As club members of Envy wines, we took a bottle of the 2007 Envy Napa Valley Merlot to dinner this evening at a local Italian restaurant.  This was our first sample of the 07 Merlot which we found to be full of fruit on the first sip, but quickly followed by chocolate notes with barely noticeable tannins.  The wine was smooth, yet still able to stand up and not become lost among the bold flavors of the pancetta and tomato in the homemade pasta dishes we dined on.  Envy wines have produced nothing but quality since I have first tasted them at the recommendation of a dear friend in the valley, Lin, from Venge Wines.  Kirk Venge produces Venge Vineyard wines where we first met Lin, but Envy is another one of his father, Nils Venge’s many... »View More

Added Tuesday, August 17, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

Tonight we are enjoying a Rosenblum Cellars, Contra Costa County, Carla’s Reserve Zinfandel.  The wine we are drinking is the 2006 vintage; however, the 2007 is the most current release being offered.  As a side note, the 2007 wines; Zinfandel in particular are drinking very well.  As a Zinfandel fan, I am not sure why I normally shy away from their wines when Rosenblum self describes as a winery dedicated to the production of Zinfandel and Rhone varietals.  I also have never disliked any Rosenblum wine; I just think there are too many choices that I become a bit overwhelmed when trying to select.  According to their website Rosenblum produces over 50 wines annually to select from so you can see where one may not know where to start.... »View More

Added Tuesday, August 10, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

As a self professed wine snob that really likes a good red wine, I have to step back once in a while, especially in these economic times and remind myself that all expensive wine is not necessarily good.  Nor are the inexpensive wines necessarily bad.  Yes, there are levels of complexity, smoother finishes and so on.  Thus, the reason for the rating system that some rely so heavily on, but we all know special wines should be reserved for special occasions and drinking 90 point wines every night just doesn’t make sense.  Therefore, back to my roots and my never ending quest to find the best value for your dollar wines.  It seems as though the 2007 wines are coming out with a bang and one in particular recently caught my eye…The Columbia... »View More

Added Tuesday, August 3, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

As I sit here on an early Sunday evening the rain is stopping and I have finished making my famous red sauce or gravy as some call it, with meatballs and braciola. Of course the famous part is all in my own mind. I decided we would need a good red wine to drink, one that can stand up to the heavy richness of the sauce. Normally I would pick out a bold Cabernet, tonight however, I chose a Zinfandel. Zinfandel is quite strong and usually carries a nice peppery finish that stands up to most foods; including my red sauce.  At the recommendation of a friend I recently tried Elyse Zinfandel A.K.A Napa Valley.  Wow…did I tell you I love my friend?  This wine is awesome!!  I think of earthy berry notes along with layers of spice and pepper that... »View More

Added Sunday, August 1, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

While walking through the Cabernet section of my local liquor store this weekend, I spotted a familiar name; Robert Craig.  I say familiar as I recognize it based solely on the fact that I have treated myself in the past to some Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cabernet and fell in love.  The Howell Mountain Cabernet sparked enough interest that I quickly purchased a few more bottles to store in the cellar as well as one as a gift for my sister’s wine cellar, but I still did not do my normal research to find out more about the winery.  I have no problem paying for quality wine, but I do reserve any wines over $50 for special occasions, so when I happened upon a 2007 Robert Craig Affinity Cabernet under that price mark, I became quite excited.... »View More

Added Tuesday, July 6, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

Lush – A 2007 Napa Valley Red Wine…..eye catching from the first moment you lay eyes on the bottle with a label that stands out enough to make you pause for a second in order to interpret.  The label reads much like an eye chart you would see at an eye doctor office, starting out with just one large letter at the top. In this case the top letter is L printed in red ink, followed by CB in black ink, followed by DUF with the U in red ink and all other letters in black ink.  The next line provides PSTO with the S being the red ink letter and of course the font size getting progressively smaller as an eye chart would. The label continues with various letters stamped in black in all six rows of the “eye chart” except for the word LUSH set... »View More

Added Sunday, June 27, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

“YeeHaw” ….that’s right, Yeehaw!  That is what you exclaim when you taste a bottle of Lamborn Family Vineryards Napa Valley Howell Mountain Zinfandel!  The 2007 25th Vintage, Silver Anniversary is the wine I have sampled.  I had never purchased Lamborn Family wines before this year, but I came across their website and being a lover of Howell Mountain wines and having a love of Zinfandel wine, I figured it had to be a win-win for me.  I could not have been more right with rich ripe berries and the spicy white pepper flavor that you would come to expect from most Zinfandel wines.  Hints of oak also accentuate the rich fruit flavors.  An outstanding wine with only a little over 500 cases produced, overseen by winemaker, Heidi Peterson... »View More

Added Sunday, June 6, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

I recently found a new Cabernet Sauvignon that is a second label of Pine Ridge called Forefront.  I am not sure if tough economic times are the reason for the second label from Pine Ridge, or simply a new venture for the well known Napa Winery, but regardless of the reason I am a fan.   The Forefront Cabernet is an excellent full bodied everyday drinking wine under $20 that offers the quality you would expect from a wine that Pine Ridge would put their name on.  And yes, unlike some other wineries that produce second labels with no mention of their original name, Pine Ridge proudly announces on the Forefront label that they are the producer; another sign of pride in quality.  The wine is a Bordeaux style Cabernet blended with grapes sourced... »View More

Added Wednesday, May 12, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

The concept for the Forefathers 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Lone Tree Vineyard is simple; 100% single vineyard, 100% single variety, and 100% single appellation.  The basis of this concept is that the philosophy of Goldschmidt Vineyards for their Forefathers line of wines is that one vineyard site could not possibly produce great Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz, which are the three wines they love to make.  For that reason Forefathers has selected Marlborough in New Zealand for the Sauvignon Blanc, McLaren Vale in South Australia for the Shiraz, and Alexander Valley in California for the Cabernet Sauvignon.  The vineyards are selected for the ultra premium quality wines that can be produced from these sites... »View More

Added Monday, May 10, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment

Wow, do I have a nice Cabernet to share with you?  Yes, I do…it is a 2006 La Storia Cabernet Sauvignon from Trentadue Winery in Alexander Valley.  The 2006 vintage is the first offering under the La Storia designation, but the winery touts the philosophy is still the same as always, to offer the best they can create.  I, for one would agree that they are indeed doing just that.  The best lots were used to make this rich Bordeaux style wine blended from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 8% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Merlot.  Once blended the wine was aged 22 months in European Oak barrels.  The result is a medium to full bodied wine offering hints of ripe berry, cocoa  spice, oak and a hint of pepper.  Certainly a big... »View More

Added Sunday, April 25, 2010 in Wine Reviews Add a Comment