Bloom Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage: 2004 Purchased: Aug 9th 2007 Price: $24.00 Purchase Location: Maple Leaf Wine Cellar - (http://www.mapleleafcellar.com/) Categories: Cabernet Sauvignon - California - Red - Washington

Tasting Notes:

Kathrine picked this wine out and I'm not sure why. Even when I originally tasted it I was not a super fan. This is a well made cabernet. The color is spot on and it's very full bodied. The nose is a mixture of blackberry, oak, and a hint of mint. In the mouth though, the fruit flavors just explode. It's a jammy concoction of creme de cassis, black berry, and just a hint of chocolate. There are tannins and acid, but they just heighten the jammieness. This would be your basic fruit bomb. It's a good wine, just not my style.


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Arger-Martucci Carneros Pinot Noir Vintage: 2003 Purchased: Oct 26th 2007 Price: $18.99 Purchase Location: Garagiste - (http://www.garagistewine.com/) Categories: California - Pinot Noir - Red

Tasting Notes:

As California Pinot Noir goes, this is the best I've had. It has the right crimson color. It's not black and over extracted. The nose is spot on with hints of cedar and violets, and just a touch of spice. The flavors are bright cherry and plum with a crisp acidity. The downside was the alcohol. It didn't taste hot, but after two glasses I could tell this wasn't a low alcohol French Burgundy.


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Ravenswood Sonoma County Merlot Vintage: 2002 Purchased: Dec 31st 2007 Price: $0.00 Categories: California - Merlot - Red

Tasting Notes:

This is not a wine I would normally buy. I tend to like merlot (and cabernet for that matter) in blends. But this was a gift, and I'm never going to turn down free booze!

This was a deep thick purple wine. You could tell it meant business in the glass. It had a fairly pronounced nose of black fruit. In the mouth, it was thick and very jammy with blackberry and blueberry flavors. The finish was super long, but it was pleasant with well developed tannins and quite a bit of black pepper and smoky oak.

This was a fairly nice wine, and it paired well with the steak. It probably lacked acid and it started to fall apart when opened the second day. But all in all, it was quite nice.


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Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel Vintage: 2005 Purchased: Feb 3rd 2006 Price: $10.99 Purchase Location: Cost Plus World Market Categories: California - Red - Zinfandel

Tasting Notes:

This was the red wine I served at our solstice BBQ. I figured it would hold up well to the smoked meat and sauce.

It is a dark purple in the glass with tons of fruit notes. Blackberry, blueberry, and boysenberry dominate the aroma. At first sip, the wine is huge and thick in the mouth with an explosion of jammy flavors. I didn't get much in the way of tannins from this one, as I let it breathe for a bit before drinking. There was just a hint of oak/pepper/vanilla on the finish to go along with a good acid. Unfortunately none of them could really compete with the fruit and alcohol.

This is a pretty good zin, and the best you are apt to find in this price range. It's very fruit forward and high in alcohol, but that's generally what people want from their zin.


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Concannon Central Coast Pinot Noir Vintage: 2005 Purchased: Jan 26th 2007 Price: $9.99 Purchase Location: QFC Categories: California - Pinot Noir - Red

Tasting Notes:

I'm a big pinot noir fan, but unfortunately, most of the budget pinots are just bad. Its hard to find a good one under $20 much less $15. I took a chance on this when I saw it marked down from $15 to $10 at the local QFC.

In the glass it was a light garnet in color. It passed the first test, it looked like a pinot. The aroma was interesting. I could smell the fruit, but there was no earthy, mushroomy, minerally smell that I normally associate with this grape. Instead there was a distinct aroma of burnt sugar. Not unpleasant in the slightest, but definitely unexpected. The first taste was fruit, but muted and not a fruit bomb like sometimes you get from California. The most prominent flavor was tart cherry, with an emphasis on tart. There was a little bit of strawberry and raspberry, but the cherry and the acid dominated. After a few seconds, the taste of cola became apparent and it was very reminiscent of a cherry coke. Then the tannins kicked in. Not unpleasant, but maybe a little strong. They balanced the acid well, but I found them to mute the fruit just a little too much.

One thing to know is that this wine is not 100% pinot noir. California allows up to 25% of the wine to come from other grapes. In this case 8% petite sirah and 7% grenache. I'm guessing the petite sirah was there to add tannin and a touch of complexity, without using oak. The grenache was probably their to boost the fruitiness to some degree. All in all though, it does taste how a pinot should, and at less than $10 I wouldn't hesitate to buy this again.


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Sofia Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Vintage: NV Purchased: Feb 24th 2007 Price: $12.99 Purchase Location: Whole Foods Categories: California - Sparkling - White

Tasting Notes:

This wine is all about the packaging. The only reason I bought it was because Kathrine really thought the little cans were cute.

I'm not a huge fan of blanc de blancs. They tend not to be fruity enough for me. This was no exception. Not much of a nose on this at all. What little fruit on the palate was mostly green apple. It was pretty tart. I appreciated the lack of sweetness, but Kathrine thought it could use a little more sugar. I also missed the yeastiness you get from something made in the champagne method.

All in all, this is drinkable. But for less money you can get a very good cava. And for the same money or just a little more, you can get a cremant, a prosecco, moscato di asti, or new world sparkler of higher quality. Unless you need something for a party or a picnic, I'd hold off on this.


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Ravenswood Vinters Blend Zinfandel Vintage: 2004 Purchased: Jan 20th 2007 Price: $8.99 Purchase Location: QFC Categories: California - Red - Zinfandel

Tasting Notes:

I'm not a huge zinfandel fan. Although the expensive ones I've tasted have been good. Most budget ones leave something to be desired. This one was pretty good though, especially for the price.

It was full of strawberry and blueberry flavors. It had a little spice, and much more acidity than I'm used to. It was fairly jammy, but the acid seemed to keep that in check. On the positive side it only had 13.5% alcohol, which is low for most zinfandels. I appreciate that.

I served this with a spicy three meat chili at my super bowl party, and thought it stood up well to the dish. At this price this is probably a great wine to have on hand for food as it would pair well with a variety of dishes.


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Mark West Pinot Noir Vintage: 2005 Purchased: Jan 2nd 2007 Price: $9.99 Purchase Location: Metropolitan Market - (http://www.metropolitan-market.com/) Categories: California - Pinot Noir - Red

Tasting Notes:

This wine is a typical California pinot noir, much fruitier than the ones from France. It's a bright red garnet color, and almost pink on the edges. The tastes of strawberries, plums, and raspberries. I didn't get much in the way of spice or minerals from this wine. There was a bit of vanilla from the oak, but it was very subtle.

I served this with a hash made from duck confit. I must say that the hash was better than the wine. It's very drinkable, probably the best pinot I've had at this price, but not nearly as good as the grape can be. This is a good wine though if you love fruit tastes, but don't like tannins; or if you have a recipe using pinot, and want to drink and cook with the same wine (coq au vin, boeuf burgononge, etc).


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