Tasting - Joseph Carr

Name - Joseph Carr

Variety - Pinot Noir

Region- Sonoma Coast, California

Country- United States

Year - 2007

Price - $6.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - Ever-elusive, our central coast Pinot Noir offers cherry, and dark wild raspberry in both the bouquet and taste.  I also find aromatic violets, tea, strawberry seed, and hints of mushroom.  The wine shows very good structure with balanced, yet approachable tannin.

My Review - The color of this wine had a very dark cherry tint.  The aroma reminded me of communion wine, so it had a very strong grape scent.  The palate was excessively dry and had almost no taste.  I didn't pick up on any fruit flavors in this wine, except for a little spice.

Food- none

Tasting - J.P. Chenet

Name - J.P. Chenet Dry Rose Sparking

Variety - Bobal

Region-

Country- France

Year - 

Price - $6.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - Intense and fine, dominated by notes of red berries.  The combination of fine bubbles and delicate aromas makes this a delightfully light and silky rose.  Aromas in the mouth evoke red berries, cherries, strawberries: mellow and well-balanced.

My Review -  The color was a reddish/pinkish tint that reminded me of champagne.  The aroma was a strong champagne, crisp and sweet apple scent.  The palate was delicious that had a sparkling, sweet apple flavor.  

Food- none

Tasting - Fortediga

Name - Fortediga

Variety - Vermentino

Region- Tuscany

Country- Italy

Year - 2010

Price - $13.99

Shop/wine critic/winery review - Clear yellow in color.  The aroma are lifted with pleasant hints of pear and green apple.  The fresh, smooth flavors on the entry persist, the structure is fine and balances well with the fruit.

My Review -  The color is a greenish yellow.  The aroma was nice and fresh green apple scent.  The palate was a sweet taste with a medium body.  The palate did not have a very strong flavor; this was a good wine.

Food- none

Tasting - Nopa

Name - Nopa

Variety - Vinho Verde

Country- Portugal

Year - 2011

Price - $5.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - Elegant, silky, fresh and well balanced, with a fine citrus brightness.

My Review -  This was a typical wine that wasn't amazing, but wasn't bad either.  It had a weak aroma, which usually isn't a good sign for a wine.  The taste was medium bodied and smooth and tasted like a typical white wine, that didn't offer anything unique.

Food- none

Tasting - Badia Corti

Name - Badia Corti

Variety - Classico Abboccato

Region- Orvieto

Country- Italy

Year - 2011

Price - $9.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - None

My Review -  I bought this wine randomly to try an Italian wine.  I was looking for a wine called Cococciola wine, because it is very similar to my last name, but the Vintage Cellar didn't have it.  This wine is very similar to that so I went ahead and tried it.  I had this wine cold and I'm a big fan of drinking wine cold over room temperature.  The aroma was pleasing, but not overwhelmingly strong.  The palate was very smooth and had a very moderate taste.  It wasn't overly sweet, but wasn't dry either.  I enjoyed it.

Food- none

Tasting - Ben Marco

Name - Ben Marco

Variety - Malbec

Region- Mendoza

Country- Argentina

Year - 2009

Price - $13.99

Shop/wine critic/winery review - None

My Review -  Another really good red wine.  It had a really dark color and dark fruit aroma.  It had a tannic palate, rich texture and medium acidity.  Had a soothing aftertaste as well.

Food- none

Tasting - Serres Rioja

Name - Serres Rioja 

Variety - Tempranillo

Region- La Rioja

Country- Spain

Year - 2010

Price - $9.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - Clean, fresh and full of bright cherry and strawberry aromas.  Offers the right size and balance, with red plum and red berry flavors touched up by the light oak.  Mildly toasty and textured on the finish.

My Review -  This is the first Spanish wine I have tried and I thought it was awesome.  The wine had a very intense red color and had a strong cherry aroma.  The texture of the wine was rich and was much less dry than most red wines I have tried.  Really liked the quality and ended up buying a bottle.  This is the first wine bottle I bought from the Vintage Cellar, but I really connected with this one.  It was also a very good price for the quality of the wine.

Food- none

Tasting - Balletto

Name - Balletto 

Variety - Chardonnay

Region- Russian River Valley

Country- U.S.

Year - 2010

Price - $19.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - None

My Review -  The acidity was strong and I got a pineapple flavor.  A simple and good wine.

Food- none

Tasting - Serenity Now! White

Name - Serenity NOW! White

Variety - Blend

Country- U.S.

Year - 2011

Price - $13.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - The 2011 vintage was marked by a cool wet spring, a long growing season and a very small crop.  The 2011 serentiy is a distincitve propertary blend that displays fruit forward aroms of citrus, honeysuckle, nectarine and with expressive minerality.  The flavors are rich and deep showing white peach, passion fruit, and honeydew melon with a hint of lime.  the wine is well balanced, leaving a long, clean and well textured finish, like summer in a glass.

My Review -  Didn't like this wine.  It was very watery to me and had almost no flavor.  Something about it didn't seem authentic.  This was followed by the Trebbiano which was cheaper and about ten times better.  

Food- none

Tasting - Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

Name - Talamonti Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

Variety - Trebbiano

Region- Abruzzo

Country- Italy

Year - 2011

Price - $9.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - Pale straw with light green hues.  Intense bouquet of ripe apples, peachs.  Refreshing ripe apple and peach notes end with a gentle acidity.  A rich, full, round and persistent wine.

My Review -  This wine contained almost no acid and had a very light fruit flavor.  I liked it though and it went down smooth with a good aftertaste.

Food- none

Tasting - Yellow Tail Pinot Noir

Name - Yellow Tail Pinot Noir

Variety - Red Blend

Region- South Eastern

Country- Austrailia

Year - 2012

Price - $7.95

My Review -  This wine not as good as the Sutter Home Chardonay, but it was good.  As I said I'm trying out the cheap wines first to make sure I like certain flavors before buying a nice bottle of wine.  This wine had a very smooth, thin texture and wasn't nearly as thick or dry as most red wines I've had in the past.  This had a strong cherry flavor and I had a glass warm and a glass cold.  I strongly prefer wine cold as I feel like more of the flavors come out.  This was worth the price and I would definitely get in again.

Food- none

Tasting - Sutter Home Chardonnay

Name - Sutter Home Chardonnay

Variety - Chardonnay

Region- California

Country- U.S.

Year - 2012

Price - $1.69

My Review -  Kroger's Finest.  This is my first wine purchase and I figured I'd start with the cheap wines first to see if I actually like the flavor.  I put this in the refrigerator for a few hours before drinking and it was very good.  Im not sure if serving it ice cold enhanced the flavor, but it was really good cold.  The flavors I picked up were a light citrus and vanilla blend and also a pretty strong fruity aroma.  I will buy this again as for the price it was very good.

Food- none

Tasting - Perata Frank's Vinyard

Name - Perata Frank's Vinyard

Variety - Cabernet Sauvignon

Region- California

Country- U.S.

Year - 2007

Price - $20.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - 93 points, Wine exchange team.  A gorgeous bottling that represents a tremendous value in the heart of Napa.  The would-be grapes for the Estate's top bottling are used here to produce a decadent wine with rich classic Cabernet flavors intermixed with wild spices, tobacco and fresh herb on a caressing finish.

My Review -  This was the third red wine I tried right behind Chocolate box and Lapis Luna.  This definitely tasted very similar to both of those.  It had that dark fruit flavor the other ones had, mainly a black cherry of blackberry taste.  It had lighter texture then the others, but I'm not sure why this one is more expensive than the others, when in my mind the others were just as good if not better.

Food- none

Tasting - Lapis Luna Zinfandel 2007

Name - Lapis Luna Zinfandel

Variety - Red Zinfandel

Region- California

Country- U.S.

Year - 2007

Price - $14.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review -  Brambly dark fruit on the nose, with a touch of green peppercorns, a little barnyard aroma and hint of mint.  The mouthfeel is spicy and coating, with a sensation of chocolate-cola.  Tannis are pronounced but not biting, with a long minute plus finish.  This wines acid and tennis will help smooth it out, if you choose to give some cellar time, but drinks quite nice with some decanting.

My Review - Another good wine.  I had this right after chocolate box and it had very similar flavors in it.  It had a dark fruit flavor initially, but this one had a cherry aftertaste.  This had a rich texture and I definitely picked up on the peppercorns it had in it.

Food- none

Tasting - Chocolate Box GSM

Name - Chocolate Box GSM

Variety - Grenache, Shira and Mataro

Region- Barossa Valley

Country- France

Year - 2009

Price - $18.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review -  A blend with deep russet red, with earth aromas of savoury oak and dark cherries with a little stewed rhubarb.  Spice and cinnamon on the palate over a robust and generous body.  Made from a blend of Grenache, Shira and Mataro.

My Review -  This wine was good.  I'm not a huge fan of adding a bunch of additives to things, because I enjoy the base flavor of the wine.  When I saw chocolate is sounded interesting, but I had a feeling it sounded better than it would taste.  I was surprised though, it had a dark fruit flavor and the chocolate wasnt overwhelming at all, but rather complemented the taste nicely.  This is probably one of the more complex wines I've tasted so far due to the diverse range of flavors it contained.

Food- none

Tasting - Emeri Pink Moscato

Name - Emeri Pink Moscato

Variety - Pink Moscato

Region-

Country- Austrailia

Year - 2010

Price - $12.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - Fresh fruit aromas with strawberry and musk.  Velvety and full with a persistent bead and fresh finish.  The perfect aperitif on it's own or enjoy with fresh fruits or seafood.

My Review -  Awesome!  This is the first time I tried Moscato and I was very pleased.  The bottle kinda threw me off since it had hearts all over it and  I didn't know what to expect.  Had a champagne feel to it.  The flavor was a very sweet strawberry and had a nice acidity.  One of the best I've tried so far.

Food- none

Tasting - Wild Hog Barbera

Name - Wild Hog Barbera

Variety - Barbera

Region- California

Country- USA

Year - 2007

Price - $22.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - Notes of ripe dark fruit on the nose, with a hint of earth.  the palate is greeted with a combination of dark fruits including, blackberry, dark plum, olallie berries and sour cherry.  Bright acidity and ripe fruit, hints to what this wine will become with some age.

My Review -  This is the first red wine I tried and I liked it.  I saw the price was expecting it to be good.  I stirred it in the glass and smelled it before drinking and got a dark berry fruit flavor.  Most red wines go down dry with not much taste, but this was different.

Food- none

Tasting - Dom De la Quila

Name - Don Miguel Torrontes

Variety - Muscadet

Region- Pays de la Loire

Country- France

Year - 2011

Price - $9.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - This wine is empeccably dry and fragrant wine.  Kept sur lie for eight months before bottling.  Oyster Wine!

My Review -  This was the first wine I tried at the vintage cellar and it was also my favorite.  It had a crisp apple and sweet taste.

Food- none

Tasting - Don Miguel Torrontes

Name - Don Miguel Torrontes

Variety - White

Region- La Rioja

Country- Argentina

Year - 2010

Price - $13.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - A clean white wine with all the tropicality and zest that this Argentine variety can give.  The nose is crystalline and a pure, with white flower scents of jasmine and citrus blossom while the palate is round, meolony and full of lychee and papaya.  Smooth on the finish.  

My Review -  This wine was very good and really enjoy white wines.  Had a smooth/thin texture, nice aroma and a fruit flavored taste. This was also the first Argentine wine I tried.

Food- none

Tasting - Pezzalunga

Name - Pezzalunga 

Variety - Red

Region- Oltrepo Pervase

Country- Italy

Year - 2009

Price - $17.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review - A great balance between red fruit and acidity with a velvety and fine palate

My Review - This was my second favorite wine to try since it was made in Italy and a red wine.  I look forward to acquiring a taste for red wine, but for now it definitely smells better than it tastes.  This wine a alright though just a bit dry.

Food- none