VINEgeek

Finally catching up on some old tasting notes. Here are a couple of wines from Alex Elman Wines, an importer who decided to create her own label, featuring wines from Argentina made from organic grapes. You may notice braille on the labels; that’s because Alex Elman lost her sight in her 20s. Read the full [...]

My cellar has been running low on everyday whites, so when I saw this bottle of Montes Sauvignon Blanc at Costco recently, I grabbed it. Chilean Sauvignon Blanc has impressed me in the past and Montes is a very reliable producer up and down the price scale. This wine is from their “Limited Selection” line and [...]

Where is Kokomo? The Beach Boys made us all think there is some beautiful island named Kokomo somewhere in the vicinity of Aruba or Jamaica (“Ooo, I wanna take ya”), or Bermuda or the Bahamas (“come on, pretty mama”). Well, it ain’t true. They made it up. There is a real place named Kokomo, but [...]

I’m always game to try something unusual when it comes to wine. On this blog you’ll see as much Baga as Bordeaux, as much Tannat as Tuscany, and more Mourvèdre than Merlot and Malbec combined. So you know when I had a chance to taste a Tempranillo Blanco, I was all over it. That’s right, [...]

Here’s an inexpensive, widely-available wine that hits the sweet spot for my palate: It’s worth noting that I found the 2006 a few weeks after tasting this 2007 and didn’t like it nearly as much. Look for the 2007. _________ Image credit: Illuminaut via Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/illuminaut/3996050349 An offering to the SEO gods: PLANETA La Segreta Rosso [...]

Tuesday night I opened a bottle of Stickleback Red 2008 from the Aussie winery Heartland. It was a Costco grab that intrigued me with it’s mix of grapes: the back label says it’s a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Shiraz, 5% Lagrein and 4% Dolcetto. Tastes more like 100% Smuckers. This is a major dark [...]

Here’s Randall Grahm talking about the wine I’m drinking tonight: the 2009 Contra, an old-vines blend of 55% carignane, 16% grenache, 14% mourvèdre, 7% petite sirah 5% zinfandel and 3% syrah that finds that nice balance between drinkable and thinkable. A good value at around $14.00. Worth a search.

This wine was provided as a sample for review. — Juicy, zingy nose of citrus crossed with pineapple. A fresh green herb note. Plump citrus fruit on the palate, including a sense of orange zest, yet with a mineral/metallic edge. Nicely crisp. Finishes long, if a little hot for a Sauvignon Blanc. Very enjoyable. A terrific bargain [...]

Welcome to the first tetra-pak edition of #MourvedreMonday. Yellow+Blue (Y+B) sells wine from organically grown grapes in environmentally-friendly 1-liter tetra-paks. (Yellow + Blue = Green. Get it?) They source wine from a number of locales, including Malbec and Torrontes from Argentina, Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, and this Monastrell from Spain. This is the first varietally-labeled [...]

This wine is from Brancott’s “Letter Series” – their upper tier range of wines. Price: around $25 This wine was provided as a sample for review by the winery’s PR agency.