Winos Anonymous

I feel as if I have been to Mecca, fellow winos. You see, ever since I was a little wino I’ve always dreamed of tasting in Sonoma and Napa Valley and though it was a very short trip, it exceeded my expectations.

Last week while visiting Beau’s family in Marin, we took a day trip up to Sonoma with my friend Meg from Carr Winery and her beau, Scot. Our first stop was a sparkling house- Gloria Ferrer. The great thing about Gloria Ferrer (aside from their yummy bubbly) is that (more…)

Photo courtesy of Three Saints Vineyards

Generally, I think that Pinot Noirs are often overrated and overpriced. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE me some Pinot Noir, but ever since “Sideways” came out that wine has been exploited like whoa. Usually I’d rather buy a lesser-known varietal at a better price point- $15 bucks has bought me an AMAZING Monastrell, for example, but a mediocre Pinot Noir (of course I’m talking in generalities here… there are always exceptions.) For me to freak out about a Pinot Noir it’s GOT to be worth the price… and this one (more…)

Earlier this week I was back at the Whole Foods Venice wine tasting bar for the second time in 3 days, this time to take advantage of their Monday night special: 1/2 off all Enomatic pours. It’s a great deal, especially since you can eat whatever you purchase from the store while you sip on your wine and most pours are $3.99 or under to begin with.

And now I’m going to level with you: I tried A LOT of them. Rather than painstakingly go through each one, I’m going to talk about the wines that I was a huge fan of and leave out the “meh” wines… I’m also going to leave out a wine I tried that- no joke- tasted like a rubber tire.

First wine worth mentioning was a much better Carmenere than the one I tried a couple of weeks ago, though still not drink-the-whole-bottle-in-one-sitting good. It was the 2007 Terra Noble Carmenere, available for $1.99/pour and $15/bottle. It had notes of black cherry, tobacco, leather, and a nice peppery spice. It’s pretty straight forward and pretty good.

Next wine worth mentioning was (more…)