A wine you should skip.

I feel bad having to do this, but this wine was really that bad.  Terre Delle Falcole 2003 Chianti Classico.  It is normally $15.99 a bottle, which is more than I will typically spend, but it was on sale for $9.99 so I thought it was my lucky day. Not so!  I cannot tell you how sad it makes me to have to bag an Italian wine, but seriously folks-DO NOT BUY THIS WINE! 

Starborough 2010 Sauvignon Blanc - A rising star!

It was my turn to pick the wine for the week so I was lucky enough to be able to hit the local Jewel-Osco liquor section sans children!  I thought it was time for another white, but was apprehensive about being responsible for picking one after the major hit that we had with the Kris Pinot Grigio.  I thought that I would try another varietal and went for another favorite, Sauvignon Blanc.  I will openly admit that I was drawn to the Starborough Sauvignon Blanc because of the beautiful label...I guess I drink with my eyes first.  Thankfully, I was not just another pretty face!

So, now for the tasting notes!  According to the Starborough website the wine is filtered before bottling and that is noticeable in it's clarity.  The wine doesn't just look good in the bottle it looks good in the glass, too.  When I put the glass up to my nose to take a sniff the first thought that came to my mind was, "YUM!"  It smelled nice and fruity, but not in a, " Oh no, this is going to be too sweet way."  The fruit notes are a little on the tropical side, likely because the wine is from New Zealand.  I thought it has a hint of kiwi in both the aroma and the taste.  The flavor of the wine is a match to the aroma, but it is also very well balanced between the fruit and the acidity that I tend to like in a white wine.  My overall impression of this wine was that it was the total package!  Well priced, pretty bottle and a delicious wine that I will certainly buy again.  I rated it an 87.5 on the Parker Scale, which was pretty much in line with the "experts."  It's a great wine, so go out and grab a bottle and let me know what you think! 

Until next time.  Happy drinking!

A Masterpiece or a Flop?

I feel as though it has been forever since I have gotten to indulge on a full glass of red wine and sit in my thinking chair. OK to be fair I don't have a thinking chair. I have a very small apartment and my only chair I frequent is also shared with a 17lb dog that needs to sit next to me. This occasion would be no different.

I was walking down the wine isle of my local Trader Joe's when I noticed this bottle called Da Vinci. I thought to myself well Da Vinci had created great masterpieces such as the paintings of the Last Supper, The Vitruvian Man, and his most famous on of all The Mona Lisa. But, this man was the jack-of-all-trades if you will. He could do it all he was a painter, he could draw, he was an architect, a sculptor and an inventor. Oh he was also as I like to call a slight over achiever. I'll be happy if I succeed in one thing let alone master five different fields. But, I digress. Yes, I now know they didn't name the wine specifically after him but, they did name the town after him and the wine was named after the town so not a bad trade off. I didn't know that until I did a bit of research so my initial thought was wow these guys were pretty ballsy to call something a masterpiece by naming it after the master himself.

I take back that thought now knowing what I do now. I like a good Chianti. I had never had a Chianti until my family and I were traveling in Italy, Tuscany to be exact. I like a good full- bodied red wine and Chiantis are just that. It's amazing because now I can always tell when a wine comes from that region without knowing where that bottle came from before I take that first sip. As soon as it hits my taste buds it's like they begin applauding. It really is something in the soil that you taste and it's delicious.

Ok back to the Da Vinci is it a masterpiece or a flop?

The cork seems like it takes forever to get out of the bottle and not to sound barbaric but, i have to use my teeth to get it out that last little bit!!! Stupid wine opener. My parents are going to be pissed that i used my teeth considering they paid a lot for these Chiclets (my family calls my teeth)! But, the cork is finally out. That was the most physical activity I have done all day including going to work. I examined the cork and it was moist at the end just perfect. I poured that wine through my personal aerator(yup i got one what am I am amateur?) and watched as it in an orderly fashion filled my glass turning it from clear to a lovely plum color. And I don't know if it was the wine or the tear in my eye from excitement( because it has been such a long time) but it seemed like the wine sparkles in the light.

The scent seems like a deep blackberry with some oak and a bit of earth in there as well. Hey earthy is fine with me. We are all trying to be one with nature especially out here in LALA land so consider this my contribution.

The flavor is just as I had hoped it would be rich and tasty. It goes down easy leaving no bad aftertaste at all. It's one of those tastes that doesn't linger but fades evenly. I do taste a deep blackberry and also a cherry and some oak in there. Just a lovely combination that comes together in this bottle. Its not a complicated wine. It's simply delicious. Honestly, It lived up to the name. Nice Chianti to wash down a rich meal with. I'm not a meat eater but, if I was I'm thinking a good steak would taste just divine. If your a veggie person I'm going to try it with a lovely risotto creation and once my food coma wears off I'll brag on how delicious it was together.

I hope you guys get a chance to enjoy this wine as much as I did. At Trader Joe's you can find it for a mean $9.99. Not a bad price at all for me and I'm poor. So go grab that bottle put on some true Italian music, close your eyes and day dream to Tuscany. I'll meet you there for it's where I go in my dreams every night!

FINALLY!!!! Da Vinci 2008 Chianti - Jennifer's Review

Well, it has been quite the hiatus for the old wine blog, but we are back up and drinking!  Poor Lindsay was really sick for a good long while and was unable to drink with the illness and then the antibiotics.

So, the Da Vinci?  I had my eye on this wine for a few years, but because I am typically a cheapskate I never indulged.  When Lindsay recommended it I was glad and it was also, coincidentally, on sale this week at Jewel-double win!!!

I always follow the Wine Lover's Simple Tasting Form when I do my tastings.  You can find it here.

After uncorking and allowing the wine to breath for 5 seconds (normal recommended time would be 30 minutes, but it had been a long day so cut me some slack!)  I poured it into the glass and took a good look at the beautiful rich magenta color.  Even though it was a red wine, you could see that it had clarity and the light shone through the wine to reveal many shades of reddish purple when I held it up to the light in my kitchen.  The aroma was mostly oak, but if you sniffed real hard that slight bit of fruit could be detected.  The flavor of the wine very much matched the aroma in that the oak was the first to be tasted and that was followed by the fruit in the finish.  I really loved this wine, as I tend to prefer "earthy" reds.  The medium finish was just the right length, in my opinion and left me wanting that next sip.  My final grade, according to the Parker Scale, was a 91.25.  I would definitely recommend this wine and I will certainly purchase it again.

Let me clarify something

The top of our blog reads "A small gathering of family and friends that try and critique the same wine each week in different parts of the country."

Actually we don't critique the same wine each week. We try to critique the same (but) different wine each week. There are some favorite wines we probably critique (read drink) almost every week (see my "The Kris blog") but our goal is to also try a different wine each week which we all try to find in our respective neigborhoods.

Also, we don't all go to different parts of the country each week to drink either. We just happen to live all over the country and drink it in our personal environs.

I just didn't want anyone to think that in order to join our blog you had to drink the same wine every week and had to travel someplace in the US other than your home town to enjoy it. Although that woudn't be a bad thing either.

The Kris

I know I am a little late with this post but I picked the Kris so I guess I get some slack for that. I cannot tell you how many bottles of this I've bought and drank as my wife may check out this blog at some point in time. I've always found it consistently crisp, clean and fruity but not over sweet. I usually drink it when Iam cooking, sitting, standing, walking my dogs and somethines even with dinner and naturally there's always after dinner etc. I guess its now a staple in my wine cupboard and it should be in yours. Great with pasta vongole which I always have when I am cooking, sitting, standing and so on and so on.

"Are you ready for a throw down?" Clos Du Bois Double Take - 2006 & 2007 Cabs - Jennifer's Reviews

So, Lindsay picked the 2007 Clos Du Bois Cab and I sent Steve to the store and he brought me back the 2006 cab.  Never one to look a gift bottle in the month, I took the 2006 and set it aside to await the arrival of its friend, and soon to be adversary,  the 2007 cab for a back to back taste test throw down!  Being that I have the house to myself and it's snowing, sleeting and just plain nasty cold outside I thought that tonight was a good night.   So, being that I've barely eaten meat this month I went out, bought myself a nice steak and got down to business.

How did these competitors stand up?  At first sight when looking at them in the glasses you would take them for identical twins.  They both have a deep purple-ish red color which is totally dense and completely opaque in the glass, just like a nice bold red should.  In my opinion the aroma was also similar, but that was where the similarities sort of ended and the differences began.  The 2006 had plum notes that were a little stronger in the nose and a lot stronger (than the 2007) in the glass, while the 2007 has more of the oaky notes come through.  The 2007 was definitely more dry than the 2006, but they were both more dry than sweet.  The finish would be medium and it is pleasant and leaves you wanting that next sip.  I thought that even though both wines were different that they finished alike.  They were also very balanced (unlike me) and had a complexity that was approachable and not over done.

I found both wines to be excellent and very drinkable. Both wines ran me $14.99 in IL (which is more than my cheap a** usually spends on a bottle), but I know that Lindsay picked hers up for $11.00 or so out West.  If you are in the mood for a rich, bold red with a lot of complexity, then you can count on the Clos Du Bois family of cabs! There website is also pretty stellar. You can visit them at http://closdubois.com/ and check them out.  They sell their many vintages online and ship where ever it is legal.

Wow!  We have totally lucked out with some amazing wines these last few weeks.  I received a tip from my brother in law on am excellent  Chilean Pinot, so I will be heading to Costco this week to pick that up for our next tasting.  Now I am off to share my steak with my date for the evening, Miss Gigi.  So, in closing.  Please leave your comments, suggestions (unless they are for Franzia or jug-o-wine), etc.  We would love to hear from you!  Until we meet again, cheers!