Category: Sonoma

Be mine…you lovely wine!

Happy Valentine’s Day from me to all of you! May your day be filled with wine-y goodness! I thought I’d take this moment to post some delicious finds for you this week. This recent Vintages release featured some yummy wines for the money. I think there’s something for every taste here.

This Vintages LCBO release featured California Cabs. This wine is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot with some Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.   This wine showed ripe blueberry, chocolate, plum and violet. It’s dry with soft, integrated tannins. It’s a bit hot on the finish but other than that, it’s well-balanced. At this price point, there is a lot to savour!

Dry Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 $24.95
Sonoma County USA

I wanted to try something different and I found it with this one. I’m a huge fan of Greek wines. This grape variety is called Moschofilero. Not too high in alcohol, it’s dry, very aromatic with lively lemon zest. It’s tart with a good finish. I liked it!

Tselepos Moschofilero Mantinia 2010 $16.95
Greece


This lovely Shiraz had a great deep purple colour. It was spicy with lots of berry and licorice with slight vegetative flavours. It had great structure with nothing really jumping out to overpower along with a long delicious finish. I’m not one to normally drink Australian Shiraz but I would drink this one. I trust the wines from Plunkett Fowles. Not only is the quality there but it comes at an affordable price.

Plunkett Fowles Stone Dwellers Shiraz 2008 $19.95
Victoria, Australia

I’m in love! This Tempranillo will surely lure you into the boudoir this Valentine’s Day. With it’s silky sultry smoothness, it’s a typical Rioja. Wonderful nose with vanilla, chocolate and sweet ripe fruit. It’s medium bodied so don’t expect a macho-macho wine.

Finca Nueva Reserva 2004 $19.95
Rioja, Spain

I have some excellent news to share with you! Remember that tasting challenge that I participated in just before the holidays?

www.theyummygrape.com/2011/11/tasting-blindly-through-sea-of-wine.html

I came in 3rd place in the Amateur division! How about that. I didn’t think I did well at all. It was a tough competition. Time to practice for next year! The award ceremony will be April 17th at the oh-so- cool 99 Sudbury. Looking forward to it!

Tasting Notes – Nov 15, 2009

This week I didn’t really do any formal tastings but I did have some enjoyable wines, two of which happen to be wines that I’ve been meaning to try anyways. Lucky day!

St. Francis Chardonnay 2007 $19.95
I discovered this wine from Sonoma last year which would have been the 2006 vintage release. I loved it…people loved it. The cases were flying off the shelves at my local wine shop. This year, the wine is just as good. However, it does have a heavier oak flavour than last year. If you love that big, buttery, oaky California Chardonnay then you’ll enjoy this wine. The grapes were sourced mostly from the Russian River valley and the wine aged in both French and American oak. This wine is full-bodied, creamy and feels like golden butter going down. But don’t let the oak scare you. It’s not so full of oak that you can’t enjoy the fruit.

Pierre Amadieu La Grangeliere Vacqueyras 2007 $21.95
This wine is from the Southern region of France, specifically, the Rhone. I think this is one of my favourite wine regions. Vacqueyras is located not to far from the famous Chateauneuf-du-Pape village. I find that wines from Vacqueyras and Gigondas are nice alternatives to the more expensive Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Although, Gignondas wines can be a bit on the expensive side nowadays. This wine is a blend of Grenache and Syrah. 50% of the wine was aged in new oak and you can really tell by the intense aroma.

Amity Vineyards Pinot Noir $23.95
A friend of mine opened this for us girls during a small house-warming get together. Let it sit for a few minutes just after opening and you’ll be delighted. It’s a nice Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Too bad I accidentally knocked over a glass. I hope the floor enjoyed it. This wine is medium-bodied with all those flavours typical of a Pinot Noir such as strawberry, cranberry and cinnamon spice. Oregon is known for their fabulous Pinot Noir. Next time you’re in your wine shop, see if you can find something from this region. I don’t think that you’ll be disappointed.