What does the month of May mean:
May means Maia which is the "great one"
May 28,2009
2007 Lake Sonoma Russian River Chardonnay
Lake
Sonoma Winery is located up in Healdsburg, CA. I was pleasantly
surprised by this wine. At a price of $13.99 it is nice to know that a
great wine can also be great for you pocket book. This wine has a
simple fruity smell, the finish is oaky and crisp with citrus. So it
is very elegant. A 4 out of 5. Try it out now
May 25, 2009
2008 Terra Valentine Viognier Russian River Valley
Russian
River is another area up by Napa Valley that I am finding I am liking
whites from. This wine is no exception. It is good and I am surprised
because Viognier are usually way too sweet for me. This wine has a
fruity sweet smell but taste is full of flavor but not fruity sweet.
It is perfect for the warm summer day. This wine is good at a 4 out of
5.
May 24, 2009
Terra
Valentine is a great little winery we located up in Spring Mountain.
There are two regions I know for sure I will like the wine from -
Howell mountain and Spring Mountain. Amore is a blend of Sangiovese
blend. What is interesting about it is that it
is a big wine, which might not be something you are expecting with this
blend. This wine is smooth and very drinkable. I cant give it
anything less then 5 out of 5.
May 21, 2009
Venge 2007 Sangiovese Penny Lane Vineyard
So I know just mentioned hidden gems in Napa Valley and lo and behold we received our wine shipment last night from Venge. I was excited to open a bottle. We opened up the box to see what was inside and we have three bottles - One was a white with an interesting name I am not remembering at the moment, the second one was a Syrah THE GOOD ONE - so we didnt open that one, and the the third was a Sangiovese- Perfect! It was a littte warm since our wonderful UPS guy (I mean that, he is great!) had just delivered it so we put a cool sleeve on it and waited a bit. The wine was perfect. We had turkey burgers that I spiced up a bit and the pairing was exactly what I wanted. The wine was elegant and smooth, 5 out of 5.
Click this link to view an article with Kirk the winemaker.
Here is a site if you want to purchase some of their wines, as I mentioned they are not as easily to come by and they are a smaller winery.
May 20, 2009
A few Hidden Gems in Napa Valley
1) First on my list would be Beringer.
I know what you are thinking - that isnt hidden, just about everyone has heard of Beringer. The good thing about them is they are big and they have a wonderful tour of the winery. So you have that big winery feel with great information. The trick (pay attention here is the hidden part or sort of) is that you should finish the tour with a Private Reserve Tasting. Their regular wines are good but mainstream. Their Private Reserve got us to join their club. Great wines for a decent price. If you stop in and see Carlos - tell him I said Hi.
2) Second stop on my list is a great little vineyard called Arger-Martucci located just off the 29 on ingelewood avenue in St. Helena. When we went up to Napa for a vacation we rented a house down the way from this winery and we kept saying the whole week we were there that we needed to stop off here. Finally on the last day on our way out of town we stopped by. They have great wine and a very friendly staff. Try their Cabernet Franc, it was our favorite.
3) Third on the list would be Venge Vineyards. Located off of the silverado trail toward Calistoga.
The
downside here is I am not sure if they are open to the public for
tasting. The good news is the winemaker and owner of the winery is
Kirk Venge. He is also the winemaker for B-Cellars which you can taste
at Silenus Vintners,
Silenus is also a great place to visit - very unique with great wines.
I have a great story on how we found Venge and will be posting it in
the Wineries section soon - so check back!
May 19, 2009
2006 Kenwood Russian River Pinot Noir
This
was my first time trying a Kenwood wine. This Pinot is good, my
husband thought it might have been borderline corked. I didn't really
pick up on that smell / taste. It was very oaky and spicy with hints
of fruit. I am thinking I would like to try another one to see if it
he thinks any differently about it. 4 out 5 for me though. Try it now!
May 16, 2009
So last night we had a twitter tasting of an '06 wine. This was my choice out of our closet.
2006 Ideology Cabernet Sauvignon
This
wine is great! It has hints of vanilla and cinnamon. It is a big
smooth cab with a great nose. We found this wine from a winery called Silenus Vintners.
They are a great tasting room off the 29 up in Napa. We have actually
found quite a few wines / winemakers there that we really like. B
Cellars is another one. This wine is a 5 out of 5.
May 15, 2009
This
wine was surprising to me as a merlot. It has alot of the characterics
of a Zin or Port actually. If you like plums you will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
this wine because that was the big fruit flavor on the smell and
taste. It also I think gave it that port like quality. the reason I
said it is Zin like is because it has that rich plum flavor that makes
it a bit sweet. This wine was ok, but not my style. The price point
however does make it attractive at $14.99. 2 out of 4. What is your
opinion? Try it now!
May 13, 2009
Jacuzzi Family Vineyard 2006 Pinot Noir
My
first initial reaction to this wine was that it was a zin. It just has
that sweet smell and flavor. But at the finish it has a bit of spice
to it which makes me believe it is a Pinot Noir. It is not a thick
wine that is way too sweet and sryupy it is somewhat like flavored
water in its texture. It was an ok wine but I tend to like the pinots
that are rich and spicy. 3 out of 5.
I would love to get your opinion if you are Pinot fan.
Try it now!
May 12, 2009
Frei Brothers Reserve Russian River Valley 2006 Chardonnay.
This
chardonnay is very smooth. It has a kick of butterscotch (which I
think it my new way of saying there is oak - It reminds me of
butterscotch) but is fruity on the smell like a sauvignon blanc with a
lot of citrus. Very green apple and and pear but just slightly sweet.
The price point is good at just under $13 a bottle. A good wine at 3
out of 5. Try it now!
May 11, 2009
Hope all Mothers had a wonderful Mother's day yesterday!
Last
night we opened a great wine. We started the evening sitting outside on
a beautiful clear evening hanging out with our neighbors and finished
the wine with dinner later. It was a 2004 Private Reserve Beringer Chardonnay.
The color was very yellow and rich. The smell and flavor came through
just as robust. This is a big chardonnay so if you are looking for
mellow this would not be your wine. It was on the buttery side but
with a kick of oak and carmel. Very smooth drinking with or without
food. 5 out of 5. Try now!
May 7, 2009
Since
it is getting closer to summer and the weather is heating up - can we
say it was 98 degrees today with it hitting 100 tomorrow YIKES - I have
decided to ramp up my sauvignon blanc consumption. Keeping in mind I
am not a huge white wine drinker, I have never been a huge fan of any
thing other then Sparkling wine or Chardonnay. However, I am finding
that my horizons are broadening. This wine Baco is very nice. It is
very citrusy and light both in color and texture. I would love to pick
up more of these for summer time. Although this not a California Wine
it is very good. 4 out of 5. (I know I know - I am going to get back
to reviewing california wines) Try it now!
May 4, 2009
Upcoming Wine Events:
- Long Beach Ca May 15 Great wines from Austria- Tasting and dinner Website
- Paso wine Festival May 15-17 Website
-
Lodi California May 15-17 Website
- Mammoth Festival - wine, music, and art Aug 14-16 Website
- If you are up in Sacramento California visit this site for current wine events
- Mothers day is coming up, here is a great site that lists winery events for mother day brunches
May 1, 2009
So, I just received a wine shipment and thought this wine looked interesting. It is called big mouth red and the year is 2005. It is good and yes I was surprised, the label is fun and the bottle is tasting smooth of cherries and fruit both on the nose and mouth. It is 95% Shiraz and 5% Viognier and worth the price. I purchased it in a 6 pack of 4 reds and 2 whites which was about $85. I believe the bottle goes for $19 sold by itself.
What a great way to start off the month.