2007 Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel, $10

If you're a wine buff, you probably already know that Ravenswood is one of the big names in Zinfandel, and for good reason, as I recently found out. This is another of the three bottles of wine I bought at World Market in March, and I paid around $10 for it.

This full-bodied, dark ruby red Zin gives off tantalizing aromas of sour cherry, oaky vanilla, and just a hint of chocolate. On the palate, round, smooth tannins give way to intense fruit at the forefront. Spicy oak emerges to compliment the fruit flavors (cherry, other berry), leading to a nice fruit finish.

I can't say enough how impressed I was with this Zinfandel. It truly lives up to its hype, and does the Ravenswood family proud. Soft, supple tannins and a round flavor profile make this Zin a joy to drink, and it is extremely well balanced. It is full-bodied, but not heavy; fruity but not overly so; and just all-around yummy...It would be great with food, too!

My Grade: ++++

Pink by Yellowglen Australian Sparkling Wine, $10

I purchased this pink-tinted sparkling wine at World Market last month for around $10. I have to admit, that it was an impulse buy--I just couldn't resist the girly-bubbly-pink-ness of it, and so I ended up buying it along with my more "serious" wine purchases!

Upon opening the bottle and pouring myself a glass, I noted that the color is more of an orange-tinted pink instead of just pink, and there was white grape, peach, and grapefruit on the nose. At first sip, it was acidic and very bubbly, along with an almost salty quality. Next, soft peach and grapefruit flavors emerged, growing stronger as time passed to round out a nice finish.

All in all, this one was good, but I think it could use a little more of something (time?) to allow a better balance in acidity and sweetness. Soft fruit flavors carry this sparkling wine, while acidity and bubbles tend to overdominate.

My Grade: +/- to +

2008 [yellow tail] Shiraz-Cabernet, $5

An Amazing Bargain Wine--At the Right Temperature

[yellow tail] has greatly impressed me thus far with their budget-friendly, but still flavorful wines. This Shiraz-Cabernet blend is yet another example of [yellow tail]'s excellence at a price point that won't scare off an oenophile with a limited cash supply.

I bought this bottle at (yep, you guessed it!) Walmart for just under $5. I really wanted to try the Cabernet-Merlot blend, but my local Wally World didn't carry that particular variety, so I opted for this one instead.

In my original tasting of this wine, I noted that this full-bodied red wasn't bad, but not great either--just okay. The grade I then assigned it was a +, because it had good balance, but a "wierd taste at the midpoint." The next evening, I decided to try it again, this time at just a little cooler than room temperature. You see, the first time I tried it, I did so right out of the fridge. Since I had nothing to lose, I figured I better at least try and taste it at a different temperature before writing it off as a "nothing special" wine.

Upon allowing it to come close to room temperature, an amazing array of flavors and balance came forth--plum, boysenberry, oak, & spice at the forefront, with a superb balance of acidity and sweetness. Plum flavors rounded out a more-than-respectable finish. This Shiraz-Cabernet blend brings out the best characteristics of both varietals, and makes for a very, very good wine for a steal!

My Grade: ++++

Lesson learned...Temperature, temperature, temperature! I had a similar experience with Barefoot Zinfandel (see my review in March), but surprisingly it didn't readily occur to me that I would have the same issue with this variety.

I'm sure most wine experts serve their wines at precise temperatures, but I think I've found an easy rule of thumb for most bottles:

• Reds taste best at slightly cooler than room temperature rather than just out of the refrigerator--Not warm, but definitely not chilled either. I think that's the problem most people have with dry red wine--they drink it cold, which doesn't allow its true flavors to come forward, and can even make it taste "off."


• White wines, many rosé/blush wines, and sparkling wines tast best chilled, or at least at a fairly cold temperature. The richer the white wine is, the (slightly) warmer its optimal temperature.

I found a good, down-to-earth article on MSNBC's Food and Wine section about wine temperature if you're interested in learning more:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9392760/

2008 [yellow tail] The Reserve Shiraz, $12

I knew it had been a while since I'd posted a wine review for my blog, but I didn't realize just how long it had been until I looked at the date of my last post...Almost a whole month ago! How I let that get away from me, I don't know. Nonetheless, I have been tasting wine during the past month, if not making the actual leap of posting them on here! Anyway, I have four new reviews to post, so bear with me!

2008 [yellow tail] The Reserve Shiraz, $12

This is one of three bottles I purchased in February on Wine.com. I highly recommend their site if you want to order wine online--they have a great selection and their prices are reasonable. If you're a really dedicated oenophile, you can also pay $49 to enroll in their Steward-ship program, which includes unlimited standard shipping for a year with no minimum purchase requirement. I did just that, because due to the limited selection of wine in my area, I knew the cost of membership would pay for itself in no time.

This deep ruby red full-bodied Shiraz from [yellow tail]'s Reserve line gives off aromas of cherry, spicy oak, mocha, vanilla, and black pepper. On the palate, it has an acidic effervescence at the forefront with red berry flavors emerging and carrying through the finish.

This wine is smooth and pleasant, but lacks the richness of the Rosemount Diamond Label Shiraz. It is, however, good in its own right. Its light effervescence plays on the tongue with smooth tannins and nice acidity. This Shiraz is an easy drinker, straightforward with a subtle roundness of flavors.

Grade: ++ to +++

2007 Rosemount Diamond Label Shiraz, $10

Over the course of my wine tasting journey, rarely has a wine completely surpassed my expectations. Usually, I'm either simply satisfied that a wine turns out to be as good as I thought it would, or disappointed that it doesn't measure up. This one, however, broke the mold.

I bought a bottle of Rosemount Diamond Label Shiraz at Walmart a while ago, towards the beginning of my quest for budget wine. It caught my eye because I instantly recognized it as one of the wines from "The Wine Trials 2010". Since I was just starting out (and didn't trust my own judgment as of yet), I was relying chiefly on recommendations from wine books for my purchases. A "Two-Time Wine Trials Selection," it was hailed as the Shiraz to go with on the cheap, as opposed to other "fruit bombs" that are cloyingly sweet.

This, however, turned out to be one of the few bottles that has sat in my wine rack for longer than a few weeks, probably because I'd never tried Shiraz...I just wasn't sure what to expect. I'll admit that I was a bit weary that I was going to hate it, mainly due to the fact that I never expected chocolate, a flavor common to Shiraz, to taste good in a wine.

I'm usually excited to open my wines shortly after buying them, but even up until the point that I uncorked this one for a glass one evening, I was just begrudgingly thinking of getting rid of it so I would have another space open on my wine rack. I don't know why I was so halfhearted about trying this one, but in the end, it turned out to be one of my favorites!

To start with, it's a dark plum-red full-bodied wine with a strong, jammy sour cherry nose and a hint of vegetal aromas. On the palate, there is acidity and astringent tannins at the forefront, with plenty of red, jammy berries dominating on the tongue. Dark chocolate, spiciness, and a slight (but not unpleasant) bitterness, come into play to round out the background, and at the end, there's a great, fruit filled finish.

Smooth and supple, Rosemount Diamond Label Shiraz has superb balance, with the perfect amount of acidity, tannins, and fruit. Its flavor profile is round and complex, but it remains easy to drink. Overall, I think this is an amazing wine for the price. This Shiraz evokes luxury, and could even be deemed sexy--it's everything dark chocolate is, embodied in wine. Everything about it, from the dark, square-shaped bottle to the dark plum-hued wine inside, oozes mystery. Speaking of the bottle, it is a little intimidating, but don't let it fool you--the wine inside is perfectly approachable.

My Grade: ++++

2007 Pink Truck, $11

It's been a while since I've had a chance to post a wine review, mainly due to the fact that my husband and I are in the process of trying to buy a house. If you've ever been through that maze, you know how much time is involved in the process, and how stressful it is. It's a good thing that I have a decent wine supply on hand, because it's really nice to have a glass at the end of those especially hectic days!

With that out of the way, I thought I would tell you about the first wine I've bought on recommendation from a friend/family member, a blush/rosé known aptly as Pink Truck. It's an off-dry (slightly sweet), pinkish-rose-red light-bodied wine from Red Truck Winery of California. I purchased it last month on Wine.com for $11.

It gives off aromas of strawberry, raspberry, orange, white grape, and, of course, alcohol. The same notes are found o nthe palate, with an acidic "bite" at the forefront that gradually resides into pleasant fruit flavors. The finish is decent, but somewhat weak.

This wine has fairly good balance, although I would have liked for it to have had just a bit more sweetness (or a little less acidity)--but then again, it's called an off-dry wine for a reason! The fruit flavors are delicate, but harmonious.

Although I prefer the Canyon Wind Desert Rosé over this bottle, it's still a nice, straightforward rose wine. My mom, whom I shared the second half of the bottle with, really loved this one. It definitely has an undeniably universal appeal, and who wouldn't love its creative and nostalgic label?!

My Grade: ++

2007 Smoking Loon Merlot, $6

A Great-Tasting Wine for the Price

I've bought most of the wines that I've sampled over the past couple of months on recommendation from wine books and friends, and I've rarely been disappointed. With this one, however, I have to be honest...I bought it at Walmart out of sheer curiosity, mainly due to its unique name and eye-catching label. Now I'll be the first to acknowledge that you can't judge a wine by its bottle, yada yada; BUT, let's face it--we've all done it at some point. And it's no accident that wineries pour tons of money into marketing their wines--they know that with a striking label and a unique name, they're bound to make countless sales on novelty factor alone.

Nonetheless, I found myself scanning the local Walmart's (rather limited) wine selection with a somewhat-more-trained eye, trying to make an "educated" decision as to which wine to try next. However, as the generic, neutral colored + cursive text + picture of a vineyard labels started to run together, I found my eyes drawn to the Smoking Loon's bold red and gold label, playing right into the wine marketing industry's plan to conquer the wine world through appearances alone. Thus is the route by which I ended up pouring myself a glass of Merlot (the first I've formally tasted) this weekend.

This brick red, medium-bodied wine gave off aromas of spicy, earthy oak, black pepper, red berries, and a hint of leather. On the palate, there were more of the same, along with a touch of milk chocolate and plum. It had nice tannins, was easy drinking, and had a respectable finish for a wine in this price range.

Overall, I was impressed by how pleasing this wine was. It had a surprisingly well-rounded flavor complex and a superb balance. Perfect on its own, it also has enough body to withstand a meaty main dish and is food-friendly enough to pair with cheese and crackers. A true crowd pleaser, I don't see how anyone could not like this wine.

My Grade: +++