Twin Fin 2007 Merlot at Jewel for $5.00

This wine is a very good bottle of red wine for $5.00. I paired this wine with pizza, smoked gouda, garlic cheese, and spinach dip and it faired pretty well. Jewel must not be selling this wine anymore because all the various varietals were on clearance for Twin Fin, I have blogged on the Cabernet Sauvignon earlier. I found this wine to have some tannin, but not too much where you could not have a sip on its own. It has some cherry and smokier flavors, but overall just a very average Merlot at a very good price. I am not a huge fan of Merlot, so I probably don't do this wine justice, but I would not buy it again unless it was at this price.

Pheasant Hollow Winery's Merry Christmas Crackling Cranberry for $18 at Cattails in Utica

We tried this wine at the wine walk in Utica this last weekend. I am not crazy about cranberry wine because generally it is very tart. This wine was not tart and was the perfect afternoon bubbly at 10% alcohol. My better half and I both enjoyed this wine before the Superbowl. I would definitely buy this wine again if it were at a lower price. If you are looking for a great Cranberry wine this would be the wine that I chose.

Lynfred's Black Raspberry fruit wine for $10 in the fruit wine club at Lynfred

I was totally excited about this wine when the lady at Lynfred said that the Black Raspberry is the new fruit wine that came out and I bought 2 bottles. This wine is thick with some legs. I was expecting a sweet fruit wine, and this wine is not sweet, it is tart. Not extremely tart but more tart than sweet. The wine tastes like black fruits more than raspberry to me. I love Lynfred's Red Raspberry wine and think it is a great dessert wine. This wine I think would benefit from a spritz, and if you open the bottle I recommend drinking it that day. This wine does not keep well even after pumping because the wine had the faint smell of vinegar and aftertaste of vinegar. This wine overpowers white chocolate and would probably best paired with dark chocolate.

2007 Dolcetto Ca'del Sol o Estate Monterey County for $18.00 for Bonny Doon Club Mbrs

Unfortunately, this may be the worst wine that I have ever paid over $15. This wine was extremely dry with almost no fruit flavors. I thought this wine was going to be a very fruity wine, but no such luck. I tried aerating this wine, and it did not improve. I just think that the only thing that could have improved this wine is age.

Side note-I am no longer going to keep track of days because I had computer difficulties yesterday and posted the same blog 4x in January. I will just have the name of the wines as the title versus the day since I think the day is all of whack.

Day 242-Obsession 2007 Califonia Symphony from Ironstone Vineyards for $7 at Jewel

This wine was on clearance at Jewel for $7 and is a blend of Muscat and Grenache Gris which I thought could be good, so what the heck. The wine is tasty with fruit flavors of orange and peach with a touch of sweetness. Unfortunately, the wine is extremely acidic and gave me heartburn that night and my better half could not even make it to a half of a glass. I tried it the next day thinking maybe it was a different wine or just the food I ate that day, but no, the heartburn started again. Needless to say, I will not buy this wine again, and would tell people prone to heartburn to stay away from this wine.

Day 241-Ballatore Rosso for $12.00 at Binnys

This red spumante is made in California and is the perfect Valentine's Day wine. This wine with its pretty red/pink color and little bubbles is just a great bottle of wine to pop with your honey or by yourself if that is the case. This wine has a touch of sweetness and I would put this sparkler, in termes of sweetness between a Moscato d'Asti and an Extra Dry Sparkler. I found this to be a perfect fit for me, not too sweet not too dry with the flavors of strawberry and cherry. I would definitely buy this wine on a regular basis as I think it has a good balance of sweetness and crispness to please most palates.

Day 240-Ca' del Solo Estate Vineyard 2006 Nebbiolo-November's Dewn Wine of the Month from Bonnydoon Vineyard for $18.00 plus shipping

This wine was recommended for aging 10-15 yrs, but we just don't have the space or the money to buy wine and then not drink it. This wine is definitely a food wine. We drank this wine with chicken and pasta with a red sauce, which cut some of the tannins and the dryness of the wine. the wine has some dark fruit flavors of plum mixed with some tobacco and spice flavors. This wine is just not for the daily drinking let's open up a bottle of wine. This wine needs to be aged and then paired with a good beef dish or lamb dish. This may be a good bottle of wine, it is just not our style of wine.