Cupcake Vineyards Prosecco, Non-Vintage, $11.99

OK. I am not the type of person who saves things for a special occasion. I wear my Agent Provocateur lingerie on a Wednesday night, for example. And I'll drink bubbly on a random night, if for no reason other than to celebrate the fact that I wasn't completely overloaded with patients on the Monday before Christmas.

That being said, tonight I am not in the mood to study my wine, I just want to drink & enjoy. So I poured a glass to do just that.

This wine is crisp on my palate. Bready, yeasty, with a little hint of green apples. The aftertaste is a little sour, with touches of crystallized sugar. The finish is long, and after 30 seconds, I can still taste the sweetness, like hints of honeydew melon.

For the price, I can't beat this wine. And I have to admit I am not a fan of Prosecco. I love bubbles, but I've never been an Italian wine type of girl. This sparkler is a very happy, celebratory wine at a price that doesn't need to have an occasion to open it for. It makes even a Monday night worth celebrating. Find out more at www.CupcakeVineyards.com.

Cheers!

Kate

Channing Daughters 2008 Long Island Scuttlehole Chardonnay, $17.00

OK. This bottle was a gift to me from my dear friend Woman (don't ask why we call her Woman; we just started calling her that our freshman year of college & it stuck). She is probably the only person who tells me she reads my wine blog. Props to you, Woman!

I do love a good chardonnay. Oakey, non-oakey, it doesn't matter as long as it tastes good. Yes, I know that I tend to favor reds over whites, but I still like chard. It's my go-to white wine.

On the nose, this wine makes me fall in love a little. It's dripping with fruit & flowers: green apple, honeysuckle, peach, pear. It's light-bodied, moving slowly down the side of the glass in a single sheet. And the yellow color is so pale, it reminds me more of a sauvignon blanc.

On the palate, this wine is very, very light & clean. It almost tastes like nothing until it hits the back of my throat, then it opens up to reveal the clean taste of minerals and tropical fruits. Remember those Del Monte fruit cups? The plastic ones? It reminds me of a weaker version of their tropical fruit flavor, the papaya especially. Mmm, rocks & papaya. This actually excites me. I get it now, when Gary Vaynerchuk said that nails & spoiled papaya excited him. It's delicious.

The only drawback to this wine is its 12% alcohol content. But this wine is so pleasant & easy to drink, this shouldn't be a deterrent. While I checked out the website (www.channingdaughters.com) and learned that the 2008 vintage is no longer available, the 2009 vintage is ready to go. So please, check out a local vineyard & try something new. Cali's not the only one stirring the pot.

Cheers!

Kate

2008 Block 2 Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills, $19.99

OK. So I've had Block 2's syrah, which I absolutely adored. And since I like cab better than syrah, I can only imagine what this one's gonna taste like.

Technically, it's not a straight-up cab. It's 91% cab, 4% syrah, 4% merlot & 1% cab franc. It's also got a 14.2% alcohol content. This is a happy-sounding wine. It makes me happy just reading the back of the bottle. Pretty impressive from the state of Washington.

In the glass, this wine looks like a mix of purple grape juice & cranberry juice. I can't see through the glass, but I can sort of see through the top two millimeters. Dozens of chubby little legs spring up on the side of the glass, some moving faster than others, showing off how heavy-bodied this wine is. Excellent. I'm practically salivating already.

This wine is really tight on the nose, smelling at once like rubbing alcohol and jam - grape & strawberry, respectively. At the tail end of the sniff, there's a hint of milk chocolate. It smells delicious.

And if I thought it smelled delicious, the smell is nothing compared to how delicious this wine tastes. On the rugae (those rough little ridges behind your top teeth - FYI, you need those rugae to help make different sounds when you talk), this wine is harsh, harsh, harsh! Those tannins are tight & strong. But amazingly, the wine mellows as soon as it transitions to my mid-palate, tasting like milk & dark chocolate mixed together. And the finish lingers, filling my mouth with the taste of chocolate, almond & coconut - truly, a finish like an Almond Joy. And everyone who knows me knows I LOVE Almond Joys. Ask Julie.

In my mouth, this wine is smooth. And not as heavy-bodied as I imagined. It doesn't glide down like water, but that's OK. I'm still in love with this wine, and for the price, it's the best I've ever tasted. Go looking, people. That's my recommendation.

Cheers!

Kate

2009 Creme de Lys California Chardonnay, $11.99

OK. I was told by Bruce at Stew Leonard's that this wine was exceptional. The price made it hard to turn down. Besides, I'm always on the lookout for a good chardonnay.

To me, a good chardonnay is oakey. Buttery. Creamy. Smooth, too. (It would be perfect if the alcohol content were higher than 13%, but I can't have everything.) A good chardonnay should not taste like a sauvignon blanc. There's a name for a chardonnay that tastes acidic and sharp, and that name would be sauvignon blanc.

This chardonnay is beautiful in the glass, a buttery yellow color that slides down the side of the glass, leaving droplets behind. The back of the bottle says that this wine contains "tropical fruit, baked apple and citrus...[and] adds hints of vanilla and creme brulee on the finish." Delicious. On the nose, this wine smells soft, like vanilla & custard.

My God, this wine is totally - if I may borrow a phrase from Gary Vaynerchuk - "hedonistic on my palate." From the moment it passes over my list, I'm just dying with pleasure. I taste all those bursts of tropical & citrus fruit in my mouth, flanked by the creamy vanilla, followed by a smooth, custardey finish. I don't taste any baked apple, but whatever. When a wine tastes this good, you just throw on a side of baked apple & call it a day. Bring cinnamon.

The final kill-me-with-pleasure point? This wine clocks in with an alcohol content of 13.5%. Somebody upstairs was listening to me when I described my perfect chard. Well, this one may not be perfect, but it's awfully frickin' close. Check out www.cremedelys.com for more details. And please, pass the cinnamon.

Cheers!

Kate

2009 Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford Napa Valley, $20.99

OK. I am so not excited to try this wine. Well, I was when I bought it. Then I went to open it up and saw the label on the back of the bottle. Clearly printed underneath the barcode is the phrase OPEN OTHER END. Is this a joke? 'Cuz if it is, I'm not getting it. And I have a pretty good sense of humor. And then there's the whole California sauvignon blanc stereotype. I'm just not winning with the sauvignons from Cali. New Zealand & Australia, as far as I'm concerned, are the real winners. Not Cali.

This wine looks like a chardonnay in the glass, medium-yellow. When I swirl it around in the glass, I barely see the sheet forming, but I can tell you I smell the wine from 18 inches away. Putting my nose in the glass & taking a sniff, I have to tell you this wine smells amazing. The mineral scent hits me first, followed quickly by lime, actually the acidity of the lime. I could swear I get the shortest hint of fresh-cut grass at the top of my inhale.

BOOM! NZ & AU, you got some serious competition.

When I taste this wine, the first thing I can think is that it tastes just like a sauvignon blanc from Chile or Argentina. Mmm, yummy. The acidity is sharp like a razor. This wine tastes exactly as it smells, the clean mineral taste with the idea of lime in it, followed by an almost vanilla aftertaste. I love a vanilla aftertaste, I don't care where it comes from.

This wine is not soft in the mouth at all. It's sharp & crisp, due in a small part to the wine's 12.6% alcohol content. I love how it feels in my mouth, like it's taking no prisoners. This is the perfect summertime wine, and although we're well into fall - almost into winter, actually - I'm loving drinking it. Maybe for next summer.

So yes, definitely look for this wine. And then forgive them for the stupid joke on the back of the bottle. They made a great sauvignon blanc in Napa.

Cheers!

Kate

Hansom 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $22.99

OK. You all know my obsession with Stew Leonard's Wine Shop. So when they sent me this e-mail, I ran. By "this e-mail," I mean the e-mail where they explained that a famous winemaker whose bottles of cab retail for $70+ has a side project; said side project costing less than a third of the cost. Readers, I drove so fast to Stew's I'm surprised the New Britski cops didn't pull me over.

The e-mail wouldn't reveal the vineyard. But you know me, I've got clout. Bruce told me that it's Correggia Vineyard. Huh? Never heard of them before, so I certainly don't understand the $70 asking price. I did Google them, though; apparently, the head winemaker, Matteo Correggia, died tragically in 2001. Bummer.

In the glass, this wine is dark. And medium-to-heavy-bodied, with little legs forming on one side of the glass, then the other. And the smell is a little off-putting. It smells like leather, which is not so bad to smell, but weird to put in my mouth. There's no scent of alcohol despite its 13.9% content.

On the palate, this wine is soft & smooth. Really soft. It's such a pleasure to drink. Though I have to admit here, it tastes no different than the Bommarito cab. There are no surprising, hidden flavors. This is a straight-up cabernet, but a very polished, price-friendly one that feels great in my mouth.

So would I purchase this one again? Yes, actually. Though it's a straight-up cab - and believe me, I have no problems with that - the mouthfeel (!!!) & price make it well worth the purchase. If Bommarito felt this good in my mouth at this price, I'd be all over it like white on rice. But this one is the clear winner. Buy with no regrets.

Cheers!

Kate

Bommarito 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $59.99

OK. This is a very special wine for me. There's a lot of love in & for this bottle. Today, I wanted love. So I opened it.

This year, in February, I turned 30. Actually, I have to say, with the exception of my 24th birthday where we ate at the Cheesecake Factory, then went to see the "Male Entertainment" dancers in Saugus, my 30th birthday was the most profound & exciting celebration. It consisted of the glorious city of Boston, close friends, the Nine Zero Hotel, Abe & Louie's (and lobster mac 'n cheese - thank you, Canal!), 2002 Cristal champagne, White Flowers sparkling riesling, coconut birthday cake (R.I.P. Sugarbelle), KO Prime, Beantown Pub (complete with nachos & french fries), and this wine, albeit the 2005 vintage, of which I split the bottle with my girl Rachel, then stole the empty & proudly put it on display at my house. A very happy birthday, indeed.

About a month later, Rachel found a wine distributor who would order a case for her. The 2005 vintage was sold out, but the 2006 vintage was available. The upshot? We split the case & I wandered home with no less than 6 bottles. All 6 of which were hosted in the wine cellar. Until now.

1st off, this wine has a screw top. God bless you, Bommarito; I was in no mood to fight with the Houdini today. I poured a glass & let it sit. It's really dark & grapey in the glass, a trait I'm beginning to love in my Napa cabs. This wine is heavy-bodied, taking about 20 seconds for the legs to form down the side of the glass. And it reeks of alcohol, not surprising since the alcohol content clocks in at 14.5%.

This wine is surprising. If I slip it slowly, it feels soft in my mouth, gliding down my throat with ease. If I swallow it quickly, it burns the underside of my tongue & my soft palate, and continues to burn down my throat. Odd. There are no complexities to this wine, it literally tastes only like the cabernet grapes. There are no secondary or hidden flavors; there is no extraneous fruit to detract from the grapes. This is an old-school wine, made with nothing but the grapes & the ethanol.

So I'd have to say, even though I thoroughly enjoy this wine & have a lot of love for it, I wouldn't buy it again. Why? This is a great wine, yes - at a $25 price point. The Clos du Val tastes a lot like it, with a little added PV kick, for under $25. So until Bommarito can cut the price by 50%, Rachel's distributor won't be hearing from me. And besides, my 31st birthday is only a few months away. Who knows what wine(s) I'll be drinking then?

Cheers!

Kate

P.S. This photo is Jess, Rachel, Nancy & me, posing with our glasses of Cristal, on the bed in the Nine Zero. We had just returned from dinner at KO Prime & were already a little drunk. Nobody ever could've had a better 30th birthday than I did. Thanks, guys! I heart you!