2007 Lot 205 Petite Syrah out of California for $8 at Binnys

A very typical Petite Syrah with big fruit up front and some slight tannins on the back. A lot of cherry notes and some tobacco qualities. This wine is a great every day red, I paired it with Italian sausage, cheese, and chocolate. The wine did not pair very well with chocolate, much better with the Italian sausage. At this price, this wine is not a hard sell, if you like Petite Syrah, need an every day house red this would be a good choice.

2009 Fess Parker Santa Barbara County Riesling around $10 at Binnys

After the last 2 bottles of white wine, I was nervous about trying this wine. I bought the wine because Fess Parker has gotten such good reviews in the past. I thought this wine was delicious, a touch of sweetness, but not too sweet, I am not a fan of a Riesling that lacks some of the effervescence. This wine has the flavors of orange and pineapple without any acidity. This wine was great on its own, I am definitely going to buy this wine again, it is a great summer wine and would go great with barbeque. I only saved a swallow for my better half since he was out of town, but I am sure he will be pleasantly surprised.

2008 Cline Viognier for $8.49 from Binnys

I bought this wine because I liked the Cline Zinfandel, and I made a mistake. This wine required food. This wine is extremely dry and acidic. Generally, Viognier has great aroma with orange, and honeysuckle, this wine did not have much of an aroma. I found the wine too acidic to taste the fruit flavors. I am very picky about Viognier because generally I like a fruiter style that is not crisp which is synonomous with acidic. So I have learned a lesson this last weekend, grapes and blends were I generally like the exception versus the rule I need to taste first.

2006 Ne-go-ciant a White Wine Blend from Napa Valley

This wine was reduced from $16 to $6 at Binnys and was proclaimed to be a combination of select barrels. I thought this wine was going to be good, but I was dead wrong. This wine required food and being that pizza was on the order for the day it did not go well. I could not taste the flavors of this wine described on the back of the bottle. The wine was extremely acidic, dry, without any fruit flavors. This wine seemed to have a heavy dose of chardonnay, and overall was nothing I would ever buy again. My better half states that I am not allowed to buy any more white blends without trying them first. I also have to stop thinking that a reduction in price is always a good thing.

2005 Ashland Park Cabernet Sauvignon for $10 at Binnys

This wine retailed for $25 so when it was reduced to $10, I decided to try it. We used this wine to make a crock pot recipe with beef from a magazine. The beef was delicious and the meal paired with this wine was perfect. The wine on its own was very tannic and dry, but with the tender beef the cherry and smoky flavors of the wine came through without the harsh tannins. I would drink this wine again with food, not without and preferably with a heavy, saucier type beef dish like the one we had that evening.

2007 Red Tree Petite Syrah out of California for under $10 at Binnys

My better half was out of town and my wine stock was down to 3 bottles so I headed to Binnys with my 15% off and bought a case of my favorite grapes. This wine is very smooth, bursting on the first sip with cherry flavors almost reminiscent of a Pinot Noir. I thought this wine was very fruity and had only a touch of black pepper on the finish. The wine went better with cheese than with chocolate, but was very good on its own which is how I like my wine most of the time. I would definitely buy this again, bring it to dinner party, it was light enough for a summer barbeque. This wine was very versatile and at this price point really an unbelievable value.

Fresavino for $20 in the Dessert Wine Club at Lynfred or it is $35

We have never bought this wine before because before we were in the Dessert/Sparkling wine club it was $35, but since we are in this wine club we get if for $20. This wine is a Strawberry wine fortified with grape spirits to bring it to around 20% alcohol. The first taste is pure strawberry and I really like Lynfred's strawberry wine, however this wine is very strong to me one the aftertaste. I have a hard time with some of these foritified wines because they taste soo strong to me. I am going to try this wine with a chocolate covered strawberry in an attempt to cut some of alcohol taste from the wine. We will see, if you like a strawberry flavored port style wine this wine is perfect for you. I just find the wine a little strong for me.