Water or wine?

My 'good-cheap-wine-from-Trader Joe's-tour' has finally ended.  This wine had very little flavor (maybe slight apple), and very little satisfaction.  I even tried it warm, as some wines that are too cold lose flavor, but nada.  Even my reduced fat no flavor sharp cheddar (low fat cheese = bad decision, won't make again) overpowered it.  Spend $5.99 elsewhere please.

Wine: 2008 La Ferme Julien Côtes Du Luberon 

Varietals: 30% Bourboulenc, 30% Grenache Blanc, 30% Ugni Blanc, 10% Roussanne

Region/Country:  Rhône Valley, France

Price: $5.99

Location: Trader Joe's

No worries, she's tasty

I have to admit, I bought this wine for 2 reasons.  1. Its a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc under $8, and 2. My dad used to be in the newspaper business, so I though it was cool. Shhh.  Bright fruit flavors, nice rounded finish.  A touch of sweetness at the end makes it ideal for slightly spicy Chinese or seafood.

Wine: 2008 Marlborough Sun Sauvignon Blanc

Varietals: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Region/Country: Marlborough, NZ

Price: $9.98

Location: World Market (exclusive to this store, so I am working on getting a picture)

Twist & Shout

"No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!" Bite your tongue, Giamatti.   The right Merlot can make your day.  However, I wouldn't classify this wine as "the right Merlot".  Don't get me wrong, it was good...but it wasn't Merlot at its best.  It was verrrry fruity, and pretty much sums up why some people get "sweet" and "fruity" mixed up.  It's so fruity that it tastes sweet.  Not run-to-the-dentist-my-teeth-are-falling-out-sweet, but you know.  Good enough to drink by itself, and flavorful enough not to require food.

Wine: 2005 Twisted Lot Merlot

Varietals: 100% Merlot

Region/Country: Manteca, CA

Price: $6.99 (on sale from $7.99)

Location: World Market 

Over the moon

Not really, but its pretty darn good.  This wine actually retails at $13.99 (gasp!), but I got it for $6.99. (hehe), so it's going on here.  I wouldn't pay $14 bucks for it, but I think it's worth it.  Very flavorful, almost comparable to a New Zealand SB...but not as grapefruity, and a little less zesty.  Sauvignon Blanc isn't really what you think of (or at least I don't) when you see Sonoma Valley on the label, but by golly they've pulled it off.  If you see it on sale, snatch it up.

Wine: 2007 Moon Mountain Sauvignon Blanc

Varietals: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Region/Country: Sonoma, CA

Price: $6.99 (on sale from $13.99)

Location: World Market 

Don't try to pronounce it, just drink it.

What is it about Cava that just makes you smile?  No?  Just me?  Moving on....
Cheap Champagne sucks, cheap Cava, not so much.  It's made using the same method used to make Champagne (unlike Prosecco or Asti)  so it can be classified in the same category.  However, it tastes very different, and makes your tongue happier. Dry, crisp, sparkling, flavorful, with a hint of green apple. Just don't drink it with kettle corn (not that you would...), the sweetness of the popcorn alters the taste of the bubbly, and not in a good way.

Wine: NV Segura Viudas Brut Reserva

Varietals: Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo

Region/Country: Penedès, Spain

Price: $7.97 (on sale from $8.99)
Location: World Market 

Totally Bodacious Drink?

Thank you Trader Joe's, for making my $5.99 decision a good one.  This is a classic everyday wine.  Nice fruit, nice tannins, nice body (ow ow!). Sorry.  I read about this in Food & Wine mag, and although sometimes I disagree with their reviews (Snap Dragon red was on their 'hot buys' list, barf), they didn't let me down here.  Though, its hard to go wrong with my 3 favorite red varietals all in one bottle.  Enjoy with BBQ, Mexican, or re-runs of Seinfeld.

Wine: 2007 TBD Red Blend

Varietals: Zinfandel, Malbec, Petite Sirah

Region/Country: Lodi, California

Price: $5.99

Location: Trader Joe's

Crappy wine, not improved w/ booze

If you've ever used a recipe to make Sangria, you know that it calls for a bottle of dry red wine.  This isn't very specific, because you add a bunch of different things to it to alter the flavor, and so the quality of the wine isn't that important.  Ha.

At first sniff, Snap Dragon Red Blend smelled of permanent marker and moldy raspberries.  This wine must be corked!   ....one might think, only to realize that a synthetic cork does not have this effect on a wine.  So, if I can't blame the intrusion of air, it must be the wine itself.  Think of sucking on stale crackers laced in fingernail polish with an unpleasant fruity zing at the end.  It was almost sweet, and not in a good way.  To prevent myself from cringing as I poured it down the drain, I tried to disguise the flavor with liquor and fruit.  I added brandy (a little at first, then a little more...), apples, strawberries, grapes, a touch of sugar, ice, and a splash of club soda.  The taste was slightly improved, but I couldn't get past the smell.  I even tried holding my breath and taking a sip, but that only prolonged the smell to appear at the end of the swallow.  I may try to cook with it (yes I am that frugal), to reduce it so much that all the reminiscence of the initial taste goes away, but most likely it's on its way to the sewer.  So sad.

Wine: 2007 Snap Dragon Red Blend

Varietals: Mostly Zinfandel

Region/Country: Sonoma, California

Price: $7.97

Location: World Market 

Is 4 reviews in one night pushing it...?

The first time I had this wine, I was sitting at my coffee table in my hole-in-a-wall apartment, eating spaghetti, my sophomore year of college.  It was awful.  So awful, I actually poured it out (I know!).  Pouring out wine is like spitting on God, (except when I legally have to do it for my wine tasting job, which is just plain painful).  So, needless to say, this wine was pretty bad.  Back then, I didn't know how to tell the difference between a wine I didn't like, and a corked wine.  I was reluctant to try it again, but had heard good things...and I needed a wine to go with meatloaf.  Italy was a clear choice, but $10 is my absolute limit, so I was talked into this fella by a co-worker.  Thank you, co-worker.  Smooth, bright cherries, with a hint of leather.  Perfect with the meatloaf, as it is medium-bodied,  so it doesn't overpower or mask any flavors of the food.  Maybe my first bottle was corked, maybe it was a bad vintage, (or maybe I was just hungover?) but this wine definitely deserved a second try.

Wine: 2006 Colosi Sicilia Rosso

Varietals: 100% Nero d'Avola

Region/Country: Sicily, Italy

Price: $9.99

Location: World Market 

I spy an ey...

If you're looking for something different to fill your wine rack (or Tuesday night), pick this guy up.  At first swirl (insert snobby connoisseur comment), it smells almost like a Ruby Port.  If that turns you off, shame on you. If you've never had a Ruby Port, shame on you. A good Port is woooonderful.  Not to say that this tasted like one, it just had the dried fruits (mostly raisin and cherry) of Port.  It was light and full at the same time with a slightly smokey finish.  One glass is all you need for instant satisfaction.

Wine: 2004 Vigne Las Collas ey Grenache

Varietals: 90% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre

Region/Country: Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Price: $6.99

Location: World Market 

Proof that 'Reserve' doesn't mean 'Really Good'

Decent price, decent wine.  Carménère is thought of as "the other Merlot", and in this case, it may as well been.  To be honest, I don't really remember anything about it.  Not because I drank the whole bottle in one sitting (I did not!), but it just didn't have anything to say.  I wouldn't kick it out of bed, but I probably wouldn't buy it again.

Wine: 2006 Santa Alicia Reserve Carménère

Varietals: 100% Carménère

Region/Country: Maipo Valley, Chile

Price: $7.99  (on sale from $9.99)

Location: World Market 

Not too shabby for a cheap little Cabby

Talk about bargain!  I got this for less than admission to an AAA baseball game.  (For those of you not Lugnut or Intimidator fans, thats about $7)  We've carried this wine at my work for as long as I've worked there, so it's nothing new...I was just never that intrigued by the giant 47 pound rooster on the label.  Little did I know, patriotic rooster on front = grapey goodness on inside.  It smelled of green peppers and black currant on the nose, classic Cab notes.  It didn't have the full body-ness of most Cabs, but it had a great fruit-forward grape flavor (not like Welch's but actual grapes).  Way to go large male domestic fowl, way to go.

Wine: Rex-Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon (NV)

Varietals: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Region/Country: Woodbridge, CA

Price: $5.99  (on sale from $8.99)

Location: World Market or Kroger or Target

Ready for a reddy already?

My wine racks are usually filled with reds.  Whites are reserved for cooking, drinking while cooking, and summer months.  In North Cackalacky, summer months last a bit longer, so I tend to stock up on an even amount of whites and reds.  August has been great for refreshing whites, but it's time for a red review.  I am usually all about the tannins in red wine.   Give me a good Napa Cab or an old vine Zin any day of the week.  However, if I'm not having a big juicy steak, I sometimes prefer a red a little on the lighter side.   Malbecs are perfect for drinking by themselves, drinking with food, or drinking with friends.  This Malbec has a great beginning with luscious fruit to follow.  My sister, who likes wines that "don't have a lingering finish" would love this.  It has excellent flavor, but stops right after you swallow.  It isn't too light, isn't too heavy, but has that great full bodied feel in your mouth.  A touch of plum and a touch of oak.  Just a nice smooth red wine. Mmmm.

Wine: 2008 Urban Uco Malbec

Varietals: 100% Malbec

Region/Country: Mendoza, Argentina

Price: $9.99  (on sale from $10.99)

Location: World Market