VinoForLess.com

A new tasting room favorite of mine is the Cinnabar Winery tasting room in Saratoga Village. Having tasted their Mercury Rising a number of times, it struck me that it’s not mentioned on VinoForLess. Here we have it.

2005 Mercury Rising
Cinnabar Vineyard & Winery
Where to Buy: Cinnabar Vineyard & Winery Tasting Room on Big Basin Way, Saratoga
Street Price: $19.50

A pleasantly consistent and always drinkable wine, Mercury Rising is a Bordeaux style red that has great berry notes and a subtle peppery aspect. Its varietal nature (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Petite Verdot) make it appealing for both seasoned wine lovers and those just venturing into the world of nice red wines. This is definitely a wine to share with friends and one worth breaking open on weekends.

If you enjoy knowing a bit more about the making of your wines, check out the informative tasting notes at Cinnabar’s website. Even better, visit their tasting room. I promise, you’re in for several treats.

~r

Tonight, we were treated to a wonderful Zin from Picchetti Winery.

2004 Zinfandel
Bellicitti Vineyard, Saratoga
Where to Buy: Picchetti Winery, Cupertino CA
Price: $29.95 / Club members $25.46

We started with my previous post wine, and OMG we’ve stepped it up a bit! To the nose this lovely Zin has notes of anise, tobacco and licorice. On the palate essence of black cherry. This Zin is so smooth, that it’s tough to put descriptors on. It’s simply elegant. My good friend will says it’s great with Italian food, and we know it’s a great glass on it’s own.

~r

My lovely wife picked up a couple of why-not’s from Trader Joe’s recently.

Vinas Chilenas Reserva Merlot 2006
Vinas Chilenas Reserva Cabernet Savignon 2006
Products of Chile
Price: $2.99
Where to Buy: Trader Joe’s

I must start by saying that the Cab was palatable on day three, having been vacuum pumped each day. The Trader Joe’s Holiday version of the Fearless Flyer offered up some great notes. I’ll give them the vanilla and blackberry jam, but not on day one! Please do try it out and let me know what you think.

We opened the Merlot just this evening–definitely needs to breath. The nose was soft but rather grape-juicy with a mild scent of white pepper. For $2.99, take this to a party where there are no real wine enthusiasts. I’ll check back in with comments on day-two or three.

They both certainly live up (or down) to their price tag. Way to go Joe.

~r

Saturday, wine tasting at J. Lohr lead my wife and I to Lemmon Percussion where a young drummer told us about a new wine store called Wine Affairs. Serendipity had it that Saturday was Grand Opening at Wine Affairs, complete with a sparkling tasting. Here’s the run down.

Canella Burt Rose NV - Italiano with really fine bubbles! This one rated highest on my palet (10.5). Cost - $20

Dom J Laurens, Speciale ‘04 - A nice blanc de blanc. I gave this one a 10. Cost - $20

Michel Dervin Champagne NV - Not too shabby. I tasted from the end of the bottle, probably a bit above recommended temp, but still–nice. Cost $29

Mont-Marcal Cava Burt Rose - Indigenous varietal of Spain. Also very nice. (Can you tell I love sparkling?) Cost $22

Roederer Estate Burt NV Anderson Valley - This domestic blend was the most expensive, but received my lowest score 8.0. (I wouldn’t kick it out of bed.) Cost $38

I left with a bottle of Canella Burt Rose (1/2 price for Grand Opening) to share with some good friends on Thanksgiving. They’re going to love it!

~r

I spent Saturday with friends in Sonoma, visiting three great wineries. Cline Cellars was one of these wineries, where my party arrived at 5:45. We knew we’d have a short 15 minutes or so to taste. Typically, tasting rooms are gracious enough to let you finish a tasting menu, even if it’s close to closing time, especially once you’ve started. I’m telling you, that the staff at Cline were clock watching the moment we walked in the door, announcing to everyone, at about 8 minutes to six o’clock that state law says that they cannot pour wine after 6:00. Really? I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on this statement, but must say that one of my friend said it best. We’d never been bum-rushed out of a tasting room at quitting time quite like we were at Cline. My friend works at a tasting room, to lend a little creedence here.

By the way, most of Cline’s tasting menu were wines under $20, so they met our price point criteria. I was able to taste two wines before the bum-rush commenced. The whole incident left me with one word–forgettable.

~r

OMG, it’s been too long since my last post! I’ve been sitting on this one for weeks.

As a belated birthday gift, I received a subscription to Wine & Spirits magazine. (My friends know me too well.) As fate would have it, my first issue, June 2007 features 100 top values of the year–big finds under $15! I’m amazed at the number of wines, styles and regions reviewed. Even outside of this particular feature article, I found a number of other reviews that fall between $15 and $25. How excited am I! I’m sharing something great with you here, so visit your local bookstore or visit WineandSpiritsMagazine.com for this issue. Argentina, Spain, Italy, California, it’s all here. I can’t wait to test some of these great reviews.

~r

Sami and I just celebrated 13 years of marriage, and as part of a low-key celebration this year, we stayed at a bed and breakfast in Nevada City. Our adventures took us to an afternoon of wine tasting in downtown Grass Valley. Among our stops were Burch Hall Winery. If you ever find yourself in this area, Please visit Burch Hall for the jug-o-table wine.

Burch Hall Jug Red NV
Price: $12 ($10 refills)
Red Table Wine, California

For $10 you can refill this wonderful little jug with the Burch Hall seasonal blend. Burch Hall also offers a number of other wines that we recommend for a good price to quality ratio. Among them are a 2003 Syrah, 2004 Suncrest Syrah, 2004 Reserve Syrah, 2004 Zinfandel and 2004 Cabernet Franc. These wines range from $13 to $19. There are also selections for the white, blush and dessert wine enthusiats. If you’re lucky, you’ll also encounter a young and charming woman that works the tasting room. This winery is on our list of must visits!

For a list of other great wineries in the area, see this Nevada County site.

I’m always extolling the virtues of the Santa Cruz wine region, particularly because it’s in my backyard. In my humble opinion, too many Santa Clara county locals make the long haul to Napa for overpriced and sometimes overly pretentious wine tasting. I have a feeling that the majority of Santa Cruz county folk don’t bother with Napa, at least not very often. But I digress. I hope to enlighten some readers about a number of wonderful wineries, a couple of which I visited this weekend. And yes, you can find some great wines for under $25.

This weekend, I made my way to a not so well known winery located in Campbell–Pinder Winery. Pinder is family run and has a number of great wines under $20. They include a 2003 Lodi Merlot, a wonderful 2003 Mourvedre, and a great 2002 Zinfandel to name a few. Pinder doesn’t boast the beautiful property that most of its Santa Cruz region neighbors do. However, the wine speaks for itself.

Another stop this weekend was Picchetti Winery. These guys do sport the beautiful property complete with peacocks, picnic area and hiking trails. It’s one of the nicest spots to visit within the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. Most of their wine list is over the $25 mark, but you can find a half-dozen from their list that are under $25. Among those, my personal favorite is their 2004 Chardonnay. One disappointing note about Picchetti , is that club members are now limited to one free tasting per month.

Cooper Garrod Vineyards was our final stop this particular Saturday. I haven’t been here in at least two years. There was a reason for that, but I must admin, I’m a fan now. They have excellent reds including a 2004 Merlot, 2003 Cabernet Franc and a 2003 Morin Vineyard Pinot Noir ($20). I had the pleasure of meeting George Cooper, a gentleman who is 91 years of age. George shared stories of his parent and in-laws who settled in California during the 1800s and later founded Cooper-Garrod. I also learned that this scenic vineyard was once an orchard of apricots and other fruit. Worth noting is that Cooper Garrod has horseback riding tours that take you along some of the most beautiful hills in all of Silicon Valley.

Needless to say, I spent a few bucks on wine this weekend. You may not be tempted to buy at all of these wineries, but visiting their tasting rooms is a must for any wine lover.

The thing I most love about Trader Joe’s is the hunt for treasure in the wine isle. I found a real treasure there last weekend and the irony is that I went to Trader Joe’s specifically because I saw this wine advertised in their mailer. It’s called Jakes Fault and it’s a 2005 Shiraz.

Jakes Fault 2005 Shiraz
Price: $4.99
Where to Buy: Trader Joe’s

It’s a local Geyserville California wine and as the bottle says, it’s “rich, juicy and full of flavor”. I would also add that it is one of the smoothest of this type of wine that I’ve ever had. It has great color and a soft nose but the pallet is full of fruit. At $4.99 a bottle, I’m heading out to get a case!

Sami

One of my purchases during the BevMo 5 cent sale was this lovely ‘04 Tapiz Merlot. Even if the second bottle wasn’t 5 cents, this wine was an excellent buy for the regular price.

Wine: 2004 Tapiz Merlot
Vineyard: Fincas Patagonicas, Mendoza, Argentina
Price: $14.95 (and a second one for just 5 cents more).
Where: BevMo

The nose on this could be smelled as soon as it was corked. Oh how sweet and mellow it was. Hints of berry and a slight touch of oakiness (is that a real word?). The taste was very juicy yet with a mild dryness that was characteristic of an oaky wine. The finish was smooth and long and kept me coming back for more.

I enjoyed this wine with a freshly cooked pot of chili and a baked potato. As my college buddy would say, “Yummydoodle!” And, this just made my top 10 list.