The OZV Lodi ZInfandel 2012, OZV stands for Old ZInfandel Vines, is 96% Zinfandel and 4% Petite Sirah sourced from 50 to 120 year old ZInfandel vines located in the Lodi AVA, east and a little south of Napa. The OZV Zinfandel is produced by Oak Ridge Winery, started in 1934 as a wine co-op and…
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The Hob Nob Pinot Noir 2012 is sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc region of southwest France. This is a Vin de Pays d”Oc wine also known as an IGP wine, that rating shows that the wine has the characteristics of the wines of the region, but do not follow the rules and standards of the…
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The Ca’ di Rajo Raboso Del Piave 2007 Notti di Luna Piena (translates to Full Moon, is 100% Raboso Del Piave grown in an estate vineyard by the Piave River near the city of Treviso in Veneto, Italy. Raboso Del Piave is indigenous to the eastern Veneto region and is a grape that exhibits strong tannins and acidity….
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The Wollersheim Winery Prairie Fume’ 2013 is 100% Seyval Blanc grape sourced from contract vineyards in New York. The Wollersheim Winery is located west of Madison, Wisconsin near the Wisconsin River. It was founded in the 1840s, but after a particularly brutal winter in 1899 the vineyards froze and the property was converted to a…
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The Bird Big Barrel Pinot Noir 2012 is sourced from the Dayvinleigh Vineyard on the Wairau River in Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island. Steve Bird is the winemaker and he is the first to produce Pinot Noir with Vernou roll fermentation. He uses huge 238 gallon oak barrels (Tonnellerie Vernou is a French cooperage who make the…
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The Sophora Sparkling Cuvée is 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards in the Gisbourne and Hawke’s Bay districts of New Zealand’s North Island. Most of the reasonably priced New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc you see on store shelves come from Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island. Sophora is the Sparkling wine brand from Distinguished…
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The Gia Pinot Grigio 2013 is sourced from vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA. The Gia on the label is Gia Coppola, the granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola and Gia wine is one of the Coppola family of wines. Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the same grape, the difference is Pinot…
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The Ca’ di Rajo Prosecco Millesimato Extra Dry DOCG is a Sparkling wine produced from the Glera grape grown in an estate vineyard in the Valdobbiadene region near the town of Treviso in the Veneto region of Italy. Valdobbiadene Prosecco and DOCG Prosecco are the highest quality area and rating for Prosecco wine. Millesimato indicates that this…
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The Fire Road Pinot Noir 2013 is sourced from several vineyards located in the Marlborough region, which is in the northeast corner of New Zealand’s South Island. Marlborough is best known for Sauvignon Blanc, just check the NZ Sauv Blanc section of your local wine shop and you will see Marlborough on virtually every bottle. Marlborough…
Read MoreIn addition to being overwhelmed with all the wedding planning, Jane (Gina Rodriguez) begins to feel guilty about her emerging feelings towards Rafael (Justin Baldoni) and decides to tell Michael (Brett Dier) during their pre-wedding counseling. Elsewhere, Rafael and Petra (Yael Grobglas) are faced with someone from their past and neither are happy about it. Meanwhile, Rogelio (Jaime Camil) learns about Jane’s impending nuptials and pushes Xo (Andrea Navedo) to let him be part of his daughter’s wedding. Ivonne Coll also stars.
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The Michael David Inkblot Tannat 2012 is sourced from a single vineyard located in the southeastern edge of the Lodi AVA in northern California. Michael and David Phillips are brothers and 5th generation grape growers (their family has been farming in Lodi since the 1850s) who started their winery in 1984. Lodi is in the…
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The Ca’ Di Rajo Prosecco Brut is a Sparkling wine produced from the Glera grape near the town of Treviso (DOC), along the Piave River in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. The winery is located on the site of an ancient convent ( founded 1507) and the property was converted to vineyards in 1960. This Prosecco…
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The Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2011 is a blend of 31% Petite Sirah, 29% Petit Verdot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc sourced from estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley AVA near San Francisco Bay. Murrieta’s Well was first planted in 1883 and in the 1930s was purchased by Wente Vineyards (they…
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The Apothic Dark Limited Release 2013 is a blend of Petite Sirah, Teroldego and Merlot sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA, but the majority of the grapes came from the Lodi AVA (east of Napa). The Dark is a limited edition for E & J Gallo’s hugely popular Apothic line of Red And White blends. Teroldego is…
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The Murrieta’s Well The Whip 2013 is a blend of 28% Semillion, 24% Chardonnay, 14% Sauvignon Blanc, 11% Orange Muscat, 11% Viognier, 11% Gewürztraminer and 1% White Riesling all grown on Murrieta’s Well estate vineyards located in the Livermore Valley AVA near the San Francisco Bay. Murrieta’s Well was originally planted in 1884 and was…
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The Ceraudo Imyr Bianco 2012 is 100% Chardonnay grown in family owned estate vineyards near Calabria in Stongoli (the toe of the boot) in southern Italy. The family farm produces wine, olive oil, citrus and includes a Michelin Star restaurant. The Chardonnay grapes were sourced from 20 year old vines and this wine was aged in…
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The Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2014 is sourced from vineyards located in the Wairau Valley and the Awatere Valley inside the Marlborough region on the northeast corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The harvest took place in February of 2014 (this post was written October 2014), so this Sauv Blanc went from grapes on the vine to bottles…
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The Birthday Cake Vineyards Cheesecake Wine is a flavored wine from France that tastes, well, like New York cheesecake. Birthday Cake Vineyards, along with Ice Cream Cellars is a joint project from the man behind Hpnotiq and the co-creator of Skinnygirl. The Birthday Cake flavors are Cake Batter and Strawberry Shortcake (along with Cheesecake) for White wine and…
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The Columbia Crest Grand Estates Red Blend 2011 is 61% Merlot, 27% Syrah, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% “other” sourced from vineyards in the Wahluke Slope AVA, the Horse Heaven Hills AVA (both inside the Columbia Valley AVA) and the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington State. Columbia Crest is owned by Chateau…
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The Layer Cake Central Coast Chardonnay 2012 is sourced from vineyards in Monterey (south of San Francisco) and Santa Barbara (just north of Los Angeles) in California. Even though northern California is cooler than southern California, both regions have similar climates due to the influence of the Pacific Ocean, cool breezes and morning fog. Layer Cake…
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Antxiola (pronounced ahn-cho-la) comes to us from the Errasti brothers, owners of Bodegas Zudugarai in Spain. It’s a Txakoli, a very dry, slightly-sparkling, hard-to-pronounce white wine (it’s pronounced chock-o-lee) made with the Hondarrabi grape. Antxiola Hondarrabi 2012 is made with both types of Hondarrabi – 90% Zuri (Basque for white) and 10% Beltza (Basque for…
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I had a meeting at one of my favorite Chicago wine bars recently – BIN36 – and I wanted something “outside the box” – not my usual reds or whites or sparklings or rosés. I said “bring me something weird”! Enoch Shully, BIN36’s beverage guru, did not disappoint. He brought me something from his native…
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From the old farm-house (La Vieille Ferme) to your table comes this rose-colored, almost neon pink dry rosé from Jean Pierre and François Perrin (of the “5 generations of winemaking” Famille Perrin) – the La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2013. The nose is farm stand raspberries. Expecting a sweet sip? Nope – dry! Opening up with…
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Yes, another celebrity wine! Everyone from Lady Gaga and Fergie to Drew Barrymore and AC/DC has their own wine these days. Most wine drinkers are a little skeptical of wines that are produced with a celebrity’s name attached to them. And rightfully so when the association is just that – name only. Now it’s Brad…
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