Raspberry Wine by Vetro Winery in Wisconsin for around $12

This wine needed to be opened early than I did. Raspberry wine is generally made in a dessert style and is very sweet, and it almost always identified with chocolate. This wine is a semi-sweet wine, almost a dry style of raspberry wine, that is very light. I spritzed this wine to add a touch of sweetness to it, but as I said I think I waited too long to open it, because the flavor of the raspberries is not very pronounced any more. I tasted at the winery and it was much better than when I just opened it, so I think I just needed to get to this bottle of wine a little faster. Generally speaking, fruit wines have a shorter shelf like and need to be drank within the first 6 months of bottling.

Sangria by Village Vintner for around $15 in Carpentersville

This Sangria is the May wine of the month for the fruit wine club at the Village Vintner. I have tried this before and thought it was ok, but my better half does not like Sangria, so generally I don't buy Sangria. This wine is actually very good for Sangria, tastes just like it, yet is totally smooth. We also spritzed this wine with Diet Sprite Zero and it was the perfect summer refresher. This wine with a spritz is truly a festive summer drink. I will definitely break this out for summer barbeques, and can't wait to buy another bottle. This wine is totally fun, cut up fruit, and add additional alcohol if you want, but no doubt about it this wine aims to please.

2007 Murphy-Good Sonoma County Zinfandel Liar's Dice for $12 at Binnys

This wine was opened after several other bottles of wine, so my enjoying this wine might have something to do with the buzz I have already started early. This wine according to my better half was dry, but no one had a hard time drinking it on its own or drinking it with cheeseburgers and ribs. I thought this wine was very good, very fruit forward, and with very little tannic aftertaste. I would definitely try this wine again, as I thought I would be more objective if I could have it prior to imbibing in other wines.

2009 Sutter Home Moscato-under $10 at Sams Club

This wine is your very basic Moscato perfect for a friendly get together where it is more about the company than the wine and you don't want to break the bank. This wine is slightly sweet and goes very well on its own versus pairing it with food. We drank this wine in record time as Moscato is a favorite of my better half and my guests made fast work of their Triamanette that they brought over. I would definitely buy this wine again and would serve it a backyard barbeque.

Apricocious-by Lynfred Winery for $35 for 375 ml or for $20 if you are in the Premium Club

This wine is 18% alcohol and is a premium Apricot dessert wine. This wine tastes like an Apricot brandy or like the Apricot wine with some serious kick. I find these brandy or port-style wines a little strong, and I usually can only do a 2oz pour at a time. This wine went very well with chocolate and is definitely a later in the evening wine. I really like the Apricot wine, so I did like the Apricocious, but it is just best in small doses due to the amount of alcohol.

2007 Ergo Temparanillo Rioja by Martin Co'dax for about $13 at Vintages

This wine is very tannic and dry. We definitely bought this wine after we had more than a few tasters. This wine paired very nicely with chicken ravioli with a marinara sauce and garlic bread. This wine is definitely a food wine, I tried drinking the last half of a glass on its own, and I could not do it, I paired it with a piece of dark chocolate and it was ok.

Montmorency Cherry Wine for $13 at Lynfred Winery

This wine is made of 100% Montmorency cherries, does anyone know where Montmorency is? This wine is a lot less tart than a lot of cherries wines I have tried in the past, and this wine paired perfectly with turkey. Troy and I finished this off with dinner. We did not have cranberry, but the cherry wine was a perfect match. The cherry flavor is superb with just enough tartness and sweetness to make the perfect balance. This wine did not have the viscosity that you find with some fruit wines, but I still think this wine could be spritzed for a great summer fun drink. I will definitely be picking up this wine for Thanksgiving.

Winter Spirit Hill by Vetro Winery for around $12

This wine has won an award and is a combination of Cranberry, Strawberry and special grapes. This wine simply tastes like a Strawberry/Cranberry wine to me. I think the strawberry wine balances the tartness of the Cranberry wine to make a nice balance of a semi-sweet wine. I really like this wine, think it is a great summer wine, could be spritzed or used in a punch if a person is feeling especially creative. I like this wine on its own, a perfect semi-sweet fruit wine.

2007 Lucky Star Petite Syrah for around $15 at Wine Styles

I love Petite Syrah. This Petite Syrah was slightly drier and more tannic on the finish than I prefer, but still very good. This wine is a great every day wine and it went perfectly with cheese quesadilla for dinner. I like the Lucky Star Chardonnay also, so I am thinking this is a reasonable price for a good Petite Syrah that goes well with food and is still fruit forward enough to be drank on its own.

Framboise by Owl Creek Winery 375ml for $14 at Vintages

This wine is a combination of Raspberry wine and grape spirits and tops out at about 17% alcohol. This wine which tastes like liquid raspberries is delicious. This wine paired perfectly with dark chocolate. I needed to make an effort to save some of this wine for my better half. This wine is the kind that you put in a chocolate cup and eat that way. I found this wine much better than a Raspberry port. I would definitely get this wine again, it is a great dessert wine, could be poured over cheesecake.

Coopershawk Chenin Blanc/Pinot Gris for $16.99

This wine is the May wine of the month at Cooperhawk. The wine is 55% Chenin Blanc and 45% Pinot Gris. This wine is very good. The wine is light, crisp, semi-dry with just enough sweetness to balance the acidity. The bottle never even made it out of the restaurant. We paired this wine with lobster stuffed potato skins and it was perfect. I find this wine as versatile as the Unoaked Chardonnay and almost as good. Hopefully, there will still be some of this wine left in 1 month when it is available to the members. I would pair this wine with chicken or fish, but best of all it would be great on its own to drink as a daily white wine.

Vetro Bianco for around $10 by the Vetro Winery in Wisconsin

This wine is made in a dessert style with Moscato grapes. This wine is sweet, but not overly so, with some viscosity that you would find in a late harvest/dessert wine. I find this wine to a little too sweet and a little too thick for my palate, but it is a big hit with my better half. This wine is best in small doses to me with some cheese after a meal. I am not able to drink this wine by the glass, and it will remain in the refridgerator for a little time before we finish it.

Olde English Blackberry Wine by Vetro Winery for around $10.00

This winery makes a lot of their fruit wines in a semi-dry style, and this is no different. This winery as I have said previously is totally cute and this wine is no different. The wine is actually dedicated to their pet, an English Setter who is pictured on the back of the label. I found this wine to be a nice change to a typical blackberry wine, the wine is lighter, not syrupy or overly sweet like others. This wine is pure blackberry with 9lbs of fruit going into every bottle without the flavor being too sweet and not too tart. I paired this wine with chicken and the wine is too fruity for chicken, best on its own or with dark chocolate, with a milk chocolate not good wine is not sweet enough.

2008 Maryhill Columbia Valley Riesling for $9.99 at Vintages

This wine comes from the winery that was named 2009 Washington Winery of the Year, and in addition, all the wines from this winery are around the $9.99 price point. We really liked this wine, we paired this wine with lunch and finished the bottle at lunch. This wine is semi-sweet, with good fruit, super easy drinking, with a great price to make it a staple over the summer in my refridgerator.

Cranberry Blush by Cedar Creek Winery for $12 at the winery in Wisconsin

I tried this wine after drinking before hand, and I think I did not get the true tartness and acidity of this wine. This wine is grape wine with cranberry juice. We drank this wine at the Bed and Breakfast that we stayed at for their happy hour of wine and cheese. This wine is very good with cheese and crackers as it balances out the tartness and acidity that I generally find unpleasant in wine. The couple that joined us on the overnight really like this wine, however they really like dry wine and this would fall in the category of a crisp, semi-dry fruit type wine.

Strawberry wine for around $11 by the Vetro winery in Concord, Wi

We went to Cedarburg, Wi for 2 days and drove to next nearest winery in Concord-I am not kidding, WI to check out some more wines since we were out that way. This winery is very quaint, and very cute. The owner did the wine tastings and let you try the entire menu for free-donations for her grandson were appreciated. The wines were around $10-$12, and she had majority fruit wines. Her fruit wines have a reported 9lbs of fruit per bottle, which is 2x what I have heard from Cooperhawk and Lynfred wineries. In addition, her fruit wines are not sweet, they are generally semi-sweet to dry. The blueberry which we did not purchase, was a dry wine. This Strawberry wine, which smells and tastes of pure strawberries is semi-sweet. The wine was not sweet enought for white chocolate to pair with it, and honestly I liked it best on its own. I think it would pair nice with a Caesar salad, or some other type of fruity salad, but stay away from dessert with this wine, the wine is just not sweet enought for a dessert.

Frontenac Rose' for $17 from August Hill Winery

This wine is a very nice Rose' fruity, however there is no sweetness in this wine. This wine is the perfect watermelon color and the bubbles, as usual with August Hill, are just perfect. This wine was paired with pizza and with lobster ravioli-not good. I am thinking that this wine would have gone better with a salad with some sweetness, or a sweeter chicken dish. I like the Mardi Gras and Almond Infusion, and was hoping to try the Raspberry Infusion that last time we were up to August Hill, but no luck. I like too many of their other bubblys to try this one again, but if you like a sparkling rose', this wine would be the one I would buy.

Kishwaukee Blue Spakling wine for around $12 from Prairie State Winery

The Kishwaukee Blue wine was combine with a sparkling stone to add some effervescence to their most popular seller. I love sparkling wine, and I really like the Kishwaukee Blue wine so we were like what the heck. The wine tastes just like the Kishwaukee Blue with a little fizz. The wine is semi-sweet, very light, refreshing, and just a perfect summer wine. I could drink this wine all the time, only the wine drinkers who hate sweetness to the utmost would find fault with this wine. This wine has great fruit flavors orange, peach, without the acidity to give you the need to grab a glass of water. I could drink this wine all the time, year around, and if I make it to the wine festival in September I will buy some more of this wine.

Elderberry Wine for around $11 at Prairie State Winery

I have no idea what an elderberry is, and I am pretty sure I have never eaten an elderberry, but it makes a great wine. This wine is very fruity, made from the juice, and is very good on its own, chilled. The wine is its own fruit flavor, with its own tartness, but not overly tart like a Cranberry wine, and not cloying sweet at times like a Blueberry wine. If you like fruit wines, then this wine is a must try, the wine is semi-sweet, perfect for the upcoming summer weather.

1996 Cabernet Sauvignon for $35 at Lynfred Winery

This wine is a definite special occasion wine. I only bought this wine at the urging of my supervisor since the wine is made with Quintessa grapes which she says make $100 bottles of wine at Binnys. This wine is great. It is so mellow, with very little tannin. The worst part of this wine is trying to get the cork out. We don't even like Cabernet Sauvignon, but this is different. This wine is totally elegant, with smoke and other flavors that blend into flavor that makes you wish you could afford this type of wine all the time. If I win the lottery, I am going to buy the rest of this wine at Lynfred.