Day 221-Cooperhawk's Cranberry/Pomegranate Wine for under $15 at Cooperhawk in South Barrington

This wine was just released the month of December. This wine is a combo of the Cranberry 75%, which at 100% in their Cranberry wine is just too much tart, and their Pomegranate 25% wine which is just too sweet to me. This wine was still very tart and my better half said that the wine made him very thirsty. We paired the wine with turkey and gravy and it cut the tartness of the wine and it actually tasted like you were putting cranberry on your turkey. I would not buy this wine again for every day drinking, but around Thanksgiving I would definitely think about picking up a bottle of this wine.

Day 220-Starling Castle Riesling Medoc at $7.50 at Costco

This is a German Riesling that we popped for the first 2 playoff games of football. We drank the wine with pizza and wings and it went pretty good. The bottle of this wine is very cool with a picture of the mansion in the back of the bottle. The wine had a touch of sweetness and is very fruity with only a hint of acidity on the finish. I find German Rieslings to be great versatile wines for people the may not have the same palate. Rieslings can be drank by both dry wine drinkers as well as sweeter wine drinkers. My sister thought the wine was ok, but I thought the wine was pretty good for this price. I believe that if you find a bottle of wine under $10.00 that you enjoy, and others enjoy also, the wine is a winner. I do find that a person can find numerous Rieslings in this price range if you look hard enough and are willing to get a few bad bottles, also.

Day 219-Risata- Moscato d'Asti for under $15.00 at Costco

I bought this wine at Costco just on a whim because my better half loves Moscato d'Asti, however, it winds up that this is the wine that his parents wanted for the last 2 years that they no longer carry at Binnys. Obviously, I had no idea when he was asking when he opened the bottle why I did not buy more of them since it was his parents favorite. I was actually presently surprised by how good the wine was, very light, only slightly sweet, with some effervescence. I would buy this wine again, no problem if it is $12 a bottle, and having it at all the parties.

Day 218-Bricco Riella Moscato d'Asti 2008 from Vintages in Arlington Heights for $12.99

This wine was opened on New Years Eve with our friends who don't really drink wine, but like Moscato d'Asti. My better half and my friends loved the wine, I found it way too sweet. It smells of peach and some floral. I find this wine to be a sweeter Moscato d'Asti with more of a golden color versus the pale yellow you generally find with Moscato d'Asti. This bottle was polished off on New Years Eve and would be bought in the future if the better half desired, but generally if he wants a Moscato d' Asti he would prefer to go with a Sorocco and the price is slightly less for Sorocco.

Day 217-Guenoc Lake County Petite Syrah 2006 Culinary Reserve Selection around $16.99

This wine was also a Christmas present from my sister who knows I love Petite Syrah. This wine is typical Petite Syrah very fruit forward and has no spice that a person associates with a Syrah or a Zinfandel. This wine is very jammy with dark fruits, blackberry and cherry, with very little tannin that you find with Cabernet. Of all the big red wines, Cabernet, Syrah, and Zinfandel the Petite Syrah is the most fruit forward of the wines. I don't like a very dry red wine with heavy tannin in a Cabernet and the spicy finish of Syrahs or Zinfandels generally, so I find a Petite Syrah the best red wine for my tastes.

Day 216-Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel 2006 for $7.50 at Costco

This wine made out of the Lodi Valley of California appears to be the most popular Zinfandel because I see it advertised everywhere and I consider it the Zinfandel you can find anywhere ranging from $7.50 to $12.00. I liked the Zinfandel, but I think it was much better with food then on its own. My better half also liked it, but I did send the wine through the aerater in order to take off the edge. I found this wine to have a bit of spice, not over the top, but not too much black pepper that made it difficult to drink. Overall, for the price, the wine is a reasonable Zinfandel, if you brought this to a party it would need to paired with food unless someone liked Zinfandel on its own. I would buy this wine again for a friend who liked Zinfandel or for a party, but myself I would always prefer a Petite Syrah.

Day 215-Kung Fu 2008 Riesling for around $15.00 at Tuscan Wine Market in Arlington Heights

This wine was a Christmas gift from my sister. She was very proud of this Riesling and we checked out the web site on the New Years Day. This wine is one of Charles Smith's wines in Washington State-Columbia Valley in Evergreen Vineyard. I find this to be a good Riesling that paired well with Buffalo wings, shrimp salad, and chicken salad. My sister also liked this wine. I find the wine had a nice balance of sweetness and acidity with only a slight acidic aftertaste. The wine is very fruity with flavors of orange, lemon, and some apple. I would not say this wine was sweet, in fact I would describe this Riesling as a traditional style with very little sweetness. I love Riesling and think it is a good alternative to Chardonnay. I would think this is more of a spring, summer, and fall wine, but for pairing with food, I would definitely open it in the winter, which I obviously did since I opened up this today.