassy earthy taste.  The wine was smooth and had a slight citrus taste.  This wine was OK.

I tasted this on its own with no food.    

Tasting - Sontola

Name: Santola
Variety: Vinho Verde
Region: 
Country: Portugal
Year: 
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Soft and creamy, although with just the right Vinho Verde bite, this is a crisp and clean wine, boasting light pear and pink grapefruit flavors. Off dry and very fresh.

My review:  This was an excellent white wine.  It had a pale gold color which was nice to see versus the regular pale green.  On the nose the wine was pretty fragrant.  There was a strong grapefruit smell, with some plum, pear, and cherry.  The taste started tart and then went to sweet.  It was a very smooth wine with no heat, most likely because it was only 9.9% alcohol.  This wine was medium bodied and very good.  I would recommend.

I tasted this on its own with no food.    

Tasting - Lost Vineyards

Name: Lost Vineyards
Variety: Spumante Dolce
Region: 
Country: Italy
Year: 
Price: $4.95

Winery Review: Pale silvery straw color. Floral aromas of apples, peaches, and potpourri follow through on a round, frothy entry to a fruity medium bodied sweet wine with good depth and tangy peach fruit and a breezy, harmonious green apple kissed finish.

My review:  This was sparkling wine.  It was lightly carbonated.  The tasting was after red wine so the wine appeared pink but was really supposed to be just a white wine color.  The smell was very fruity.  The taste was sweet, there was a bitter mid-pallet, there was also some fruity after taste.


I tasted this on its own with no food.   

Tasting - Charles Thomas

Name: Charles Thomas
Variety: Cotes-du-Rhone
Region: Rhone
Country: France
Year: 
Price: $8.95

Winery Review:  Wine Advocate , 87 pts
From a 140+-acre estate near the well-known Cotes du Rhone village of Pont Saint Esprit emerges this juicy Cotes du Rhone, a blend of 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre. Wellmade, with loads of berry fruit and a heady, meaty, peppery nose with a hint of Provencal herbs, the wine is fresh, lively, and best drunk over the next 2 years.

My review:  This wine had a very light color for a red wine.  There were not many legs.  The wine smelled like carrots and a slight smell of rubbing alcohol.  The taste was very smooth but there was just not much taste.  There was also a bit of heat that came through in the wine.  The wine was not bad but just kind of boring.  This wine would be ok with some complex food.

I tasted this on its own with no food.   

Tasting - Coreto

Name: Coreto
Variety: Tinto
Region: Lisboa Region
Country: Portugal
Year: 2008
Price: $6.95

Winery Review:  This red from the Coreto range has loads of dark berry fruit with a hint of new oak creating a soft, velvet structure that makes it very to easy drink. Red currant and juicy acidity

My review:  Good wine.  The wine was dark, opaque and smokey.  The wine had a strong candy smell with hints of strawberry.  The taste was unlike the smell it was very tannic and bitter.  

I tasted this on its own with no food.   

Tasting - Morrow Bay

Name: Morro Bay White Oak Estates
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Lodi, California
Country: United States
Year: 2009
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  Vanilla cream soda nose with a slice of fresh cut pineapple. Full body, tropical fruit, spice and pleasing vanilla oak note linger in the finish. Sweet flavor on the palate is from sur-lie aging the wine on the primary yeast lees for 7months. A versatile style of wine that can be served chilled with fine cuisine or a glass with friends.  Certified Green by Lodi Rules Sustainable Winegrowers.

My review:  This was not a wine that I enjoyed.  The wine had a gold color.  The wine had an old musty smell, it was rotten and tobacco like.  The taste was full of the "oak monster" and also kind of dry.  I would not recommend this wine.

I tasted this on its own with no food.   

Tasting - Cantina Villafranca

Name: Cantina Villafranca
Variety: Frascati
Region: Frascati
Country: Italy
Year: 2010
Price: $7.95

Winery Review:   Produced from a selection of the best grapes located in the Frascati Doc production area. Made from 45% Malvasia di Candia, 15% Trebbiano Toscano, 25% Malvasia del Lazio, 15% Grechetto (Greco). Intense yellow color with greenish

reflections. Characteristic persistent fresh and fruity aromas.

Excellent as an aperitif and paired with fish, seafood or white

meat

My review:  This wine had a pale green color.  On the nose there were smells of pear and blueberry.  Then the taste was peachy with some hints of apple and oak.  When I tasted it I really enjoyed it and purchased a bottle.  

I tasted this on its own with no food.  


I drank the bottle with a salad I made with hot chicken.  The wine did not complement the food very well.  There seemed to be a lot of heat coming through in the wine.  Luckily some of my guests brought other bottles I could drink from.

Dinner - Wine to drink and with the food

I wanted to try cooking with wine on my own so I did just that.  I went with my financee to the grocery store and we found a good South american wine:

Name: Frontera
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot
Region:
Country: Chile
Year:
Price: $8

We also bought some fancy cheese.  We spent about 10 minutes looking at all of our options.  We decided to go with a chipolte Gouda and buffalo Gouda.  I like the chipolte but the buffalo was way to hot and required a cup of water per bite.

Good Cheese

Lastly we picked up some 4 cheese past sauce and three chicken breasts.  We prepared the meal by opening up the chicken and placing different combinations of cheese in each one: two with just one type of cheese and one that was mixed.  We covered the chickens with various spices, olive oil, and the wine!  Then it baked for 45 minutes.

Prepared for baking, note the wine and olive oil 

Before eating we also mixed some wine into the heated four cheese sauce we purchased which turned it purple and then poured it all the chicken.  It was then devoured.

Finished chicken!

The food was excellent and I would eat it again.

Full, happy people (notice the empty plate!)

More happy people

Tasting - Entrada Malbec

Name:  Entrada
Variety: Malbec
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2011
Price: $5.55

Winery review: (http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1290339)

One of the traditional “Bordeaux varietals”, Malbec has characteristics that fall somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. A midseason ripener, it can bring very deep color, ample tannin, and a particular plum-like flavor component to add complexity to claret blends. Malbec is a finicky vine whose fruit is prone to rot and mildew in the cool, damp coastal climate of Bordeaux. But ask a Bordelais grower why there’s no Malbec around, and you’ll more likely get a dismissive shrug and sniff than a viticultural analysis. It is known in much of France as Côt, and, in Cahors, also as Auxerrois. There are in fact hundreds of local synonyms, since Malbec at one time was widely planted all over the country. Sensitivity to frost and proclivity to shatter or coulure (a disease that results in premature fruit drop) is the primary reason that Malbec has become a decreasing factor in most of France. Although plantings in the Medoc have decreased by over twothirds since the mid-twentieth century, Malbec is now the dominant red varietal in the Cahors area. The Appellation Controlée regulations for Cahors require a minimum content of 70%. Malbec is also planted in Chile, and there’s relatively little and recent acreage in California and Australia. It is usually blended with other red varietals in these countries. But Malbec truly comes into its own in Argentina, where it is the major red varietal planted. Much of the Malbec vines there were transplanted from Europe prior to the outbreak of phylloxera and most is therefore ungrafted, on its own roots. Sadly, over the years the bug infested Argentina, too, and vineyards are being replanted on resistant rootstock. Happily, the vines thrive in the arid climate of the Mendoza region in the foothills of the Andes. Made in the context of this South American nation’s Spanish and Italian heritage, it produces a delicious wine that has almost nothing in common with Bordeaux except the color. Argentines often spell it “Malbeck” and make wines from it that are slightly similar in flavor to those made in Europe, but with softer, lusher structure, more like New World Merlot. Another difference is that where French examples are usually considered short-lived, Argentine Malbecs seem to age fairly well. Successful Argentine Malbec growers claim that, in order to develop full maturity and distinction, Malbec needs “hang time” even after sugar levels indicate ripeness. Otherwise, immature Malbec can be very “green” tasting, without its characteristic notes of plum and anise. Malbec in Argentina has come to be appreciated for a spicy white pepper characteristic, the aroma of violets, and sweet, jammy fruit. It is a seductive wine that is typically warm and generous in the mouth, with plenty of flesh, and very appealing when young. Almost always producing a ripe and fruity, even plummy wine, Malbec can take oak aging or show well without it; it’s juicy and quaffable when young but can benefit from aging, developing an intriguing complexity with time in the bottle. It can range in price from as little as $7 to more than $75. The true potential of Argentine Malbec, and indeed in the entire spectrum of Argentine wines, is demonstrated by the fact that many of the world’s most renowned winemakers have come to Argentina to make wine. Both the legendary California winemaker Paul Hobbs, and Michel Rolland of Bordeaux, one of the world’s most famous winemakers, have created very high-end Malbecs. It may be the Italian component in the country’s mixed Latin family tree that fosters the fact that Malbec is an exceptional companion with a broad range of food. Its well-balanced fruit-and-acid profile makes it a natural with rare beef (bear in mind that Argentina is cattle country), but it’s just as good with simple fare from burgers to fried chicken. With its natural balance, good pairings include: cajun cuisine, calzones, cannelloni with meat, poultry, vegetable couscous, steak creole, Greek cuisine, deviled eggs, hummus, Indian cuisine, leg of lamb, Mexican cuisine with meat, pâté, spinach soufflé, and hearty pasta. For cheeses, think of harder styles that are either waxed or oiled, such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Ricotta Salata, Romano, Asiago, Pont l’Eveque, Gruyere, Manchego, Cantal, Comte, old Gouda, old Cheddar, Baulderstone, Beaufort, Leicester, aged Chesire, Chevre Noir, Wensleydale, Tilsit, Iberico, Mahon, Roncal, and Mizithra.

My review: This was a great wine. It was very dark in the glass with a rich red color, it was not too purple indicating a young wine.  On the nose the wine was full of raspberry and cherry flavors.  When I swirled the wine in my glass I saw lots of legs so I expected the wine to be full bodied.  It was.  The taste was full, tart, tannic and acidic.  I tasted this wine with sushi which work to bring down the acid taste of the wine.  It made the wine smooth and brought out the flavors of the fruit.

This wine was tasted with sushi

Bonus Tasting - Tangley Oaks

Name: Tangley Oaks
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Central Coast
Country: United States
Year: 2007
Price: ?

Winery Review:   Each year the Tangley Oaks winemakers select the single lot that has developed into the truest example of Santa Barbara County and the Chardonnay grape. The wine is only partially barrel fermented (36%) with the remaining wine aged in stainless steel.  This lends itself to a slight oakiness that doesn't overpower the wine as many other California Chardonnays experience. 


Tangley Oaks Chardonnay delivers fresh pear aromas followed by baked apple flavors with hints of Meyer lemon, nutmeg and vanilla. It is refreshing with bright acidity, and will pair well with roasted chicken, pork loin or veal. 

My review:  It was exciting to get to try a sixth wine today.  Unfortunately I sampled this wine after the reds since it was not on the list it initially got overlooked.  This wine was poured in my glass after the red and did get some mixing and the wine had a pink color when I tasted it so I am not sure how accurate my analysis was.  On the nose it was just butter!  The taste was acidic buttery and bitter.  This wine did not have the creaminess that you would expect with a Chardonnay.  Some people may like it but I don't.

I tasted this on its own with no food.  

Tasting - Legaris Crianza

Name: Legaris
Variety: Crianza
Region: Ribera del Duero
Country: Spain
Year: 2003
Price: $8.95

Winery Review:  90 Points, Wine Spectator A silky texture carries plum, tobacco, coffee and mineral flavors over ripe tannins in this balanced red. Berry and vanilla notes linger on the finish. Drink now through 2013.  –T.M

My review:  This wine was an excellent experience.  The wine had a smokey red color when poured into the glass.  Then on the nose there were aromas of fruit, plum and apple.  The wine was rather dry and acidic, but had some great flavors.  The main flavor that came through was a smokey wood.  It was a good wine and I would recommend it.  This would be great with any food.

I tasted this on its own with no food.  

Tasting - Into Zin

Name: Into Zin
Variety: Zinfandel
Region: Lodi, California
Country: United States
Year: 2008
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Spicy , jammy, ripe round plum with juicy soft finish. Goes well with marsala chicken, peppered steak or broiled lamb shank.

My review:  This wine looked delicious when poured into the glass, it had a dark red.  Then it got better on the nose with the bouquet transmitting senses of raspberry and cherry. When I tasted the wine it was fully bodied with a slight pepper taste.  I felt like I had a strange coating on my tongue and would have liked to have brushed my teeth after the tasting.  This wine was not good and I would not recommend it.  

I tasted this on its own with no food.  

Tasting - Tres Ojos Garnacha Tempranillo

Name: Tres Ojos
Variety: Garnacha Tempranillo Rose
Region: Calatayud
Country: Spain
Year: 2010
Price: 5.95

Winery Review:  A 50-50 blend of Tempranillo and Garacha, this medium rosecolored rosado boasts a spicy red herry/plum nose with a soft lush attack of red berry fruit flavors and a crisp dry finish. Simple and refreshing and a natural for tapas.

My review:  Tres Ojos or three eyes for my English audience was also a "Ok" wine.  It had the typical pink color.  The nose was the best part of this wine with the smells of plums and grape jelly.  The taste of the wine was crisp.  The initial taste was bitter but the mid palate was very very berry.  The after taste also maintained berry flavor but a strong bitterness returned which I found to be unpleasant.  This wine would go well with a chocolate dessert.  The right occasion could possible convince me to have this wine again.  It just didn't match the Coastal Vines.

I tasted this on its own with no food.  

Tasting - Lazzaro Chardonnay

Name: Lazzaro
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2010
Price: $6.95

Winery Review:   Opens with mellow peach and melon aromas and some oak. The palate is round, creamy and full. Tastes of spiced, dried apple with a stalky, pithy accent.

My review:  This wine was just "OK."  It had a nice golden yellow color.  On the nose there was a strong peachy smell.  When I tasted the wine the best part was the texture.  It was very full bodied and creamy.  The "Oak Monster" was not present in the Chardonnay.  The taste was very plain and did not have a very strong buttery taste that some Chardonnay's have.  I would drink it again but I wouldn't want to pay for it.

I tasted this on its own with no food.  

Tasting - Coastal Vines Brut

Name: Coastal Vines Brut
Variety: Sparkling Wine
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: ?
Price: $6.95

Winery Review:  Coastal Vines Sparkling Wine is a light colored wine with aromas of apple and citrus. On the palate there are flavors of melon and pear. The finish is crisp and clean. Pair with cheeses, like brie, for appetizers; grilled garlic shrimp over a bed of pasta; or with a light white cake for dessert.

My review:  This wine was excellent.  I was the last person to taste this wine from the bottle so my first impression was not  the best, because most of the bubbles were gone.  This ended up being a good thing because it allowed me to have a second tasting from a fresh bottle.  On the nose the wine was very citrusy with a hint of pear.  My second tasting had a good amount of carbonation.  The taste was slightly sour with a bitter after taste.  It tasted just like regular wine grapes.  I would recommend this wine, it is a good value for the price.  I would buy this wine if had had a special event to celebrate with my fiancee Mariah.

I tasted this on its own with no food.