Day 112-Tropical Dream by the Village Vintner for $13.99

This wine does not taste like wine. This wine is infused with pineapple and mango to give it a very tropical flavor. This wine would be best served sitting on a beach on ice. This wine smells like vacation. It is on the sweeter side and the pale yellow color of a Sauvignon Blanc. This wine tastes like a wine version of a pineapple daquiri. This wine would be great at a party instead of Margaritas. This wine can be made by the batch which would cut down on the price per bottle, however, this would be pricey if you just bought it by the case for a party.

Day 111-2004 Arte Monforte d'Alba Domenico Clerico for $20 at Binnys

This wine was on sale in April at Binnys for $20 and being originally a $40 wine, plus a good review by Wine Spectator, I purchased 2 bottles of the wine, 1 for a gift and 1 for myself. I gave the bottle to my friend on her birthday and I saw it unopened on her table at her birthday party. I asked if she drank it and she said yes, thought I was there when she opened it, and said it was good with no other details. This is the same friend I gave a sparkling shiraz and on New Years Eve she drank and said it was delicious, and gave me no other information. That friend is Katie and she is one of my blog followers. This wine is dry, I am drinking it with rosemary crackers, however this wine has no bitter aftertaste and is very fruit forward. I am not surprised at how good this wine is, however I can't spend $40 on a bottle of wine, I can barely afford $20 and under. This wine is deep purple with no legs, I am drinking it too cold, but most people who like red wine will like this wine.

Day 110-2002 Kracher Scheurebe Trockenbeeren Auslese Number 6 by Austria $20 at Binnys

This dessert wine is a $50 that was on sale for $20 dollars at Binnys for the month of June along with a lot of other expensive dessert wines by Kracher. I don't know the grape in this wine, it could be Vidal Blanc-Troy thinks it is very similar tasting to an Ice Wine, I thinks since the bottle says Auslese that it is a Riesling. Is this wine made in the style of Sauternes with the noble rot or is it Ice Wine, we have no idea. These wines are almost never opened at wine tastings and I can not believe the luck of finding such a deal on the wines. This wine is probably the best Ice Wine/Sauternes that we have ever had before, the tastes of raisin, apricot, and honey are so subtle, the wine deliciously sweet without being cloying. This is the dessert wine that people fall in love with, Troy was in heaven and after having a half a glass I will the beautiful gold wine to him. We have tried many Vidal Blanc Ice Wines throughout this blog from both Illinois and other locales and to me this is hands down the most elaborate, smooth, and complete dessert wine. I think I will have to go revisit Binnys one more time to see if they have any left before the end of the month and the $20 for a $50 for 375ml no longer exists.

Day 109-Muscat 2005 by Rene Mure of Alsace, France for $16.99 at Binnys

I bought this wine because it was on sale, and based on reputation the white wines from Alsace are suppose to be the best in the world. Unfortunately, I just read that this wine should have been drank within the first two years of the vintage, and after trying the wine I know why. The wine's flavors are not very distinct and there is only a faint orange aroma typical of a Muscat, when generally this is a very fragrant wine. This wine was dry and my better half hated it. I thought the wine tasted very good with Swiss cheese. On its own, like many French wines, was very minerally and very fruit forward which is what I look for in a good white wine. This wine is too pricey to buy as a party wine and more for the wine expert versus the person who enjoys drinking wine such as myself. I am going to stay away French wines from now on, they are an acquired taste and not something I need to venture into because of the price and the extensive terroir flavor of the wines.

Day 108-Chocolate Cherry by Door Peninsula Winery for $16.99 at Long Grove

This wine is sweet cherry wine with artificial chocolate flavoring. I bought this wine because I like the chocolate strawberry wine, which I have blogged on previously, and at the same winery we bought that wine they had other chocolate covered fruit wines that we also liked such as raspberry and cherry. This wine is lighter than those wines and actually looks like the same color as white zinfandel with pinky/orangy color. This wine tastes like chocolate to me more than cherry, and the chocolate flavor tastes completely artificial to me. I did not like the wine. It was pricey and I thought it would be a light dessert wine, but it just tastes too fake to me.

Day 107-Grand Finale Blanc by the Village Vintner for $26.99 for 375ml

This is an Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, so finding it under $20 is unrealistic. Actually, this wine is made from Canadian frozen juice which is extremely pricey, most Canadian Ice Wines are $80, and so I put this in my blog because I still consider this Ice Wine a reasonable price. This Ice Wine smells slightly of raisins, however, I do not find this wine as syrupy or with the legs of your typical Ice Wine. I found the flavor of this Ice Wine to be very light and not distinct like I am used to with most Vidal Blanc Ice Wines. If you like Ice Wine, as it is a favorite of my better half, I would buy this to try it out, but if you truly want an Ice Wine I would spend the extra $20-$60 and get the traditional Ice Wine. Ice Wines are wines, in general to me due to the price, for special occasions and this wine just doesn't require just so much of a special occasion.

Day 106-Plum Wine by Lynfred Winery for $13

This wine, like all Lynfred fruit wines, is 100% plums. If you have ever been to an asian restaurant where they have served plum wine, you have a reference point for this wine. This wine is not as sweet as those plum wines in the asian restaurant, but this wine has some sweetness and a tart finish. This wine is a better fall wine than summer wine, but it still very tasty. Cooperhawk winery also makes a plum wine which is also very good, that wine tastes almost the same as this wine. This wine also comes in the half bottle, for those who only want a glass or two. This wine would great with dessert whether that be cheese or cake. It is a nice balance of sweet and tart without being overpowering. We drank this wine with fried chicken on Father's Day and it went well, however it is really too hot out for this wine at 11% alcohol and a slightly thicker consistency.

Day 105-Reymos Espumose de moscatel $11.99 at Vintages in Arlington Heights

I bought the wine at the Zinfandel wine tasting this shop had last Sunday. I love this wine shop, they always have free wine tastings, and the owner of the shop is super nice. The shop rates all the wines for you on a sweetness scale which is helpful in deciding between wines that you have never tasted before, I have had this wine before, but I have never blogged on it. This wine is not as sweet as your Moscato di Asti-which is why my better half thinks it is only ok. This wine is a great summer wine, it is light, sparkling, with a touch of sweetness and fruit flavors. This wine is made in Spain which is known for its Cava, the spanish counterpart to Champagne, which is significantly drier that this wine. I would definitely bring this wine to a party, brunch, anything in the summer time, for the price is right, and my guess if I looked I could even find it for less money and it is only 7.5% alcohol which means you are not falling into the bag after a couple of glasses.

Day 104-2008 Moscato by Mezzaocorona Vigneti delle Dolomiti $-unknown

I received this bottle of wine as a gift from my co-workers for my 34th birthday two weeks ago. I was surprised that they remembered that I liked Moscato and thought this would be a pretty good bottle of wine. Troy thought just looking at the wine that it was not going to be sweet, and it wasn't sweet or have the effevescence of your typical Italian Moscato. It smelled like your typical Moscato-fruity, the vintner describes the fruit as tropical, where I smell more peaches, pineapple, and apple. I tried the wine and at first taste you get the spark of sweetness of a Moscato, however that is it, the finish is dry. Troy was disappointed in the wine, but I thought it was ok, a light, summer wine with fruit flavors that you could bring to barbecue and would pair nicely with salads, chicken, fish, and cheeses. I would not buy this wine again, it just had to dry, tart finish for me that I associate with other dry whites that I do not care to drink more than a glass or requires food because it is not enjoyable on its own. I will continue to look for my perfect summer sipping wine, I have not found it yet or my house red wine.

Day 103-Clos de Betz 2005 on sale for $15 at Binnys by Betz Family Winery

Day 102-Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Lynfred Winery, IL $20

This Sauvignon Blanc is the June 2009 wine of the month for Lynfred. This wine is a pale yellow with 13.5% alcohol. This wine smells delicious, very fruit forward and fresh smelling. This may the first sauvignon blanc that I have ever really enjoyed. Generally, I find this wine to be too minerally and tasting of grass. However, this wine is a good balance of acid and fruit flavors perfect for this warm, sunny day in June. I paired this wine with brussel sprouts and scallop alfredo and it went well. This wine is light and would pair very well with salads and chicken and if you have a lemon based anything I think this wine would be a hit. Unfortunately, I am not pairing it with any more food simply waiting for the better half to get back and the peanut to get up so I don't finish off the bottle. This wine would be great for a party or a grill out with friends if the price was just a little smaller. Here comes the summer, hopefully and the white, sparkling, and zinfandels!

Day 101-Razmatazz from the Village Vintner for $13.99

This is a grape wine, White Zinfandel, infused with raspberry flavoring. This wine tastes very much like a wine cooler and I gave this as a christmas gift to one of my co-workers and she really liked it, for a person who does not like wine. This wine is a very pretty pink color and tastes like raspberry white zinfandel, versus the 100% raspberry from the Lynfred winery that tastes like liquid raspberries and is more of a dessert wine. This wine is a great summer wine, great for parties, barbeques, or just enjoying the sunshine if it would ever get here. If you are going to bring a lot to one party, the Village Vintner allows you to do a Batch which basically cuts the price of the bottle in half which is what I would do. However, a batch makes about 31 bottles so you want to make sure you have a lot of places to go over the summer to bring the wine. My better half enjoyed this wine more than I did, it is just too simple for me to really want more than a glass or two.

Day 100-Gewurztrimer 2006 Ice Wine on sale at Binny's for $15.00 for 375ml

We finally made it to 100 wines! We are buying a house with the help of my mom so we won't be able to afford much wine anymore. It may take more like 2-3 yrs to get to 365 wines. This wine was a steal for a Gewurtz ice wine. It is apricot and peach and one of the best ice wines I have ever had. We drank this while sitting in a jacuzzi on my birthday and I just can't tell you how wonderful. If you like ice wine, you will like this wine. These are wines made for romance due to the small bottles and the sugary sweetness.

Day 99-Concord Ice Wine of the South River Vineyard in Ohio for over $20 at 375ml

This wine defininitely falls in the sweet wine category, however it is over $20. It was delicious. If you like the grapey concord wine of welch's grape juice and you like sweet, this wine is worth its weight in gold. However, this wine's only draw back is it price. It is delicious, we bought at the winery in Ohio that is made out of church. It is a really cool looking winery and this wine, for me, was the best ice wine that Ohio had to offer and they offered quite a few ice wines. The color is a rose color with some legs, however, only 10% etoh. This was my birthday wine, we have held on to this wine since February to have a special occasion.

Day 98-Strawberry Wine from the Lynfred Winery $12.00

This wine along with the previous Almond Sparkling Wine as well as the following to wines were the wines that myself and my better half drank for my birthday celebration. This is a sweet wine made from 100% strawberries that went great with chocolate, cheese, and crackers. If you like strawberries you will love this wine, if you think it is too sweet, then you could always spritz the wine with a brut sparkler for more of a brunch or party drink. I like this wine for dessert, and find that most people would like this wine for sipping. I would bring this and a cheap sparkler to a party for a fun bubbly summer drink that would be pretty reasonable.

Day 97-Almond Flavored Sparkling Wine by Village Vintner for $13.99

This is Village Vintner's most popular wine according to them. They said they sold 40 cases at the Illinois winery expo at the end of September in 2008. I like this sparkler, it is very similar to the cooperhawk almond sparkling which is also very good. I still think August Hill's Almond Infusion is the best of the three almond sparklers. This wine smells like almonds and if you like the almond cookies, basically you will love this wine. It is sweet and a fun wine, just a little pricey if you are going to buy numerous bottles.

Day 96-Chocolate Strawberry Wine by Kickapoo Winery for $15.99

This wine was bought on our way down to McComb, Illinois and I actually think this is our last bottle of wine from that week in the country. The Kickapoo Winery actually had a few chocolate wines at around the same price with different fruits-strawberry, raspberry, and a madeira style. However, this wine was a full bottle for $15.99 versus the half bottle for the same price. This wine tastes like a liquid chocolate covered strawberry. It is a little strong at 13.9% alcohol, however I think a glass of this wine is dessert replacement. I find this to be really only drank with dessert, I don't see it paired with food other than dessert because the wine is infused with chocolate flavors and strawberry flavors. I find this wine to be a good after drink, maybe with cheesecake, but a nice night cap to end the evening with friends. I think it is also a very good date wine it is romantic and fun for someone who is new to wine and doesn't really know what they like to drink. I am finishing it off this evening and found this Illinois wine another unique wine that has fun with the grape and gives the wine something totally diffferent.