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Tim Lemke

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

Tsantali Rapsani

My virtual tour of Greek wines continues with a “visit” to the southern slopes of Mt. Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, via a taste of Tsantali Rapsani. This wine is made from a blend of indigenous Greek grape varieties: Xinomavro, Krassato and Stavroto.  Wine Geek Info: The wine was aged in small French oak barrels […]

Tsantali Kanenas Red

Yesterday I was raving about a Greek wine, but it happened to be one that had limited production and may be difficult for many readers to find.  Here’s another red from the same producer that should be a little easier to find, although Greek wines in general don’t get a lot of shelf space in […]

Tsantali Metoxi Chromitsa Red

This review is one that is frustrating me.  To begin with, this wine is phenomenal!  So what’s the problem?  Availability.  I received this bottle as a media sample and after looking for it in some local wine shops and online I’ve had no luck in finding a source for it.  I’m sure it’s out there […]

Broadbent Vinho Verde

How have you been fairing with all the heat we’ve had lately?  It’s been miserable out there and you might say it’s not been good wine drinking weather.  Well, that depends on what wine you’re talking about. Some wines just don’t hit the spot on a hot summer day.  But others are just right.  I […]

3 Wineries to Visit in Kelowna, British Columbia

About a month ago, I was standing in the security line at the Seattle-Tacoma airport.  I handed the TSA agent my ID and my ticket to Kelowna, British Columbia.  He looked at it and chuckled, then said “while you’re up there, you should really try some of the wine.  It’s fantastic!  I go skiing up […]

Waterstone Carneros Pinot Noir

One thing to look for in a pinot noir is one that comes from a “cool climate” region.  The Los Carneros AVA in California is one such region.  Carneros is north of the San Pablo Bay and includes part of both Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley. The producers of this wine, Waterstone Winery, don’t own […]

Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken

I was complaining just a couple weeks ago about the long names that appear on German wines and I think I just found a longer one.  Wow.  The name of this wine is a mouthful.  But then a mouthful of this wine is a very good thing. There was a time when I fell into […]

Calcu Cabernet Franc

Woowee!  It’s been a busy couple weeks for me and I’ve been slacking at updating things here at Cheap Wine Ratings.  But I know you’re looking for a new wine to try, so let me get another review out there. This one is going to be a short and sweet review as I don’t have […]

Weingut Max Ferd Richter Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling Kabinett

Attention German wine producers.  Please see the title on this review, which happens to be the name of a wine from your country.  If you’re finding that Americans aren’t buying as much of your wine as you’d like, perhaps you might consider shortening the names on your wines.  Us Americans, generally speaking, aren’t very good […]

Chilean Pinot Noir from Casablanca Valley

Earlier this week I was invited to a #winechat to taste and discuss Casablanca Valley pinot noir.  #winechat is a Twitter event every Wednesday evening, when folks interested in wine get together online to discuss a certain type of wine.  There’s a specific theme each week. For the Casablanca Valley pinot noir #winechat, three media […]