The Winery: Killer Red
The Wine: 2004 Syrah
The Price: $12.99
Killer Red Wines is a Columbia Valley winery. This winery is following the trend that has become so pervasive in the industry - using a catchy name and an interesting bottle to market their wine. In this instance, the label has a red hour-glass image meant to evoke the image of a woman's body. In this instance, that is all that really will sell this wine, as this is a wholly unremarkable wine. What's on the outside of the bottle is far more impressive than the contents. The wine has a pepper flavor followed by an underwhelming fruit flavor. Do yourself a favor and leave this one on the shelf. Or buy it on close-out when the price drops to the $5-7 range that it belongs in.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Root: 1 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Winery: Root: 1
The Wine: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Price: $15 at the local Costco.
This is a Chilean wine. It is 85% Caberenet Sauvignon and 15% Syrah. The wine has a rich, well balanced flavor. It has a black cherry flavor with hints of vanilla. This is one of the better Cab-Sauvs I've tasted recently. I will definitely be picking up several more bottles of this wine, which is probably the biggest complement I can pay the vintner.
The Wine: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Price: $15 at the local Costco.
This is a Chilean wine. It is 85% Caberenet Sauvignon and 15% Syrah. The wine has a rich, well balanced flavor. It has a black cherry flavor with hints of vanilla. This is one of the better Cab-Sauvs I've tasted recently. I will definitely be picking up several more bottles of this wine, which is probably the biggest complement I can pay the vintner.
Rabbit Corkscrew
I finally broke down and bought one. A Rabbit Corkscrew. This is the best bottle opener I've every used. I first used one at a friend's house a couple of years ago. I've been drooling over them ever since. There are several companies out there that have copied the idea, but I went with the original.
This thing opens a bottle of wine in seconds, with very little effort. If you're not familiar with the Rabbit, here's the scoop. The Rabbit has two handles that clamp together around the neck of the wine bottle. There is also a lever on top of the corkscrew that drives the screw (which they call a worm) into the cork. So to use it, you clamp the handles around the neck of the bottle, then push the lever down to drive the screw into the cork. Finally, lift the handle to extract the cork. To remove the cork from the corkscrew, simply clamp the handles around the cork, and lift the lever to unscrew the worm from the cork. It's a breeze!
The downside is the cost. The Rabbit website says that the retail price is $50. I picked mine up in a kit which also includes a foil cutter and a few other tools for $40.
This thing opens a bottle of wine in seconds, with very little effort. If you're not familiar with the Rabbit, here's the scoop. The Rabbit has two handles that clamp together around the neck of the wine bottle. There is also a lever on top of the corkscrew that drives the screw (which they call a worm) into the cork. So to use it, you clamp the handles around the neck of the bottle, then push the lever down to drive the screw into the cork. Finally, lift the handle to extract the cork. To remove the cork from the corkscrew, simply clamp the handles around the cork, and lift the lever to unscrew the worm from the cork. It's a breeze!
The downside is the cost. The Rabbit website says that the retail price is $50. I picked mine up in a kit which also includes a foil cutter and a few other tools for $40.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
2006 Columbia Winery Cellarmaster's Riesling
The Winery: Columbia Winery
The Wine: Cellarmaster's Riesling
Price: $7.99
Normally I tend to drink white wines on hot summer days. Particularly Rieslings. The reason being that they are typically served chilled and they tend to be lighter, fruitier wines which I find to be more refreshing on a warm day. But tonight I was in the mood for a Riesling.
The Columbia Winery Cellarmaster's Riesling is a very nice wine. It has the light, sweet, fruity flavor that is typical of Rieslings. But it also has a velvety smooth quality to it, making it seem almost creamy. The flavor is almost like eating grapes straight off the vine. This is definitely one of the better Rieslings I've encountered.
This wine is perfect for sitting on a porch swing on a hot August day with that special someone.
The Wine: Cellarmaster's Riesling
Price: $7.99
Normally I tend to drink white wines on hot summer days. Particularly Rieslings. The reason being that they are typically served chilled and they tend to be lighter, fruitier wines which I find to be more refreshing on a warm day. But tonight I was in the mood for a Riesling.
The Columbia Winery Cellarmaster's Riesling is a very nice wine. It has the light, sweet, fruity flavor that is typical of Rieslings. But it also has a velvety smooth quality to it, making it seem almost creamy. The flavor is almost like eating grapes straight off the vine. This is definitely one of the better Rieslings I've encountered.
I do have one gripe about this wine. Actually, it's about the packaging. This wine has one of those plastic/rubber stoppers instead of a true cork. I've encountered this type of cork plenty of times in the past. But in this particular instance, I had a tough time getting the "cork" off of my cork screw. I don't know if this cork used a different compound or what, but it really had a death-grip on the cork screw.
This wine is perfect for sitting on a porch swing on a hot August day with that special someone.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
2005 Kingfish Cabernet Sauvignon
The Winery: King Fish
The Wine: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $3.98
For a four dollar bottle of wine, this is not terrible. I wouldn't serve it with a fancy dinner, but for a casual family meal it's fine. It's flavor is kind of raw, not very well refined. But it's certainly drinkable. And, hey, it only cost $3.98. That's the price of a latte! The wine does not have an overly spicy flavor. But it doesn't have a lot of any flavor. More than anything it just lacks character. What flavor there is, leans towards the black cherry end of the spectrum. I'd serve it with spaghetti made from canned sauce, or maybe with burgers. Something simple, to match the wine.
The Wine: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $3.98
For a four dollar bottle of wine, this is not terrible. I wouldn't serve it with a fancy dinner, but for a casual family meal it's fine. It's flavor is kind of raw, not very well refined. But it's certainly drinkable. And, hey, it only cost $3.98. That's the price of a latte! The wine does not have an overly spicy flavor. But it doesn't have a lot of any flavor. More than anything it just lacks character. What flavor there is, leans towards the black cherry end of the spectrum. I'd serve it with spaghetti made from canned sauce, or maybe with burgers. Something simple, to match the wine.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
2005 Lockwood Cabernet Sauvignon
The Winery: Lockwood
The Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $17.99 at Larry's Market.
This is a very nice wine. It has a bit of a spicy flavor, underscored by a rich, fruity taste. The wine is a very good example of a Cabernet Sauvignon. I will be purchasing more of this one...assuming I can remember where I bought it to begin with.
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