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Tim Lemke

Tim is the founder and chief reviewer at Cheap Wine Ratings since 2007.

Presidential Candidates Compared to Wine

With the presidential primary elections quickly approaching I started pondering: If I were to describe the 2008 presidential candidates by comparing them each to a type of wine, which wines would I pick? I tried to do this in a non-partisan way (i.e. I lambasted both dems and republicans, although a few got off clean).  […]

Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Let’s say you typically spend under $10 per bottle and you’re in the store and come across Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon.  It has this bold red label with a very regal looking lion figure.  It’s a very impressive label and looks like it must be a good bottle of wine.  It says “Select” on the bottle.  That […]

Paringa Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

I noticed that Paringa Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 was mentioned in the New York Times 10 Wines Under $10 article that I highlighted a while back and I thought I should include it in my search for good, cheap cabernet sauvignon. Paringa wines are produced by David and Dena Hickinbotham in South Australia, where the Hickinbotham family has […]

McManis Family Vineyards Petite Sirah

Wine Blogging Wednesday #40 Once again, it’s my favorite day of the month: Wine Blogging Wednesday.  For those who don’t know, Wine Blogging Wednesday is a day that happens once a month when wine bloggers from around the world all write about a common theme.  The theme this month is Petite Sirah, one of my favorite types […]

Paringa Sparkling Shiraz – A Fun Wine for Holiday Parties

It is holiday party season and you’ll probably find yourself wondering what wine to bring to a holiday party.  There are a few approaches you can take: You can be careless and just pick up some cheapie and hope for the best You can splurge on a really expensive bottle and hope to impress You […]

Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Casa Lapostolle is owned by the Marnier-Lapostolle Group in France, best known as the producers of Grand Marnier liqueur.  They have been involved in wine production for many years and founded Casa Lapostolle in Chile in 1994.  Casa Lapostolle currently represents 370 hectares in three different vineyards. The Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 come from […]

Cellar No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon

The folks at Asti Winery in Sonoma, CA did a nice job on the 2005 Cellar No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Cellar No. 8 is named after a cellar in the Asti Winery in Sonoma  County, California, which was founded by Italian immigrant Andrea Sbarboro in the early 1880’s.  Sbarboro named the winery after the Asti […]

To Buy Organic Wine or Not?

I’ve been seeing more and more organic wine in stores lately, but I haven’t been motivated to try much of it.  Why?  Because they tend to be unstable and I’ve never really found a good one—by current US “organic” standards anyway.  The reason is that sulfites cannot be used in the production of wines labeled […]

Marlena Cabernet Sauvignon

If you’re a Seinfeld fan you probably remember the episode where Kramer wanted to create a cologne that smelled like the beach.  This bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon reminded me of that episode with an interesting seaweed aroma.  It smells like the beach!  It makes this an interesting wine to explore, but not a top pick.  […]

San Felipe Cabernet Sauvignon

Here’s a quick review for an Argentine Cabernet Sauvignon.  This one comes from Mendoza and is imported by Billington Wines, although you won’t find any mention of it on their website.  I’m not sure if they’ve discontinued it or if it’s just not an important brand to them.  I found this bottle stacked up in […]