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spryte · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 5:30 pm Post subject:

Ok... I'm finally getting to post this. We had our wine tasting on the 19th... but it's been pretty busy around here!

We had 3 different bottles of Shiraz. And I'm pretty sure that I already recycled them, so I don't have the intros from the bottles... I'll check the interwebs to see what I can find.

Once again we were tasting with Drew & Ericka (who got married today BTW!)

This is Ericka & Drew

This is me & Jon

Name: Virgin Vines by Richard Branson

Price: $9.99

Year: 2006

PHOTO of bottle

Short intro from the wine maker about the win: Ok... I didn't really see anything online and the bottle is already gone.

Review: Color is deep purple
Jon thought it tasted sour.
I thought it tasted like wine and made a yucky face.
Ericka - big backend (the wine not Ericka) not much up front (again, the wine, not Ericka) or in the middle
Drew... ummm... no notes from Drew!

Would you buy again?: Probably not... but it was a pretty bottle.

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: ummmm... I dunno

Note aforementioned yucky face

Name: Wolf Blass Yellow Label Shiraz

Price: $10.99

Year: 2006

PHOTO of bottle

Short intro from the wine maker about the win: This Shiraz is part of the Yellow Label range of single varietal wines sourced from premium vineyards throughout South Australia. Following fermentation, this wine underwent partial oak maturation, resulting in a rich, well structured Shiraz, that exhibits attractive plum, spice and pepper characters, good length of flavor and can be enjoyed now or cellared for several years. Screw caps were used to ensure freshness and preserve the character of the wine.

Review: color - deep purple red
Jon... no note from Jon
Me... mellower than the Virgin... very mellow after gherkin, nicer w/blue cheese & gouda... not sweet.... YUCK w/chocolate
Ericka - bigger after dark chocolate
Drew - oaky & smokey

Would you buy again?: I wouldn't... Drew would

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: ummm... again... I dunno

Name: Ravenswood Vinters Blend

Price: $11.99

Year: 2005

PHOTO of bottle

Short intro from the wine maker about the win: Delicious, rich, luscious wine full of dark fruit characters, chocolate and spice for which Shiraz is renowned. No wimpy wines, mate!

Review: deep purple red color
me - a little sweeter after gherkin
Ericka - not big & bold (mate!)
Jon - reminds him of port
Drew - no note from Drew

Would you buy again?:nope!

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: sorry... none

Ok... when compared with each other this is the order that we liked them.

Me... for Shiraz... they all tasted the same and I couldn't choose one over the other.
Jon... Ravenswood, Wolf Blass, Virgin
Ericka... Ravenswood, Wolf Blass, Virgin
Drew... Wolf Blass, Ravenswood, Virgin

I did like the Shiraz better than Malbec mixed with 7up to make a wine cooler!
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Babette · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 6:06 pm Post subject:

Name: Strong Arms
Price: $7.99 at cost plus
Year: 2006
PHOTO of bottle:

Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
91 Points - Jay Miller - The Wine Advocate
"The 2006 Shiraz is composed of 46% McLaren Vale, 44% Riverland, and 10% Barossa Valley fruit. It was aged in seasoned French and American oak for 12 months. Opaque purple-colored, it has a nose of cedar, spice box, and blueberry. Fruit-driven, supple-textured, rich, and easygoing, the wine has remarkable class for its giveaway price. It actually has 2-3 years of aging potential but no one that I know is going to defer their gratification. Strong Arms has been bottled with 6 different but similarly themed labels. Collect them all and Dan Philips will send you a free Bacon of the Month Club catalog. There are 12,000 cases of this remarkable value."

I have no idea what any of that means.. all I know is that I got one of the 6 different wine bottles.

Review: I was going to try to get some girlfriends together to try the wine but with the holidays I decided I would much rather sleep. So on Christmas Eve, I brought the wine with me to dinner. I figure that way I would share it with others and not have the bottle go to waste (wasn't sure I could drink it on my own or if I should). After all, we're not endorsing alcoholism.

Anyhow, here's what the wine looked like out of the bottle.

It was dark red in color and very spicy - almost too spicy. But it wasn't too strong so I was able to drink it. I think I liked the Malbec better. I did have several glasses over dinner and I barely remember drinking it so it must not have been too bad. We were at a thai restaurant and I had a salad with peanut sauce and it was an ok match. I didn't notice the flavors clashing at all. It did get easier to drink as the bottle emptied, but like a lot of wines, as it breathes it gets stronger (for me anyway).

Would you buy again?: I don't think so...
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: it was pretty good with peanut sauce.. i think you need something kind of ethnic to compliment the flavor. It would probably taste great with beef, but being a vegetarian now I can't confirm.

I promise to be a better reviewer next time.. speaking of.. when are we selecting the next bottle?

CulinaryAlchemist · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:06 pm Post subject:

OK, I know it's after the fact... Things have been a bit hectic lately.... So here are the 3 wine reviews that I never finished..... Regrettably, I am not goin to make it to the Shoo Fly that I picked up at Cost Plus World Market... I am Shiraz'ed out... Laughing

Name:Black Swan
Price: $8.99
Year:2007

Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
Grapes, sun, wind, a dash of daring, unfiltered laughter, the feeling of leaving work at three on a Thursday, the rush of having your favorite cafe name a dessert after you, the pride of filling page 6 of your passport... In other words, black cherry boldness accented with a dash of peppery spice - Authentically, delightfully unpredictable.
Sip, Savor, Enjoy the Black Swan of Life.
Review:ON a basic level, this was a good Shiraz... though lacking a little of the mid-flavors such as tobacco & smoke.
The Color - Rich Red...
The Bouquet - I smell "Black" Fruit on this one... Blackberries and Bing Cherries with a little plum... Then I get spices... the tobacco that was in the billy goat is missing from this one...
The palate - Lighter on the blackberry than I would have thought, this was REALLY BIG on the the Bing Cherry (That's the only Black Cherry I know of) The peppery spiciness in the bouquet was a little lighter on the palate than I expected, but still good. There is a pluminess that I am assuming is suppose to be the cohesion between the cherry and the spice, but I think it would be served better by at least a little tobacco. That's just me though... All in all, a VERY satisfying wine drinking experience.
Would you buy again?: Yes...
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes:
OK, as you can see from the photo, I had some Nutella ready, and a spoon lurking nearby.... NOT GOOD... Hazelnut was not working for me. I will say that this would probably been good with a sesame beef or a BBQ pork: Why? I think it was the plumyness... That always reminds me of Chinese cuisine.

Name:Smoking Loon
Price: $6.99
Year:2006 - California - Note it was labeled Syrah instead of Shiraz

Short intro from the wine maker about the win:
I accidentally threw out the bottle ARGH!!!!
Review:
The Color - Deep Burgundy...
The Bouquet - Black Currant, Blackberry & Plums over smoky leather...
The palate - This tasted exactly like it smelled. Black berry flavors moving into deeper plum and smoky leather with a bright finish of white pepper (Not really black pepper)
Would you buy again?: yes
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes:
To me this is simply a nice drinking wine I am sure that it would have benefited from the Cheddar/horseradish combination from my first bottle, probably a spicy pork dish, I would even go so far as to say Jerk seasoned meat would have gone well.

And Finally - Because somebody "had to take one for the team"... Wink

Name:Charles Shaw - AKA 2 Buck Chuck
Price: $1.99 - Trader Joe's
Year:2007

Short intro from the wine maker about the win:
It's Blank
Review:
The Color - Light red (Almost Translucent, looked watery)
The Bouquet - OK, I will admit, that after 3 bottles of REALLY nice Shiraz, this was extremely unimpressive, it smelled like berries and burnt wood (I assume that was the attempt at smoke)
The palate - This tasted "Raw", that's the only word I can think of, Harsh and burning on the way down, extremely unrefined berry followed by a burnt taste
Would you buy again?: 3 years ago, yes...Now? Nope, not again... Although it may just be the vintage year... so I will probably try the 2008 when it is released.
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes:
This wine pairs well with a free flowing drain and/or a garbage can.

I did have a Black Swan Merlot/Shiraz Blend on New Years Eve... I think the Shiraz helped the Merlot along more so than the other way around... It was a fairly tasty wine though
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http://bakespace.com/?culinaryalchemist
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CulinaryAlchemist · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:22 pm Post subject:

Did we get a final count for the BakeSpace zoo?

I can remember a Raven, a Wolf, a Swan, a Loon, a Kangaroo, a couple of Penguins, a Billy Goat a Shark and something that looked like a Kingfisher
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http://bakespace.com/?culinaryalchemist
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ImStuffed · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:33 pm Post subject:

I guess Australia is proud of its wildlife? I had the Black Swan as well. You know what my favorite thing about it was? the black cork!! LOL I have a picture of the wine but I never had the chance to pay attention to a review and the next thing I knew, it was all gone. I must've like it. Anyways I figure if I went through the trouble of taking the picture, I might as well post it Razz

I did have 2 other bottles....one was in a really pretty bottle, but I didn't like it. It really irritates me how that works. They probably know that its crap so they fix it up all pretty just so us suckers will buy it. (I know some people who kinda fall under the pretty bottle syndrome LOL). The last bottle I had was Twin Fin. It was such a cool "california surfer" bottle that I just had to get it. It was like $4, so why not? Well, it sucked too.
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CulinaryAlchemist · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:57 pm Post subject:

LOL.... Yeah, I have to admit the black cork was kinda cool and different... Funny, I just assumed that they did that because of the name... but the Black swan Merlot/Shiraz blend that I had a couple of days ago... Had a beige cork instead... Must just be a shiraz thing.

Pat is going to have to pick the next Simon before we get to have a wine chosen for January.... I am kind of hoping, whoever it is, picks a white wine.... I never thought I would say this, but I am kind of Red Wine'd out... Between a month of Malbec and a month of shiraz, mixed with Mulled wine for the holidays... I think I am ready for a white.
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http://bakespace.com/?culinaryalchemist
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Babette · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:18 pm Post subject:

Oh shot.. you guys just reminded me... my wine had a SCREW TOP!!!! No cork. I have never purchased a bottle of wine without a corkscrew that wasn't like pink in color (althought thinking about it.. only my step mom purchases wine that is light pink)... so I can honestly say if it didn't end in "cooler" then I have never purchased a wine with a screw top. That right off the bat made me go huh? But then I think I read on this board somewhere how (I think it was Shane who said) there is a debate as to whether a corkscrew really helped with flavor. If it wasn't Shane then I must admit Shane must have made an impression on me at some point that he would know. HAHAHAH Maybe it was Bob? Shoot.. I have no clue. Smile

Maybe DD? OK, I give up. HAHAHH

So who's picking the next wine? Is it Pat.. does she pick the next picker? Let's do this early so we can have the full month to post. Also, I have a prize to give someone who does the best review.. Pat must pick (she was the choser of this month right).. my gosh, I'm losing my mind. Anyhow.. it's a very nice gift.. and I have 6 of them to give away.. we'll do one each month.. so pick!

Babette · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:22 pm Post subject:

Ok.. on a side note.. the reason I like this wine group is that it's not officially a wine thread.. we're all learning at the same level. No one is really a wine snob which makes me want to post a review. DD, thanks for asking us to start this group - it really has inspired me to try new wines and try new things... and thanks to all of you for making it easy to post. I don't feel that my review is being judged for not having all the "right" elements.

ImStuffed · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:33 pm Post subject:

Has anyone seen Pat since she left for Christmas to go somewhere? hmmm....hopefully she's ok and shows up soon.

I 2nd Babs kudo's to our wine thread. I know nothing about wine other than how it tastes to me and am glad you guys put up with my goofy reviews!! LOL Also I appreciate the advise and patient explanations of my wine questions. Smile

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Danielle
"Sometimes your knight in shining armor is just a re-tard in tin foil"

My Recipes: http://bakespace.com/?imstuffed
My Food Blog: http://peacefulcooking.blogspot.com/
My Fun Blog: http://letsridethebus.blogspot.com/
My Twitter: http://twitter.com/imstuffed

BobtheDude · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 1:25 pm Post subject:

Hmm, I haven't seen Pat in a while. Hope everything is ok...

I'm going to have to jump in on the love fest for the wine thread myself. I love wine, but only as a dude who drinks it, I don't know anything about it. It's wicked cool that I've learned some things. Smile

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