Tasting-Emeri de Bortoli Sparkling Shiraz

Name: Emeri de Bortoli Sparkling Shiraz

Variety: 100% Shiraz

Region: South Eastern

Country: Australia

Price: $9.95

Year: NV

Winery review: A relatively light, fresh style of sparkling Shiraz, with berries and hints of chocolate picking up just a touch of sweet vanilla on the finish. 

My review: A very strong berry smell to the wine. It has mainly a berry taste to it with lots of bubbles in the wine. It is a pretty sweet wine for being a red wine. I was a little surprised when I tried it. I really liked the bubbles in it. I can tell why this wine should be paired with dessert. I enjoyed this wine.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Tres Ojos Garnacha

Name: Tres Ojos Garnacha

Variety: 100% Grenache 

Region: Calatayud

Country: Spain

Price: $6.95

Year: 2011

Winery Review: This wine has a brick red color with a bouquet of red raspberries, spice and white pepper. The palate is incredibly concentrated and rich. The modern styles of Garnacha in Spain are continuously being perceived worldwide as wines of extraordinarily good quality. This wine is fruity, juicy and shows a great depth, ripe tannins, length but yet with wonderful elegance and lightness. Enjoy with sausages, roasted meats, aged cheeses etc. 

My review: The first smell is definite raspberry but then the spice kicks in after and has a really strong smell to it. It has a fruity taste to it but with a major spice to it (mainly pepper). It's fruity toward the beginning of the taste, but then the pepper rushes in and hits you. I wasn't a big fan of the pepper taste to the wine and would be okay if I didn't have it again.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Montebuena

Name: Montebuena

Variety: 100% Tempranillo

Region: Rioja

Country: Spain

Price: $8.95

Year: 2010

Winery review: Ripe cherry and blackcurrant on the nose and in the mouth. Pliant and seamless in texture, with good heft and back-end energy. Finishes smooth and sweet, with fine-grained tannins providing shape and grip. still on the young side but this wine drinks very well with an hour or so of decanting; it's an excellent value for Rioja.

My review: There is a definite and strong cherry smell to the wine. It is a pretty smooth wine to drink. The wine has a cherry taste to it but a definite smokiness to the wine. I think the cherry is harder to detect because the smokiness overpowers the cherry. I like that this is a red wine that doesn't have much of a spice to it. I thought this wine wasn't bad.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Sainte Victoire Cotes de Provence

Name: Sainte Victoire Cotes de Provence

Variety: 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Cinsault

Region: Provence

Country: France

Price: $8.95

Year: 2011

Winery review: Bright salmon pink; typical of the fresh but warm Provence style. Refined and complex on the nose, with summer fruit and floral notes. Dry and crisp, with a delicate flavor and full texture.

My review: A nice and clear smell. The smell kind of makes me think of the spring with a slight floral smell to it. It is a pretty dry and crisp wine. It has a slight herb taste to it. I can definitely taste the alcohol in it, which I'm not a big fan of. This wine is okay

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Canyon Road Chardonnay

Name: Canyon Road Chardonnay

Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Region: California

Country: United States

Price: $6.95

Year: 2011

Winery review: Medium-bodied wine with notes of crisp apple and ripe citrus fruit with a hint of cinnamon spice. Delicious complement to grilled chicken, lighter pasta dishes or mild cheeses.

My review: I thought this wine had a citrus smell to it and I could very faintly pick up a smell of apple to it as well. I thought there was a pear taste to the wine with some slight apple as well. I thought it was interesting that there was no citrus flavor considering the scent was strong. It is not acidic at all, but a slight oak taste at the end. I really enjoyed this wine.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Potluck Sweet Malbec

Name: Potluck Sweet Malbec

Variety: Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Price: $7.95

Year: 2010

Winery review: Deep red brilliant with violet hints. Complex, fruity, and predominant red fruits. Easy to drink, round with persistent sweetness, very well balanced with sweet tannins.

My review: This wine had a nice sweet and fruit smell to it. I think one of the fruits was a slight smell of raspberry in the wine. When tasting this wine, I thought it was fairly light for a red wine and pretty easy to drink. This wine had some definite sweetness to it, which makes me understand why it is paired with dessert. Even with the sweetness to the wine, it was slightly dry at the end, which I think shows that this is still a red wine. This wine was pretty good.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Domaine de Grange de Payan

Name: Domaine de Grange de Payan

Variety: Grenache

Region: Cotes du Rhone

Country: France

Price: $8.95

Year: 2011

Winery review: Intensely spicy and precise, with lively red berry flavors and a hint of black pepper. The Grenache, which makes up the majority of the wine, is deeper and more powerful, offering cherry and black raspberry qualities lifted by zesty minerality.

My review: I didn't think this wine had a super strong smell that was easy to pick up with my cold. But I was able to detect a slight raspberry smell to the wine. When I would inhale strongly, I could pick up the smell of pepper to it. When tasting the wine, I detected the flavor of cherry to it. I think it also had a slight pepper or zesty flavor to it as well. Being the same grape as the wine before, I thought this one was not as spicy as the one from Spain. I liked the Spain one better because it didn't have the pepperiness to it.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Tinto Figaro

Name: Tinto Figaro

Variety: 100% Garnacha

Region: Calatayud

Country: Spain

Price: $6.95

Year: 2009

Winery review: Figaro is 100% Garnacha, made from a selection of the best grapes grown in the oldest vineyards. While not truly an "oaked wine,"a short stay in oak barrels provides a nice spicy flavor boost. Bright violet. Dark berry and cherry aromas show a jammy aspect. Supple and gently sweet, with good lift to its black raspberry and boysenberry flavors. Smooth and broad on the finish, leaving behind a hint of spiciness. Extremely easy to drink and an excellent value.

My review: This wine had a very berry smell to it with cherry really standing out to me in the smell. Once I tasted the wine I realized it was not as fruity as it smells. The taste definitely highlighted a black raspberry flavor in it. The after taste had a spiciness to it, with also a slight smoke taste to it.

I did not try this wine with any food.

Tasting-Maipe Malbec Rose

Name: Maipe Malbec Rose

Variety: 100% Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Price: $7.95

Year: 2011

Winery review: Intense pink color with violet hints. Fresh red fruit bouquet, strawberry and cherry flavors, balanced acidity, dry and lingering finish. Excellent with tuna or green salad, pasta, spicy Asian dishes.

My review: This wine had a stronger smell, which made it easier to help identify scents while I had a cold. I definitely detected a fruity and berry smell to the wine with a focus of strawberry to it. I smelt more strawberry to it, but when tasting it, I definitely picked up on the cherry taste in it. I thought there was a strawberry taste to it as well, but much more subtle than the cherry. It was a dryer wine than I expected it to be. I thought this wine was good and I enjoyed it.

I did not try this wine with any food.

Tasting-Cortenova Pinot Grigio

Name: Cortenova Pinot Grigio

Variety: Pinot Grigio

Region: Veneto

Country: Italy

Price: $7.95

Year: 2012

Winery review: Brilliant straw color with emerald reflections. Fresh and floral bouquet with a hint of pears, apricots and bananas. Fresh and inviting with bright fruit and an easy drinking style with a pleasing hint of almonds in the aftertaste. Pairs well with seafood dishes, risottos with scampi, spaghetti with clams, sole in white wine. Perfect also as an aperitif.

My review: Let me start off by saying I had a cold this week, and not being able to smell well really impacted my wine tasting experience. This really allowed me to appreciate how much smell influences our wine drinking experience. I thought this wine was definitely a softer smell and was harder to pick up scents with my cold. The little smell I could pick up on was a sweet one. I did think the wine had a pear taste to it. It wasn't a fruity or very sweet white wine which is always a nice change. I thought this wine was good and it was probably my favorite of the week.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Monte Aman

Name: Monte Aman

Variety: 100% Tempranillo

Region: Arlanza

Country: Spain

Price: $5.95

Year: 2009

Winery review: Fermentation of selected grapes in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature. Aging in American oak casks for 5 months followed by 3 months in the bottle before being released in the market. Inky ruby. Ripe cherry and plum on the nose. Smooth and fleshy, with deep dark fruit flavors complicated by bitter chocolate and anise. A spicy quality adds lift and focus to the weighty fruit. Offers an appealing mis of power and energy and drinks very well right now.

My review: The wine has a plum smell to it with some spice also. I thought the wine tasted of cherries with a definite spice to it as well. It was pretty good for red wines. I would like to try this wine with food to see how the food would effect the spice of the wine.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Cortenova Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Name: Cortenova Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Variety: 100% Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Region: Abruzzo

Country: Italy

Price: $6.95

Year: 2010

Winery review: Deep ruby red color with violet highlights and a pleasant and fruity bouquet. Full bodied, soft tannins and good acidity. Excellent with pasta dishes and red meats.

My review: The wine had a fruity smell. It was smooth and easy to drink for a red wine. It wasn't an in your face wine, and I thought it would be good paired with food. It did not have a fruity taste to match the fruity smell.

I did not have this wine with food.

Tasting-Maipe Chardonnay

Name: Maipe Chardonnay

Variety: 85% Chardonnay, 15% Viognier. 

30% malolactic fermentation, 30% was aged in French oak barrels.

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Price: $7.95

Year: 2012

Winery review: Brilliant yellow golden color with green hints. The wine is crisp and filled with white peach, pear, green apples flavors, toasty vanilla. Elegant and luscious wine, well balanced. Crisp and long finish. Pairs well with creamy soups, pork, veal, vegetables.

My review: The wine has a green apple smell. There is a tart taste to the wine like apple. It was easy to drink and I enjoyed this wine.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Villa d' Orvieto

Name: Villa d' Orvieto

Variety: a blend of Grechetto, Procanico (Trebbiano), and Malvasia

Region: Umbria

Country: Italy

Price: $6.95

Year: 2011

Winery review: Fresh and crisp, it has a beautiful, floral bouquet. It is wonderful with appetizers, fish, chicken, and salads.

My review: A very light smell to the wine. It has a crisp taste. Kind of like a typical table wine. I wish I would have tried this wine with some food. This was was good and I'd have it again.

I did not try this wine with food.

Tasting-Dibon Cava Brut Reserve

Name: Dibon Cava Brut Reserve

Variety: 45% Macabeo, 25% Xarel-lo, 30% Parellada

Region: Penedes

Country: Spain

Price: $9.95

Year: NV

Winery review: Light gold with plenty of bubbles, this wine has aromas of apples and pears with pleasant floral notes. Crisp and light-bodied on the palate, stone fruit flavors are accompanied by a mild minerality and balanced acidity. A delicious sparkler for a great price!

My review: A floral smell to the wine. It is a very bubbly wine and not very sweet at all. It had a slight pear taste to it with some acidity. This wine was okay. It was little to bubbly for me.

I did not try this wine with food.