When you see the label on the Dancing Bull Merlot you might think that the design looks similar to that found on Rancho Zabaco Zinfandels. Well, it is… and the two are related. Rancho Zabaco, part of the E&J Gallo portfolio, has been around since 1996 and has developed a good reputation for Zinfandel over […]
Last fall, Sebastiani Vineyards was one of the wineries I visited on my trip to Sonoma County. If you’re ever doing a wine tour in the area I would recommend giving them a visit as they have a beautiful wine room with enormous old redwood casks. It’s a sight to see. Sebastiani is a family-owned […]
Red Truck is a relatively young wine brand, but one I seem to see everywhere I go. Perhaps it just stands out on the shelf with the big red truck on the label and I notice it more than other brands. I have to give them credit for creating a memorable brand identity that breaks […]
I’ve tried a number of wines from Barefoot Wine and to be honest, I have a love/hate thing for them. I love the affordability of their wines. But I dislike the fact that their wines are non-vintage. I’ve mentioned this before, as well as my position that I don’t expect consistency when there isn’t a […]
Last month we reviewed the McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate Shiraz which was a good Shiraz—especially for the price. And today we’re giving the Merlot from this brand a try. Like the Shiraz, the grapes for this Merlot come from the New South Wales region in Australia, and more specifically the Riverina region within New South Wales. […]
Today is Earth Day and there are actually a number of different environment-related topics that I could write about relevant to wine. Sustainable agriculture, organic wines and bio-dynamic wines are a few topics that come to mind. But I’m going to write about a less sexy topic—packaging. Actually, packaging can be sexy, but it’s something […]
Sometimes in the wine business the convoluted world of holding companies, parent companies, sister companies, etc. can get confusing. To a degree, that’s the case with Redwood Creek, which is part of Frei Brothers, which is owned by E&J Gallo. In many cases the large parent companies in the wine business just act as holding […]
Last year I tried the Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon and ended up being one of my favorites, so I was looking forward to trying the Merlot. This one didn’t come through as strong as the Cabernet though. Like some other Merlots that I’ve been tasting, this has a more than just Merlot in it. It […]
At this point in time, there is only one variety of wine under the Red Rock Winery label and that variety is Merlot. I don’t know if they have any plans for other varieties, but for now it’s Merlot. And it’s a good Merlot. Actually, while it only says Merlot on the label there are […]
The Carmenet (pronounced Car-mah-nay) brand has been around for a while, but just recently became part of the Bronco Wine Company portfolio. Perhaps you haven’t heard of the Bronco Wine Company, but you’ve probably heard of some of their wines. They are best known for producing Charles Shaw wines, known by many as “Two Buck […]
