1. Home
  2. Tim Lemke

Tim Lemke

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

Affentaler Valley of the Monkey Pinot Noir – Good Wine, Freaky Bottle

When most people think of German wine they think riesling.  That’s fair… they do produce a lot of riesling and it tends to be pretty good riesling too.  Some wine aficionados will also associate Germany with other white wines, like müller-thurgau or sylvaner.  And those are also some tasty wines.  But many people never think of […]

Pennywise Pinot Noir – Worth Every Penny!

A lot of wine snobs would suggest that good + cheap pinot noir is something that just doesn’t exist.  But I disagree.  And I would suggest that those who hold this belief are just assholes. But you know who’s not an asshole?  The folks at The Other Guys wines.  They create wines that I’ve found […]

Castello Banfi Rosso di Montalcino – Balanced and Beautiful

I’m a big fan of Italian wines.  If the price of wine were no a consideration I’d be drinking Brunello di Montalcino on a regular basis.  But money is a consideration.  So fortunately, there’s Rosso di Montalcino. Both Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino are made from sangiovese grown in the vineyards surrounding the […]

Stemmari Baci Vivaci Sparkling Grillo – Light and Luscious

Late last summer I visited west Sicily to explore the Marsala wine region.  While I was there I learned about grillo, a grape that is traditionally used to make Marsala wine and is being used more and more to produce white table wines.  It’s an amazing grape, capable of producing some really interesting wines.  And […]

Mionetto IL Prosecco – Tasty Everyday Sparkler

Last week I did a write-up on the Mionetto Prestige Collection Prosecco and commented about how I’ve been coming across more and more of their wines lately.  This is another Prosecco from their “IL” line and is also quite tasty. I love what Mionetto is doing with the packaging on their IL line sparklers.  Rather than a […]

Mionetto Prestige Collection Brut – Fabulous Prosecco

I’ve been coming across a number of different sparklers from Mionetto lately.  They seem to be doing a marketing push and I’m seeing them everywhere.  And after tasting some of their bubbly, I had to share this one with you. Prosecco is the focus at Mionetto, and they don’t just produce one.  In the category of […]

Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt RK Riesling — Zingfully Good

As you may have noticed, wine PR folks like to come up with various events to get folks talking about (and more importantly, drinking) their wines.  One trend I’ve noticed in this camp is the (fill in the blank) wine day.  You know, International Tempranillo Day, International Merlot Day, International Cabernet Sauvignon Day, Malbec World […]

Hey Mambo Dry Rosé – Crisp and Refreshing

If you’re a regular reader here you probably already know that I’m a fan of dry rosé wines (among a number of other wine styles).  OK, I’m a fan of pretty much all kinds of wine.  But I think rosé is often overlooked, yet it can be a fun, enjoyable wine with character.  And this […]

Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon – Not Cheap, But Amazing!

Although my primary focus on this website is inexpensive wines (it’s in the name of the site after all), I sometimes have an opportunity to taste wines that don’t fit in the “cheap” categorization.  And every now and then I think all wine lover’s should taste the “good stuff.”  After all, these are the wines that […]

Apothic Red – Popular for a Reason

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 […]