Shannon Ridge 2008 Ranch Collection Zinfandel Lake County, CA This red wine has a strong nose of super ripe blackberries and red licorice. Spice rises to the forefront when sipped, wrapped in just enough fruit to tame it. It’s delicious. Anise, mild cinnamon, and a depth to it that I’m calling sandalwood. The fruit combines
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Castillo de Monseran Garnacha 2006 Cariñena, Spain The nose of this Spanish wine is full of spiced strawberries. When drinking, the strawberry is joined by raspberry and a helping of twigs from the bushes, giving it a nice, earthy quality. The spice is still there but not as strongly as in the nose. It’s highly
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Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc 2009 Paso Robles, CA This wine has quite the backstory, from the crazy label (is that art deco?) of a naked woman hanging out on her bed to the explanation of why on the back of the bottle. Lazy Bones, you see, is for those lazy days when all you want
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Tres Pinos 2009 Red Wine San Luis Obispo, CA This wine is from my stomping grounds, though I didn’t know much about wine back when I stomped there (that’s only been marginally improved). There is a sharp cranberry smell followed by the lush scent of fresh, moist dirt—a great nose, as far as I’m concerned.
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Three Knights 2006 Russian River Valley Merlot Sonoma, CA Prunes and strawberries dominate the nose. There’s a crushed mint flavor that accentuates the wine’s primary notes of pepper and a bright berry somewhere between blue and boysen. Plenty of dry mouth left when the wine’s been swallowed.

Zestos Red 2009 Madrid, Spain This 50%  tempranillo and 50% grenache blend is an attractive garnet. The nose is MIA. It tastes tart, like a raspberry jolly rancher but richer in flavor. Some molasses deepens the flavor and thickens its texture to medium-bodied. It’s quite good on reflection.

Madria Sangria This is a premixed sangria, which I’m wary to try. I’ve had sangria in a bottle once before, and though the name of the brand eludes me, it definitely wasn’t worth buying again. This time, though, I’m hoping for better results. It ‘s made with no grape varietal known to man—okay, at least
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2 Copas Red 2009 Mendoza, Argentina The spice of this tempranillo and malbec blend comes on too strongly at first but quickly mellows as I drink it (isn’t that somehow always the case?) Raspberries and strawberries round out that very spicy profile, which may be extra strong because it tastes young. Cardamom and vanilla come
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Arrogant Frog 2008 Lily Pad Red Langeoudoc, France The Lily Pad Red is a mix of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, both perfectly good wines for blending but I appreciate best on their own. It smells of beef jerky and cherries. The cherries are more prominent than expected when sipping. There’s not much going on in
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Placido Chianti 2008 Tuscany, Italy This chianti tastes pungent, and not in a good way. Unripened blackberries, nectarines, apples, mild chocolate, and herbs—dried thyme, mostly—are the notes I taste. Those don’t make for a great combination. I’m not spitting it out, but it’s not really worth drinking, either.