The First Vine Red Wine Blend (Sonoma, CA) is one cheap glass of wine. But there are times when you know only a cheap wine will do. Those times are when you don’t care what you’re drinking — you just want something vaguely alcoholic in your throat and so you should not spend much money
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Peachy Canyon Incredible Red Zinfandel 2011 Paso Robles, CA The nose of this wine needs brightening, but that may be my fault for not using my aerator for the first time in a while. The scents are bound tightly together. It wants to be smoky, but it’s closer to cedar; the chips are on the
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TOPO Piedmont Gin Chapel Hill, NC ABV 46% I have mentioned this gin before on this blog, when I took a tour of the distillery. But this is the first TOPO spirit I’ve had my hands on a bottle of and thanks go to Esteban, TOPO’s spirit guide, for the parting gift at my farewell
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Goats in Villages Shiraz Pinotage South Africa Note: No vintage I could see. The artwork on this bottle of wine and the playfulness of the distributor’s name — Goats Do Roam — charm me. For Trader Joe’s, this is a high-end bottle at $9.99. Smells like blackberry gumdrops with a hint of licorice. I haven’t
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Covington Sweet Potato Vodka Snow Hill, NC 40% ABV With a slogan like “the best yam vodka on Earth,” Covington gets out of my gate with a head start. If you are not a pun enthusiast, that may translate to a 10-second penalty. It’s made in North Carolina and thus qualifies as a local spirit
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Trader Joe’s Grande Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2011 Napa, California I tasted this wine before purchasing it at Trader Joe’s, and I’m glad the sample convinced me to get a bottle. Its rich, medium-bodied boysenberry digs into me and won’t let go. The nose has a fleeting burst of fig newton, but is otherwise lackluster.
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LaCheteau Vouvray 2011 Loire Valley, France The nose of this white wine is subdued. Honeydew and the tickle of tannins are all I get from it. On tasting, it initially reminds me of Southern white wines with a lot of sweetness. Luckily, a healthy dose of acidity counteracts that. It’s bright and buttery, and lime,
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Country Vintner 2013 Trade Show Finds Last week, I attended the Country Vintner’s 2013 Trade Show stop at the Cookery, one of a few stops they made in the state to show off their current portfolio of wines to local restaurants and wine purchasers from all over. The Country Vintner is a large wine sales
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Ipsus Passito di Pantelleria Dessert Wine Marsala, Italy This dessert wine is made with Muscat grapes, which are often used to produce sweet wines and fortified wines. Its color is light amber with rose tinges, and its nose is nectarine with subtle floral qualities including that rose again. It tastes wonderful. Certainly sweet, as expected
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Red Diamond Shiraz 2009 Washington State This Shiraz has the most interesting nose I’ve smelled in a while. It’s full of leather and juicy blackberry. The wine itself is much thinner than expected for a Shiraz, but it’s nicely matured. Blackberry swoops up then is replaced with whipped cream and spices. Pink peppercorn, a hint
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