Tasting - Poizin Antidote

Name: Poizin
Variety: Antidote
Year: 2015
Region: California
Country: USA
Price: $14
Review: Nice bottle. Very light with tropical fruit, mostly dry. I don't know the varietal percentages but my guess Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon blanc and a small percentage of muscat.

My Review: As the name suggests, the Antidote is far better than the Poizin. It's also a sweeter wine but its far better balanced with the sweet flavors tipping more fruity than saccharine. I recommend grabbing both on the cheap (these were on sale at the Vintage Cellar for $4 or $5 a bottle) and trying them together. Worse comes to worse, you get to drink two bottles of decent wine. 

Tasting - Poizin Rose

Name: Poizin
Variety: Rose
Year: 2015
Region: California
Country: USA
Price: $14
Review: Vinted with Zinfandel grapes from Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley, this zippy California wine is the perfect choice for your next scary movie night! It's frightfully delicious alongside spiced curries, seafood and goat's cheeses. 

My Review: This was the beginning of my exploration of my Rose journey. This Rose is... sweet. It's not surprising coming from a California rose, but it's disappointing coming from a drink called Poizin. It's a good pairing to its sister wine, Antidote (which I review later). At least the bottle is damn cool. 

Tasting - Insomnia Pinot Grigio

Name: Insomnia
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Region: California
Country: USA
Price: $14
Review: Aromas of lemon zest, slate, and notes of wildflowers lead to flavors of citrus fruits, with minerality and a clean finish, bright acidity. Enjoy this wine with light cucumber-grapefruit crab salad to grilled halibut with orange rémoulade. 

My Review: This was one of my buys off of bottle alone. You can't really tell by the image, but the eyes are holographic and blink as you tilt the bottle. This wine was, to say the least, fine. The flavors of citrus and acidity are poorly balanced on their own and provide an almost sour drinking experience when not consumed with food. I've heard it's better when drank with slightly citrusy, acidic meal... but I didn't do that so it doesn't count. 

Tasting - Casa del Maia White Zinfandel

Name: Casa del Maia
Variety: White Zinfandel
Region: Puglia
Country: Italy
Price: $10
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: Primativo Bianco offers delicately sweet flavors of ripe strawberries, juicy peaches and watermelon, balanced by bright, refreshing acidity.

My Review: This wine offers a distinct flavor that can only really be summarized as "Christmassy": it has undertones of pear and spice with delicate sweet notes throughout... too bad I don't like Christmas. 

Tasting - Anderra Cermenere

Name: Anderra
Variety: Carmenere
Region: Calle Central
Country: Chile
Year: 2013
Price: $15
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review:  Black currant and blackberry aromas open up to reveal bright strawberry and cherry notes, and a subtle spicy character. A touch of vanilla oak complements the fruit and the ripe, sweet finish.

My Review: This wine is a flavor powerhouse with bright, bold cherry flavors, distinct spiciness and a mouth-sucking dryness. That's not all in all a bad thing, but it's not what I'm looking for and, for how little the review stresses the woody flavors, I found them to be charred and jarring... but I had the last glass in the bottle and would be lying if I said I didn't find wood flake sediment in my glass. Further review needed. 

Tasting - Castle Rock Pinot Noir

Name: Castle Rock
Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Sonoma, California
Country: USA
Year: 2011
Price: $15
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: Aromas of chocolate covered berries, dates, grilled pepper, cedar, and a touch of peppered ham with a supple, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a cherry tart and dark roasted nut finish.

My Review: This wine, not to kid itself, had the distinct flavor of Cranberry Juice (or more accurately, Cranberry Juice Cocktail). It also has this ashy, nutty taste that I can now recognize, but haven't learned to love. There's an additional woody taste in this wine I have yet to figure out, but I'll update you if I ever put my finger (tongue) on it. 

Tasting - Wild Life Chenin Blanc

Name: Wildlife
Variety: Chenin Blanc
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2015
Price: $10
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: Packed with upfront tropical fruit, the nose charms with an abundance of guava and gooseberries. The palate follows through with fruit flavors, balanced by a crisp acid to ensure a fresh and fruity style of wine.

My Review: The Vintage Cellar must have gotten a real deal from Wildlife because this is the second bottle we've tried from the vineyard in two weeks. Akin to its sibling, this wine is... fine. It's incredibly earthy for how fruity it heralds itself and acidic as all get out to try and balance it out. There's this definite dirt taste that runs from beginning to end that you don't get in the aroma that's, kinda delightful but still, well, dirt. 

Tasting - Beringer Sauvignon Blanc

(picture from Becky Sutherland)

Name: Beringer
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2015
Price: $10
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: Wonderful grapefruit, guava and melon aromas that lead into citrus and melon flavors. There's a slight grassy back-note with a hint of honey and a balanced acidity that leads into to a citrus finish. 

My Review: This wine is delightfully crisp, a wonderful distinction to the generally acidic whites that start off previous tastings, with flavors of lemon and apricot that have a pine-like finish. There's this definite malic acid taste that I enjoy, but I don't taste the apple that usually goes along with it which throws my brain (and my tongue) for a serious loop... and I really liked the trip. 

Tasting - Baci Dolci Pink

(photo from Becky Sutherland)

Name: Baci Dolci
Variety: Rosato
Region: Veneto
Country: Italy
Year: Every year?
Price: $12
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: " Fresh strawberry and cherry aromas. Light bodied with red fruit flavors and a refreshing sparkle to balance the semi-sweet finish." - Vintage Cellar Label Description

My Review: This is a pleasantly surprising wine. There's no denying it though, this wine is sweeeeeet (semi-sweet my ass) and hits your tongue hard with those delicate strawberry/cranberry flavors that I can only associate with strawberry applesauce (in a tube, of course.) That said, I couldn't get enough of the mouth feel. I don't think I've ever had a sparkling wine - I just turned 21 and I hate grape juice so new years was out - but the sweetness in tandem with the bubbles in my mouth was glorious. I bought a bottle of some pink sparkling wine right after this tasting, all I have to do is wait for an occasion to drink the whole bottle. 

Tasting - Gardin de Luculo Garnacha

Name: Gardin de Luculo
Variety: Garnacha
Region: Navarra
Country: Spain
Year: 2012
Price: $19
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: "Here the nose shows much more complexity, notes of sweet cherries, red licorice and hints of sweet spices. The palate is medium-bodied, quite dry and the flavors denote some very ripe fruit underneath. The slightly drying finish should go almost unnoticed with lamb chops, rather than drunk on its own." - Vintage Cellar Label Description

My review: On it's own, meh, but this wine is dynomite with food.  On it's own, the dry, woody and crackery flavors are overwhelming, but in tandem with the oaky char flavors of the wine goes a good oaky char cracker.  Inspired by the taste, I brought home this bottle to compliment a "last of the rinds in my fridge" cheese plate and it was a capital D, delight. The chalky mouth feel vanishes into soft cheeses and the palette delights on peppery table crackers. A decent, cheap choice for your next wine and cheese endeavor. 

Tasting - WildLife Merlot

(pardon the blur, too many people to get a clear shot)

Name: Wildlife
Variety: Merlot
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2014
Price: $10
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: "The wine offers an array of red berries and a soft and mellow palate. The style is elegant with distinctive red berries and well-integrated wood aromas on the nose. The palate is velvety and smooth with an aftertaste that lingers with the juicy flavors of abundant berries." - Kysela Pere Et Fils LTD, 2014

My Review: The second of the South African wine pair, this one was... resoundingly okay: With the rad AF bird on the front, I expected better. The flavor was very dry, with flavors that shifted from fruity essences of cherry to olive to a woody finish. Now, part of my dislike may be that I'm not a fan of strong, woody flavors, but this is my review so y'all can suck it. Et tu, Birdy?

Tasting - Schwartz Rose

Name: Schwartz
Variety: Rose
Region: Barossa
Country: Australia
Year: 2015
Price: $27
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: "Once past a distracting note of tire rubber, this rosé of Grenache offers aromas of wet stone and watermelon rind. Berry fruit emerges on the palate, while the dry finish picks up hints of chocolate." - Joe Czerwinski, WineEnthusiast Editor, 2015

My Review: I love a good rose. You'll see when I get around to posting tastings from weeks without Vintage Cellar tastings that I've tried my gamete of roses. That said... this is, quite possibly, the most non-descript wine I've ever had. It has some light, floral and perfumy notes but the wine taster here is full of shit saying there's so much more to it than that. This wine, to me at least, is boring. Not bad, by any means, but boring. If I'm gonna spend $27 on a bottle, it better have something at least a little special next time. 

Tasting - Boet Le Roux Old Vine Colombard

Name: Boet Le Roux
Variety: Colombard
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2016
Price: $13
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: "With crisp citrus fruit and a zesty, refreshing finish, Boet Le Roux's Old Vine Colombard has a lively, larger-than-life character that's refreshingly good all year round" - Bottle Description, 2016

My Review: This wine was delightful, but nothing to really write home about. It has a damn good balance of strong acidic taste and a pear sweetness that all in all rounds out to a decent table wine. This starts Vintage Cellars South Africa wine couple so comparing them was a huge bonus (a teaser for the next post.)

Tasting - Daniel Cellars Aurora Chocolate Raspberry

Name: Daniel Cellars
Variety: Aurora Chocolate Raspberry
Region: Virginia
Country: USA
Year: Non-Vintage
Price: $18
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: "Aurora is a sweet red wine that Daniel Cellars have added Chocolate and Raspberries too. Chocolate is the dominate aroma and flavor with Raspberry accents. This is a perfect wine for chocolate lovers."

My Review: This wine... is not my type. The chocolate is way to strong and the raspberry flavor tastes almost more of a cherry when mixed. The overall flavor is that of a Cherry Tootsie Pop... so if that's your'e cup of... wine, then be my guest. Me, I'll stay away from this intensely sweet, trashy, dessert wine.

Tasting - Estrella Cabernet Sauvignon

Name: Estrella
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2014
Price: $17
Location: Vintage Cellar
Review: "Fruity, creamy, attractive aromas and flavors of berry and cherry custard pies. A very smooth, charming, and fruity cabernet crowd pleaser." - Tastings

My Review: This is the first red wine I've tried that managed to get past the "bloody mouth feel" that red wine usually has. This wine has a delicious round, buttery taste with fruity, berry flavors and a subtle, but not overbearing sweetness. This wine makes me crave steak... I can get behind that.