The 2010 BB King Signature Selection Red Blend is a mix of Garnacha Tintorera (not the same as Garnacha/Grenache, but a cross of Garnacha and Petit Bouschet, also known as Alicante Bouschet) and Syrah with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon added in. This wine is produced for BB King by Bodega Santa Cruz de…
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The 2009 Tienen Duende (loosely translates to “has soul”) Verdejo is a Spanish import wine for the Supervalu store chain, which includes Albertsons, Biggs, Cub Foods, Sav-a-lot, IGA and up to a couple of days ago, Jewel Foods. This is a Verdejo sourced from vineyards in the Segovia region of Castilla y Leon in Northwest…
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The 2011 Flaco Tempranillo is an Estate bottled wine sourced from the Arganda sub region (south east of Madrid) of the Vinos de Madrid DO, smack dab in the middle of Spain. The Madrid Do is divided into 3 sub sections, Arganda, San Martin and Navalcarnero, Tempranillo is Arganda’s specialty. If you are familiar with…
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The 2010 Triptych Red (a triptych is a 3 panel painting or carving) is a blend of 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 20% Petite Sirah sourced from Broken Earth Wineries Estate vineyard, Shimmin Canyon Vineyard, in Paso Robles, located inside San Luis Obispo County which in turn is inside the larger Central Coast AVA and situated…
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Theisn’t your usual bottle of French wine. First, Saint Cosme is the negociant side of Chateau Saint Cosme who produce excellent Estate wines, so these are purchased grapes, mainly from the Southern Rhone Valley. And yes, the grapes are pressed in a Basket Press, which is an old style type of mechanical press, you put…
Read MoreThe Anna De Codorniu Brut Cava is a little different from the usual value priced (I found it for $7.99, but it sells for up to $16 on the web) Cava’s on the market. Cava, traditionally, is a blend of three Spanish grapes, Xarel.lo, Macabeo and Parellada, the Anna De Codorniu is 70% Chardonnay (traditionally…
Read MoreHoliday entertaining means that you got to step your game up, no more tossing a couple of Bud Lights to your buddies while watching the game or twisting the top on a bottle of Skinny Girl Cocktails before Downton Abbey, that just will not do. Here is the best of the best, never fail, your guests…
Read MoreEver needed to bring a white wine to a steakhouse? I was heading to a BYOB dinner at an Argentinean steakhouse with a couple non-red wine drinking friends and was in a predicament: what white wine should I bring? I had never had this $18.99 ($13.99 @ Binny’s) Verdejo before but am glad the store…
Read MoreThe Purple Moon California Chardonnay 2011 is a $3.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced from vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA (American Viticultural Area). This Chardonnay is made by Delicato Family Vineyards, who also produce Gnarly Head, Brazin and Handcraft Artesian wines, along with several other labels. If you want to know…
Read MoreThe Abancay Mascara Del Sol (translation: Mask of the sun) 70% Tempranillo & 30% Merlot Crianza is sourced from Bodega Abancay Estate vineyards in the Carinena DO of the Aragon Province in Northeast Spain. Crianza is a legal wine term in Spain indicating that the wine was aged for a minimum of 2 years, with at least…
Read MoreThe Honoro Vera Organic Monastrell is produced by Bodegas Juan Gil from organic vineyards in the Jumilla DO in Southeast Spain. Monastrell accounts for 85% of the grapevines planted in Jumilla. Monastrell is known as Mourvedre in France, Mataro in Australia and is the M in GSM. This is designated a “Young” wine, meaning it receives…
Read MoreThe Simply Naked Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc 2011 is sourced from vineyards on the East coast of New Zealand. New Zealand is made up of two islands and the majority of the grape growing areas are located along the eastern shoreline. Simply Naked is one of Constellation Brands 53 wine labels available in the US, Constellation…
Read MoreThe Herdade da Comporta Red 2007 is a single Estate vineyard farmed blend of 40% Aragonez (known as Tempranillo in Spain), 40% Alicante Bouschet (a cross of French grape Petit Bouschet and Grenache), 10% Touriga Franca (one of the grapes used to make Port) and 10% Trincadeira (another grape used in Port) grown in the Peninsula de…
Read MoreThe 2008 Castillo de Almansa Reserva is a blend of Monastrell, Tempranillo (known locally as Cencibel) and Garnacha Tintorera (also known as Alicante Bouschet and not the same as Grenache/Garnacha) sourced from the Estate vineyards of Bodegas Piqueras, a family owned winery since 1915, located in the Almansa grape growing DO inside the LaMancha DO…
Read MoreThe 2009 Jose Maria da Fonseca Periquita (translates to parakeet) is 79% Castelao, 10.5% Trincadeira and 10.5% Aragonez sourced from Estate vineyards on the Peninsula de Setubal in the Terras do Sado grape growing region in Southwest Portugal. Jose Maria da Fonseca is the oldest winery in Portugal, it has been owned by the same…
Read MoreThe 2010 Hermanos Lurton Rueda Verdejo is 85% Verdejo, 10% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Viura (also known as Macabeo, which is one of the 3 grapes traditionally used to make Cava) grown in the Rueda DO inside of Castilla y León region in Spain. They have been growing Verdejo in Rueda since the 11th century and…
Read MoreThe 2010 Alange Syrah is sourced from Estate vineyards located in the Ribera del Guadiana DO of Southwest Spain, about an hour from the Portuguese border. The Ribera del Guadiana region is very hot in the summer with low amounts of rain (just like Chicago this year), causing the grapes to be harvested a full…
Read MoreThe 2011 Dama de Toro Malvasia is 100% Malvasia sourced from Bodegas Farina Estate vineyards in the Toro DO of the Zamora region of Spain. Bodegas Farina is a family owned winemaking estate founded in 1942 and the vineyards are even older, some of the Malvasia vines are 100 years old. The Toro DO has…
Read MoreThe Absidis Brut Rose’ Cava is sourced from grapes grown on the Finca Emendis/Masia Puigmolto Estate in the Alt Penedes D.O. (this is where most of the Cava grapes are sourced) near Barcelona, Spain. Most Cava’s you see on the store shelves are made from 3 White wine grapes, Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel.lo, but Rose’…
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The 2009 Retorno (translates to repay or return) Garnacha is sourced from old vine vineyards (60+ years old) located in the Calatayud D.O. of the Province of Zaragoza in the Aragon region of Spain. The Retorno is designated as a “young” wine in Spain indicating that it receives little or no oak barrel aging, this…
Read MoreThe 2010 Brassfield Estate Serenity Proprietary White Blend is 65% Sauvignon Blanc, 28% Pinot Grigio and 7% Gewurztraminer sourced from sustainably grown Brassfield Estate vineyards located in the High Valley sub AVA of the Lake County AVA (just north of Napa) in Northern California. The grapes were grown, the wine was produced and bottled, all on…
Read MoreIf your palate’s fatigued from one dimensional wines or if you just need something odd and funky in your life, give this $9.99 bottle a try. Hailing from Bierzo, Spain, this wine is made up of 100% indigenous Mencia grapes. I had never heard of Mencia before, and the label wasn’t very descriptive. So, I…
Read MoreWe want YOU to help us kick it off at the Launch Party and save 50%! Taste Around Town Chicago is back! Think “Restaurant Week” for WINE! May 14th-25th, we want you and your friends to get out to as many participating Chicago restaurants and wine bars as possible and taste these badass wines: California’s…
Read MoreThe 2010 Spanish Demon Rioja Tempranillo is 100% Tempranillo sourced from the family owned Estate vineyards of Bodegas Vallobera Winery in the Alavesa region of Rioja, Spain. Alavesa is the leading grape growing region of Rioja. The wine is called Spanish Demon and not some formal typical Rioja wine name, because they were looking to…
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