Foxglove Central Coast Chardonnay 2009, $12.99

OK. By now, if you've been following either of my blogs for any amount of time, you probably know that I am a big chardonnay fan as far as the non-red, non-sparkly wines go. I know, I don't get it either. But this bottle, which I picked up at Stew Leonard's, has a 91-point rating. That's a pretty high rating for a pretty small price.

For a white wine, this wine is so heavy that it almost, almost forms legs on the glass. Yeah, baby! That's the kind of white I like to drink, heavy. On the nose, I get a sweet, happy aroma, a bouquet of apricot, pineapple & peach. To be more specific, it smells like you took the juice that covers the pineapple rings & mixed it in with canned, artificially-sweetened apricots in that sugary syrup. I can also sense the teensiest scent of a sauvignon blanc in there. It's a tight, complex nose.

This wine tastes exactly how it smells. It doesn't fake you out or pull any punches. What you smell is what you get. And this wine goes down like water. Water. It's smooth, light, and clean. I don't even feel that alcohol-laced tingle on the underside of my tongue or the back of my throat as I swallow. Which is quite a feat, considering the 13.9% alcohol content.

This wine is great: well-priced, easy-drinking, highly-rated, and tastes just damn good. With a respectable alcohol content, to boot! Now, I know that I'm not supposed to pick favorites, but this one is a winner. Go look for it, it's a can't-miss! Find out more at www.varnerwine.com.

Cheers!

Kate

Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling Columbia Valley 2008, $10.99

OK. I am a sucker for Pacific Rim, and I'm not even a riesling fan. Whatever it is they do to these grapes, it is nothing short of astounding.

First off all, this wine gets major points from me because 1) It's got a screw top - love that, and 2) The bottle is accented in purple, my favorite color. So right away, it's hard to go wrong.

This wine is so light & pretty in the glass, with a graceful thin sheet gliding down the side of the glass. On the nose, it smells like a beautiful bouquet of mellow fruits & flowers - cantaloupe, peaches, honeysuckle. I am in love with the smell of this wine.

The taste is exactly as it smells. What you smell is what you get. I love the lingering honey notes on the aftertaste. Make no mistake, this is a sweet wine, even though the back of the bottle proclaims that it's only "medium-sweet." BS. It's sweet. Not sickeningly sweet, but sweet enough. I could see this wine being amazing paired with a creme brulee or an almond/pear tart or a fruit crisp. A delicate, understated sweet dessert, not chocolate - chocolate would completely overpower this riesling.

My only disappointment is this wine's low alcohol content. It's a miniscule 8.5%. That's something Julie would laugh at. Normally, I would too. But I love this wine, I do. And I'm so glad it's available at the Cost Cutters Liquor Store (affectionately referred to as the "packey") right across the street from my office. I can get out of work, swing by, pick up a bottle for a low price & head home a happier camper.

Learn more about this sweet riesling and more at www.rieslingrules.com.

Cheers!

Kate

Bogle Vineyards 2007 Phantom, $21.99

OK. I am a complete sucker for wines that come in a limited shipment. It's like Christmas: it only comes once a year, and when it's gone, it's gone. Stew Leonard's sent out an e-mail saying that the supplies this year were so limited that they couldn't take any phone orders for or hold any bottles of this petite syrah/old vine zinfandel/mourvedre blend. So you know I had to hustle my heinie down there and pick up a couple of bottles.

Disclaimer: I nearly killed myself to get into this bottle. The neck of this bottle is so big that I couldn't get the foil cutter around it, and had to resort to a corkscrew to rip the foil off. The foil is so frickin' tough that I slipped and almost cut my finger off. Well, not really, but my index finger is still throbbing.

This wine looks exactly like a cup of purple grape juice in the glass. It's pretty. On the glass, this wine forms a thin sheet with just a couple of thin legs running down within the sheet, so you can tell it's pretty medium-bodied. On the nose, the first thing that hits me is the scent of alcohol, which shouldn't come as a surprise, given the 14.5% sucker punch of an alcohol content.

Now for the taste. At first sip, I get this incredible deluge of flavors in my mouth, blackberries and raspberries with a hint of strawberries. I get a taste of rubbing alcohol in there, followed by a bitter component in the aftertaste, where the flavor of the old vine zin shines like the star of the show.

Hmm. I keep sipping this wine, but I'm not sure how much I like it. Straight-up red zinfandel makes me puke. It's the only grape I can't stomach. Granted, I've been sick on cheap wine before, but red zin in any quality makes me throw up. (FYI: the wine that got me bad was called Plungerhead. It came really well recommended and had a really cool bottle, but I threw up for hours.) I suppose that doesn't make me the best wine reviewer, it makes me sort of prejudiced against this grape and any blends that contain it.

All in all, this wine could probably use an hour or two of decanting. The tannins are harsh & bitter, and I really need a more mellow feel on my tongue and palate. Ask me again when I've decanted the entire bottle. Oh well, at least I bought two bottles. Maybe I'll open up the bottle in the cellar next year & report back.

Cheers!

Kate

Grant Burge The Holy Trinity 2002, $29.99

OK. I need to start this blog with a warning, because life is often not fair. Well, that's not true exactly. There are multiple reasons I frequent Stew Leonard's Wine Shop, and one of them is because I like the staff, they like me, and they get my taste in wine. And sometimes they even cut me fantastic deals. This wine was originally $39.99 on the shelves, but this was the LAST bottle in the shipment, so Bruce gave me ten bucks off to clear the shelves. See? Fair & not fair.

I've seen this bottle on the shelves before, but in all honesty, it never did anything for me. For Grant Burge, the "Holy Trinity" is grenache (39%), shiraz (36%) and mourvedre (25%), all dolled up with a 14.5% alcohol punch. First of all, grenache is more Julie's grape than mine, and second of all, what the heck is mourvedre? I really have so much more to learn about the wine world. Plus, my own personal "Holy Trinity" is more along the lines of cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot & McLaren-Vale shiraz, though not necessarily all rolled up into one wine. But who am I to argue? The price is right & the alcohol content ain't wimpy.

I love this wine on the nose. I'm getting some really deep, grapey grape aromas with hints of cherry & strawberry jam. Strawberry jam? Now this is interesting. The legs on this glass are really interesting: this wine is so heavy-bodied that the sheet of wine literally hangs on the side of the glass for 10 - 15 seconds before these stubby legs show up.

At the first sip, all I can taste is the unmistakable grenache, and all I can think is that Julie would love this wine. This wine is weird because I literally taste nothing on the palate & mid-palate, but the aftertaste is just explosive and long. It's really tart & gamey in the beginning, but it seamlessly rolls into this smooth, almost sweet finish with a hint of custard in it, almost like a blueberry creme brulee without the burnt sugar topping. Well, I've never had blueberry creme brulee before, but this is how I imagine it would taste.

I'm not sure if I'm loving this wine or not, but it is complex, and I always appreciate a wine that makes me think. I know Stew's doesn't carry it anymore, but if any of my readers are interested, it's imported by Wilson - Daniels Ltd, and you can phone them at #707-963-9661 or fax them at #707-963-8566.

Cheers!

Kate

Rodney Strong Estate Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2008, $19.99

OK. Here we go again, people. I said I wasn't a fan of Rodney Strong, so Bruce at Stew Leonard's insisted I try this one. I'm actually a little prejudiced against pinot noir too. Blame it on the whole Sideways phenomenon. Not that I ever saw the movie, mind you. But even so.

So back to the wine. This is very pretty in the glass, reminiscent of a deep, dark cranberry juice. The organic, unfiltered type. It smells really pretty in the glass - the back of the bottle claims that it contains "rose petal, red cherry and pomegranate flavors" with a "silky" texture. And this is all true. I can smell all the aforementioned flavors as I take a sniff, which is not an easy feat, considering this wine's alcohol content is a 14.4% powerhouse punch and it doesn't even smell like there's any alcohol in my glass. There are some legs noticeable down the side of the glass, which is impressive because this heavy-bodied wine tastes really light & clean in my mouth.

This taste is making me really, really happy. To me, it doesn't taste like a straight-up pinot noir, it tastes like a light, luscious 79% cabernet blend with the remaining 21% being pinot. There is a really nice aftertaste going on, with the pomegranate & cherry flavors definitely shining through, though the cherry is not as strong.

Bruce recommends chilling this wine - sticking it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to opening - and I concur. I can totally see this wine tasting better slightly chilled. It would be completely delightful. So a big hooray to Rodney Strong, who has finally, finally gotten me on board with his camp's wine-making skills. Please find out more at www.rodneystrong.com.

I would like to dedicate this blog to my friend's grandma Vaughn, who lost her valiant 5+ year battle with cancer on 6/17/10. Thinking on it, she was very much like this wine: strong, smooth, silky. She was a class act right up to the very end. I will miss her tremendously.

Cheers!

Kate

Yangarra McLaren Vale Shiraz 2007, $20.99

OK. I have to start this blog out with a disclaimer: I've tried this lovely screw-top wine before. We ordered it by the bottle at J.Gilbert Steak House in Glastonbury, CT (before they took it off the menu - BOO!!!) on September 18th, 2009. My husband's & my rehearsal dinner the night before we got married.

Admittedly, I was a bundle of nerves & energy that night, so I can't remember exactly what this wine tasted like, I just remember that it was good. And super smooth. Even my mom, who hates red wine, liked it. So I had Bruce at Stew Leonard's special-order a couple of bottles for me, just so I could have it on hand. I cellared one in the basement for a special occasion & kept the other in my wine fridge. I just haven't opened it yet. I just hate to open a special-order bottle for no special reason.

Readers, we buried my Grandpa today. It was one of the three saddest events of my life, right there with the death & funeral of my Aunt Margo and my family friend "Uncle" Marty. I mean, they gave him a military ceremony & everything. Even the priest got choked up. So this is a special event that calls for a strong wine. Bingo. This is a special wine that clocks in at a 14.5% alcohol content. I think it fits the bill nicely.

This wine looks gorgeous in the glass. It's a deep, dark purple color, so dark that it's almost black. The legs form instantaneously on the glass, showing off what a heavy-bodied wine it is. On the nose, it's damp & earthy. The back of the bottle claims that this wine contains "peaty and lignite characters" as well as the taste of cool breezes. That's exactly what this wine smells like, perfectly.

Oh my God, this taste of this wine is out of control. The first word that comes to mind is smooth. So smooth! And strong. There's a pleasantly bitter component on the aftertaste which I love. Peppery & spicy on the mid-palate, with some great earthy tones & a little bit of mineral taste. It doesn't feel full-bodied in the mouth, it feels thin & watery, but I'll overlook the mouth-feel (again, hate that word) because it tastes so frickin' good.

For all the Stew Leonard's shoppers: petition Bruce & the rest of the crew to put this wine on the racks on a regular basis. It's that good, you won't be sorry. Find out more at www.yangarra.com.

Oh, and Grandpa...I miss you & I will always love you.

Cheers!

Kate

Clos Palet Vouvray AOC 2008, $11.99

OK. I have to come clean here: I originally purchased this wine for a Memorial Day BBQ. It came highly recommended by Phil at Stew Leonard's, he even told me how disturbed he was by the fact that he & his wife both love this wine and she asked him to save her the last glass in the bottle, and it's been over a week now, so Phil can't stand looking at that one last serving in the refrigerator. Sadly, this wine never got used for the BBQ. As I noted in my other blog with Julie, my Grandpa was in the hospital.

Readers, tragedy hit me hard this week. My beloved Grandpa passed away on 6/4/10. He was one of a kind, almost 88 years old (his birthday is July 9th). He served our country in World War 2 by jumping out of airplanes into enemy territory 13+ times, serving as one of Donovan's Devils in the Office of the Secret Services (OSS), which went on to become the CIA. He spent over 40 years working in G.Fox before retiring in 1984. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather & great-grandfather. And I loved him.

His wake was today & his funeral's tomorrow. Obviously, I need something to drink. And since Grandpa loved sweet wine so much (Riunite was his favorite), I felt that this 100% chenin blanc wine was a fitting tribute to him.

On the nose, this wine smells like a sauvignon blanc, acidic & crisp. Like the back of the bottle proclaims, it has a flowery scent, though I don't quite get the aroma of fresh almonds that it promises. There are no legs on this glass, the wine slides down the side like a heavy sheet. The alcohol content is on the lower side (12%), which may help explain its easy-drinking attitude.

On the palate, this is a pleasant wine. It has a very soft but full mouth-feel. (I hate that word. Don't ask me why.) It tastes like flowers with a little bit of tart candy flavor coming through, sweet with a sour aftertaste. It's a nice touch. There's also a teeny bit of sour cherry flavor on the aftertaste.

This wine definitely is not something that I would pick out on my own, but I like it. It's a pleasant, happy wine that my Grandpa would've loved if he'd gotten to drink it. I'm only sorry he wasn't. I will think of that lovely man every day for the rest of my life.

Cheers!

Kate