D'Aquino Asti Spumante for $6.99 at Trader Joes

My better half's favorite wine is Asti, Asti Spumante, Moscato di'Asti, basically anything sweet and sparkling, he is a big fan. The reason I don't buy these types of wines more often, is because of what happened last night. We popped this bottle, and the wine is very light in nature with just a touch of sweetness, actually much better than I expected with no cloying sweetness or a feel of regular pop on my teeth. My better half finished off the bottle over the course of the next 2hrs, with only a glass taken by me. The wine is really good, but Troy does not know what moderation means when it comes to Asti.

Lost Angel Muscat Canelli for $5.99 at Trader Joe's

I was low on wine and low on money as usual, so we headed to Trader Joe's for some hopefully good wines at a very reasonable price. This wine is a great summer wine. This wine was served chilled and was perfect on its own. Some tropical smells and flavors with a touch a sweetness without being overly sweet, very light, just perfect for summer. The wine tastes of peaches and oranges, very fruity wine a total crowd pleaser. I could buy this wine by the case and drink it all summer without any problems.

Wyndham Estates Bin 555 Sparkling Shiraz for $5.99 at Binnys

I was having a very bad day, so I headed to Binnys to cheer me up. And I found this great deal on Sparkling Shiraz, this was originally $15.99 and has been on sale last month and this month. I had to buy 6 bottles of it since it was such a great price. I have spent a lot more on one of my favorite wines the Sparkling Shiraz-usually they go for about $20 a bottle. This wine is not overly sweet and tastes like raspberry and cherry. This wine is best served very chilled and I liked it best with chocolate. I bought 6 bottles of this and I am down to 1 bottle. I really like this wine and will may need to grabd a few more bottles before the end of the month.

Landshut Sweet Red Rheinhessen 2009 for $4.99 at Aldi

Aldi is not your typical place to pick up wine, but occasionally they have something that looks interesting so for this price I picked up a bottle. This wine is described as medium bodied and sweet. This wine tasted like tart/sweet cherry to me. I thought it was ok, best served chilled, good on its own, and good with a light beef stew. It reminded me of a sweeter, very cherry Pinot Noir. I thought the wine was pretty good, but my better half downed 2 glasses of it and said it brought on a raging headache within 10 minutes of finishing it. I had no effects from the 1 glass I had, and I attribute his headache to an overabundance of soda and not enough water over the last few days. If my better half did not attribute his headache to this wine, I definitely would buy this wine again, a very reasonable, beginner red wine for a great price.

2008 Banyan Gewurtztraminer Monterey County for around $15 at Vintages

I thought this wine went very well with spicy chicken tacos, my better half thought it was heartburn wine. I thought it was good, but it put me right to sleep. My better half is burnt out on wine currently, so I have not been drinking as much lately. My peanut has to go into surgery so maybe I will feel like drinking later in the month.

2008 Cabernet Ice Wine by the Reif Estate Winery for 200 ml at $30 from Niagara, Canada

This wine was pure sugar, I could not taste fruit at all. I thought this wine had no depth and tasted like syrup. I had my friend since she was going to Canada to pick me up ice wines based on price, thinking that I would like them, but never again, I will not spend big money on a wine that I have not tasted before.

Kiwi Peach Wine by Lynfred Winery for $13 at the winery

I was really optimistic about this wine. We have determined that kiwi flavoring in wine tastes like beets to me and even with the addition of the peach wine the wine still has the beet flavoring to me. I am just super surprised, others have described this flavoring as tropical and I just can't get it. This same beet flavor came through to me on the Kiwi rose' also and we returned this bottle due to this issue. I generally love the fruit wines from Lynfred and really like the Strawberry Rhubarb which is new, so I just learned something about kiwi and will refrain from buying this kiwi again.

Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Gris Willamette Valley 2009 for around $12 at Vintages

This white wine is very crisp and clean, but way too acidic for me. This wine pairs better with cheese that on its own. I find this wine to have some lime and grapefruit flavors, but it is too much on the Sauvignon Blanc type of wine for me. This wine needs food, at least for me, but I will be taking a break from the Pinot Gris for a while, will stick with the Rieslings and white wine blends.

2009 St Christina Weinkelleri Mosel Piersporter MIchelsberg Riesling Spatlese for $9.99 at the wine shop in Lake Geneva

This wine is a semi-sweet Riesling that is a perfect summer wine. Chill this wine, buy it by the case and have a party. I really like Rieslings and this Spatlese is the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity to make it good on its own versus paired with food. This wine is a great summer wine and beginner wine for those who believe all wines are dry. This wine is a great price and good fruit, not too much acidity, and could be a house wine for me.

2008 Pacific Rim Gewurtztraimer for around $13 at Vintages in Arlington Heights

This wine is a pretty gold color made with 83% Washington grapes and 17% Oregon grapes. This wine was on the recommendation of Robert, he said it was off dry and not acidic to the point that it caused heartburn. My better half actually liked this wine a lot more than me, I found this wine to be too acidic with a touch of sweetness. I probably just need to stay away from a Gewurtztraimer since this wine tends to give me heartburn.

Cocoa Razz 375 ml by Village Vintner for under $20 at the winery

This winery makes my favorite Port and this Port with some infusion of chocolate and raspberry is also very good. I paired this wine with chocolate and it was a perfect dessert wine. This wine smells of black cherry and tobacco and tastes like a chocolate covered cherry and raspberry. I really liked this wine as did my better half and we finished off this half bottle of wine while watching a new show. I would recommend this wine if you like Port and would definitely pair it with dessert for a dinner party.

2009 Lindemann's Moscato out of Austrailia for $4.50 at Jewel

This wine tastes like pineapple. This Moscato was a huge hit and only last 2 days. This wine is from Austrailia and generally Austrailia does not make a lot of Moscato's, but this one was truly tropical. This wine is perfect for the warm summer days. This wine is totally fun, and would be a huge hit for any type of party without breaking the bank.

Pere et Fils Laurent Miquel Chardonnay Viognier for around $15 at Vintages

Rob, one of the most informative wine shop owners, described this wine as buttery peaches. Generally, I do not like Chardonnay especially after has been oaked. This wine was a casualty after a very bad day of work. I drank the first 2 glasses and thought not bad, a little buttery, but with enough good balance between acidity and oak to allow to be drank on its own. However, after a cheeseburger and fries this wine lost its muster. I finished the bottle, and the first 2 glasses really hit the spot, I think it would make a good wine to pair with a fish or white sauced pasta dish, and my guess don't get any where near this wine after a cheeseburger and fries.

Sweet Red by Sutter Home for $4.50 at Jewel

This wine is combination of Merlot and Zinfandel and Moscato. This wine is a semi-sweet wine, not sweet like the label describes. I thought this wine was ok, a great value. I did not require food for this wine, but my better half felt the wine needed food. I think this wine is a great barbeque wine and party wine when it is more about quantity versus quality.

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.