Snap Dragon Cabernet

Snap Dragon Cabernet is a very fruit forward cab. If you like a very fruity jammy wine then this cab is the one for you. While not a wine with a lot of depth, it still is an enjoyable wine.


 A very nice smooth drinker with lots of cherry and blackberry flavors. This went great with some burgers I threw on the grill and would have went nice with a steak also.

The label will look nice in the next wine label decoupage piece I do.

Enjoy this wine.


Wine Tasting With Friends

Drinking Plonk in the Big House

Plonk - aka a poor quality wine.

Okay Big House Red may not be a really bad wine, but it's not a really good one either and I wasn't in the Big House drinking it either ( prison, jail, slammer, the joint, pen, in the can, pokey, calaboose etc) I was sitting at home watching Cellblock 6.

This wine has over 14 grape varieties blended into it and still does not do much for my poor old pallet. Nothing really stands out and tickles my tongue. I guess I was just expecting more from a wine with so many damn grapes in it.

The grapes in this wine : 27% Petite Sirah, 14.5% Syrah, 8.6% Montepulciano, 8.2% Barbera, 6.4% Nero d’Avola, 6.1% Tempranillo, 3.3% Malbec, 2.4% Aglianico, 2.4% Souzao, 2.3% Charbono, 2.2% Petite
Verdot, 2.1% Cabernet Franc, 2% Tannat, 12.5% Other Esoteric Reds

Perhaps I was having an off night and in that case I will often try a wine again just to see. So if anything changes on my next try of this wine, I shall let you know.

I must say it was fun checking out the story behind this wine and how they chose such a name.

Big House Winery in Soledad, CA (Monterey County) is a mere ankle iron’s toss from the Soledad State Correctional Facility, a.k.a. “the Big House,” “The Clink,” “The Slammer,” which explains the recurring prison theme depicted on the labels. http://www.bighousewines.com/about/

I will try this one again because it wasn't outright horrible, may just have been me.


Wine Tasting With Friends

Little Black Dress Pinot Noir

Little Black Dresses and Red Wine!!! What more could a man ask for? Except a bottle of red wine (Pinot Noir) named Little Black Dress.


What a damn concept and the wine is not bad either.


I happened upon this wine in a very strange and unusual way. I think maybe this wine and I was supposed to meet.


Not but a few days ago I had one of my vendors ask if I've tried this wine yet and was wondering if it might fit onto one of the restaurants wine lists in the company I work for. I didn't really have time to sit and taste the wine with him at that time but promised him I would stop on my way home and pick up a bottle to try.

I swear I wasn't home but 15 minutes when my wife called and asked if I would stop and pick up a bottle of new wine called........ you guessed it, Little Black Dress. She had just received a fax from her corporate office informing her that the restaurant chain she works for was now going to start carrying this wine. She wanted me to try it and give her a review of it that she could pass on to her staff.

It was hard for me to stop laughing long enough to tell her that I just popped the cork on a bottle of said wine.

Needless to say I did not put it on any of the wine lists but my own.

I found the clove and cherry  aromas enticing along with the light floral notes. It has a very decent pallet of strawberry jam and pomegranate. The finish is sophisticated yet friendly with the etiquette to fit in anywhere.

In fact, I am on my third bottle since first trying this wine and writing this post!

Cheers!.






Wine Tasting With Friends

Crane Lake Pinot Noir

This wine was under $4.00 so I was a bit skeptical about trying it but some of my wine slob friends kept telling how decent it was for the price.

I must admit it was a lot better than I expected.  It was a bit weak but for a cheap pinot you have to expect that. Had nice nose and decent fruit flavor but the finish was a tad short.

This would be a great wine to serve at a barbeque where you plan on serving lots of wine.  You can bet that I will keep a few bottles on hand when my cheap "oh I left my wine on the counter at home "  friends stop by.

I had to do a search on this wine and I was impressed with the number of positive reviews that it receives.  Heck even many of the high dollar wines don't receive this many reviews. (Google Crane Lake wine)

This wine is produced by Bronco wines which bottles many brands of wines including Two Buck Chuck of Trader Joe fame. The CEO is Fred Franzia nephew of Ernest Gallo.

Fred Franzia hit it on the head when he said "I don't make wine to put in a closet. We sell wine to drink"

I will drink to that!

Go ahead and pick up a bottle or two it's well worth it.



Wine Tasting With Friends

Redwood Creek Malbec

Hope you are all having a great day and enjoying some great affordable wine.

I am sitting here enjoying a very nice affordable Malbec, Redwood Creek by Frei brothers, which is part of the Gallo lineup.

Let me tell you about the wine.  It is full of  blackberry aromas with a touch of licorice and tobacco.  The palate is full with dark fruit flavors. Blackberry and plum fill your mouth.  The tannins are smooth , however I would have liked them a bit heavier.  I don’t find this to be an incredibly outstanding Malbec, but for the price still a great value.

Would I buy it again? You bet.

Enjoy good affordable wine today,

The Wine Slob

Wine Tasting With Friends

More Syrah! Syrah!

 I swear I am not a really big fan of syrah, but here I am again posting not about one but two syrahs within about a week or so.

Hmmmm maybe I am beginning to become a fan or just the price is just to damn irresistible to ignore.

Hey, what wine slob can pass up a bottle of Pepperwood Grove Syrah priced at $4.99? Not me! I've had many fine cabs and merlots from this vintner but have never tried the syrah and at this price I wasn't about to pass it up.

The other is from Sterling.... Now I am not a big coupon clipper, but last week in the paper was a coupon for $3 off two bottles of Sterling wine. Now this even gets better........when I went to my local store, they had the syrah and the chardonnay sitting next to each other.

That's what I said also.. why syrah and chard next to each other. But who am I to question why?

Anyhow I grabbed a bottle of each and didn't pay any attention to the attached neck hangers until I was cashing out. Yup. you guessed it another coupon for $1 off each bottle. Now to a wine slob saving $2.50 on a bottle of wine is damn near orgasmic.

That brought down each bottle of the Sterling wines to $6! What a great score.

But back to the syrahs.

Don Sebastiani and his sons (the three loose screws) hit the Pepperwood Grove in the classic style of a peppery syrah yet hit the nice flavor of blueberry and fig. A nice jammy syrah but yet tart and with a great finish. Worth much more than the price I paid but as a wine slob I'm glad I got a great deal.

Go out and buy a bottle or two or three if you can find it at this price. (any price under $10 is a steal)

Now onto the Sterling Vintners Collection Shiraz. This is another bold peppery wine yet the flavors of blackberry and black cherry explode in your mouth. A touch of vanilla shines through from aging in oak barrels. This wine is well worth the normal price of about$13 a bottle, but the Coupons and in store discount made it even better.

Start checking your papers for this coupon and pick up some great wine. I will soon tell you about the Sterling Vintners Chard.

Keep on drinking good wine.

The wine slob.

Wine Tasting With Friends

Talus Cabernet

The talus has many definitions. It is know as critical bone of the ankle joint. It is also a architectural feature of some late medieval castles, especially prevalent in crusader constructions and you star war fans will know it as  one of several planets located in the Corellian system.  

But the Talus I like best is the one out of Lodi California. The Talus Cellars and it's collection of wines is outstanding.

I just had the pleasure of sipping their Cabernet and must say I was mightily impressed. A very smooth wine with very nice subtle flavors of mint and licorice with a hint of blackberry. 

This wine had me believing that I spent way more than I did. ($7.95).  I've had wines in the $20 and $30 range that did not finish as nice as this wine.

So if you want a nice Cabernet with slightly different taste characteristics and very mild puckery tannins, give this wine a try .

Until next time, cheers and keep drinking good wine!

The Wine Slob
 
Wine Tasting With Friends

Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon

I have been hearing a lot about this vineyard/wine for awhile now. I kept thinking that with a name like Cupcake it would be a wine that would never cross my lips.

But then again I did drink some wine from Mad Housewife so why not one from Cupcake. Now don't go thinking I'm some mamby pamby mommies boy, I'm just an equal opportunity wine drinker.

This wine is also not a mamby pamby wine. It is a nice full bodied Cabernet that is full of rich wonderful flavors. The  tastes of blackberries, cherries and plumbs just shine through this wine with a great finish. The hint of oak is a nice bonus.

I would recommend this wine to anyone that would like a nice all around wine just to sip on or to have with dinner.

In fact I told my wife I was running to the store to pick up a dozen Cupcakes and man was she pissed when I came back with 12 bottles of assorted Cupcake varietals. She was hoping for one with sprinkles on it, but she will just have to wait until my next run to the store.

Until next time, cheers and keep drinking good wine!

The Wine Slob


Wine Tasting With Friends

Mad Housewife and Save the Ta-tas!

I bought three bottles of wine today. One of them being Mad Housewife Cabernet.

I'm not sure what made me grab this bottle. Was it the name or the cute housewife on the label? I don't even remember seeing this wine on the shelf before. But for $6.00 I couldn't pass it by.

Anyhow when I arrived home with my wines I decided that this was going to be the one that I drank today.

Upon opening and pouring my first glass, I wasn't  super impressed. It did not offer much in the smell or first tasting. But hey for $6.00 who was going to complain.

I let it sit about 10 minutes and then the wine began to open up and I began to smell hints of lush fruit aromas. The taste was starting to mellow also. After twenty minutes of being open this was a fairly pleasant wine to drink.

A bit mellow for a cab but the cherry and chocolate flavors were noticeable and made this a nice sipping wine.

Not knowing a thing about this wine or company  I just had to look them up.
http://madhousewifecellars.com/

This company is geared and marketed strongly to the women wine drinkers. But two things really impressed me about this company.

1. They shared the same philosophy as I:

Above all else, wine should be fun, relaxing, and something you can afford to look forward to at the end of each and every day.  This is your time. Time to enjoy a moment to yourself. A moment without the madness.

2. They also want to help save the ta-tas. For every case of their white zinfandel they sell, they will make a donation towards breast cancer research and awareness. My hats off to this company!

http://madhousewifecellars.com/Support/support.html

So gentlemen, swallow your pride and go buy your wife a bottle or two of Mad Housewife White Zinfandel and make a difference in someones life.

 '
Wine Tasting With Friends

Health Benefits of Red Wine

Does red wine protect against heart disease?

Maybe. Many studies investigated the benefits of red wine suggested that moderate amount of red wine lowers the risk of heart attack for people in middle age by ~ 30 to 50 percent.

It is also suggested that alcohol such as red wine may prevent additional heart attacks if you have already suffered from one. Other studies also indicated that red wine can raise HDL cholesterol (the Good cholesterol) and prevent LDL cholesterol (the Bad cholesterol) from forming.

Red wine may help prevent blood clots and reduce the blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits. Indeed, studies showed that people from the Mediterranean region who regularly drank red wine have lower risks of heart disease

 Me? I'm going to do my part to be heart healthy. I'm going to drink another glass of wine.

Glass Mountain Syrah

 Que Syrah Syrah! Sorry could not resist that.

I also could not resist buying a bottle of  this wine under $7.00. It's hard to find a nice syrah in this price range, but here one is. Not bad for a cheap wine and it went well with my bbq ribs.

It has a medium body with rich fruit and a smooth easy to drink style. This is an incredible value for the price.

I also found out that Glass Mountain is a division of Markham wines.  Markham wines normally sell for well over my wine slob price point. 

Glass Mountain wines focus on rich, pure flavors of California’s best vineyards. Offered as a tremendous value wine for consumers, Glass Mountain represents a vision to provide quality wines at accessible prices, while delivering an outstanding value wine for your enjoyment.

Lindemans Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon

  Lindeman's bin series wines are on the lower levels of wines this wine maker produces, but is still a great stand by wine when the funds are low or you just want to get a cheap buzz going.

Honestly though, it is a very good wine and one that I enjoy often. Most times I find this wine available for under $7.00 at many of the local grocery stores.

This is a wine I share with my non wine drinking friends who find it very tasty and much better than the Boone's Farm they threw grew up with in high school (ahhh the fond memories).

A medium to full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon that
combines dark berry fruit, with just a taste of chocolate and mint. The flavor lingers on the tongue and reminds of a nice juicy berry.

This wine goes great with burgers and hotdogs.