The next series we’re doing on Cheap Wine Ratings is California Zinfandel. At times Zinfandel is one of my favorite varietals but sometimes it ends up just way too sweet and jammy. Zinfandel is really a chameleon though, as its wine can have a variety of characteristics from jar-full-of-jam fruit, to spicy, to tannic, and […]
If you’re a regular reader you may recall my review of McManis Petite Sirah a couple months ago. I was so thrilled with it that I had to try another varietal from them and I wasn’t disappointed. Since I already gave a little background on McManis in my previous post, I’ll keep this post brief […]
Something that some wine reviewers and bloggers debate is whether they should write up the bad reviews or not. As far as I’m concerned, if a producer puts a bottle on the shelf and wants my dime for it, well… it’s fair game. I also consider it a responsibility to frugal wine drinkers everywhere to […]
“Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine” – St. Thomas Aquinas Aquinas wines are named after St. Thomas Aquinas, but not because of that quote. Producer Don Sebastiani & Sons chose the Aquinas name as a metaphor. St. Thomas Aquinas united science and religion at a time when the two were […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I’d like to start with “Confessions of a Slacker.” I know that I’ve been really bad about post frequency over the past month. Getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday and other going-ons will be my excuse. But the good news is that I’ve still been tasting and taking notes, so I have some new wine […]
Cut my nuts off and give me another glass of this wine. I know that’s an odd way to start a post, but that’s about how I feel from drinking this wine. It reminds me of the old commercials for Secret deodorant “strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.” This wine is […]
It’s time to start a new theme on Cheap Wine Ratings and next up is Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m sitting here pondering a clever title for the theme and I’m coming up with nothing. I guess I was up too late last night and burned out my creative juices. I went to the UFC fight in […]
