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Tim Lemke

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

Meli Carignan

I love to try different wines.  And this is one of those wines that isn’t totally off the wall, but it’s something you don’t come across every day. If you’ve ever had a Cotes du Rhone there’s a chance you’ve tasted carignan, but it’s probably less likely that you’ve tasted a wine that is 100% […]

Cecchi Natio Chianti Made with Organic Grapes

My last review was the Banfi Chianti Superiore—a really good value wine.  Tonight I’m checking out another Chianti, Cecchi Natio, which is also part of the Banfi portfolio of wines. This one bears the Chianti DOCG designation, which is the broadest zone and includes all of the sub-zone appellations and then some. It is also […]

Banfi Chianti Superiore

I love a good Chianti.  It’s my “comfort food” wine.  If you’re eating simple Italian food, particularly the Americanized versions such as pizza and pasta, you can’t go wrong with a good Chianti. But, as I’ve said before, Chianti is confusing.  There are so many zone and sub-zone classifications that I don’t know how the […]

Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon

I thought it would be interesting to compare two wines from the same producer, same vintage, same grape but from different parts of California and sold at different price points.  This could be filed under the “are more expensive wines better?” category.  Spoiler alert: In this case the more expensive wine was quite a bit […]

Biodynamic Austrian Wines

Last night I was invited to a #winechat on Twitter.  The theme of was Austrian biodynamic wines.  The biodynamic theme is tied to this being the week of Earth Day. For those who for those who aren’t familiar with biodynamics, it is an approach to farming that incorporates organic techniques plus crop rotation, biodiversity and other […]

Kim Crawford Marlborough Pinot Noir

Last week, a colleague at my day job started picking my brain about wine.  She told me that she recently graduated to pinot noir after years of drinking nothing but Champagne and disgustingly-sweet riesling.  OK, I embellished with the “disgustingly-sweet” part, but that’s basically what it sounded like she was drinking.  And then she told […]

Calcu Rosé

Spring is definitely here, bringing warm weather with it.  And warm weather means it’s time to enjoy some tasty white and rosé wines. Rosé is far too often an overlooked wine.  This one from the Colchagua Valley region in Chile is a good one to check out if you’re ready to delve into some rosé. […]

Trivento Amado Sur Malbec

Today is Malbec World Day, which strikes me as a holiday that was manufactured by PR folks in order to generate publicity for (and consumption of) malbec.  I normally scoff at such things, but what the hell… I’ll play along. This is the third year of Malbec World Day and the youth of the “holiday” […]

Bota Box RedVolution

Boxed wines aren’t what they used to be… in a good way.  The quality of the juice found in some “bag-in-a-box” wines is much better than it once was.  And some boxed wines can be a great option for the wine lover on a budget. When it comes to boxed wines there are a couple […]

Ricardo Santos Semillon

Semillon is a varietal that is best known as being grown in France.  In fact, it’s one of three white varieties approved for use in Bordeaux.  It’s also a common grape in Sauternes.   And I think that until I tasted this wine I’ve only had French semillon.  So I was intrigued to see what Argentina could […]