As my husband already noted, this was my choice. I'll admit up front that the sale price reeled me in. Hah! Get that? Reeled me in? Just a little reference back to the Fish Eye wine that started this blog out. Which was also my choice, cheap and on sale.
After one Patented Alcoholic Serving my reasoning and typing skills leave a lot to be desired. Honestly, as much as I like this wine it does leave something to be desired.
So let's cover the basics. Pinot Noir. 2008. Southeastern Australia. Cheap. Worth buying.
First impressions: When my husband poured out our glasses there was a very powerful aroma of alcohol. Which led me to believe this would be another example of "you get what you pay for" in wines. No determinate scents of fruit or oak or whatever the fuck wine snobs go off on.
Imagine my surprise when my first sip was so smooth! Smooth, light (for a red) and no strange after taste. There is a light scent of grapes. But not much scent at all. Took a long while to feel the alcohol content. I like that.
Seemed prudent to eat while doing this tasting. Paired it with this Cajun bean & rice dish I made earlier. The Little Penguin stood up to the Cajun spices nicely. You really could pair this with nearly anything that is Red Wine appropriate.
I'm quite tempted to go back on Monday and pick up another bottle. I'm curious to find out what the 2008 tastes like in 2010.
Solid 3 out of 5.
Good general table wine, cute label art, good price. This is one to recommend. Go visit their website and learn more about Australian wines. I'm going to.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Little Penguin, Pinot Noir 2008
The Little Penguin or... Happy Me.
This wine comes from Australia, apparently South Eastern Australia where everything is surprisingly subdued. The label boasts a Spicy Rich Flavor, which is utter nonsense. It's about as bland as a plain baked potato. However it does have an incredibly nice finish, that is also incredibly smooth. The aroma is pretty bland, nothing special, and the taste in my honest opinion wasn't overwhelming at all. In fact, if this wine were a part of your house, it would be wallpaper.
Utterly unremarkable, and completely boring. Which is perfect for a table wine. You can drink this wine with Donuts in the morning, and it would taste every bit as good as if you had a porter house steak.
I drank a glass of it, and thought, there really wasn't anything special about it, and then about a half hour later the impairment set in. One glass, and blotto. There's a lot of alcohol in this wine and if you're looking for a cheap buzz, this is it. Winos look out. At $5.99 a bottle, this will go over quite well with the college crowd. Cheap buzz, with cheap booze.
Please don't think that all we drink is the cheap stuff, we drink a lot of different things in our home, but the label, and the fact that this was on sale spoke to my wife, so we got it. I myself would have chosen something else, but I will have to say for the value, it is exceptionally good.
It has a bland taste, high alcohol content, smooth finish. Upon pouring the second glass, I took another sniff, and there's literally no smell at all. I think these people should get into the Vodka making business, as they have the odorless bland thing going already.
Upon having another drink, I've decided that the only thing this wine is really good for, is truth serum. I'm of the mind that if you gave this to any person you needed to get secrets out of, within two glasses they'd be telling you everything. I've seen Sodium Penethol that was less effective. Not that Sodium Penethol is that effective anyway. Im Vino Veritas, they say. This would definitely fall into that category as the alcohol content is completely understated.
I'm not sure how they masked the scent of alcohol, but I'm sure that they probably did it by accident. Whatever they've made this wine out of, can't be all that fragrant. What this wine needs is some kind of aroma. Give me something to work with!
On my trusty scale of 1 to 5. I give this a solid 3. Label art is good. Nice and conservative. The aroma, is dull as dirt. The taste, bland as bland gets, but the finish is perfect. Alcohol content, is far more than expected, and the fact that it would go with just about anything you served speaks volumes as it is truly a table wine.
My only disappointment is the lack of scent. There's nothing to this wine that really makes it distinctive, or flavorful. Then again, that may have been the point. I would serve this with corn dogs, chili, or with some kind of really good dessert. Hell, I'd drink this with breakfast if I wasn't planning to do anything during the day.
That's all for now. I'm barely functional as it is.
This wine comes from Australia, apparently South Eastern Australia where everything is surprisingly subdued. The label boasts a Spicy Rich Flavor, which is utter nonsense. It's about as bland as a plain baked potato. However it does have an incredibly nice finish, that is also incredibly smooth. The aroma is pretty bland, nothing special, and the taste in my honest opinion wasn't overwhelming at all. In fact, if this wine were a part of your house, it would be wallpaper.
Utterly unremarkable, and completely boring. Which is perfect for a table wine. You can drink this wine with Donuts in the morning, and it would taste every bit as good as if you had a porter house steak.
I drank a glass of it, and thought, there really wasn't anything special about it, and then about a half hour later the impairment set in. One glass, and blotto. There's a lot of alcohol in this wine and if you're looking for a cheap buzz, this is it. Winos look out. At $5.99 a bottle, this will go over quite well with the college crowd. Cheap buzz, with cheap booze.
Please don't think that all we drink is the cheap stuff, we drink a lot of different things in our home, but the label, and the fact that this was on sale spoke to my wife, so we got it. I myself would have chosen something else, but I will have to say for the value, it is exceptionally good.
It has a bland taste, high alcohol content, smooth finish. Upon pouring the second glass, I took another sniff, and there's literally no smell at all. I think these people should get into the Vodka making business, as they have the odorless bland thing going already.
Upon having another drink, I've decided that the only thing this wine is really good for, is truth serum. I'm of the mind that if you gave this to any person you needed to get secrets out of, within two glasses they'd be telling you everything. I've seen Sodium Penethol that was less effective. Not that Sodium Penethol is that effective anyway. Im Vino Veritas, they say. This would definitely fall into that category as the alcohol content is completely understated.
I'm not sure how they masked the scent of alcohol, but I'm sure that they probably did it by accident. Whatever they've made this wine out of, can't be all that fragrant. What this wine needs is some kind of aroma. Give me something to work with!
On my trusty scale of 1 to 5. I give this a solid 3. Label art is good. Nice and conservative. The aroma, is dull as dirt. The taste, bland as bland gets, but the finish is perfect. Alcohol content, is far more than expected, and the fact that it would go with just about anything you served speaks volumes as it is truly a table wine.
My only disappointment is the lack of scent. There's nothing to this wine that really makes it distinctive, or flavorful. Then again, that may have been the point. I would serve this with corn dogs, chili, or with some kind of really good dessert. Hell, I'd drink this with breakfast if I wasn't planning to do anything during the day.
That's all for now. I'm barely functional as it is.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Echelon Merlot 2005 - OMG
Echelon makes one fantastic Merlot!
Seriously, best Merlot I've ever had. Currently Best Wine Overall, as well. But this blog is still new so I have some high hopes.
We'll start with the color. Beautiful dark maroon, hints of purple and red in the highlights. Aroma, not very strong, but delicate. First taste impression: smooth. Very smooth. Good. Not sweet. Not overpowering. Hardly any sense of the alcohol. It was all flavor. I'm not as good as my husband in describing flavor. After one glass I finally realized that my legs and arms weren't quite responding as well as they normally do. Oh yeah, baby, this is the stuff.
Before drinking I had eaten Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. Cheap chocolate. After my first glass I decided that some real food on my stomach would be a good thing. So leftover Chicken Pesto pasta it was. I have to say that this wine goes better with chocolate than Chicken Pesto pasta.
This is a very good wine. On my scale of 1 to 5 it gets a 4. I reserve the 5 rating for the Nectar of the Gods. In other words, the 5 will be a nearly unattainable rating. The bottle art gets a 2. I hate conservative art. I like the celtic knot on the front but really it needed some neon.
If you want to impress someone, this is the bottle to do it with. I also highly recommend pairing this wine with really good chocolate. Like Godiva chocolates. You're sure to get some romantic reciprocation if you surprise your love with a bottle of this and a box of high end chocolate.
The Wild Kingdom effect is currently taking place in my brain and the higher functions are losing out. Time to go slug back another glass of Echelon.
Seriously, best Merlot I've ever had. Currently Best Wine Overall, as well. But this blog is still new so I have some high hopes.
We'll start with the color. Beautiful dark maroon, hints of purple and red in the highlights. Aroma, not very strong, but delicate. First taste impression: smooth. Very smooth. Good. Not sweet. Not overpowering. Hardly any sense of the alcohol. It was all flavor. I'm not as good as my husband in describing flavor. After one glass I finally realized that my legs and arms weren't quite responding as well as they normally do. Oh yeah, baby, this is the stuff.
Before drinking I had eaten Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. Cheap chocolate. After my first glass I decided that some real food on my stomach would be a good thing. So leftover Chicken Pesto pasta it was. I have to say that this wine goes better with chocolate than Chicken Pesto pasta.
This is a very good wine. On my scale of 1 to 5 it gets a 4. I reserve the 5 rating for the Nectar of the Gods. In other words, the 5 will be a nearly unattainable rating. The bottle art gets a 2. I hate conservative art. I like the celtic knot on the front but really it needed some neon.
If you want to impress someone, this is the bottle to do it with. I also highly recommend pairing this wine with really good chocolate. Like Godiva chocolates. You're sure to get some romantic reciprocation if you surprise your love with a bottle of this and a box of high end chocolate.
The Wild Kingdom effect is currently taking place in my brain and the higher functions are losing out. Time to go slug back another glass of Echelon.
Echelon Merlot 2005
Wow. What can I say about this wine? Well, for starters, it's a brand I've never tried before. It was $10.99 on sale. It had a conservative label, which was the first thing that attracted me to it. Aesthetics to me are important. The look of a label and bottle is what gets my attention. This one looked bland and safe.
I uncorked it, and was hit with an aroma that was more than just grapes. There was a hint of chocolate, or something along with a very fruity aroma. After reading the label I found that they used Cherries in the mix. Cherries to me add a bit of an acidity, but there's a tartness from cherries that also has a certain sweetness in the aftertaste.
Not that I have one of those super refined palates, it's that my sense of smell is super keen. Probably all those years sniffing donuts and baked goods from a mile or so away from any bakery.
We let it breathe for about 10 minutes or so, while I finished my dinner consisting of leftover pesto chicken and pasta. The first sip was quite striking in its flavor. It wasn't until I was half way through the glass that the alcohol content, which wasn't readily discerned showed itself. In a word, this wine is Smooth. Incredibly smooth. We're talking like a new born baby's behind kind of smooth. Only without the stink.
The aroma has something quite ethereal going on. It doesn't actually smell like it tastes. It has this sort of unremarkable smell, again covering the fact that this seems to be a very potent wine where alcohol is concerned. The dark color, and consistency are quite good. I could drink a glass of this every day and probably not get bored with it. I am of the mind that 2005 might have been a better year for the central coast than first thought. At least where this vineyard is concerned.
On my scale of 1 to 5, I give this wine a solid 4 and a half. Packaging I give it a 5. It's understated, and conservative. I like that in a wine producer. Price I give it a 5. For $10.99 a bottle, you could do much worse. In fact, I know I've bought much worse for twice the price. Taste, I give it a 4. For some reason I think it's missing something, but I imagine once I figure it out I won't actually care. It seems this is a far superior wine at the price than a lot of other brands. If anything I would say adding blackcurrant to it would probably even out the flavor a bit.
Regardless, It's definitely the best wine we've had so far on the blog.
I uncorked it, and was hit with an aroma that was more than just grapes. There was a hint of chocolate, or something along with a very fruity aroma. After reading the label I found that they used Cherries in the mix. Cherries to me add a bit of an acidity, but there's a tartness from cherries that also has a certain sweetness in the aftertaste.
Not that I have one of those super refined palates, it's that my sense of smell is super keen. Probably all those years sniffing donuts and baked goods from a mile or so away from any bakery.
We let it breathe for about 10 minutes or so, while I finished my dinner consisting of leftover pesto chicken and pasta. The first sip was quite striking in its flavor. It wasn't until I was half way through the glass that the alcohol content, which wasn't readily discerned showed itself. In a word, this wine is Smooth. Incredibly smooth. We're talking like a new born baby's behind kind of smooth. Only without the stink.
The aroma has something quite ethereal going on. It doesn't actually smell like it tastes. It has this sort of unremarkable smell, again covering the fact that this seems to be a very potent wine where alcohol is concerned. The dark color, and consistency are quite good. I could drink a glass of this every day and probably not get bored with it. I am of the mind that 2005 might have been a better year for the central coast than first thought. At least where this vineyard is concerned.
On my scale of 1 to 5, I give this wine a solid 4 and a half. Packaging I give it a 5. It's understated, and conservative. I like that in a wine producer. Price I give it a 5. For $10.99 a bottle, you could do much worse. In fact, I know I've bought much worse for twice the price. Taste, I give it a 4. For some reason I think it's missing something, but I imagine once I figure it out I won't actually care. It seems this is a far superior wine at the price than a lot of other brands. If anything I would say adding blackcurrant to it would probably even out the flavor a bit.
Regardless, It's definitely the best wine we've had so far on the blog.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Driving the Red Truck
Red Truck, Pinot Noir, 2007, Sonoma California.
First impression: Nice, smooth. Lighter on the alcohol content.
Unlike my husband I didn't have hotdogs for dinner. I had some slices of fried Asiago and Sun-Dried Tomato bread. Should have made some more to have with this wine.
Unsurprisingly, I liked it. Although it doesn't seem to have a large alcohol content my constant typos are telling me otherwise. Let's just say I'll heed the warning about not driving any motor vehicles.
I can't think of much to say that is witty about this wine. It's a good solid table wine. Totally worth opening when having dinner with friends. Assuming your friends aren't snooty wine snobs. Remember my earlier post about the Fish Eye Merlot and how it would be the second bottle to be opened? Well, Red Truck would be the first bottle opened in that scenario.
What else can I say? I didn't taste or smell any maple. The cherry/berry thing I'll agree with.
Rating? On taste a solid 3 out of 5. Price, 4 out of 5. Bottle prettiness, 3 out of 5.
I'll eventually try all of the (Insert Color Here) Truck wines. What the hell.
Like every other producer of anything they have a website. redtruckwine.com
First impression: Nice, smooth. Lighter on the alcohol content.
Unlike my husband I didn't have hotdogs for dinner. I had some slices of fried Asiago and Sun-Dried Tomato bread. Should have made some more to have with this wine.
Unsurprisingly, I liked it. Although it doesn't seem to have a large alcohol content my constant typos are telling me otherwise. Let's just say I'll heed the warning about not driving any motor vehicles.
I can't think of much to say that is witty about this wine. It's a good solid table wine. Totally worth opening when having dinner with friends. Assuming your friends aren't snooty wine snobs. Remember my earlier post about the Fish Eye Merlot and how it would be the second bottle to be opened? Well, Red Truck would be the first bottle opened in that scenario.
What else can I say? I didn't taste or smell any maple. The cherry/berry thing I'll agree with.
Rating? On taste a solid 3 out of 5. Price, 4 out of 5. Bottle prettiness, 3 out of 5.
I'll eventually try all of the (Insert Color Here) Truck wines. What the hell.
Like every other producer of anything they have a website. redtruckwine.com
Red Truck. Pinot Noir 2007.
Well, for the hell of it, and because it was cheap, CHEEEEEEEEEEAAAPPPP... We decided to try out Red Truck. It was $6.99 a bottle, and for that price I expected a lot less.
This wine is made from grapes, Berries, and Cherries. I am pretty sure that there's crayons in it. It did not have the smooth flavor that I enjoy from other pinot noirs, and oddly enough it seemed a little bright colored compared to other Pinots. This seemed nearly a Rose' as opposed to a Pinot. Then again, what the hell do I know, I don't know anything about vineyards, grapes, or people putting stuff in trucks to be crushed, processed and turned into wine.
I am just a casual wine drinker.
For the first time, in a while I was mildly surprised as the warm that I got from this, didn't hit the chest, it hit a lot lower. Meaning, this is not the wine to have with Hotdogs. I had hotdogs for dinner, and for an apertif I decided to have some Red Truck.
Probably not exactly the wisest choice, but then we've all made mistakes playing culinary Russian Roulette.
It had a decent enough flavor. On the label they mentioned what's in it, Berries and Cherries, but there was this hint of Maple which I could not ignore. After having one glass of it, I decided that it wasn't quite as bad as I thought, but then again I'd eaten Hotdogs for dinner so how delicate or discerning could my palate have been?
Being a purist, I eat my hotdogs plain, on a plain bun. No cheese, no condiments, just hotdog and bun, because for the most part they are bland and safe.
I swished the the wine around, and noticed that when I breathed out through my nose, it smelled faintly like Maple again. A peculiar, but nice aftertaste from a wine that was a decent bargain for the price.
Would I drink this daily? Are you out of your mind? No. Here's why.
The stuff isn't too bad, but the sulfites in it immediately went to my ears, and of course gave me the warm, and sweaty feeling that I get after having watched a Wendy's Hamburger commercial. I was once poisoned by Wendy's food, and Like post traumatic stress disorder, there are some things you never get over. I can tell how many sulfites are in a wine by how much warmer I suddenly become. If Hives are present, then it's pretty high sulfite content. Right now I'm at fever stage.
Once I reach out of control, throwing feces like a gorilla stage, I'll likely be too busy to finish this review.
On my scale of one to five, I give this a solid 3 on taste. Better than average, but... then I might revise the score at a later date if I happen to drink something that's more acidic, and or distasteful.
For the label, I give it a 2. Neat label, but I'm pretty sure I've seen the art somewhere before.
For the price, I give it a solid 5. Cheap, and pretty good buzz for the money. If you want to relax, and want to relax faster than if you were on prescription pain meds, this is your ticket. Seriously, I went from being mildly tense, to being pretty damned laid back. Laid back, and sweaty. I smell like hotdogs, and booze. Either my kidneys and pancreas are failing, or quite frankly I need to change my diet. Oscar Mayer makes a pretty good beef hotdog, but I have to tell you the minute you start sweating, real dogs come out of nowhere to lick you and be your new BFF.
Seriously though, this was not a bad wine. It's just not something I would be serving to my A-list friends, or people I thought were going to be my A-list friends.
This wine is made from grapes, Berries, and Cherries. I am pretty sure that there's crayons in it. It did not have the smooth flavor that I enjoy from other pinot noirs, and oddly enough it seemed a little bright colored compared to other Pinots. This seemed nearly a Rose' as opposed to a Pinot. Then again, what the hell do I know, I don't know anything about vineyards, grapes, or people putting stuff in trucks to be crushed, processed and turned into wine.
I am just a casual wine drinker.
For the first time, in a while I was mildly surprised as the warm that I got from this, didn't hit the chest, it hit a lot lower. Meaning, this is not the wine to have with Hotdogs. I had hotdogs for dinner, and for an apertif I decided to have some Red Truck.
Probably not exactly the wisest choice, but then we've all made mistakes playing culinary Russian Roulette.
It had a decent enough flavor. On the label they mentioned what's in it, Berries and Cherries, but there was this hint of Maple which I could not ignore. After having one glass of it, I decided that it wasn't quite as bad as I thought, but then again I'd eaten Hotdogs for dinner so how delicate or discerning could my palate have been?
Being a purist, I eat my hotdogs plain, on a plain bun. No cheese, no condiments, just hotdog and bun, because for the most part they are bland and safe.
I swished the the wine around, and noticed that when I breathed out through my nose, it smelled faintly like Maple again. A peculiar, but nice aftertaste from a wine that was a decent bargain for the price.
Would I drink this daily? Are you out of your mind? No. Here's why.
The stuff isn't too bad, but the sulfites in it immediately went to my ears, and of course gave me the warm, and sweaty feeling that I get after having watched a Wendy's Hamburger commercial. I was once poisoned by Wendy's food, and Like post traumatic stress disorder, there are some things you never get over. I can tell how many sulfites are in a wine by how much warmer I suddenly become. If Hives are present, then it's pretty high sulfite content. Right now I'm at fever stage.
Once I reach out of control, throwing feces like a gorilla stage, I'll likely be too busy to finish this review.
On my scale of one to five, I give this a solid 3 on taste. Better than average, but... then I might revise the score at a later date if I happen to drink something that's more acidic, and or distasteful.
For the label, I give it a 2. Neat label, but I'm pretty sure I've seen the art somewhere before.
For the price, I give it a solid 5. Cheap, and pretty good buzz for the money. If you want to relax, and want to relax faster than if you were on prescription pain meds, this is your ticket. Seriously, I went from being mildly tense, to being pretty damned laid back. Laid back, and sweaty. I smell like hotdogs, and booze. Either my kidneys and pancreas are failing, or quite frankly I need to change my diet. Oscar Mayer makes a pretty good beef hotdog, but I have to tell you the minute you start sweating, real dogs come out of nowhere to lick you and be your new BFF.
Seriously though, this was not a bad wine. It's just not something I would be serving to my A-list friends, or people I thought were going to be my A-list friends.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Fisheye Merlot 2006
You've already read through my husband's post. I'll be giving my opinion of Fish Eye Merlot as well. It's always good to have a second opinion, right?
Let's start with the basics. I'm not refined in my taste. I also am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. Fish Eye Merlot was my choice at the liquor store. Why? Because I liked the pretty label art, it was a merlot and it was cheap. I'm a cheap date. Or was. I'm married now. Since I'm digressing anyway let me describe my decision making process when choosing wines.
First I wander around the store looking at the label artwork. Is it pretty? Boring? Just a name in a bland font? Or is it witty sounding with intriguing art? Then I move on to what kind of wine it is? Riesling? Eek, no. Bad past experience with that. Zinfandel? Girly, might have to talk the husband into it. Merlot? Always a good call for us. Actually, we seem to both enjoy reds of any kind. Then the price. At this point remember my earlier comment about being cheap.
Which brings us back around to discussing Fish Eye Merlot. Intriguing art, Merlot and cheap.
I don't have a problem with screw top caps. Read an article somewhere about how a lot of wineries were moving to screw caps because the technology was now such that screwcaps created a better seal than traditional corks. Something about corks not being always reliable and a bottle or two can have the flavors go off. Had to get the husband to open it. I was not being lazy. Stupid thing wouldn't open for me.
Upon opening it smelled really nice. Made me think, "Ah, so this is what 'Fruity' means." Poured two small glasses. Still had a pleasant aroma and nice color. Taste was only ok. Not bad, not great, but fine. Nice kick to it. After the alcohol kicked in and I had a few more sips the taste seemed to get a bit better. Told you I was a cheap date. The back label description is:
Conclusion? Worth the $5.99 it cost. Sometimes you do get what you pay for. When sitting around drinking with friends this wouldn't be the first bottle I open. Probably the second.
Let's start with the basics. I'm not refined in my taste. I also am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. Fish Eye Merlot was my choice at the liquor store. Why? Because I liked the pretty label art, it was a merlot and it was cheap. I'm a cheap date. Or was. I'm married now. Since I'm digressing anyway let me describe my decision making process when choosing wines.
First I wander around the store looking at the label artwork. Is it pretty? Boring? Just a name in a bland font? Or is it witty sounding with intriguing art? Then I move on to what kind of wine it is? Riesling? Eek, no. Bad past experience with that. Zinfandel? Girly, might have to talk the husband into it. Merlot? Always a good call for us. Actually, we seem to both enjoy reds of any kind. Then the price. At this point remember my earlier comment about being cheap.
Which brings us back around to discussing Fish Eye Merlot. Intriguing art, Merlot and cheap.
I don't have a problem with screw top caps. Read an article somewhere about how a lot of wineries were moving to screw caps because the technology was now such that screwcaps created a better seal than traditional corks. Something about corks not being always reliable and a bottle or two can have the flavors go off. Had to get the husband to open it. I was not being lazy. Stupid thing wouldn't open for me.
Upon opening it smelled really nice. Made me think, "Ah, so this is what 'Fruity' means." Poured two small glasses. Still had a pleasant aroma and nice color. Taste was only ok. Not bad, not great, but fine. Nice kick to it. After the alcohol kicked in and I had a few more sips the taste seemed to get a bit better. Told you I was a cheap date. The back label description is:
"The nose is ripe and fruity with plums and dark fruits. The palate is soft and long. Serve with pasta, turkey, pork or beef."
Not sure what they mean by palate or the soft and long. Whatever. Ripe and fruity I'll agree with. I'm going to have mine with chicken tacos.Conclusion? Worth the $5.99 it cost. Sometimes you do get what you pay for. When sitting around drinking with friends this wouldn't be the first bottle I open. Probably the second.
FIsh Eye, A Whale Of A Wine.
Fish Eye. Never heard of this name in wine before today. Why? Well, in 2006, Fisheye Wines made this very interesting Merlot.
We purchased this bottle at Edina Liquors in Edina, MN. It was early in the morning, so as to give them the impression that we were alcoholics looking to get our drink on. It didn't hurt that we were laughing at what will be a long standing joke about the wife's family. She and I are doing this review, because she feels that I have "issues" with being mean spirited. HA... As if.
It was $5.99 a bottle, which to me is pretty reasonable considering I had no idea what we were buying or if it was any good. I've paid more for a bad movie rental, so I didn't see it as a bad thing being cheap.
Back to the wine.
I'm not a fan of wine with a screw top cap. Why? Because there is something old world about having to rummage through drawers to find the bottle opener that you misplaced from the last time you opened up a bottle. Nothing like swearing and cussing to get your heart racing just before you realize that you're actually looking at the thing in the drawer, and had simply forgotten what it was used for.
The wife asked me to do my manly duty to open it because it apparently was put on with some kind of pneumatic tire wrench. Actually the cap popped off just fine for me, the wife is lazy.
From the second the seal was broken, a wonderful aroma emerged. When I say wonderful, I mean something akin to grapes meets something highly flammable. The bouquet on this particular wine was actually, and is actually pretty good. Given that I can still smell the lingering bouquet of the raspberry bismarck I ate about an hour ago trapped in my moustache.
The wife poured a sample which is about 2 ounces in the bottom of the wine glass. I edited photos while I allowed it to breathe. Now, not all wines need to breathe. This one, I would give at least a couple minutes, because the alcohol content on it, is pretty stout. 13.8 percent alcohol to me seems a bit high. Considering right now that my face is on fire as I write this, and am breaking a sweat after drinking it.
This Merlot, contains sulfites. Not everyone gets along with sulfites. I think I do, but to be honest I have no idea what sulfites are, and probably should look it up on Wikipedia.
Okay after looking up what Sulfites are on Wikipedia, I think I might be having some kind of reaction. I'll let you know if I break out into hives.
Just kidding. All wines, even organic wines have sulfites in them, as they are used to arrest fermentation at different points in the wine making process. If the wine you're drinking has 10 parts per million sulfite content, it gets a notification on the label.
Again, back to the wine.
This wine had a very complex flavor, as it hits your tongue, you can taste more than grapes in it. It says on the label it has plums and other fruits in it. Which could mean anything. They're not giving away any secrets with this label.
The flavor is just the start as even though it's a very heady Merlot, the taste is very spritely. Once you swallow it, you get the warm about 5 minutes after drinking. The warm is what I call that sensation that warms your chest and face. Some people who are alcoholics don't know what I'm talking about, but those of us who are only occasional drinkers do. It's a very pleasant wine, with a very nice flavor. One thing to consider, is not to let it languish on your tongue too long.
The label said it would impair your judgement and your ability to operate a motor vehicle. They would be absolutely right. As it is, after one half glass of the stuff, I'm having a hell of a time typing this review. My wife seems unfazed, as she sits and reads her book in boredom.
SCALE: 2.5 out of 5. Flavor was good, but lacked something. I think if this wine were allowed to age a little longer, it might have some of the rough edges taken off of it. Then again we might be drinking it past its prime, as there was a very sour taste to it, more so than most Merlots I've had. For the money, I give it a 4.0 out of 5. Great product for the cheap price. Presentation, I give it a 1.5 out f 5. I hate that particular font, and the choice of colors for the label is straight out of 1986.
Kudos to Fisheye winery for a cheap wine that isn't half bad.
http://www.fisheyewines.com
Friday, September 4, 2009
For Those Curious About Wine.
If you find yourself unable to comprehend the subtleties of wine, or understand what the snootier, snobby class are talking about as it pertains to wine, have no fear. This Blog is for you.
I'm a guy who enjoys a good glass of wine with his meal from time to time. I have a glass or two once a month, because quite frankly I don't have the tolerance to be a full on alcoholic, or the budget for that matter.
What I do know about, is wine. I know about tasting it, and more importantly, enjoying it. I have a discerning palate, and a nose for this stuff, even though I'm just like you, completely un-refined.
With that said, I am writing this blog for you. The people out there who would like to know about wine, have the appearance of refinement, and not look stupid. Such as when discussing wine in front of your boss, inlaws or other people you want or desperately need to impress.
In the coming weeks, I will be writing extensively about many types of wine, many brands, and of course, how to properly enjoy it.
I'm a guy who enjoys a good glass of wine with his meal from time to time. I have a glass or two once a month, because quite frankly I don't have the tolerance to be a full on alcoholic, or the budget for that matter.
What I do know about, is wine. I know about tasting it, and more importantly, enjoying it. I have a discerning palate, and a nose for this stuff, even though I'm just like you, completely un-refined.
With that said, I am writing this blog for you. The people out there who would like to know about wine, have the appearance of refinement, and not look stupid. Such as when discussing wine in front of your boss, inlaws or other people you want or desperately need to impress.
In the coming weeks, I will be writing extensively about many types of wine, many brands, and of course, how to properly enjoy it.
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