Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Day 71- Sweet Pete by the Village Vintner for $14.99

This wine was bought at the Easter wine tasting after tasting a few too many dry wines before whereas this wine came off a lot sweeter than it is today. The vintner describes this wine as styled after the German Piesporter. This wine has a floral bouquet with hints of peach and citrus, ripe flavors of exotic fruit and honey make it elegant and easy drinking. They recommend this wine with salads and lightly spiced white meats. I find this wine to be easy drinking and ok overall. I would bring this wine to a dinner party as a pairing white wine. I find it to be a little heavier than you average white wine and a touch on the sweeter side. It is too pricey to avail to the masses and really would not probably be that popular.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Day 70-August Kesseler's Rheingau Qualitatswein for $4.99 at Binny's

This wine was at the Easter wine tasting at Binny's the Thursday before Easter. This wine was presented as a Riesling, but it is really 70% Silvaner and 30% Riesling. I have never heard of the Silvaner grape. This wine is on the acidic side and was the worst of the 3 wines that we tasted on Friday night tasting of white wines. It has very few fruit flavors and is very acidic. There is no long aftertaste on this wine and I can honestly say the best thing about this wine is the price. I would only bring this wine to a party where you don't know most of the people because it is not very good, but is a very cheap white wine for a party where people are not necessarily drinking for taste. Even though this wine was so cheap, I will not be buying it again, because I won't bring a wine to a place where I don't want to drink the wine.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Day 69-Moscato di Carmel 2007 by Samson for under $10 at Binnys

This wine was bought due to the price and it being a Moscato. It is actually a kosher wine and was on sale for the Passover holiday. This wine is very good and is not as sweet as your typical Moscato di Asti, but the fruit flavors are more subtle. This is a great summer wine with its sparkling effervescence and low alcohol content. I would bring this to a summer barbeque by the case because it would be that popular. If you like a Moscato di Asti, you will like this wine, if you don't like Moscato di Asti, then this is not the wine for you.

Day 68-Cosecha Tardia Vino Blanco Dulce Natural by Bodega Norton 2008 $12 at Costco

We really like late harvest wines and that is why we bought this wine without trying it first and not on any recommendation. My better half thinks this wine needs to be aged more since it is a late harvest since the aroma and the taste is very weak. I don't think that is the issue. I think this is just a very simple semi-sweet wine with no distinct flavors because it is a blend. This wine is made in Argentina which I don't think is renowned for its sweet wines. I think this is a good wine to bring to a party that you know people are just drinking to drink and do not really care about the quality of the wine. This wine can be drank on its own, like I said there is nothing offensive about the wine, however there is nothing overly pleasing about the wine either. I will not buying this wine again, but would have a glass if a friend had the bottle at their home.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Day 67-American Petite Syrah Late Harvest 2004 by Lynfred Winery for $25.00

This wine does not fall into the under $25 dollar category, however it is close and it is one of my favorites. This wine has a touch of sweetness with the flavor of raisin and plum. I like a Petite Syrah in general, however the late harvest gives it the touch of sweetness I crave without going overboard. This wine is very dark and has some legs on it. This is a great romance wine which would pair perfectly with dark chocolate and all types of fruit and cheese. This wine is a great drinking wine that does not require food and is very fruit forward. This wine is expensive and I believe it to be a special occasion wine due to the price and the simple elegance of the wine. This wine is not a favorite of my better half and when we did the blind tasting, I knew what it was right away and he had no clue. This wine is very distinct an after dinner glass would be the perfect end to any meal. I think it is the perfect end to any evening and am very sad the bottle is coming to an end.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Day 66-White Merlot by the Village Vintner Winery at $12.99

This wine was the worst of three we tasted at our blind wine tasting on Friday, Again, this was a wine I tasted at the Easter wine tasting at the Village Vintner and it tastes a lot drier now then it did when I tasted it at the winery. I, also have to note, as I think about it, that we were pairing cheeses with a lot the wine we were tasting and that probably influenced our opinion of the wine. This wine is the same color of the White Zinfandel of the Village Vintner Winery. This wine is a big disappointment, it is extremely dry with minimal strawberry overtones in terms of smell and taste. Generally, I like Merlot ok, however it can vary from the very dry to the very jammy and mellow and of course I am on the very jammy and mellow side. This is a very dry blush wine, and I going to need to look in the fridge for some food or cheese to pair this with due to the dryness. The acidity in this wine ruins it for me. Again, I would describe this wine as a White Zinfandel wannabe and I don't like it very much at all.

Day 65 Red Sangria by Fox Valley Winery for $10.99

This wine came in the wine club selection for the month of March 2009. We don't buy Sangria generally because my better half does not like sangria. This wine was part of the blind wine taste test this last Friday and each of us had no idea what kind of wine this was and then were totally surprised to find this was a sangria. The vintner states right on the bottle that this is grape wine with natural flavors added, is made by mixing red wine, lemon, lime, orange and other fruit extracts with a small amount of sugar. I have never tasted a sangria like this one, I taste cinnamon and clove, cherry and apple. I simply thought this wine was a blend with an overwhelming cherry taste. My better half, who does not even like sangria thought this wine was the best of the three wines we tasted, and I who likes samgria, didn't really like this wine at all. I find this wine very tart and it makes me thirsty. I find this wine to be almost like a Glogg where it could be heated and then be a winter drink. Typically, I think of sangria as fruity and light and found this wine to be slightly heavy with a lot of spices and very strong cherry taste. I find this wine too odd to bring to a party and would not have bought this wine.

Day 64-White Zinfandel by the Village Vintner Winery for $12.99

I bought this wine at the Easter Tasting at their winery where all their wines were up for tasting with all their cheeses. This wine smells of pure strawberry and tastes predominantly like strawberry with some slight acidity. I found this wine to be less dry when I originally tried it. I found that when I taste numerous wines in a row in a rather quicker pace I find most wines sweeter than they actually are, and again this is how I would say I wound up buying this wine. This wine needs to be served chilled and is very crisp and tastes very similar to many white zinfandel's that I have tasted in the past. A lot of people find this to be a great summer wine and will take it to parties. I think this wine is too dry to drink a lot of on a summer's day. I would much prefer a wine with less acidity and tartness on a warm day. The vintner describes the wine as a "favorite wine that is refreshing with flavors raspberry and strawberry, an excellent sipping wine that also matches well with salads and Mediteranean foods. This is no wimpy zinfandel, no doubt it will be the finest White Zinfandel you have ever tasted and will become your favorite." I will never like White Zinfandel enough to consider it a a favorite of any kind.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Day 63-Late Harvest Riesling by the Village Vintner Winey for $16.99

We have tasted this wine before and liked it, however we did not feel like spending the $16.99 so we waited to buy it until the winery offered a 20% discount. This wine is slighty thicker than your average wine and Troy thought it was almost Muscatish. I don't know if that is even a word, but if you have had a muscat you would know that this wine is a little more on the syrup side. This is one our favorite wineries since when you are a member of the wine club they give additional dollars off for bringing in the corks, and allow you to taste for free if you buy a bottle. All their grapes are imported. The vintner describes this wine as displaying much of the complexity of an Ice Wine, but with less sweetness. Notes of honey, apple and apricot dominated the aroma and the taste, right throught the long, rich finish. I agree of classifying this wine as a white dessert wine, and find this wine to be heavier and not so much of a summer wine. This wine is too pricey to bring to a party and does not necessarily appeal to many tastes. If you like a late harvest wine, generally you would like this wine.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Day 62-Aquinas Napa Valley 2005 Cabernet SauvignonI for $9 at Jewel on clearance

I bought this wine at Jewel because of the price and the cool label. Not very good reasons for choosing a wine, but this wine was opened on Easter also, and was found to be a very mellow cab. The label on the back of the bottle states that the wine is named for St Thomas Aquinas a revolutionary scholar in the 13th century who used the laws of science to support his belief in the existence in the Almighty. A serious wine with medium tannins and excellent depth. Its rich, spicy palate is lightly seasoned with French Oak, followed by a long, supple finish. Honestly, what I liked about this wine was that it was not that serious for a cab, it's slightly dry with a short finish. I don't taste the spice, but the tannins are there giving a full mouth full of flavor. I wish it had more fruit on the nose and in the first taste and with more air on it you do get some of the spice, but not muhc fruit. I think this is good dinner party wine that you could bring that would not offend anyone and would not break the bank. I would bring this to summer barbeque for the red only drinkers since I don't find it so heavy.

Day 61-2007 Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling-Auslese-Winestyles for $14.99

This wine was a recommendation from the owner of Winestyles for a semi-sweet wine. We opened this wine at Easter because one of our guests stated that he liked Rieslings. This wine is very crisp and sweet with some acidity but, not so much that a person gets heartburn. It has citrus flavors with some orange and grapefruit overtones. Auslese is sweeter than the spatlese in terms of German wines with the Kabinet being the driest of the three wines. This wine is very versatile and could be paired with almost any dish. I really like this wine, as it has some sweetness, without sweetness being its overwhelming quality. This is a great summer wine and a great recommendation from Mark.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Day 60-Saracco 2008 Moscato D'Asti for $11 at Binny's

This is Troy's favorite wine. We actually met Paulo Saracco and had him sign 2 bottles of Saracco which have put away. Saracco was the first Moscato D'Asti that we ever tried, and Troy has really never wanted to drink a different wine ever since. This wine is sweet, lots of fruit flavors, with a sparkle to it. I find it just a little too sweet to me. However, we have introduced troy's family to this wine, my friends to this wine-both who drink and who don't drink wine, and everyone loves this wine. My sister thinks it tastes like juice and at only 6% alcohol you are going to need to drink a lot to get a buzz, but it is refreshing and could be mixed with some type of fruity liquer to give it more kick and to increase the alcohol content. Again, sipping this wine out by a pool sounds like a lovely idea. The wine is pale yellow-pink, that leaves you longing for summer time.

Day 59-Bartenura Moscato 2007-$12 at Binnys

This wine spurred a huge argument on whether this wine was a Moscato D'Asti or just a Moscato. The wine is made in Italy, however the it is shipped from Milan which we were unsure if was in the Asti region. This wine is listed on the bottle as a white wine, and is considered a kosher wine. I have determined this is simply a moscato and not a moscato di asti which to much of us is just semantics. This wine does not have the bubbles of a D'Asti and the vintner describes the wine as having the finest moscato grapes selected to create a light, slightly effervescent wine, with fresh peachy highlights. They recommend this wine as an apertif, with cheeses, and light desserts. I can find this wine everywhere, it is at Binny's, Jewel, and Wal-Mart. It is very sweet and a great beginner wine for someone who generally does not like wine. Again, this wine is best chilled and at only 5% alcohol a great wine for sipping at the pool all day with out putting you out of commision for the evening and breaking the bank. This wine is a little to sweet for me to drink more than one to two glass.

Day 58-Nivole by Michele Chiarlo Moscato D'Asti 2007 for 750ml at $17 at Costco

This week was the blind taste testing of the Moscato D'Asti to determine is Sorocco was actually the best. This wine was recommended in two book as the best Moscato D'Asti on the market. It is actually sold in half bottles at Binny's for about $11-$13, however, we found the full bottle at Costco for $17. This wine is delicious, I like it more than the previous Moscato D'Asti's that I have tried because it is not as sweet. It has great peach and floral aroma without a lot of sweetness. This wine is a great summer wine with a low alcohol content between 5-7%, this one being 7% that is served chilled and requires no food for pairing. I find this D'Asti very elegant with a unique pale yellow and pink color with small bubbles similar to that of Champagne. I would not bring this to a party though, because it is a little on the pricier side and other moscato d'asti 's in the $10-$12 range would make for a great summer barbeque wine where you could bring a couple of bottles without breaking the bank.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Day 57- Bogle Vineyards 2006 Petite Syrah for $10 at Costco

I like a late harvest Petite Syrah. This Petite Syrah was rated 88 by Wine Spectator and was under $15 so it was a must try. This wine is very fruit forward with a slight dry aftertaste, but no long dry finish. I drank this wine on its own and I like the dark color and the blackberry, coffee, and cigar smells and tastes of the wine. This wine, like the previous one blogged upon, is not a sweet wine per say, but a good bridge between the dry and the sweet wines since the wine is so fruit forward and does not have the extremely long dry finish and heavy tannins. Mr Soroccoisbest thought this wine was dry, but not bad overall. It is not a dry wine, however, as we move into spring, I am going to move away from the rich reds and more into the lighter, crisper whites. I like red wine more than white, however when its warm a wine with a high alcohol content, like the zinfandel yesterdayat 15.6% and today's wine at 13.5% alcohol just tends to make me more warm.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Day 56- 2005 Elyse Zinfandel for $20 at Binnys

We originally heard of the Elyse Winery when troy and I and his parents went to San Francisco on vacation. This is one of the four wineries we visited in September 2006. We loved the white wine this winery put out, in fact, Troy's parents eventually tried to buy a case of that white wine, however it was sold out. This zinfandel is not sweet, however, the aroma of this wine is pure fruit. This is a fruity wine that is dark with lots of berry flavors with a slightly dry finish. I chill this wine to probably a little cooler than it should be to take the edge off some of the tannins. I drank this wine with pizza and with cake. I find this wine to be very versatile, however I think it is more of an evening wine and not a hot summer day wine. This wine could be used at any dinner party, because I believe that it could pair with most dishes. I think the zinfandel grape is a very good bridge from sweet wines to semi-sweet wines with its big fruity flavors and its bold almost chewy tannins. I like this winery and will try more of their wines even if they tend to be on the drier side since the vintner is just that good at this winery.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Day 55-Pink Ribbon Sweet Table Wine by August Hill for $10.45

This wine is the same wine as the Sweet Catawba at August Hill except it is 50 cents more due to $1 dollar donation to non-profit groups that support the fight against breast cancer. This wine is a similar color to the Desert Rose and the First Blush, and I think all the wines incorporate the Catawba grape, however this is the sweetest wine by far of the bunch. The vintner describes this wine as a light, sweet, and fruity blush wine that pairs well with light fish dishes, cheese and crackers, or friends who just want to sip and relax. This is not the first time we have had this wine, in fact we have given this wine as a gift, and drank 1-2 bottles before yesterday. It is a simple wine that non-wine drinkers can enjoy and does make you thirsty like the other blush wines that we tried today. It is only 9% alcohol so this is good one for an apertif and/or you summer parties. I find it too sweet to drink a lot of, however, my better half thinks this is juice and can drink it like it Welch's. However, in terms of Catawba wine's this may be one of the best so far.

Day 54-First Blush 2007 Catawba wine by Illinois River Winery

This wine was bought without trying since the plumbing was out at the Illinois River Winery on the weekend we got engaged at August Hill. The reason I got this wine is the very cute packaging and the owner's word that it was semi-sweet. This wine was supposedly voted the "Best Blush wine in America" by the National Women's wine competition. This wine is a very similar color to the Desert Rose a pale pink with orange. This wine is a semi dry wine and if this wine only smells faintly of Catawba, but does not have that sweetness that one expects with a Catawba wine. Again, this is wine best served chilled as a just a fun wine, this wine would probably go best spicy food however, again bring water, for this wine is pretty acidic/tart and is making me thirsty as I taste it again today. The wine is ok, I would bring it to the summer parties, but I would not buy it again.

Day 53-Desert Rose by August Hill Winery for $14.95

This wine was bought on the day we got engaged on February 20, 2009 at August Hill Winery. This is one of our favorite wineries and Troy called them in advance to tell them what he would be doing, and it was a very nice surprise. This wine was part of our rose' tasting that also included the Pink Ribbon Sweet table wine from August Hill Winery and the first blush of Illinois River Winery. The vintner describes this wine as a semi-dry light-bodied easy to drink wine. This wine is much better chilled and has some acidity/tartness to it. It smells of strawberry and is a beautiful orange pink color. It is a summer wine for sure, the recommendations for food are spicy foods. I this is wine is ok, generally a wine for the white zinfandel lovers it is a little too tart for me to drink more than one or two glasses. This wine stumped me the second time I had it in the game of Winerd I was playing and caused me to lose the game. I would bring this wine to your outdoor parties this summer even if spicy is not on the menu, however, bring water because this wine makes you a little thirsty.