Reblogged from winewithkristen
In Vino Veritas
Learning about wine one 10 buck bottle at a time!
![So. I don’t actually know much about writing about wine, yet. So these reviews are going to be rough. Ok. They are going to be hack jobs, but it’s a learning process, right?
Here were my pre-tasting notes on the Little Roo Chardonnay from the earlier post:
Little Roo Chardonnay-Southeast Australia (4.99). This is my cheapest purchase for today, but it’s a Chardonnay and if you keep it cold, I’m sure it’ll be drinkable. The bottle promises “green apple and pear aromas [that] are highlighted by toasty oak.” I have heard these promises on many a bottle of cheap Chardonnay, but the Australians have the corner market on cheap and flavorful wine (Yellow Tail. Don’t pretend you don’t drink it) so it could go well.
Overall, I really liked this wine. It was bright and refreshing with my spicy tuna and garlic pasta dinner, and it’s kept me good company though tidying my kitchen and writing this post! It’s tangy, and yet, oddly sweeter than I expected. It wasn’t TOO sugary, but enough to remind me that I might get a headache in the morning if I drink too much of it.
My notes say: “It DOES taste like green apples!” So, bottle promise number one: delivered.
On the other hand, as this warms up from its place in the fridge, it gets a little sharper and more white-wine vinegary. However, as it gets warmer you really can taste the pear, so that’s kind of nice.
Generally speaking, keep this wine cooler than room temperature, and you’ve got yourself a very drinkable bottle of 4.99 wine!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m93ejnA0xP1re4uk7o1_500.jpg)
So. I don’t actually know much about writing about wine, yet. So these reviews are going to be rough. Ok. They are going to be hack jobs, but it’s a learning process, right?
Here were my pre-tasting notes on the Little Roo Chardonnay from the earlier post:
Little Roo Chardonnay-Southeast Australia (4.99). This is my cheapest purchase for today, but it’s a Chardonnay and if you keep it cold, I’m sure it’ll be drinkable. The bottle promises “green apple and pear aromas [that] are highlighted by toasty oak.” I have heard these promises on many a bottle of cheap Chardonnay, but the Australians have the corner market on cheap and flavorful wine (Yellow Tail. Don’t pretend you don’t drink it) so it could go well.
Overall, I really liked this wine. It was bright and refreshing with my spicy tuna and garlic pasta dinner, and it’s kept me good company though tidying my kitchen and writing this post! It’s tangy, and yet, oddly sweeter than I expected. It wasn’t TOO sugary, but enough to remind me that I might get a headache in the morning if I drink too much of it.
My notes say: “It DOES taste like green apples!” So, bottle promise number one: delivered.
On the other hand, as this warms up from its place in the fridge, it gets a little sharper and more white-wine vinegary. However, as it gets warmer you really can taste the pear, so that’s kind of nice.
Generally speaking, keep this wine cooler than room temperature, and you’ve got yourself a very drinkable bottle of 4.99 wine!
I’m a big reader. Mostly fiction, since I read a lot of non-fiction as a graduate student. Every so often I stumble across a passage in a piece of fiction that features wine as a central set and plot piece. In our first installment of “Wine in Books” I offer an excerpt from The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller. First, a little background: Francesca is an Iowa housewife who came to America from Naples as a war bride. She’s beautiful, bored in her marriage, and in this scene, preparing for a dinner date with Robert Kincaid. Kincaid is a photographer from Bellingham, Washington. These two are about to embark on a brief, but passionate love affair.
“She went downstairs and heard the shower come on. He’s naked now, she thought, and felt funny in her lower belly.
Earlier in the day, after he called, she had driven the forty miles into Des Moines and went to the state liquor store. She was not experienced in this and asked a clerk about a good wine. He didn’t know any more than she did, which was nothing. So she looked through the rows of bottles until she came across a label that read ‘Valpolicella.’ She remembered that from a long time ago. Dry, Italian red wine. She bought two bottles and another decanter fo brandy, feeling sensual and worldy”
Normally I wouldn’t post a picture of a book’s movie, but this movie is good. Can I just add that I’d happily share a glass or three of Valpolicella with Clint Eastwood in this film.
The Celebrity Guide to Wine
“As long as you enjoy it, that’s what counts!”
Dudley Moore! Whoopie Goldberg! Steven Seagal! Herby Hancock! And more!
Yeah, this is long, but do yourself a favor and watch a bit. Ah-mazing.(We won’t endorse the advice being given, btw.)
This is possibly the best thing I’ve ever seen.
I watched this whole video. Literally the WHOLE thing. There are some serious gems.
I find it very important to keep my apartment stocked with essentials. And when I say “essentials,” what I actually mean is wine. In that spirit, I used some of my paycheck/grocery budget to buy six bottles of wine. I have a wine rule: Only buy bottles that are 10.99 or under. They can be on sale, but no more than 10.99.
For those of you in the know, my home grocery store is not the nicest. Ghetto Carrs for the win, so this 10.99 and under wine purchasing an exercise in label reading. Today’s classy six pack is a departure because there are NONE in it that I’ve already tried. Ghetto Carrs either stepped up their wine purchasing game, or I haven’t bought wine in a while.
Anyway: Here’s the list and my comments based entirely off their labels! Yay!
Whites:
Bolla Pinot Grigio-Venezia (9.99). So this is a “Indicazione Geografica Tipica” rather than a “Controlatta,” which means that the grapes are probably from the Veneto, but for 9.99, what do I expect? Bolla makes a pretty fair cheapo Valpolicella, so I’m excited to give this one a try.
Little Roo Chardonnay-Southeast Australia (4.99). This is my cheapest purchase for today, but it’s a Chardonnay and if you keep it cold, I’m sure it’ll be drinkable. The bottle promises “green apple and pear aromas [that] are highlighted by toasty oak.” I have heard these promises on many a bottle of cheap Chardonnay, but the Australians have the corner market on cheap and flavorful wine (Yellow Tail. Don’t pretend you don’t drink it) so it could go well.
Reds:
Georges Dubceuf Beaujolais-Villages (10.99). I’ve just just started exploring the world of Beaujolais. I’ve enjoyed my experiences with them so far. I love light red wines that are easy to drink, so I have high hopes for this bottle. Plus, it’s not on sale price was 13.99, making it easily the most expensive bottle of wine I’ve bought in a while.
Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec-Mendoza, Argentina (8.99). Recently Argentina has been my go to for cheap reds. They’re all flavorful, full bodied, and boooozy. This Malbec is fancifully likened to (and named for) the thistle that grows in the Mendoza province. Violet-red and the aroma of cigar box and spice. This one might be my favorite based entirely on the bottle. However, I have a soft spot for Malbec.
Rhone Valley Vineyards La Vieille Ferme Red Wine Blend-Rhone Valley, France (9.99). This is the bastard sibling of the fancypants Chateau de Beaucastel wines. It’s a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Cinsault. I do enjoy blends, there’s a dynamism to them that can be really fun. Plus. It’s a twist off lid. The twist off lid is the cheap wine drinker’s bff.
Dynamite Vineyards Merlot-Sonoma, CA. I bought this entirely because the label was a drawing of “the Pomo Indian legend behind the diamond-like wuartz that sparkles in the soils of one of our volcanic vineyards: The Moon wept when she could not be with her love, a Pomo chieftain and her tears fell to the earth, forming glistening Moon Tears.” I can’t help it. I’m a sucker. The illustration is also beautiful. AND. I actually like Merlot. Stupid Sideways.
And that’s my wine round up for this month. Or two. We’ll see how long it takes me to get through. I’ve been hanging out with a beer drinker lately, and one of my friends just brought me a growler of Homer Brewing Co’s Porter. So, I have beer to supplement my boozing habits. Sorry Dad, no Washington wines this time.
This is the way to enjoy a bottle of wine. Out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. Pick up your trash, campers!
Let’s be honest with each other. A few years ago your idea of a good beer was the Natty Light you had from a glass bottle, because for some reason Natural Light is sold in bottles in Alabama. A fancy drink was made with Captain Morgan rather than Admiral Nelson, and your wine of choice was Franzia.
If you’re like me, your crappy binge drinking days are (mostly) over, and your friends have all become horrible beer snobs. Everyone is trying to get you to try a new IPA, and that guy you went out with last weekend told you everything you ever wanted to know about his new home brewing hobby. The trouble is, while you like beer, you’re really more of a wine person.
This will probably open you up to some ridicule. Young people tend to think of wine as something for special occasions or a once in a while kind of drink. You’ll also hear that drinking wine makes you look stuck up (to that I say, “Please beer drinkers, tell me more about the different kind of hops in your glass). The truth is, we’re all a little intimidated.
The wine aisle is a little scary. There’s a huge price range, different bottle shapes, foreign sounding names and lots of pretty labels. I’m in the same boat. I grew up drinking wine with my big Italian family. My name even comes from an Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon. However, I’m just starting to learn about wine for myself. I figure, the best way to learn is to taste as many bottles of wine that my budget will allow. Along the way I’m going to indulge my academic procrastination and research what I’m drinking. By the end of this experiment we’re all going to be wine experts, one 10.99 (or less) bottle of wine at a time.
