Apolloni 2010 Cuvee Pinot Noir

The Winery:  Apolloni
The Wine:  2010 Cuvee Pinot Noir
The Price:  $19.99 at Whole Foods

Apolloni is an Oregon winery located in the Willamette Valley AVA.  The winery was founded in 1999 by Alfredo Apollini, a first-generation American.

The wine is made from Dijon and Pommard clones.  It was aged for 16 months in French Oak barrels.  The bottle was stopped with a natural cork and decanted an hour before tasting.

The wine is light red in color with a slightly brown tone.  It has aromas of moss, cherry and grass.

The wine has flavors of cherry, raspberry and vanilla.  It is a light and thin example of an Oregon Pinot Noir, which is the norm for a $20 bottle.  It's a decent wine, but one that would move from decent to exceptional if the flavors and aromas were more pronounced. 

Pendulum 2010 Red Wine

The Winery:  Pendulum
The Wine:  2010 Red Wine
The Price: $15.99 at Whole Foods

Pendulum is a Washington State winery, located in Walla Walla.  This wine is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 15% Grenache, 14% Mouvedre and 3% Malbec.  The wine was aged in French and American oak barrels for 19 months before bottling.  The bottle was stopped with a natural cork and decanted for an hour before tasting.

The wine is dark purple in color.  It has aromas of blueberry, cherry, leather and chocolate.  This is a very delightful wine.  It is bursting with fruit flavors of sour cherry and blackberry with subtle undertones of cocoa and vanilla.

This is a very good wine at a good price.  I recommend giving this one a try.  It's a fine example of the quality of Washington blended wines.