2010 Apothic Red, California

Today's post is a throw back to the days when A and I drank all our wines together...or at least a majority of them. Hope you enjoy!

Tonight we had a dinner party and drank two wines, a white and a red. The eclectic dinner party consisted of chicken tacos with homemade Pico de Gallo and avocado cream served with corn bread, stuffed jalapenos, Caesar salad, pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese icing, and of course wine! We will deal with the white later, but the red was a delightfully packaged red from California called Apothic Red. This 2010 blend is described as “a truly unique wine experience,” and it uses “The brambly spice of Zinfandel, dark fruit flavors of Syrah, the bold notes of Cabernet Sauvignon and the smooth elegance of Merlot to create this captivating red blend.” Our friend P picked this at the LCBO. Through a friend’s recommendation and encouragement, he has just begun drinking red wine. He picked this one because of its gorgeous label and a description that can only be described as rather flowery. It is available at the LCBO for $15.95 a bottle and opinions were… mixed but complex, like the wine itself.

M – A REAL mouthful! This red has a sort of woodsy flavour. When I drink it, I imagine a library filled with leather-bound tomes and well-aged club chairs, filled with sophisticated men with grey touched temples sipping this blend. The induction of Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot make a complex taste that will leave you trying to put your finger on just what exactly is going on. This would not be my first suggestion for a wine-newby but definitely worth giving a sip if you’re looking for something more complicated than your average house red.

L – You do get the tastes of chocolate and Vanilla that the bottle tells you you will. I’d pair it with something strong and savoury, either salty or sweet, but not an astringent-type flavour. Nothing with an acrid or bitter detergent type flavours would go well with it.

A – This was a very purpley wine. I thought it tastes like vanilla and brandy. I’d say it has a carmely nose (aka in non-wine speak it smells like caramel). It was a little smokey or toasty to me, which I liked. Our guests all thought that it went well with the cornbread.

Cusumano Syrah IGT, 2012

When my mom is away, my dad and I like to sneak in the chance to drink red wines. My mom doesn't like them usually, so for a dinner wine, a white is more likely to please. On this day, she went out for dinner (and saw the Mayor, but did not give him a piece of her mind, alas), so my dad and I made a simple supper and opened one of my dad's LCBO finds. Described as typical for its region, this Syrah comes to us from Italy, and was bought because it was on sale, but even at full price it's $10.95 price tag is far from shocking. We drank it with chicken and mushroom sausages and roasted broccoli with cayenne pepper and smoked paprika. However, Truth Time. My Dad is an electrician and all around handyman. I am a grad student, with all the critical thinking skills that entails, and we were at first stumped by the cork. Because it isn't a cork...

It is a tiny glass stopper! Thank god we noticed before taking a cork screw to it! The stopper was neat, and the plastic grooves on it allowed us to seal it back up when we were done very easily and pretty securely. A strange compromise between cork, fake cork, and screwtop!

A - This one was both a little dry and a little soft all at once, with a bit of woodiness, but not at all as strong as in the Baco or an oaked white. It is very grapey tasting, but not fruity, just grapey, like eating red grapes, not grape juice. It is sweet-ish but not really sweet. Eating it with slightly spicy food brings out its fruitiness and kicks up the smoothness. It is a very good straight forward table wine. It is good with food and for sipping while cooking. It is not the most exciting wine I've ever had, but it is different and good. It is not as bold as a Shiraz but still a big bodied red. I quite like it for a change in wines. It is very easy to drink and gets fruitier with breathing. The food recommendation suggests that this was meant for eating with a heartier meal, but I felt it went well with plainer fair.

D - This is a very different taste, both from Canadian reds and Australian ones. I like that it tastes entirely different from any wine I've had. It has no real alcoholy taste and is very smooth. It is full-bodied and would work well with beef and spicy food. I quite like it as a red table wine, especially for a casual supper. My wife may even like it because it is not too dry and not too smokey, things she doesn't usually like in wines. For the price, this was a good wine to have with dinner . It is a bit unusual, but not weird, and a nice change.

2011 White House Wine Co. Vidal Moscato

Tonight we had an eclectic dinner party. On the menu was chicken tacos, homemade Pico de Gallo and avocado cream along with cornbread, stuffed jalapenos, Cesar salad, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing and more wine! A and M felt a pre-dinner glass of wine was well-earned after a day of hard work and cooking along with our roommates. The wine we chose was from A’s selection and was from the LCBO when it was on sale back in September. A 2011 Vidal Moscato from the White House Wine Company from St. Catherine's, it had only 9.5% alcohol, which is lower than our usual choices. At 10.45, it was a great deal, but usually rings in at a still-reasonable 12.95 when not on sale.

M - The first swill has hints of dandelion and reminds me of fresh cut grass. It is light tasting with a stronger finish but doesn't overwhelm. It was a good wine to pair with lighter tasting foods, sort of like the alcohol equivalent of mineral water. This wine was overall a winner for me. I like my wines on the crispier side usually but I don’t find this one too sweet and could see it going down easily. Perhaps too easily?

A – This wine had a sharp nose. It tastes to me like sparkling grapefruit juice. It was almost a little too sweet for me. I would say it is good for a couple of glasses with food, but not something I could drink a whole bottle of without waking up feeling like I’d drunk champagne… which as of late has not been a positive feeling. Sometimes wines are meant to be shared though, and I would say this is a great one for that. I think it would be good paired with tomato sauces due to the citrusy flavours.

One of our guests P agreed with the grapefruity taste, and liked that the wine was quite creamy, with a thick texture.

Final verdict: A tasty pleaser that is good for sharing, especially over dinner.

Daniel Lenko Unoaked Chardongay, 2010, VQA

Often when our friend C comes to our house for a party, he brings the Chardongay. This wine wears a delightful rainbow flag label, and it looks so lovely I have always wanted to try it. Tonight, since it was my birthday party, I finally worked up the nerve to ask C to let me try some, and he of course kindly obliged. He describes this as his stand-by wine, and his party constant. It is $19.95 a bottle at the LCBO, but $1 from each bottle goes towards AIDS research, and so C pointed out it makes him feel better about splurging for a special occassion, since some of the money goes to a good cause. A wine that both tastes good and makes you feel good!

C- This wine is delicious. At $19 a bottle, it is not my every day wine, but I feel that it is worth it for a special occasion. It is a very fruity chardonnay, which I appreciate, because I am not such a fan of the oakier heavier onew. I usually drink whites, so this fits in with my normal wine choices. I prefer chardonnays, and sauvignon blancs because I like fruitier more fun wines. This wine fits that taste. It is fruitier and lighter as a wine and is not at all dry and acidic.

A - This wine smells like watermelon and melony fruits, so fruity but light. It is really juicy and almost tart when you drink it, like pineapples and lychess, but these are not overwhelmingly tart, and still just delightful and fruity. It is a nice light and smooth white wine, it is very delivious and widely appealing, so I agree with C, that knowing how good this wine is I would not feel bad at all splurging on this bottle. We both noticed that this wine is very clear. It is easy to drink as well. Perhaps, too easy...

Black Tower Rivaner

I joined my friend P for a night of good company and great fun. Tonight we drank his favourite wine. Black Tower is available in the LCBO in three different sizes, 750ml, 1 litre, and 1.5 litre bottles, ranging from $8.95 to $17.95. It is Peter's favourite wine for a night in because it is sweeter than many cheap wines, but is still cheap. I was apprehensive at first because it's bottle is cool and big, and cool bottles sometimes do not contain good wine, but it was acutally quite tasty.

P -This wine has no real smell to it. It does, however, have a VERY cool bottle, that is half black, half clear. It had a kind of sour taste that makes my tongue really salivate. It has a peachy undertone. It tastes like a bellini from Milestones, but it's more like a wine-lini. It also has a hint of the taste of McGuiness' Melon liquor.

A - This wine is light with a sweet-ish smell. It has a fuzzy peach taste and is very sweet and juicy. It is maybe a little melony, perhaps like a cantelope or a watermelon. It is very drinkable, perhaps dangerously so. It would bring this to a party or a large dinner because it is a not obnoxious wine and would appeal I think to most non-wine drinkers. Dry wines tend to be more of a turn-off and at this price point, a sweet wine is appealing.

2007 Late Harvest Cabernet "Snow Angel", VQA

At $15.95, it's not our usual price point but we had a sweet hook-up to score this Cab and another dessert wine from Angel's Gate Winery in Beamsville, ON. If you ever have the chance to wander down to Angel's Gate, do it. They have a beautiful estate and delicious kitchen, so you can really make a trip out of it. On to the review!

M: Smells sweet but appetizing, like apple. It definitely tastes like strawberry, tastes like someone strained an apple-strawberry sauce and bottled it. I'm not really down with sweet wines, and neither is A, so this might be a bit biased. I would serve this with perhaps snack foods but not dinner. It could be a dessert all on its own.

A has acquired an injury that might be impairing her tasting abilities but she's playing through the pain, just for you readers, just for you.

A: Doesn't smell as strong as I suspected, smells like strawberry, syrupy and a little fizzy. Surprisingly alchohol-y for a 12% wine, probably due to the higher sugar concentration. It has all the worst features of a rosé with none of the good parts.  A wine to chug, not because it's so smooth but because the less amount of time it spends in your mouth, the better. For real though, when you drink it quick you get strawberry and peach which is nice. But for the record, I don't think you're supposed to drink wine quickly. I think if you enjoy Wild Vines this could be for you.

So while this wine wasn't for us in terms of consumption, we need to note the absolutely beautiful effect of the wine in the bottle. Because of higher concentrations of sugar, the wine get 'flakes' in it and when you turn the sealed bottle upside down it works just like a snow globe. How magical! It's too bad the taste isn't so enchanting...

Sumac Ridge Gewurtzraminer

I have wanted to try more wines from British Columbia for a while, so when this one came on sale for $8.95 at the LCBO I snapped it up. I like Gewurtztraminers, and had heard from a friend of a friend that BC's Gewurtztraminers were very good, so I bought it. I went over to my good friend P's house to enjoy a night of reviewing, and as always we had good wine and good times. Here is what we thought.

P - It is a very yellow looking wine. It smells really nice as well. It is a very pleasant wine, it has a very distinct taste to it, kind of like melons. It is a very crisp wine but is very light for a Gewurtztraminer. It has a bit of a bitter aftertaste. I would drink this wine again. I am really enjoying it and give it a very postive endorsement.

A - It smells like pineapple and vanilla. It tastes like lemons, pineapple, and coconut extract. It is a really easy drinking wine and is not as sweet as other gewurtzs I have drank, it is still fruity but light. I find it leaves my mouth tingling a little but it is really light and easy drinking. It would be food with a light dinner too, like a salad or BBQ. It is not really as juicy as other gewurtzs. It taste to me like a nice tropical vacation!