If you like Italian wine and you like great deals, then Nero d’Avola is a varietal you should get to know.  It typically offers the characteristics you’d expect from a good Italian red wine, such as vibrant acidity and rich tannins.  But it’s also typically much more affordable than some of the better known Italian wines, like Chianti, Barolo, etc.

Most Nero d’Avola, including this one, comes from Sicily, where it is the most planted red wine grape.  This one, more specifically, comes from the district of Butera in the Province of Caltanissetta, which is within the Riesi DOC.

There is so much vanilla on the nose of this wine that it almost smells like a vanilla concentrate.  It also shows some cherry aromas, tucked underneath the vanilla.  The palate is nice and filled with ripe cherry flavors, a little coffee, and red plum.  The acidity is sufficient and it has soft tannins, adding some texture to the mouth feel.  It finishes with a little bit of spice.  Overall, it’s a nice, well-balanced wine at a good price.

Wine: Feudo Principi di Butera
Variety: Nero d’Avola
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price: $13.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Over the last year or so I’ve done some ranting about zinfandel blends and how I see a growing demand for these wines.  Apothic Red is one incredibly popular example of this style of wine appealing to consumers and now Gnarly Head has come out with their own answer to the zinfandel blend with Authentic Red.

Gnarly Head Authentic Red hails from Lodi, California, which I consider to be the zinfandel capital of the world.  There’s something about Lodi that just makes it an ideal location for zinfandel.  It could be the climate, it could be the soil, it could be the people… but it’s probably a combination of those.  And, what’s more, 2010 was a great year for Lodi zinfandel.

OK… so, I’m going on about the zinfandel part of this, but that’s not all that’s in this wine.  The blend here is 50% zinfandel, 20% merlot, 17% cabernet sauvignon, 10% petite sirah and 3% syrah.

The nose on this wine is intense and beautiful, with cherry cola, blackberry and spice aromas.  The palate is fruit-forward—very fruit-forward—with rich, juicy blackberry, black cherry and blueberry flavors.  In a way, it’s almost like a slice of blueberry pie.  While I wouldn’t call this a sweet wine, there is a definite sweetness to the fruit flavors.  On the mid-palate, dark chocolate flavors show up to the party.  The acidity is good and the mouthfeel is nice.  It finishes long with lingering chocolate and black cherry flavors.

This isn’t a wine that’s going to appeal to snobs looking for a refined and elegant wine.  This is a casual, fun wine with bold flavors that are intense enough to stand up to rich foods like barbecue or burgers.  Those looking for a rich, juicy, fruit-forward wine will love this one.

Wine: Gnarly Head Authentic Red
Variety: Zinfandel blend
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $11.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

When I first started this website a lot of people commented that I must love Trader Joe’s because of all the bargains they have on wine.  And as much as I wanted to love Trader Joe’s, I just never became a big fan.  Most of the wines I tasted from them were nothing special, albeit they were dirt cheap — which is something I always love.  Plus there’s something about the folks working there that just seems inauthentic to me… they’re way too happy and remind me of flair-clad servers at TGI Fridays.

Anyway, while it seems like everyone I meet associates Trader Joe’s with dirt cheap wine, they are not the only one in that game.  The folks from Aldi sent a few of their wines our way to taste and I’d say they’re giving TJ’s some competition.  I’ve never been an Aldi shopper, so I had no idea they were carrying wines and I was a little surprised when they showed up.

I’ll admit that I was a little bit skeptical at first.  But as I looked them over, I saw a few things that were both intriguing and reassuring.  First, I was surprised to see the regions on the wines, Chianti, Napa Valley and Mosel.  Then I was reassured when I checked the alcohol levels and found them to be appropriate for the styles.  Sometimes I’ve found that really cheap wine will have an alcohol level that’s lower than normal, resulting in thin, bland wine, but that wasn’t the case here.  I also liked the backside of the labels, which has helpful graphics for folks who don’t know their wine well yet.

Now I will say that none of these wines absolutely blew me away, but none of them were bad either.  And for the dirt cheap prices, they are some bargains!

Gonfalone Chianti 2009

I’m a big fan of Chianti, but if I have a choice I’m usually going to select a Chianti Classico versus a Chianti.  I expect that a lot of wine consumers aren’t clear on the differences between Chianti and Chianti Classico and that’s an unfortunate circumstance of the names being so similar.  And I could confuse you even more by going into the other sub-types of Chianti.  But basic difference between Chianti and Chianti Classico is the region of production.  While Chianti comes from a rather broad region in Tuscany, Chianti Classico comes from a more limited region, selected for the quality of its grapes.  There are some other differences too, but I’ll leave it at that for now.  And while I tend to prefer Chianti Classico, I was pleasantly surprised by this Chianti from Gonfalone.

The nose on this wine is nice.  It shows well balanced raspberry, nutmeg, strawberry and perfume aromas with moderate intensity.  The palate is dry and offers plenty of ripe fruit flavors, like raspberry, plum and sour cherry, plus a little bit of spice.  Where it misses is on the acidity, which is more restrained than I would expect for a Chianti, although it’s not terribly off the mark.  The finish is decent, with lingering raspberry tea flavors.  Overall, it smells and tastes nice, but lacks some vibrancy due to the restrained acidity.

For the price, this is an extreme value.

Wine: Gonfalone Chianti 
Variety: Chianti
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $5.99

Walker Napa Valley Red Wine 2007

The color is a brownish, brick red.  It doesn’t have the bright red color of most young red blends, but then as a 2007, it ‘s not so young anymore.  I was actually a touch surprised to see them carrying a 2007.  Although it doesn’t say this anywhere on the bottle, this wine is a blend of merlot, syrah and cabernet sauvignon.

The nose on this wine shows cherry and plum aromas, as well as quite a bit of oak, which takes on nutmeg and cedar characteristics in this one.  The oak is a little heavy, but not offensively so.  The palate is medium bodied, which is exactly what the label says.  It does have some nice fruit flavors on the palate that give a touch of sweetness and touch of tart, such as raspberry, plum and strawberry.  There are some subtle tannins too.  The finish is a continuation of the fruit flavors with a bit of residual sugar leaving a slightly sweet flavor on your tongue.  This isn’t a wine that I’m going to rant and rave about, but it’s OK for what it is and still quite a value.

Wine: Walker
Variety: Red blend
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 83
Price: $7.99

Landshut Riesling

When I saw this wine I cringed a bit because I’ve tasted far too many bad, sweet rieslings in the past and I was skeptical.  But then I saw that it was from Mosel, which gave me some reassurance.  But the proof is ultimately with what’s in the bottle and I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

The nose is a little tight, but shows expecable aromas for a riesling, like honeysuckle, apple and lime.  The palate is sweet, with peach, apple and lime flavors.  It has enough acidity to bring it to life on your tongue, although a little more acidity would help the overall balance with the sweetness.  It finishes long, with lingering sweet apple flavors.

Wine: Landshut
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 9.5%
Rating: 83
Price: $4.99

Disclosure: These wines were received as a media sample.

It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a pinot grigio, so we need no more reason than that to check one out today.

This one comes from Voga Italia and they win the award for coolest, sexiest bottle I’ve seen all week.  When I first saw this bottle I thought it would just be a screw cap, but there’s actually a synthetic cork underneath the cap.  So, fair warning, don’t take this one on a camping trip without a corkscrew or you may find yourself beating the bottom of the bottle inside a boot to remove the cork.  Anyway, once you get the cork out, you can reseal the bottle with the screw cap.

But ultimately, it’s what’s in the bottle that really matters.  And I have no complaints about what’s in this bottle.

This wine has some really nice pear and floral aromatics, with moderate intensity.  The flavors are mostly pear and apple, but it also offers some lime and subtle peach notes.  The acidity is sufficient, but not dramatic.  The finish is nice and long.  Overall, it’s a pretty nice wine.  And it will look stylish sitting on your shelf before you drink it.

My wife liked this one too and said it paired well with peanut butter.  That’s not a pairing I would have picked, but I could see it working.

Wine: Voga Italia
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 87
Price: $10.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

I’ve been meaning to write up this review for several weeks as I actually tasted these wines two months ago, but other things kept coming up.  Shame on me.  But getting this posted late is better than not at all.

These are all grüner veltliner from Austria, a wine I acquired an appreciation for when I visited Austria in 2010.  For those who haven’t had grüner (as it’s called for short), it’s food-friendly white wine known for it’s high acidity and mineral characteristics.  The aroma of pepper is also a common “tell” for a grüner.

It’s actually a really good salad wine.  Grüner has a reputation for going well with vegetables, including the ever-problematic-pairing-vegetable asparagus.  I love asparagus, so it’s good to know that I can always trust a grüner to go well with it.  I’m also an advocate of multiple wine pairings with a meal.  For example, have a grüner veltliner with your salad and a red Cotes du Rhone with your entree.  I know it can get expensive to open a couple bottles, but give it a try for a special occasion when you have friends over.

All of these wines are at the upper end of our typical $20 price limit — and a couple are over that limit.  But they’re all good.  There’s not one in this batch that I’d turn down.

Leth Steinagrund Grüner Veltliner 2010

This gruner comes from Wagram, which is a good region to find value-based grüner veltliner.  There are some tasty wines to come from this region, but it’s not considered a top tier region — in other words, it doesn’t have “DAC” status.  However it borders some of the top DAC regions and takes advantage of microclimates from the Danube river, which runs through the middle of the region.

The nose is a little tight on this wine, but it does show some lime aromas.  The palate is also somewhat subtle, but it does have a nice peach flavor to it, as well as some citrus notes.  The acidity is sufficient.  And the finish is medium in length.  It’s a decent, although somewhat simple Gruner.

Wine: Leth Steinagrund
Variety: Grüner veltliner
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $18.00
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Huber Traisental Grüner Veltliner 2010

This one comes from a little further upriver in the Traisental DAC.  Actually, the Danube only hits the top edge of this region, with the majority of it residing south of the river.

The nose on this wine is lovely, with pepper and lime aromatics.  It smells refreshing.  Although some might argue that is smells more like a sauvignon blanc than a gruner veltliner. The palate has excellent acidity, with pear, apple and light citrus flavors.  It has a touch of sweetness, which is most noticeable on the finish.  Speaking of the finish, it’s plenty long and very enjoyable.  This is a nice wine for the price.

Wine: Huber Traisental
Variety: Grüner veltliner
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 86
Price: $18.00
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Pfaffl Haidviertel Grüner Veltliner 2010

Now we venture further north in Austria to the Weinviertal DAC, which is the largest wine region in Austria running from the north of the Danube river up to the Czech border in the north and the Slovakian border to the east.

There is definitely some of the classic pepper aromas on the nose, along with other floral notes and a hint of tropical fruit.  The palate has sufficient acidity with crisp apple and mineral flavors with a touch of spice on the mid palate.  The finish brings in a bit more mineral and a bit of peach.

Wine: Pfaffl Haidviertel
Variety: Grüner veltliner
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 86
Price: $22.00
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Türk Kremser Weinberge Grüner Veltliner 2009

Türk is from the Kremstal DAC, which is a relatively small region, just west of Traisental with the Danube dividing the region in half.  In addition to creating some awesome gruner here, the town of Krems, at the center of the region, is just lovely.

This wine shows spice and herbs on the nose, with pepper (of course) being among those.  The palate has good concentration, with apple, lemon and lime flavors.  The acidity is good.  It shows some good mineral characteristics on the finish.

Wine: Türk Kremser Weinberge
Variety: Grüner veltliner
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 87
Price: $20.00
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Laurenz V. Charming Grüner Veltliner 2009

Now we’re getting into what I consider top notch territory for gruner.  And this wine gives you just a hint of what’s possible from this region.

The nose on this wine has a strikingly nice balance of spice and fruit, presenting a bouquet of peppered apples and melon.  The palate brings out apple flavors up front, evolving into peach and honeydew melon on the mid-palate and into the finish. The finish also brings a salty mineral characteristic.  The acidity on the palate is good, as is the concentration of flavors.  It also does offer a touch of spice on the palate.  This is a really nice Gruner.

Wine: Laurenz V. Charming Grüner Veltliner 2009
Variety: Grüner veltliner
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 90
Price: $25.00
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Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.

Every now and then we come across something we weren’t expecting and that gets us intrigued.  This is one of those cases.  It’s a carignan from Chile.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find a carignan from Southern France, or even from a Paso Robles Rhone Ranger.  But I wasn’t expecting to see one from Chile.  And my first hunch when I saw it was that someone was experimenting in Chile, but this is more than an experiment, it comes from 60 year old vines!  Yes, this wine has been in Chile for a while.  And that’s a good thing because carignan from young vines can actually be a bit too astringent.  And while this one has a little bit of astringency, it’s not unapproachable.

This wine has the kind of aromas on the nose that make me fall in love with a wine.  It’s a beautifully balanced blend of fruit and spices.  It opens up with cedar and nutmeg aromas, supported by cherry and black currant.  There’s no subtlety to this wine.  It’s in your face in a bold and confident way.  The palate has a slight astringency, which as I said, is typical for carignan, but the flavors are quite nice.  It has a deep, spiced black currant, blackberry and beet flavor, which evolves into cocoa on the mid-palate.  The finish lingers for an extended time, showcasing the cocoa and currant flavors, along with some black tea notes.  This wine will definitely show you something different from the everyday, in a good way.

If you’re an adventurer with your wine, I’d say this is definitely one to check out.

Wine: Meli
Variety: Carignan
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 86
Price: $15.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Similar to the Hacienda Brut and the Domaine Laurier Brut that we reviewed earlier this week, the Pol Rémy Brut comes from the Bronco Wine Company portfolio.  But one thing that’s different about it is that it’s from France.  I don’t know if the brand is owned by Bronco or just imported, but it is part of their portfolio.

In addition to being French, another thing that’s different about this wine is what’s in it.  It’s made from 60% Aïren, 20% Ugni Blanc and 20% Colombard grapes.  Which may not be grapes you’re tasting every day.

This wine doesn’t offer much on the nose, except light apple aromas and, if you really dig for it, some very faint yeast aromas.  The palate offers a nice, bubbly mouth feel with tart, granny smith apple flavors, as well as some fresh-squeezed lime (as I said, it’s tart) and a touch of mineral, particularly on the finish.  It has a hint of bitterness on the finish too.  It’s nothing fancy, but it’s acceptable for the price.

Wine: Pol Rémy
Variety: Brut
Vintage: Non-vintage
Alcohol: 11%
Rating: 83
Price: $10.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Just because the New Year’s holiday is over is no reason to stop drinking sparkling wine.  And so, here are a couple more bubblies worth checking out.

Both of these wines come from the Bronco Wine Company.  You won’t see that name on the labels anywhere, but Bronco owns both of these brands, as well as numerous other “value” wine brands.  Bronco is probably best known as the company that produces the Charles Shaw brand (aka “Two-buck Chuck”) sold at Trader Joe’s.  While these wines are quite as cheap as two-buck, they are still quite reasonably priced, particularly for bubbly.

There is one thing you might not like about these wines.  If you’ve ever paid $30 or more for a bottle of bubbly, you may feel foolish after tasting one of these.

Hacienda Brut

The nose is a little on the tight side, but shows some yeast, straw and apple aromas.  The palate has a creamy and bubbly mouth feel and offers apple, pear, lime and mineral flavors.  It has a very harmonious balance of texture, fruit, acid and mineral.  I honestly didn’t expect this wine to be this good, but I’m glad that it is.

Wine: Hacienda Brut
Variety: White Blend
Vintage: N/V
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 87
Price: $12.99

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Domaine Laurier Brut

Interestingly, we reviewed this wine two years ago and didn’t have a good impression of it at the time.  That just goes to show that even though this wine is labeled as a non-vintage wine, it will still show differently from one year to the next.

This wine has smoky yeast and apple aromas.  A wine like this would not see any oak, so I would think that the smoke is just an expression of the yeast.  The palate has tart, green apple, lime and straw flavors with plenty of bubble and a creamy texture.  A salty mineral note hits the midpalate and continues into the finish, where the green apple also lingers. For the price of this bubbly, I have zero complaints.

Wine: Domaine Laurier Brut
Variety: White Blend
Vintage: N/V
Alcohol: 11.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $12.99

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Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.

Tonight we’re continuing our pre-New Year’s Eve exploration of sparkling wines with a double-header review of  crémant from Lucien Albrecht.

For those of you who don’t know, crémant is a name for French sparkling wine that’s not from Champagne.  And there’s something I just like about the name, particularly when it’s crémant d’Alsace.  That’s just fun to say.  And while we’re getting everyone on the same page, if you don’t know Alsace, that’s a wine region in the eastern part of France, along the German border.  Alsace is known for producing exceptional white wines, and this crémant is among that exceptionality.  (I know that’s not really a word… I just don’t care.)

Lucien Albrecht Crémant D’Alsace Brut Blanc de Blancs

We actually reviewed this wine a couple years ago, and although it’s a non-vintage wine we thought it would be worth a revisit.  Even though a wine is labeled as non-vintage, it would be impossible for it to not have some differences from one year to the next.  After all, each year will bring a new batch of grapes, each influenced by different weather and yielding different nuances.  So here’s what we think of it now.

The fragrance on the nose is soft, but pleasant with a nice blend of yeast, citrus and apple aromas.  The palate is dry and filled with bubbles.  It offers flavors of yeast (think fresh bread), lemon and apples.  The finish is fairly long and evolves.  It starts out with the flavor of salted apples, but evolves into the flavors of yeast and cane sugar.  It doesn’t have the sweetness of sugar, but the flavor lingering on my tongue reminds me of white sugar.  Some might interpret that as a bad thing and I’d agree if it were too intense, but it’s not… it’s just a nuance and it’s kind of interesting.  This would be really good with salty cheeses or meats.  All told, this is a nice bottle of bubbly.

Wine: Lucien Albrecht Cremant D’Alsace Brut Blanc de Blancs
Variety: Pinot Blanc
Vintage: N/V
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 87
Price: $19.99

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Lucien Albrecht Crémant D’Alsace Brut Rosé

As a pink wine, this is one many guys might avoid because it threatens their masculinity.  But don’t fear the pink wine.  It’s awesome!  And you can still be a manly man, even if you drink pink sparkling wine.  Yes, I watch UFC fights, use power tools, listen to Black Sabbath, lift weights, play video games and I drink pink, sparkling wine… and I’m OK with that!  In fact, I can’t wait to drink more of this one, because it is awesome.

And, Mr.-tough-guy-who’s-too-cool-for-pink-wine, you probably drink pinot noir and think that it’s cool.  Well, I have news for you.  This wine is 100% pinot noir.

The nose of this bubbly shows yeast, lime and mineral with moderate intensity.  The palate is quite refreshing, offering crisp apple, cranberry and lime flavors with a nice feel to the bubbles.  You might think of it as a cranberry-apple spritz with a slice of lime.  This is a brut, so it is dry, not sweet.  I probably didn’t do justice with my description on this one as this is a very nice bottle of bubbly!

Don’t let the price scare you on this one either.  While the suggested retail price is $19.99, I’ve seen it for sale as low as $12.00.

Wine: Lucien Albrecht Cremant D’Alsace Brut Rosé
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: N/V
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 89
Price: $19.99

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Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.

Yellow Tail, or [yellow tail] as they write it, is one of those brands that many people view as the epitome of cheap wine.  In fact, when I tell people about this website I’m often asked if I drink a bunch of Yellow Tail.  Actually, I don’t.  This is the first time we’ve reviewed a Yellow Tail wine.  It’s not out of spite for the brand or anything like that, there’s just sooooo many different wines out there to choose from that we haven’t gotten around to a [yellow tail]… until now.

I have to admit, that Australia isn’t on the top of my list when I’m shopping for sparklers.  With so much good Italian Prosecco, Spanish Cava, Alsatian Cremant and Californian bubbly out there, I’m just not that likely to make it to the Australian section.  But why not?  They make some great wine in Australia!  They can probably make some great bubbly too.

This one has a fairly tight nose, with slight apple aromas.  The palate is off-dry with slightly sweet yellow delicious apple flavors.  It’s fairly simple, but it’s pleasant tasting.  The bubbles in this wine feel like those from a soda.  The bubbles might come from a gas injection method versus the traditional fermentation in the bottle method.  I could not find any statement about their method anywhere in their literature, so I don’t know for sure.  Regardless of whatever method they used, it has some bubbles but the texture of those bubbles isn’t quite cutting it for me.  It finishes with more apple flavor and a touch of lemon.  While I wouldn’t say this wine totally knocked my socks off, it was still enjoyable and a bargain for the price.

One thing that I did love about this wine is the cap.  It came with a resealable, plastic cap.  This allows you to cap the wine if you don’t want to drink the whole bottle in one evening.  And the cap will fit most other sparkling wine bottles too, so you can keep it and use it over and over with other bottles of bubbly.

Wine: Yellow Tail
Variety: Sparkling wine
Vintage: Non-vintage
Alcohol: 11.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $10.00

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Want another opinion?  Here’s what some other’s thought of [yellow tail] Bubbles:

• First Pour Wine
• Twilight Wines
• Detroit News

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.