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Tim Lemke

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

Mumm Napa Brut Prestige

Here’s another sparkling wine that I think is just awesome, and I found it for about $17.  This one comes from Mumm Napa, and as you might guess by the name it’s from Napa Valley. One thing you might notice about sparking wine in the lower price range is that non-vintage is commonplace.  You won’t […]

Lucien Albrecht Cremant D’Alsace – Brut Blanc de Blancs

In case you haven’t seen it yet, you might want to check out the November/December issue of Mutineer Magazine.  This issue includes a column, authored by yours truly, about sparkling wines—just in time for the holidays.  One of the wines included in this article is the Lucien Albrecht Cremant D’Alsace – Brut Blanc de Blancs. […]

Forest Glen Pinot Noir

This past weekend I did a blind tasting with about 20 wines.  They were grouped according to variety (i.e. all the Cabernet Sauvignon at once, all the Pinot Noir, etc.)  There were a few surprises coming out of the tasting and this was one of them. There are some brands that are seen practically everywhere […]

Terra d’Oro Moscato

I’ll be the first to admit, that I’m not a big fan of sweet wine, outside of a few very well-done Botrytized wines.  Nonetheless, I receive some every now and then and I’ll still review them for the benefit of those who do prefer sweet wine. Although I’m not a big fan of sweet wines, […]

Bridgman Cabernet Sauvignon

Washington State interests me more and more as a wine region, and I wish I saw more wine from that region on the shelves of my local wine shops.  I expect that over time I’ll see more of it showing up in my mid-western locale. I’ve previously reviewed the Bridgman Chardonnay, and I need to […]

Doña Paula Estate Malbec – Lujan de Cuyo

In winery years, Doña Paula is still relatively young, with it’s roots going back to just 1997.  It was actually founded by Grupo Claro from Chile, owners of Viña Santa Rita, as they diversified operations into Argentina.  You could say it was a good investment, as demand for Doña Paula wines has driven the winery […]

Layer Cake Malbec

Being as into wine as I am, I get into a lot of conversations about wine and I’ve noticed that there are a few names that come up time and time again.  One of those names is Layer Cake, and that’s particularly related to their Shiraz.  I meet people everywhere who are nuts about Layer […]

Gascón Malbec

It seems that in all the wine shops I visit, Don Miguel Gascón is the Malbec that I see everywhere.  Perhaps that’s because it’s distributed by wine powerhouse, EJ Gallo.  It’s named after the original founder of the winery, who moved from Spain to Argentina in 1880 and began building the winery in 1884.  The […]

Tercos Malbec

Tercos is a relatively young wine brand, but the men behind it have a long family history in the wine business.  The winery is owned and operated by Pedro and Patricio Santos, sons of Argentine winemaker Ricardo Santos.  Ricardo founded the Norton winery in the 1970’s and in more recent years has been producing wine […]

Trapiche Broquel Malbec

As I continue this series on Malbec I’m struck by the fact that it seems like it’s just been within the past ten years that most of us in the US started to notice Argentine wines, and the rise of Malbec seems to be at the crux of that.  But wine has being produced in […]