Winos Anonymous

OH MY GOODNESS, winos. I have some EARTH-SHATTERING NEWS: for once, Whole Foods hasn’t totally overpriced a bottle of wine!

I bought the 2005 Addamo Vineyards Syrah for $12.99 at my local Whole Foods (it retails between $18-28 bucks- WHAT?) and it (more…)

Back when I blogged (and raved) about the Right Hand Man Syrah, I received the following tweet from Peter Hunken of Black Sheep Finds: “@winosanonymous Try Hocus Pocus Syrah next time you are looking for $20 wines.”

Well, good sir, I finally did… and it was delightful (and so is your story.)

I had heard actually heard about Hocus Pocus from a friend, who kept talking up the former female sommelier at AOC Wine Bistro (Amy Christine, the other half of Black Sheep Finds- Peter is her hubs. You can read a nice little interview about their story and (more…)

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…)

I was introduced to the 2006 Barrel 27 “Right Hand Man” Syrah by the trusty folks at K&L wines, where it sells for $14.99, which honestly is a steal because this wine drinks like a $25-and-up bottle of wine.

Before I get to the tasting notes (more…)

My long lost winos! So much to update you on- I am now a writer for Budget Bacchus in addition to this blog (super exciting) and since getting sick 7 times since Christmas I have to get a tonsillectomy in Mid-May (not exciting.) That means I’ll be out for the count pretty much the entire month of may, so I’ve got a lot of drinking to do this month to make up for it. Let’s start with this DELISH 2005 Semler Syrah from Malibu Family Wines (yay for local wines!) Don’t be afraid of the $24 price tag on their site- I bought it at Ralph’s last night for $16.99, umkay? It’s a beautiful, juicy, mouth-filling wine with notes of black cherry and raspberry, smoke, pepper, and fig. The mouth-feel was lush and elegant- sipped beautifully on its own but would pair nicely with short ribs, steak, or even a little BBQ action (tis the season, right?) Enjoy, winos!

My buddy Mike kept talking up this super affordable, super yummy red table wine called “Redart” from Urbanite Cellars and I finally got around to trying it… and I’m OBSESSED. I can’t believe this wine only costs $9.99- it’s a smooth and complex blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, and 20% Zinfandel from a variety of vineyards in California. The result is an easy-drinking, velvety table wine that goes well with just about anything (especially Pizza- and yes, that’s exactly what I paired it with.) Pick up a bottle (or 4) for a cheap but absolutely delish go-to wine.

My first entry on this little blog o’ mine was about my go-to Red: the 2007 Goats do Roam from South Africa. Well, I am heartbroken to tell you that I was a little disappointed by the 2008 Vintage, which has a slightly different blending combination (more Syrah.) It was still totally do-able for a wine under 10 bucks, but it just lacked the complexity that I remembered from the 2007 vintage. Anywho, I quickly got over that heartbreak when I was introduced to The Wolftrap- another red blend from South Africa (68% Syrah, 30% Mouvedre, 2% Viognier.) I served it last week at a dinner party and it was a big hit.  First of all, you can find it for under $10 bucks (score!) and honestly it sips like a $17 and up bottle of wine (double score!) It’s sexy, spicy, smoky, meaty, with notes of tobacco, dark chocolate, cherries, black berries. Sip this sucker with some hearty meat or pasta dishes, though it’s lovely enough to sip alone. Cheers!

Well hey there, winos! Hope you’re having a great weekend. Just got back from a much-needed date night with Beau at Akasha Restaurant in Culver City (great wine list BTW) and I wanted to share with you a yummy wine I tried: The 2007 Summerland “Trio” Rhone Blend (49% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre.) It was $15/glass (bit of a splurge) and can be found between $33-$44/bottle (big splurge) but it would make a wonderful wine for a special occasion or as a gift for a lover of Rhone varietals. It’s complex, elegant, and medium bodied with a lovely long finish and notes of red fruit, cedar, and pepper.

This past weekend I headed back over to Elvino wine shop to do another tasting. This time, Bart had put together a $10 “Couch Potato Flight” for a lazy post-Thanksgiving weekend. All 3 wines were under $20, which was a bonus!

The first wine was the lovely, easy-drinking NV Cantine Riondo Prosecco

At Elvino it is sold for $13, which is totally reasonable… BUT you can definitely find this sucker for (more…)

Hey winos!

Sorry it’s been a few days since my last post! One of our Austin winos, Katie, surprised me and is in town with her husband… as such I’ve been entertaining! Don’t worry, though- I plan on making up for lost blogging time. I just got back from a Syrah tasting at my new favorite wine shop, Elvino Wines on Abbot Kinney in Venice. LA-area winos, I would definitely encourage you to make it out to Venice to check out this super happening, super knowledgable store, particularly during one of their tastings. Tastings start at 5pm on Fridays and 1pm on Saturday and Sundays, during which time you can try three featured wines for $12. Often times the wines they feature are le expensive, so this is a great opportunity to try amazing wine without having to fork over the cost of a week’s worth of groceries. This particular tasting featured three Syrahs: one from Washington state, one from France, and one from California. When I first started drinking wine, I used to not be a huge fan of Syrah… it’s amazing how my tastes have changed over the years.

The first Syrah was a 2006 Saint Laurent from Washington:

The nose had plenty of black pepper, blackcurrant, and black raspberry, which all carried over into the palate, as well as a little slate. It opens up floral and as Bart (the owner of Elvino) puts it, “It’s a feminine approach to Syrah.” Elvino sold this for $21, though you can find it for $19.

Next up was the 2007 JL Chave Selection Crozes-Hermitage “Silene” from the Northern Rhone region in France:

This Syrah had a lot more earth than its Washington counterpart, which I liked. The nose had  little bit of that earthy funk, a bit more red fruit (black cherry, black raspberry), and a little pepper, which all carried over to the palate (especially the pepper) along with a long, dry finish. Elvino sells this wine for $28, though you might be able to find it at around $25 (yes, it’s a bit of a splurge for most of us, but if Syrah is your thing, this wine is worth purchasing for a special occasion.)

Finally I tried the 2007 Samsara Syrah from Santa Barbara:

I found this wine to be fresh, fruit-forward, with a little bit of earthy funk. It didn’t seem to have as much pepper as the other two Syrahs, though I liked that it was rounder, more full-bodied, and softer, with hints of chocolate. It got 93 points from Robert Parker and I found it for $29.99 at K&L. Again, I know these wines are more expensive than I’ve been featuring, but that’s the beauty of going to wine tastings: if you’re unwilling or unable to fork over the money for an entire bottle, you get an opportunity to try some amazing, high-quality wines without breaking the bank!

Tomorrow, Katie and I are driving up to Santa Barbara to do “research” aka wine tasting aka day drinking galore! Can’t wait to tell you all about our findings! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, winos!