I’ve Moved

I’ve moved this blog over to Blogger, for various reasons that I won’t go into.  You can still get your wine review fix at:  http://the20bucksommelier.blogspot.com (easy enough to remember).  Hope to see you over there.

Ravenswood Vintner’s Blend Zinfandel

I had been hesitant to try a red zinfandel based on the name association with white zinfandel, a wine I have a long distaste for (nothing personal, just not something I can get into).  While shopping at my local market, a table had been set up for tasting some wines, and the Ravenswood Zinfandel was among them.  Never one to turn down free samples, I tasted the wine.  To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

The pepper at the finish was what caught me off guard the most, but in a good way.  Finishing my far too tiny sample, I enjoyed the smoothness of the front end of the wine, but looked forward to the pepper at the end.  Buying a bottle, I took this wine home and eventually enjoyed it with a meal of homemade jambalaya that had been made with shrimp and andouille sausage that possessed a smokey flavor that went very well with the pepper of the Ravenswood.

I cannot recommend this wine enough, and with a price range of $9 to $11, you really aren’t going to find a better deal on a very high quality zinfandel.  This is a must buy and I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.  Go try this one today.

2005 Evil Cabernet Sauvignon

Every once in a while a wine comes along that manages to combine my love of quality red wine, humorous names, and great value. The Evil Cabernet Sauvignon from Southern Australia is arguably one of the better wines that I’ve had in a long time, possibly made even better by the fact that it was given to me as a gift. Before opening the bottle featuring a screwcap, I was immediately amused by the bottles design. When held upright the label seems to make no sense, but when placed in a wine rack, the label is quickly read as EVIL. Doing my research into the wine, I found that their slogan of “It’s Just Wrong” couldn’t have been more off. Nearly every place I looked at gave it a 90/100 rating.

The big nose on the EVIL Cabernet is wonderful, and I took a couple of minutes to just enjoy the aroma of the wine itself. Within a few sips of the wine I was completely sold. With great flavors of plum and berry, and a spicy finish with a hint of tobacco, this is a great wine to go with a good steak, a hearty pasta dish, or just because you felt like a glass of wine. The friend that gave me the bottle said she paid only $8 for it, but the most I’ve seen it listed at is about $11, so either price is a steal for this high quality Cabernet Sauvignon. I cannot recommend this enough, and quite happily give it 5 stars out of 5. You don’t be disappointed if you get this one.

2004 Fisheye Shiraz

This weekend I tried a California Shiraz that I found…interesting.  The 2004 Fisheye Shiraz that I purchased wasn’t actually a bottle, but a box of wine.  While boxes of wine have certainly carried a stigma for many years, thanks in no small part to Franzia, more and more vineyards are starting to offer their wines in a 3L box that allows for more wine to be purchased without the need to store multiple bottles of wine.
The 2004 Fisheye Shiraz that I bought retailed for around $17 at my local grocer, much less expensive than buying 4 bottles of a similar wine, and I paired it with a pigs in the blanket meal that was cooked in au jus and served over cooked pasta.  The Fisheye Shiraz did an good job of adding a bit of flavor to the meat that had been slow cooking all day, but when sipped by itself it did nothing to inspire me.  While it wasn’t bad by any means, it didn’t do anything to make me sit up and take notice either.  It was sort of just…eh.
While I would still recommend this wine to somebody looking for a middle of the road Shiraz that they might drink one to two glasses of a night, I can’t help but give the 2004 Fisheye Shiraz 2.5 stars out of 5.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either.

Voga Italia

This week I’m doing two wines, a red and a white, and still coming in under my $20 budget.  Voga Italia has introduced a pair of wines that are both affordable and enjoyable…a great match if there ever was one.

Voga Italia Pinot Grigio

I start with the pinot grigio (mostly because I drank it first). Made in northern Italy, I found this wine at my local grocery store, and have seen it at most of your common stores (Giant, Safeway, Kroger, Food Lion, etc.). This wine was a great compliment to a grilled chicken dish. The light, crisp flavors went well with the grilled chicken flavor, complimenting instead of overpowering the light seasoning that I used. I also tried this wine with some mild cheese and crackers as a snack later and it was just as enjoyable as a sipping wine as it was when I enjoyed it with my main course. As I’m a firm believer that price doesn’t make the wine, this wine did an excellent job of proving my point. I’ve found few pinot grigios that I’ve enjoyed more, and none of those rang in at the very reasonable $9.99 that the Voga did. I happily give this wine a 3.75 stars out of 5, and highly recommend it to anybody that enjoys pinot grigio.

Voga Italia Quattro

My second wine is the Voga Italia Quattro, a blending of (as the name implies) 4 different types red: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, shiraz, and pinot noir that is made on the Italian island of Sicily. I actually drank this with pasta dish, but feel that I probably would have enjoyed it more with a red meat dish…hindsight is 20/20. The natural tannins of the cabernet and pinot noir were off-set rather well by the somewhat milder merlot and shiraz, and while this was certainly an enjoyable wine, I almost wish they’d made it without the merlot to allow it a bit more bite. If you’re all about your red wine this might not be your exact cup of tea, but if you’re looking for a nice red to help you get into some of the drier reds, this is actually a very good way to go. For the $9.99 price tag it’s certainly one I imagine will end up in my kitchen again, but I can really only give this one 3 stars out of 5. Maybe another year of aging will help this in the future, but it’s hard to say for certain.

2004 Barboursville Cabernet Sauvignon

In honor of the launch of this blog, I’ve decided to do two wines this week. Since I’ve already talked about a white wine, I’ll go to the other end and mention a quality red wine. The 2004 Barboursville Cabernet Sauvignon is a top quality cabernet that will entice both those just getting into the drier reds, and those that have established a long relationship with them.

Barboursville is a Virginia vineyard and winery located just outside of Charlottesville, or UVA for those not familiar with Virginia geography, and has a tradition of producing quality wines in the New World that respect their Old World ancestors. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is no exception.

While I have visited the Barboursville Vineyard, the bottle of wine that I drank for this review was purchased at a local wine store for $14.99, and for those that live in Virginia, Barboursville is available at most ABC locations. While I have long been a fan of the cabernets, this one has quickly become one of my favorites for its versatility. The tannins work well with red meat and pasta, but the bite that you get on the back of your tongue with good cabernet isn’t so overpowering that this wine can’t be enjoyed without a meal.

The meal I prepared to go with this wine was a baked pasta including ground beef, Prego brand spaghetti sauce with garlic and sausage flavoring, wheat penne pasta, and a splash of the wine itself into the sauce to add a bit of flavor and to help compliment the actual wine itself. You will find that I usually cook with wine…and sometimes I even put it in the food.

While the meal was delicious, something I make rather frequently, the Cabernet Sauvignon did an excellent job of bringing out the richness of the meal without overpowering it. Even after the meal was over I found myself sipping at an extra glass of the wine as a nice way to end the evening. In fact, as I write this I am finishing the bottle in the middle of the afternoon, and still find the wine to be an excellent sipping wine for when I have a taste for a red. This is one of the few straight Cabernet Sauvignons that my fiance will drink, so I can’t help but give this particular Cabernet a good review.

I give the 2004 Barboursville Cabernet Sauvignon 4 stars out of 5 because it’s a great red wine that will compliment most meals…and I reserve the final star for the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve that Barboursville also makes…even though it doesn’t fit into my $20 budget.

2006 Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc

For my first wine I begin with the 2006 Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc. A pleasant white wine from Chile (that’s in South America), this Sauvignon Blanc has a nice mix of citrus flavors, most notably grapefruit.

I purchased this wine at a local wine & beer store for $15.99, a good $4 under my budget of $20. To go with this wine, I had a salad for dinner which included baby spinach, romaine lettuce, feta cheese, a fat-free sun dried tomato dressing, and grilled chicken. The grapefruit and citrus flavors of the Sauvignon Blanc was a nice compliment to the slight salty flavor of the feta cheese and and the earthiness of the dressing.

While it was certainly a quality Sauvignon Blanc, it probably could have used another year of aging to take away some of the fruitiness of the wine. If you do try this one I’d say sit on it for 6 months to a year to let it really age.

I give the 2006 Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 3 stars out of 5.

A Call to Wine

After years of bartending and watching people struggle trying to find a quality bottle of wine that was within their budget, I have set out to find good, quality wine that’s available at many of your local stores, but that won’t set you back three months rent. Each week I will set out with a $20 budget to find wine to compliment a meal that I will prepare. It may go well, it may go poorly, but I won’t know until I try.

Also, I will begin to accept requests for reviews of different wines. This is your opportunity to have somebody just like you try a wine for you so that you don’t have to waste your money if it turns out to be a less than quality wine. Why waste your money when you can waste mine? All you have to do is ask at:   The $20 Sommelier,  or post a reply on this blog. It’s just that simple.