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Tim Lemke

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

Veramonte Pinot Noir

The weather has started to turn to autumn here and that means it’s time to start drinking some pinot noir!  Let’s start the pinot noir exploration with one from Chile. Five years ago, if you had offered me a Chilean pinot noir I probably would have reluctantly tried it without expecting much.  But things are […]

7 Californian Merlots Under $15

As we wrote in our 2009 roundup of 15 Good Merlots Under $15, “merlot can be exciting and merlot can be exceptional”.  I agree with this, but let me go on record here by saying I’m hard on merlot.  Maybe it’s because I’ve tasted so many fat & jammy, cookie cutter examples that I’ve grown […]

Rocca di Montemassi Le Focaie Sangiovese

People often ask me, “what’s your favorite wine?”  And that’s an impossible question to answer because I really don’t have a singular favorite.  There are so many options and the differences between them can be so vast that I have different preferences for different occasions.  Now if someone asked me, “what’s your favorite wine to have […]

Flipflop Cabernet Sauvignon

Looking for an easy drinking cabernet sauvignon for the Fall?  Well look no further than Flipflop’s 2009.  We’ve recently reviewed Flipflop’s 2009 Pinot Noir and found it to be “pleasant”.  Their 2009 cabernet sauvignon takes the same approach with simple, straightforward fruit and just enough structure to keep things interesting. This is Flipflop’s first year […]

Flip Flop Pinot Noir

We’ve recently received a few wines from a new winery in California named Flipflop.  Here we’ll be reviewing their first pinot noir, the 2009 vintage.  We’ll also soon be reviewing their first cabernet sauvignon, also a 2009.  David Georges started the Flipflop winery with the goal of creating wines that are true to their varietal […]

Tenuta Ca’Bolani Friuli Pinot Grigio

The weather is starting to turn to autumn, but we’ve had a few more warm days recently here in Cincinnati so I’m going to take advantage of it to continue reviewing tasty summer wines.  But this is one that you don’t have to limit to summer drinking.  If you’re a pinot grigio fan, this is […]

Silver Ridge Sauvignon Blanc

I wasn’t familiar with Silver Ridge Vineyards before trying their Napa sauvignon blanc offering, but with so many “Silver” and “Ridge” named wines earning such great accolades, I was sure that they chose the name smartly.  From a branding standpoint, my subconscious seemed excited that I was about to consume a really good wine.  Although, […]

Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Pinot Bianco

Alto Adige is a region in Northern Italy that produces some stellar white wines.  But for some reason, most wine consumers in the US don’t seem to be familiar with this region — unless they’re wine geeks like me.  Well, if you want to try some wines with character… wines with a little more to […]

Bodegas Paso Robles ¡Viva Yo! Tempranillo

Today is International Tempranillo Day and to celebrate wine lovers all over the world are drinking tempranillo today.  And wine writers, like me, are writing about tempranillo all over the Internet.  Why?  … Why not?  It’s always fun to explore different varieties of wine, and it’s always fun to come together with your fellow wine aficionados to […]

Top 5 Wines Under 10 Dollars from The Reverse Wine Snob

Editor’s Note: Since our readers are interested in finding great inexpensive wines, we thought we’d invite another bargain hunter to stop by and share his cheap wine recommendations.  The following is a guest post from Jon Thorsen of The Reverse Wine Snob. If you’re a fan of CheapWineRatings.com then I know that you know there […]