I’ve written about previous vintages of Apothic Red and it’s a consistently popular wine among everyday wine drinkers. I’ve had a few folks ask me about the recent vintage lately, so I thought I’d revisit this one with the 2012 vintage. This wine is a fruit bomb. The aromatics are filled with strawberry, raspberry, plum and […]
Red Wines
Handcraft, Artist Collection, Cabernet Sauvignon – Like Cherries & Chocolate
A few weeks ago I wrote about the Handcraft Inspiration Red, a tasty little red blend. So I thought I’d check out another wine from the Handcraft family, their cabernet sauvignon. I come across a lot of people who love cabernet sauvignon and for many it is their “go to” red wine. Like many wines, it […]
Wolfgang Puck Master Lot Reserve Red Blend
I’ll admit it. When I first saw this wine, I didn’t have high expectations. After all, Wolfgang Puck isn’t known for wine, he’s a restauranteur — and a master at leveraging his personal brand to sell stuff. And while I’m sure he’s a talented chef (after all he had to have some credibility to build […]
Bolla Creso – Powerfully Delicious
In my early days of wine discovery, Bolla was one of my “go to” brands. I was young and didn’t have a big wine budget, and Bolla offered some wines that were good for a bargain hunter like me. And while I don’t drink Bolla very often these days, I still have a nostalgic appreciation […]
Handcraft Inspiration Red Wine – Intensely Aromatic
I’ve been saying for the last few years that red blends are where it’s at when it comes to getting rich, flavorful wines at bargain prices. And the number of California red blends on the market has been exploding recently. This is a relatively new one from Handcraft Wines. Although you don’t see it mentioned […]
Vinkara Kalecik Karasi – Easy & Delicious
Back in the Fall of 2012 I visited Turkey for the European Wine Bloggers Conference and had my first Turkish wines. But after returning I haven’t written about Turkish wines at all, for a couple reasons. One is that there weren’t that many Turkish wines that really impressed me. Although there’s a long history of […]
StickyBeak Toscana – A Light, Tuscan Sangiovese
When I saw the name of this wine, it immediately made me think of Australia. And it turns out that the name StickyBeak is an Australian wine term. But StickyBeak wine is not from Australia. Most wine under this brand comes from California, except for this one which is from the Tuscany region in Italy. The […]
Picket Fence Pinot Noir – Light & Easy
When it comes to cheap wine, a lot of it comes from a handful of big companies. Although you probably don’t realize that because those companies own a lot of different brand names. Picket Fence is one of the brands in the portfolio of Bronco Wine Company, one of the biggest producers of cheap wine […]
Calcu Carménère – Clumsy, but Enjoyable
I’ve been posting carménère reviews lately and here’s another bargain carménère from Chile. This one comes from the Colchagua Valley, a region known for its red wines – including carménère. The spice is pretty heavy on the nose of this wine. It’s loaded with nutmeg, clove, toasted oak and vanilla. That’s backed up by plenty of blackberry, blueberry […]
Maquis Carménère – Big, Dark and Delicious
Following up from the last review, here is another Chilean carménère. This one comes from Maquis in the Colchagua Valley. The story of Maquis dates back almost 90 years to when the first vineyards were planted on the estate. For most of its existence the owners only grew grapes to sell to other winemakers, but in […]