Tasting #17 - Beringer Riesling

Name: Beringer Founders' Estate
Variety: Riesling
Region: Napa, California
Country: USA
Year: 2009
Price: $6

Wine Website Review: This is a wonderfully refreshing wine – its ripe peach and apricot flavors are perfectly balanced by a touch of lemon-lime. The brightness and acidity of the wine make it very food-friendly while the enticing peach and apricot flavors make it difficult to have just one glass!

My Review: This wine was pale yellow in color. On the nose I got aromas of citrus and honeysuckle. It has a light, acidic taste along with flavors of citrus and pineapple. It finishes a bit dry with not much of a lingering after taste. This was my first riesling so I don't have anything to compare it to but I throughly enjoyed it.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting #16 - Atlas Cumbres Torrontes

Name: Atlas Cumbres
Variety: Torrontes

Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2009
Price: $7

Wine Website Review: Yellow colour with greenish nuances. Very intense aroma of fresh grapes, flower perfume and mature peaches. Fresh in the mouth. Light and easy to drink.

My Review: A very different yellow then any wine I've tried so far. It was a straw yellow or gold color. I got aromas of pineapple, lemon and floral notes on the nose. The lemon was most prominent and reminded me of the lemon head candy. The wine was slightly acidic with hints of lemons. It finished dry with a funky aftertaste that thankfully didn't linger very long. I enjoyed the smell of this wine a lot but was disappointed with the taste.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting #15 - Black Opal Cabernet Merlot

Name: Black Opal

Variety: 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot

Region: Barossa Valley

Country: Australia

Year: 2010

Price: $6

Wine Shop Review: The aromas display excellent regional and varietal characters of berry and spice. These scents follow through with rich cherry and plum flavors, a hint of chocolate and a subtle touch of oak. The flavors develop well and finish with a long finely textured mouth feel.

My Review: This wine was dark red in color. On the nose there was strong aromas of black cherry. The taste was sweet upfront with raspberries. It finished hot and dry with a lingering taste. Overall I enjoyed this wine but it wasn't a favorite.

This wine was tasted at a dinner with lasagna. I felt paired fairly well. I didn't notice as much of a balance of wine and food taste as I did with the Shiraz I wrote about in tasting #14.

Tasting #14 - Lucky Duck Shiraz

Name: Lucky Duck
Variety: Shiraz
Country: Australia 
Year: 2012
Price: $4

Wine Review: The Lucky Duck Shiraz pours a rather dark purple with fairly strong aromas of blackberries and a hint of earth and coffee. You take a sip and get more of that sweet blackberry and some lingering jammy plum, with a decent acidity and a hint of spice in the finish. The tannins are actually fairly moderate which was surprising.

My Review: Medium to dark red in color. I smelled aromas of black cherry and blackberry. The taste is powerful upfront with a blast of dark berries and raspberries. It ended with a dry, modest finish and lingered briefly. 

This wine was tasted with a pizza dinner. While eating the pizza I also drank some of the wine and noticed a big enhancement on the berry flavors.

Tasting #13 - Santa Julia Tempranillo

Name: Santa Julia
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2012
Price: $10

Winery Review:  A deep fruit nose opens to rich black fruits on the palate - plums and figs, with hints of vanilla and tobacco.

My Review: This wine is a deep red in color. On the nose I got black pepper, cherry, raspberries, and a hint of banana and cherry Coca-Cola. It was hard to pick out pick out any other tastes over the pepperiness flavor although maybe there was a hint of raspberries. It finished dry and didn't linger long. This wine reminder me a lot of the wine I did in tasting #12. Overall I enjoyed this wine.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting #12 - Beaujolais Nouveau

Name: Georges Duboeuf
Variety: Gamay
Region: Beaujolais
Country: France
Year: 2012
Price: $4

Vintage Cellar Review: Bright and tangy, offering a classic banana note on the nose, with flavors of raspberry, wild strawberry and light spice. Modest finish.

My Review: Medium red in color. Dark cherries, berries, spice and a hint of bananas on the nose. Thin with a berry and pepper taste. Finished dry and lingered slightly.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting # 11- Moscato Rosé

Name: Jellybean
Variety: Moscato Rosé
Region: Veneto
Country: Italy
Year: 2011
Price: $8

Winemaker Review: A hint of effervescence and a big hit of Strawberry Parfait overlay lush notes of red berries, peach and apricot in our Moscato Rosé. A characterful blend of sunshine-loving Moscato and Raboso grapes from northeastern Italy’s Veneto, this lightly sparkling charmer enchants with a vibrant pink color and abundant berry notes to match.

My Review: Light red in color. On the nose there were sweet floral and banana notes with hints of strawberries. I tasted light strawberries and citrus but the mid-palate and finish were very hollow. I was not impressed with this wine and neither was my girlfriend when she gave it to me since she didn't like it either. There was also a funky aftertaste.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting #10 - Champagne

Name: André
Variety: Champagne
Region: Modesto, California
Country: USA
Year: 2012
Price: $6

Winemakers Review: Fruity flavors with a dry mouthfeel yield a lively mid-palate and finish.

My Review: Pale Yellow in color. There was heavy citrus notes on the nose. It was obviously bubbly with a pineapple and citrus taste. Being a brut champagne there was a dryness to it but it wasn't terrible. It ended with a lingering citrus flavor.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting #9 - Merlot

Name: Bay Bridge
Variety: Merlot
Region: Livermore and Ripon, California
Country: USA
Year: 2012
Price: $4

Review: Deep ruby color. Red berry, fruit gum, and spiced nut aromas. A brisk entry leads to a fruity medium body of berry jam and pencil flavors. Finishes with a quick powdery tannin fade.

Mr Review: A dark red color with a warm feeling on the nose and hints of cherry and spices. Light flavors at first open to cherries, raspberries, and cranberries. It finishes on an acidic and mildly dry note that does not linger long.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting #8 - Chardonnay #2

Name: Mars and Venus
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Castilla
Country: Spain
Year: 2011
Price: $5.95

Vintage Cellar Review: A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortably over-delivers vs. its modest price tag. No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with a hint of caramelized pineapple. Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties or weeknight sipping.

My Review: The wine had a pale, silvery color. The aromas weren't very strong so I wasn't able to detect anything. It was a light initial taste of citrus and pineapples. The ending was a little dry.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting #7 - Tempranillo

Name: Finca del Castillo
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: 2011
Price: $4.95

Vintage Cellar Review: Rooty, spicy and baked on the nose, with the aromas that lean towards raisin. The palate is more gritty and acidic, with raisin, cola, and spice flavors. Darkens up on the finish, with is long and peppery, with adequate juiciness and a final note of tomato.

My Review: The wine was a dark red color. My first sniff really took me by surprise. There were powerful, strong aromas that I wasn't expecting. I smelled some red berries (like cherries, raspberries, and maybe strawberries) along with a cherry cola aroma. There was a spicy taste to this wine. It was a long bitter, peppery taste that had a dry finish. Overall I enjoyed this wine because it is different from everything I have tried thus far.

This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting #6 - Moscato

Name: Bartenura
Variety: Muscat
Region: 
Country: Italy
Year: 2010
Price: $4.95

Vintage Cellar Review: The inviting apricot preserves, honey, butter, and roasted almond aromas of this semi-sparkler pull you right in. It's on the sweet side, with stone-fruit flavors kept alive by decent acidity. The palate bubbles and tingles and maintains its balance. Fine as an aperitif or wine dessert.



My Review: It was a light, transparent yellow. I noticed when I swirled the glass bubbles would from up around the edges. There were melon and maybe kiwi aromas on the nose. This wine was very sweet with a crisp pineapple taste. It was also kind of sparkly and ended with a light sweet finish that didn't linger.

This wine was tasted without food.