Category Archives: Great Values

Wine for Thanksgiving: Vinum Chenin Blanc

Vinum Cellars Clarksburg Chenin Blanc CNW 2005

The “CNW” on the label stands for “Chard No Way” … hmm, what’s the winery trying to tell us?

Here is an ideal “out of the box” idea for the Thanksgiving table — a Chenin Blanc! And Vinum is winery in Clarksburg, California, so it fits in with the American theme of the holiday.

Tasting Notes

Bright, open nose of fresh ripe white peach, pear, melon. Deliciously bright fruit on the palate as well, dominated by apple, pear, peach, and honeydew melon. A touch of stony mineral adds a nice complexity. Very clean. Texture is smooth. Acidity is low. This is a fine sipper on its own, and a fantastic match for the Thanksgiving meal. Its bright flavors and low acidity match well with just about everything on the table – the lean turkey, stuffing, pearl onions, and veggies. Guess what? This wine also pairs nicely with asparagus – how about that? Also good as an aperitif, or match it with similarly lean dishes, or spicy foods (Asian and Indian, for example).

a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-8 v-8 ~ 90 Points

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Sparkling Wine Review: Canella Prosecco

Canella Prosecco

Canella Prosecco sparkling wine bottleIt’s been a while since we’ve done a sparkling wine review … and I really should post more of these. After all, why wait for a celebration to open a bottle of bubbly? Shouldn’t every day be celebratory?

Yeah, yeah, I know … how many of us can afford to drink Champagne every day? Well, who says your bubbly has to be Champagne? There are plenty of inexpensive sparkling wines — imported and domestic — that have the excitement of bubbles, taste great, and won’t give you a headache.

For example, this Prosecco from Canella is a wonderfully appealing, easy drinking sparkler that will set you back only about ten to twelve bucks.

Tasting Notes: Canella Prosecco

Clean, mild nose exhibiting a touch of citrus and mineral. In the mouth, bubbles are coarse, flavor is clean with some salty mineral. There is enough acidity to match fairly well with food. Order cheap generic medications from reputable online pharmacy with now prescription. Citrusy fruit, light body, easy drinking, simple and short but pleasing finish.
Try it with spicy dishes as a foil, or with fish, and with Greek cuisine (goes well with tzatziki). It’s equally enjoyable as an aperitif, palate cleanser, and with simple appetizers. A great value.

a-7 t-7 b-8 fc-8 v-9 ~ 89 Points

Find this wine at a local retailer using WineZap or Wine-Searcher

Note about the above links: even if you aren’t interested in purchasing a wine online, it’s a good idea to click on both of the above links to get a ballpark idea of what a local retailer should be charging for the wine. And you may just get lucky and find out that the wine is available right around the corner!

Red Wine Review: Silver Spur Pinot Noir

Silver Spur Pinot Noir 2002

Silver Spur Pinot Noir wine bottleI have to admit, I was expecting very little from this wine. Silver Spur was completely unknown to me, as I’d never seen the winery name in a retail shop, on a restaurant list, nor read in a wine magazine. It was sent to me by MyWinesDirect, an internet-only retailer that specializes in introducing unknown wines to ignorant palates such as mine.

With such low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wine, immediately apparent after being poured into the glass. The nose is forward, and open, and exudes a fresh, ripe aroma of strawberries, black cherry, earth, and a distinctive smokiness. Though this wine hails from California (specifically, Carneros in Napa Valley), it is more “old world” in style – one of the few American Pinot Noirs that remind me of red Burgundy. Unlike the jammy, over-the-top Pinots typically produced in the West Coast heat, this wine is ripe but not overwhelming, and retains both a rustic character and a tie to its terroir (soil).

In the mouth it has a silky smooth texture, and fills the mouth with ripe black cherry, red raspberry, ripe strawberry, some vanilla spice, and a touch of earth and leather. Acidity is appropriately medium, and tannins are likewise. Alcohol is there but subdued, so the finish is barely warm. All in all, an elegant, polished wine that is well balanced, full of fruit, and has an appealing finish. It is enjoyable alone, but will be better with lean dishes, such as turkey, fish, chicken, vegetarian. Or have it with a mild cheese or simple appetizer.

a-9 t-9 b-9 fc-8 v-8 ~ 93 Points

Silver Spur Winery website

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Red Wine Review: Powers Merlot

Powers Merlot 2004 Columbia Valley

Powers Merlot wine bottleReal deal price: 12.99

Ho-hum you say … a California Merlot review. Well … not really.

Actually, Powers Merlot is from Washington State — but that’s a giveaway for anyone who took the time to read the label and knows where Columbia Valley is situated. Powers is a “sister” label to Badger Mountain, a 100% organic vineyard also in Columbia Valley (in fact, it was the FIRST vineyard in Washington to be Certified Organic, back in 1990). In 1992, Badger Mountain founders Bill and Greg Powers (a father and son team) decided to make non-organic wines as well, from grapes sourced from well-respected vineyards throughout Columbia Valley — and thus the “Powers” label was born. Though Powers is best known as a Cabernet producer, their Merlot is pretty tasty as well — and a fine value.

Powers Merlot: The Tasting Notes

Open, forward nose of ripe raspberry, black cherry, green earth, black pepper, bell pepper, tar, tea leaves, and a minty herb (anise?) aroma. In the mouth it has super-ripe, juicy raspberry fruit, earth, mild sweet tobacco, black cherry, plum, bell pepper, and hints of chocolate and tar. Texture is smooth. Acidity is somewhere between mild and medium. Tannins are medium, and most noticeable in the midpalate. The finish is a bit hot – the wine’s only significant negative – but also offers some raspberry fruit, black pepper, and earth. This is a good match for burgers, skirt steak, cheeses, braises and stews. At about $12.99, this is a very good to great value.

a-8 t-9 b-7 fc-7 v-9 ~ 90 Points

Powers Winery Website

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Malbec Review: Elsa Bianchi

Bodegas Famiglia Valentin Bianchi “Elsa” Malbec 2004

Elsa Bianchi Malbec wine bottleProof that there are still good values to be had in Argentina. In fact, at a price between eight and eleven bucks (depending on the retailer), this is a super value.

Valentin Famiglia Bianchi has been making a range of consistent, quality wines from their vineyards in San Rafael for about 70 years — in my opinion, some of the best-for-your-buck Malbec, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon coming out of Argentina, year in and year out. Their style is clean, full of ripe fruit, round, and warm, with luscious, silky texture. Most of their wines go through some kind of barrel aging to add a nice vanilla spice component — but not so much to overpower the fruit, which is always the focus in their winemaking. Though they have some outstanding high-end bottlings, they also have a range of “entry level” wines labeled as “Elsa” — which is the Malbec we’re reviewing today. If there’s a negative to Valentin Bianchi’s wines, it’s finding them in the US — though they are supposed to be distributed throughout most of the 50 states, they’re about as easy to find as a needle in a haystack. However, they’re worth the effort of seeking out.

The Tasting Notes

Rich, vibrant, surprisingly complex aromas: ripe, fresh raspberry, plum, blackberry, vanilla spice, boysenberry, earth, hint of tar. Smooth as glass on the palate, showing excellent jammy fruit upfront, but not so much that it is overwhelming (the way an Aussie Shiraz might). Rather, the flavors pleasantly and slowly mellow into a well balanced finish, where mild to medium tannins and sufficient acidity appear and hold things together. The taste of the wine is a mirror of the nose: lots of ripe red and black fruits with spicy notes and hints of earth. Match this with a wide variety of foods, from blackened chicken to pork / veal chop to hamburgers to, of course, skirt steak grilled Argentine style.

Life would be truly wonderful if all bottles under nine bucks packed this much punch. Get a case and count on it as your daily drinker.

a-8 t-8 b-9 fc-10 v-10 ~ 95 Points

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