I was really looking forward to trying the Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel because of the fact that the Cellar No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon was my top pick in my series on Cabs. I was hoping to find another great value wine here, but unfortunately this tasting leaves me searching. At first, the nose didn’t strike […]
I’ve been toying with the idea of trying out Twitter for a while and today I finally signed up. I don’t know the lingo yet, so I don’t know if it makes me a Twit, a Twitterer or a Tweeter. My plan was to sign up, dip my toe in the water, check it out, […]
As someone whose been an environmentalist for over 20 years (admittedly more intensely at some times than others) I’m always skeptical of a company’s environmental claims. I’m curious, but skeptical and I tend to be a rather harsh critic of environmental claims. Despite my skepticism, I am somewhat impressed with Parducci Cellars. They seem to […]
How can we do a series on Zinfandel without tasting 7 Deadly Zins? Simply put, we can’t. It’s a bad pun that inspired the naming of this wine. But hey… it’s fun and it’s a name you will remember. But it’s not just another bottle with a quirky name trying to entice shoppers with silly […]
BIG, BOLD ZIN! That’s how Rancho Zabaco characterizes their wines. And we checked out two of the Zinfandels they produce. There’s a good chance you’ll see at least one of these Zins on the Zinfandel shelf at your local wine shop as Rancho Zabaco doesn’t do much other than Zinfandel. They have a couple other varietals, […]
Cardinal Zin is the epitome of a Zin with a fun name and a fun label. In fact it’s so much fun that in 2001 it was banned in Ohio! OK, it wasn’t banned for being too much fun specifically. It was banned because Ohio’s state code on wine labeling forbids “advertisement or representation portraying pictures […]
Twist the top off this and celebrate a cork-free bargain. Twisted Wines are a brand of wine that jumps out at you on the wine shelves. The marketing guy in me loves this brand. They have good packaging with a fun attitude, eye-popping shelf talkers and a well-designed website. And the brand is not all […]
It’s time once again for Wine Blogging Wednesday and the host this month is Tim at Winecast. For those stumbling upon this who don’t know what Wine Blogging Wednesday is, it’s a monthly event when wine bloggers from around the globe all write about a common topic. The theme this month, for WBW #45, is Old World Riesling. […]
The Sierra Foothills designation of Renwood Zinfandel, also know as “red label,” is the entry-level Zinfandel from Renwood Winery. They have some more pricey Zins available, but they are mostly out of the range for Cheap Wine Ratings. The red label wines from Renwood are produced from their younger vines and are much simpler than […]
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 […]