Appellation: Marlborough, New Zealand
Alcohol Content: 13%
Price: Had a glass of it at a Palo Alto restaurant. Seen the bottle online for about $8.99 so definitely on the inexpensive side.

Sight
Clarity: Clear and sparkling
Color: Slight yellow
Viscosity: Normal
Legs: Legs seem to show moderate alcohol

Smell
General Appeal: Very appealing smell, a typical Sauvignon Blanc
Aromas: Guava, citrusy, fruity/flowery
Bouquet: Very very pleasant

Taste
Sweetness: Off Dry to Dry
Acidity: Medium+ acidity
Body: Medium body
Length: Medium lingering
Balance: Pretty well balanced
General Comments: Crisp and yummy. Definitely a winner. One of the best wines I’ve had… although I might be biased because Sauvignon Blanc had become my favorite over the last few months.

Food pairing
Sautéed Gambas (sautéed prawns with chorizo & pimenton) – The wine made the chorizo taste nicer (sweet?) but didn’t seem to change anything in the prawns. The pairing didn’t (further) ruin the taste of the prawns (which was too bland for my liking). I was glad that the food didn’t ruin the taste of the wine either.

Overall
Definitely a great wine. A 4+ wine and something I would look to buy if I see it again.

Should not have worried. Charu keeps telling me that winemaking is not an exact science (her excuse for postponing the racking?) and this time she was right. Lees has not spoiled the wine as I had suspected It actually tasted pretty good – much better than last year’s Merlot did at this stage of the process. It didn’t taste as harsh as the Merlot did – and in fact – it tasted pretty much like a young Zinfandel out of a bottle. Am I biased?

Anyways, something we tried to do differently this time was to keep the free-flow wine separate from the pressed wine, and it seemed that the free-flow wine tasted much better. Of course the pressed wine would have more harshness coming from the skins – though we were hoping that the malolactic fermentation would take care of the harshness. We are still not sure if the malolactic fermentation had taken place – need to get the wine tested the next time we do the racking.

The color of the Zinfandel seemed much lighter than last year’s Merlot. It was clear and see through – almost like a Pinot Noir. Is that normal?

Overall, feeling more confident about this year’s Zinfandel than last year’s Merlot

Appellation: Vin de Pays d’Oc, France
Alcohol Content: Unknown
Price: Bought at a Bevmo nickel sale for around $10 for 2 bottles. Now available on sale at Bevmo for $5.99 per bottle.

Sight
Clarity: Clear
Color: Slight yellow
Viscocity: Watery
Legs: Some legs – low alcohol?

Smell
General Appeal: Very appealing smell, very much like a Sauvingnon Blanc
Aromas: Very slight smell of Guava, citrusy, fruity/flowery
Bouquet: Very pleasant

Taste
Sweetness: Dry
Acidity: Medium+ acidity
Body: Medium body
Length: Medium+ lingering
Balance: Pretty well balanced
General Comments: Very crisp wine. Love it. Due to my preference for crisp wines, this is definitely a winner. I can have it with no food – and I am sure it will be a good food wine as well.

Food pairing
Did not try with food but should be a good food wine.

Overall
A great wine, especially for the price. A 4 out of 5 wine in the least. Will buy this again. Did I say that it was inexpensive?

Manzanita Creek 2006 Zinfandel MC2

Appellation: San Joaquin County District 11 Lodi 63%, San Luis Obispo County District 8 Paso Robles 31%, Sonoma County District 3 Healdsburg 6%

Alcohol Content: 14%

Price: 12.99 at BevMo but got it at a Nickel sale

Notes: Bought it in case we needed some Zin to top off our 2009 batch of Zinfandel during racking. Was trying to find a Zin with relatively lower alcohol and this was the best I could find at Bevmo.

Sight
Clarity: Clear
Depth of Color: Deep
Color: Dusty Red
Viscocity: Forgot to note this down
Legs: Lots of legs indicating relatively high alcohol

Smell
General Appeal: Appealing though it had a very clear alcohol smell
Aromas: Alcohol, some Berry smell (I can never differentiate between different types of Berries), Another fruit smell I could not recognize (note to self – should start eating fruits), pepper smell
Bouquet: pleasant but somewhat alcoholic smell

Taste
Sweetness: Fruity, dry
Tannin: Slight tannins
Acidity: Medium acidity – can Zinfandels be this acidic? I was surprised.
Body: Medium body, somewhat creamy mouth-feel
Length: Medium to medium+ lingering
Balance: Very well balanced
General comments: Expected the wine to be spicy but was not as expected. Liked the wine. I think it is a good “have it by itself” kind of wine. I still did try it with some food that was available.

Food pairing
1. Gauda – Thought the wine made the Gauda a little more chewy than it was. Not much difference otherwise.

2. Brie – The wine made the Brie slippery in the mouth. The Brie made the wine taste even fruitier and somewhat sweeter.

3. Spinach Ravioli – The wine seem to enhance the Spinach flavor in the Ravioli. Although I like Spinach, the Ravioli’s were frozen and boiled type – so the Spinach was not fresh… and the enhancement of the non-fresh spinach was not appealing.

Overall
Definitely a decent Zinfandel. Well balanced with acidity and tannins. Didn’t taste the high alcohol in the wine – which for me is a good thing.

Appellation: Rhone, France
Grapes: 73% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 7% Mourvedre
Alcohol Content: 14%
Price: Found online for $12.99. Part of a wine flight so didn’t buy a bottle.
Notes: Had during a wine flight – “Euro Flight” – at EOS

Sight
Clarity: Maybe clear to slightly cloudy
Color: Very dark
Depth: Very deep
Viscocity: Normal to heavy
Legs: Presence of legs indicate high alcohol

Smell
General Appeal: Decent appeal but not great
Aromas: Berries, alcohol, spicy, leather, herbal
Bouquet: Decent but not great

Taste
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Medium- to medium tannins
Acidity: Medium- to medium acidity
Body: Medium+ body
Length: Medium+ lingering
Balance: Decently balanced
General Comments: Decent wine to have without food though nothing stood out as great.

Food pairing
Local wild mushroom Risotto – The wine didn’t go well with the Risotto. Doesn’t seem like a good food wine. Need to try with other food.

Overall
About a 3.8 “without food” wine.

Appellation: Sicilia, Italy
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Price: Found online for $19.99. Part of a wine flight so didn’t buy a bottle.
Notes: Had during a wine flight – “Euro Flight” – at EOS

Sight
Clarity: Maybe clear to slightly cloudy
Color: Dark Cherry Red
Depth: Deep
Viscocity: Normal to heavy
Legs: Presence of legs indicate moderate to high alcohol

Smell
General Appeal: Good appeal
Aromas: Cherry/Vanilla, some Mango, Butterscotch, some Oak, some alcohol
Bouquet: Pleasant

Taste
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Slightly tannic
Acidity: Medium acidity
Body: Medium body
Length: Medium lingering
Balance: Decently balanced
General Comments: Nothing seemed to stand out as special during the tasting without food.

Food pairing
Local wild mushroom Risotto – The wine made the Risotto taste great. Mushroom flavor came oozing out.

Overall
Similar to Valcantara, didn’t think much of the wine until I had it with the Risotto – thought it went extremely well with the Risotto. I would try this again with other food. Similar to Valcantara – a 3.5 “without food wine” but a 4+ “food wine”.

Appellation: Cariñena (Aragon, Spain)
Alcohol Content: Unknown
Price: Found online for $7.95. Part of a wine flight so didn’t buy a bottle.
Notes: Had during a wine flight – “Euro Flight” – at EOS

Sight
Clarity: Didn’t look cloudy but couldn’t really say it was totally clear either because the wine was dark
Color: Dark Red
Depth: Deep
Viscocity: Normal to heavy
Legs: Presence of legs indicate moderate to high alcohol

Smell
General Appeal: Good appeal
Aromas: Cherry/Cranberry, some Oak, Mushroom (earthy?), Alcohol, Malt/Butterscotch (retro-nasal)
Bouquet: Pleasant

Taste
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Slightly tannic
Acidity: Medium- acidity
Body: Medium+ body
Length: Medium lingering
Balance: Decently balanced
General Comments: Nothing against the wine – but nothing seemed to stand out as special during the tasting.

Food pairing
Local wild mushroom Risotto – The wine made the Risotto really yummy. First, the wine removed the Risotto’s “sticky in the mouth” feel. The Risotto seemed to melt in the mouth. There was a flavor expansion – i.e. I could start to recognize the different flavors in the Risotto instead of a single combined (sticky) flavor.

Overall
Didn’t think much of the wine until I had it with the Risotto – thought it went extremely well with the food. I would definitely try this again with other food. A 3.5 “without food wine” but a 4+ “food wine”.

Appellation: Pfalz, Germany
Alcohol Content: 11%
Price: Found online for $21.63. Might be cheaper in other places. Part of a wine flight so didn’t buy a bottle.
Notes: Had during a wine flight – “Fruit, Acidity, and Minerality” – at EOS

Sight
Clarity: Clear
Color: Slight yellow
Viscocity: Watery
Legs: Not much

Smell
General Appeal: Very appealing smell, strong minerality
Aromas: Mineral/earthy, herbal/cedar/grass (this could be the mineral smell I am misinterpreting)
Bouquet: Quite pleasant, very typical Riesling

Taste
Sweetness: Medium Dry
Acidity: Medium+ acidity
Body: Medium body
Length: Medium lingering
Balance: Nicely balanced
General Comments: Like the wine quite a lot. Acidity and fruity/sweet taste nicely balanced. Good with or without food.

Food pairing
Pan Roasted Local Calamari – Okay, I have forgotten to take down food pairing notes for this.

Overall
A great wine. I would definitely have this again. A 4+ wine. I would prefer the MAN Vintners Chenin Blanc 2008 over this wine but this would be the close second place winner out of the 4 whites in the “Fruit, Acidity, and Minerality” flight.

Appellation: Paarl region (coastal region?), South Africa
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Price: Found online for $8.99. Part of a wine flight so didn’t buy a bottle.
Notes: Had during a wine flight – “Fruit, Acidity, and Minerality” – at EOS

Sight
Clarity: Clear
Color: Slight yellow
Viscocity: Normal
Legs: Legs indicating some alcohol

Smell
General Appeal: Very appealing smell, very much like a crisp Sauvingnon Blanc
Aromas: Guava, citrusy, some mineral
Bouquet: Quite pleasant, very much like a Muscat

Taste
Sweetness: Dry
Acidity: Medium+ acidity
Body: Medium body
Length: Medium lingering
Balance: Very nicely balanced, although there is good amount of alcohol, that doesn’t come out in the taste or mouth-feel.
General Comments: Definitely like the wine a lot. Very crisp. It is a good “drink it without food” type of wine – at least for me. Some people may not want to have it without food because of its acidity. I will enjoy it with food too.

Food pairing
Pan Roasted Local Calamari – Thought the wine made the Calamari somewhat chewy… not bad. Paired nicely with Calamari but I expect the wine to pair better with other food (Italian?).

Overall
I think this is a great wine. I would definitely have this again. A definite 4+ wine.

Appellation: Cafayte-Salta, Argentina
Alcohol Content: 13.7%
Price: Found online for $10.99. Part of a wine flight so didn’t buy a bottle.
Notes: Had during a wine flight – “Fruit, Acidity, and Minerality” – at EOS

Sight
Clarity: Clear
Color: Slight yellow
Viscocity: Normal to heavy/thick
Legs: Legs indicating moderate amount of alcohol

Smell
General Appeal: Very appealing smell
Aromas: A little bit of Sour Sop (Anoda in Sri Lankan terms) aroma, fruity and flowery, Muscat (Rose? Jasmine?) or Madeira smell. Some alcohol smell as well.
Bouquet: Quite pleasant, very much like a Muscat

Taste
Sweetness: Fruity, dry
Tannins: I know this wine is not supposed to be tannic but I thought I could feel very light tannins
Acidity: Low, not acidic enough for my liking
Body: Medium body
Length: Short lingering
Balance: Not enough acidity for my liking
General Comments: I could feel some sweet taste in the mouth, thought it was coming from some oak but could be from the ripe/fruity nature of the wine. Would have liked this wine 6 months ago (when I used to like Muscat type wines) but I am starting to like wine that are more crisp so didn’t like this wine as much.

Food pairing
Pan Roasted Local Calamari – Thought the Calamari made the wine somewhat better… cannot explain how. Maybe it reduced the sweetness/fruitiness from the wine. Also, the wine made the Calamari taste a little sweet (which I thought was nice)

Overall
I think it is a decent food wine. Would probably go well with spicy food and bring the spiciness down from the food. By itself, I probably would not have it again. Overall – maybe a 3.5 since I think it might be a good food wine.