Winos Anonymous

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!

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…)

Okay, I have a confession to make. Since this is Winos Anonymous, I feel I should be honest with you all: Monday night I was unable to blog about a wine because… I was drinking bourbon. I’M SORRY! It was cold outside and I had an eggnog chaser and I just couldn’t help myself. I hope you all will understand and forgive my infidelity… I think this next wine will make it alllllll better though. Oooooooh it’s a good one. Fellow winos, this is Las Rocas Garnacha- the best Garnacha I have tasted to date:

First of all, you can find this wine for under ten dollars, which is NUTS considering it got a 90 from Wine Advocate and is so delish and so complex (it’s from old vines, which always adds a nice depth.) The color is a deep ruby, with a nose of black raspberry, white pepper, and a little funk (love it!) That black raspberry and pepper carries over into the palate, as well as some spice and a whole lotta smooth. I was in ecstasy sipping this wine, making quite a fuss. Beau, who is NOT a wine person (see, love really IS blind,) was probably a little jealous of the Garnacha and a little intrigued, so he took a sip. He nodded his head and then got up and POURED HIMSELF A FULL GLASS. I almost died. To date, beau has never once willingly drank wine. I know this act might not mean much to you, but my jaw was on the floor… if nothing else take it as proof that this wine is AMAZING. This wine brings people together, ya’ll…

It is without question one of my new favorites. I can’t rave about it enough. I hope you enjoy this wine as much as I did, dear winos!

Let’s start with one of my new favorites…

I am nothing if not a sucker for a good Rhone-style blend. When I discovered Goats do Roam, a red South African play-on-words and play-on-wine, I was tempted to buy it for its clever name alone (the fact that it is $9.99 at Whole Foods didn’t hurt either.) Fortunately, this little gem from Fairview Wines wooed me in taste as well as price and name. The red Goats do Roam is a blend using classic Rhône varieties: Shiraz, Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre as well as the South African grape Pinotage. The result is a smooth, spicy, earthy wine that is surprisingly complex for a wine that costs less than ten dollars. This wine is definitely my go-to, easy-drinking wine these days and I highly recommend it! Happy drinking, winos!