Wines

To misquote Clara Peller (from those “Where’s the beef” commercials, “Where’s the wine?” I had always heard about people eagerly waiting the fall Beaujolais Nouveau. After drinking this one I’m not sure why. If you aren’t a devotee of something like this, perhaps you can spend your money elsewhere.

It’s a good effort for this port, but it’s lacks a complexity and color as compared to other ports of the same age and price. Try one of those instead.

Just in time for Christmas, a wine for the holidays and maybe the New Year. It’s one of several varieties from these folks. Sadly, it’s only so-so as wine goes.

At best this is a marginal wine from South Africa more from there than other places, except maybe Chile. Another year might help, but I tend to doubt it. Look further afield.

It’s an another wine from the Gallo stable, this one a white. Good for sipping but perhaps not for dinner.

The product seems to work as advertised, and might have garnered a higher grade save for one glaring defect that I’m surprised got past the design guys. Good as a gift for the wine lover who happens to be hearing impaired. If you are looking for a wine chiller you might want to keep looking.

A drinking/sipping wine, not a food wine, but missing on at least one cylinder and it’s available only through Costco.

It’s another clandestine review at a local eatery. (Johnny Carrino’s) Drinkable, but frankly you might do better with their house wines than this one. Although if you are looking for a floor show, the waiter removing the cork (which appeared to be a reconstituted variety) made for some entertainment as it broke in the bottle while he was removing it. Sadly, that was the highlight for this wine.

Another from the Gallo stable, this one better than you might expect for the price. But better perhaps with a dinner than drinking by itself.

A good port and more complex than the 10 year version, but frankly perhaps not worth the extra money you’ll spend on this.

For the price, it’s not a bad drinking wine. It might also be a good choice for a light lunch.

OK, you could probably find this as a “house” wine at a restaurant. Hopefully, this was one of the canyons that went up in flames recently in California. At best, the 2nd bottle of wine you open. Silenus thinks this should be the 3rd bottle you open. A real cork though

Another “All Hallows Eve” wine (aka Halloween). It is one of a pair of wines, the other being “Treat.” In a word, the wine is unspectacular. Consider “haunting” another wine instead.

Just in time for All Hallows Eve, (a.k.a. Halloween). There are several varieties under this label, the cab being one of them. I’m feeling I’ve should have chosen one of the others. NOTE: uses a plastic cork, if that makes a difference to you.

I’m not the biggest Merlot fan, but three years in the bottle has seemed to really help this wine. The big, aggressive tannins you usually find in a Merlot largely muted in this wine, a distinct plus for me. Not bad for sipping, and probably would work OK for dinner too.