Renato Ratti Barbera D'Alba 2010 (about $19)

About the Wine:  Barbera is an Italian grape sometimes also cultivated in California.  It makes a red wine that is bold, dry, smooth, in many ways the epitome of Italian red.

About THIS Wine:  The center is violet and fades to a pink rim.  Rich red fruit is heavy on the nose but hints of spice are clearly present.  Just smelling this wine made me think of a meaty red sauce dish.  Red fruit dominates the front palate and gradually blends into a spicy finish that lingers.  The spice is firm, but not overpowering.

Drinking This Wine:  This is good for a hearty sipping wine but I think it is best served as a compliment to meat and cheese dishes such as lasagna or perhaps a Gorgonzola steak.

Overall Impression:  This is a real quality wine that fits in a hipster's budget.  It is good for the price.

Hahn Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (about $14)

About the Wine:  I came across Hahn's 2007 Cab in the execution of my duties.  Which is to say, it was not selling so I tried it, liked it, and was able to recommend it to customers until it sold it.  The label had a picture of a chicken on it, which apparently had no appeal.  The new label for the 2010 vintage looks a bit like a used menstrual pad.  Apparently I just do not understand marketing, and neither do the folks at Hahn.  The 2007 vintage was very thick, heavy and tasted mostly of the charred oak barrels in which it had been aged.  Will that taste carry over to this vintage?

About THIS Wine:  The center is a pleasant dark purple with a garnet rim.  The nose is very thick with jammy raspberry and licorice with hints of smoke.  The raspberry and licorice deliver on the front palate, but somewhere between the mid palate and finish a very sharp oakiness pops that dominates the whole experience.

Drinking This Wine:  The best advice I could give for drinking this wine is to lay it on its side in a cool dark place for six months to a year.  I believe that with the additional aging it will mature well and lose the sharpness in the finish, but it is not ready for prime time.

Overall Impression:  Fourteen dollars for something that might me good in a year if you store it right?  I'll let you figure this one out.

Chateau de Ribebon Bordeaux Supérior 2009 (about $15)

About the Wine:  Bordeaux is a region in France known for its wine blends.  Red Bordeaux wines are blends of primarily either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot along with some combination of Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. 

About THIS Wine: The center is violet and it fades to a pink rim.  The nose is much thicker and heavier than I would have expected with layers of jammy cherry, raspberry, and nutmeg.  The palate delivers with rich, red fruit and supple tannins before easing into a finish of light raspberry.

Drinking This Wine:  This would be great for a sipping wine but would also pair well with lighter red meat dishes such as beef and noodles.

Overall Impression:  The wine is good and versatile.  This is a good value.

Oko Pinot Grigio 2011 (about $11)

About the Wine:  The trend toward organic and sustainable goods is well established but it has a special urgency in the wine world.  If climate change models prove accurate then places like France and California will become increasingly inhospitable to wine grape cultivation. The prospect of moving the wine industry from its current centers in search of new ones does not bear contemplating, so more and more vineyards are doing what they can to slow the trend.

About THIS Wine: Oko is a pleasant straw color and has no distinct rim.  The nose is crisp with lots of citrus and less acidity than I would normally associate with Pinot Grigio.  The citrus delivers on the palate, which ends in a slightly tangy and somewhat mineral finish.  It was much more complex than most Pinot Grigios I have had in this price range.

Drinking This Wine:  This is a perfect compliment to white fish.  I would not really recommend it as a sipping wine due to the strength of the finish.

Overall Impression:  This is a pleasant, complex, organic wine for eleven dollars.  It is a very good value.

St. Urbans-Hof Riesling 2010 (about $15)

About the Wine:  Some time ago I reviewed Urban Riesling, the under brand of St. Urbans-Hof that goes for about ten dollars.  It will be interesting to see if the quality of the over brand supports the fifty percent jump in the price.

About THIS Wine:  It is golden yellow in the glass with a clear rim.  Citrus dominates the nose with hints of green apple.  Mildly sweet honey and citrus make for a pleasant palate, but the finish is very tart and sharp, so much so that it made me wince.  It is not that it was bad, it was just unexpected.

Drinking This Wine:  Enjoy it with spicy food such as Thai or Indian.

Overall Impression:  I actually think the under brand was better.  This wine is good but overpriced. 

Silver Label Chardonnay 2010 (about $!6)

About the Wine:  The greatest challenge for Chardonnay makers is probably figuring out when to take the wine out of the oak barrel.  Too long in oak makes the wine heavy and unpleasant.  Too little time can result in a weak, watery product.  Some makers have simply given up and gone over to stainless steel barrel aging, but some are still trying to find that perfect balance.

About THIS Wine:  It is hay colored and has no distinct rim.  Vanilla, pear, and honey are all present in fairly pleasant nose.  The palate is straight citrus with an oak spice finish that lingers.

Drinking This Wine:  Fine by itself or with chicken or lightly seasoned fish.

Overall Impression:  The price is a little steep but good Chardonnay under twenty dollars is hard to come by.  This wine is reasonable for the price.

Elderton Shiraz 2010 (about $20)

About the Wine:  High end Shiraz has been difficult to come by since Yellow Tail effectively killed the market. Shiraz is very slowly starting to make a comeback with more and more wine makers taking a chance on premium productions.

About THIS Wine:  The center is dark purple with a pink rim.  The nose is heavy with a lot of cranberry and cassis with hints of black pepper.  Thick jam and cassis dominate the palate, which blends into a lingering, peppery finish.

Drinking This Wine:  It is good by itself but it would be better with steak.

Overall Impression:  This is the very top of my price bracket, but it is difficult to convey exactly how good this wine is.  It is good for the price.

Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages 2010 (About $14)

About the Wine:  Beaujolais is a French varietal best known for its role in the making of Beaujolais Nouveau, a very light and fruity wine made from grapes picked early in the season.  The Villages variation is picked later in the season and yields a darker, heavier wine.

About THIS Wine:  The center is garnet with a pink rim, reminiscent of Pinot Noir.  The nose is thick and musky with notes of red fruit.  Tannins dominate the palate and finish, though cherry and licorice notes are present.

Drinking This Wine:  Definitely a food wine.  Enjoy with cheese and crackers or chocolate.

Overall Impression:  This is definitely a wine for traditionalists with an appreciation for the classics.  As such it is reasonable for the price.

Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 ( about $10)

About the Wine: The South African Terroir adds some interesting characteristics to the wines made there.  In particular, the Cabernets are known for having a strong taste of green pepper.  Notes of green pepper are common in wines where the grapes are not removed from their stems before maceration, but nothing nearly as potent as what comes from South Africa.

About THIS Wine:  The center is violet and fades to a garnet rim.  Olive and red licorice combine for an unique nose.  The licorice delivers on the palate along with sharp green pepper.  The pepper lingers in the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  This would go perfectly with ground meat, especially a hamburger.  It is a bit intense for a sipper.

Overall Impression:  I like the price more than I like the wine, but it is a pretty great price and the wine is okay.  It is good for the price.

Thelema Mountain Red 2009 (about $14)

About the Wine:   Red blends are a personal favorite of mine.  A good wine master can mix wines so that the negative characteristics of each wine in the blend are filtered out while the positives are preserved and amplified.

About THIS Wine:  In the glass it is a dark, ruby red with a crimson rim.  The nose is heavy and complex with notes of smoke, spice, and red fruit.  On the palate this wine is almost syrupy.  Red fruit and licorice are dominant with green pepper in the background.  The fruits fade and the pepper lingers in the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  Could work as a sipping wine, but I would rather have it with vegetarian pasta dishes with red sauce.

Overall Impression:  This is not a terribly accessible wine for the novice drinker, but it is fairly good.  It is reasonable for the price.

Accattoli Rosso Del Monte 2011 (about $13)

About the Wine: "Rosso" is a generic term for Italian red wines.  It can be used to describe literally any Italian red (and some American knock offs) but usually refers to blends not covered in the standard definitions of Chianti, Valpolicella, or other traditional mixes.  In this case it refers to a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Montepulciano, and Pinot Nero.

About THIS Wine:  The center is a deep purple and fades to a violet rim.  The nose is velvety with heavy red fruit and hints of spice.  Spicy red fruit dominates the palate, giving way to soft tannins that make for a mildly dry finish.

Drinking This Wine:  Perfect for barbecue, but not really the best sipping wine.

Overall Impression:  I like the wine and I like the price.  It is a good value.

14 Hands Hot To Trot Red Blend 2009 (about $11)

About the Wine:  14 Hands is a popular maker from Washington State best known for their smooth, easy drinking reds.  Hot To Trot is their red blend.

About THIS Wine:  The wine is violet in the glass and fades to a garnet rim.  The nose is surprisingly heavy with tobacco, spice, and hints of red fruit.  Red fruit is dominant on the palate complimented by mild spice.  The finish is sharp and tart.

Drinking This Wine:  It could work as a hamburger wine.  The tartness on the finish makes it difficult as a sipping wine.

Overall Impression:  It is hard to call and eleven dollar wine "overpriced" but this just is not very good.

Qupé Syrah 2009 (about $17)

About the Wine:  Syrah has largely fallen by the wayside as its more popular cousin, Australian Shiraz, has dominated the market.  The two grapes are similar but Syrah is grown in a variety of places and thus has a greater variety of tastes.

About THIS Wine:  The center is garnet and fades to a pink rim.  Jammy black cherry blends with hints of clove and green pepper for a pleasant, complex nose.  Red fruit is dominant on the palate with a hint of pepper in the background, leading into a finish that is both fruity and dry.

Drinking This Wine:  Probably best with sweet meats, it could also make a good sipper.

Overall Impression:  This is a very nice wine.  I would say that it is reasonable for the price.

Brotherhood Pinot Noir 2010 (about $15)

About the Wine:  The Brotherhood Winery is the oldest continuously operated winery in America, having managed to stay open through prohibition making sacramental wine.  They have traditionally focused on sweet wines made from grape varietals such as Concord, Catawba, and Niagra and did not start making traditional varietals until the 1980s.

About THIS Wine:  In the glass it is blood red and has a distinct, clear rim.  Jammy cherry dominates the nose but hints of currant and leather are also present.  The cherry delivers on the palate along with mild spice.  The finish is slightly creamy with lingering fruit and spice.

Drinking This Wine:  This makes decent sipping wine and would also go well with beef and rice or with heavier poultry dishes.

Overall Impression:  There is nothing spectacular here, but the wine is good.  It is reasonable for the price.

CMS Red Blend 2009 (about $15)

 About the Wine:  Most wines do not actually need corks.  Unless a wine is meant to be aged, which very few under twenty dollars are, a screw cap is fine and is in fact more practical as it is less finicky about how it stored and there is no risk of cork taint.  Screw cap wines can be a hard sell because many people associate the screw cap with inferior wine.  To save costs while maintaining appearances many wineries have started using synthetic corks.  This is a good sign of a pretentious and likely inferior wine.  Unfortunately, their is no way to tell whether a wine has a synthetic cork until the cover is peeled off.

About THIS Wine:  It is dark in the glass and fades to a violet edge.  The nose is flat and indistinct.  On the palate it is reminiscent of flat diet soda, which probably makes the finish seem longer than it is.

Drinking This Wine:  Whatever you would eat with room temperature diet soda with, the wine should make a good pairing for.  I opened this wine and let it sit for a day.  When I opened it again the cork popped and released a visible vapor.  This an excellent sign in sparkling wine and pretty much the most awful thing possible in table wine.

Overall Impression:  Badly overpriced and of low quality, this is basically five dollar wine.  Wine aficionados I have talked to say that CMS has some good products.  Apparently this is just a particularly bad vintage.  It may not even be a problem with the wine itself.  Problems in bottling, corking, and storage can all foul a good wine.

Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere 2011 (about $13)

About the Wine:  Cabernets and Cab blends generally hold up well to and improve with aging.  It is therefore surprising to see a Cab blend marketed this young.  Most decent wineries will hold their Cabs back for a while before releasing them to allow full development.

About THIS Wine:  It is deep purple in the glass with a garnet rim.  The nose is rich with smoke, leather, spice, and black cherry.  Jammy raspberry and cherry are thick on the palate and linger before blending into a mildly spicy finish.

Drinking This Wine:  Sip it or have it with lamb, barbecued ribs, or some other juicy meat with sauce.  Or put it on its side in your basement for a year and open it then.  It will improve.

Overall Impression:  A good wine with the potential to improve with time.  This wine is a great value.

Borealis White Blend 2010 (about $13)

About the Wine:  Oregon is best known for its Pinot Noir, to the point that at least one French maker has forsaken Burgundian soil in favor of growing in Oregon.  White wine from Oregon is relatively undeveloped as a class.

About THIS Wine:  The wine is straw colored and slightly luminous in the glass.  The nose is very crisp and zesty with hints of citrus and pine.  The palate is smooth and light with notes of pear and apricot fading into a mild citrus finish.  All around it is reminiscent of a dry Riesling.

Drinking This Wine:  This is a good summer sipping wine for anyone who does not like sweet wines.  It would also pair well with shellfish, especially shrimp.

Overall Impression:  Dry Rieslings that are comparable in taste can go for upwards of seventeen dollars, making this wine a good value.

Concannon Crimson & Clover (about $12)

About the Wine:  Some months ago a brand ambassador from Concannon winery brought samples of their products to the store where I work.  The wines were all mediocre and lacking in character, except the blend.  In the wine world the whole is sometimes greater than the sum of its parts.  A good wine master can find ways to offset the less desirable elements of one wine by blending in another.  The process is very specific and too much or little of any ingredient can ruin the balance.

About THIS Wine:  Garnet in the glass with no distinct rim, the wine fades to a ruby edge.  The nose is remarkably thick with jammy raspberry that delivers on the palate along with hints of spice.  The fruit and spice linger in the finish.  This what wine aficionados call a "fruit bomb"  meaning that there is no complexity, just an intense fruit taste.

Drinking This Wine:  A good sipping wine, it would also go well with hamburgers, beef burritos, any ground meat dish.

Overall Impression:  If you're looking for a wine to impress your wine snob friend, this isn't it.  There is no complexity or layering.  That said, it is pleasant, easy drinking, and cheap.  This wine is reasonable for the price.

Pacific Rim Organic Riesling 2010 (about $15)

About the Wine:  Organic wine has gained in popularity along with organic everything else.  Some are grown and made using entirely organic methods while others are merely grown from organic grapes.  This latter type, which includes this wine, do not promise less additives than other wines but the grapes are grown without pesticides and in an eco-friendly manner.

About THIS Wine:  The wine is a light gold in the glass with no distinct rim.  Honey, tea, apricot, and pear combine for a a fairly complex nose.  Those flavors deliver on a sweet palate.  The finish is quick but not unpleasant.

Drinking This Wine:  I prefer more lingering wines for sipping.  This would go very well with Thai or other spicy Asian food.

Overall Impression:  I'm not blown away by this wine but organics are not cheap.  This wine is fair for the price.

Terra D'Oro Zinfandel Port, no vintage on bottle, (about $20)

About the Wine:  Fortified wines are made by adding brandy before the wine has time finish fermenting.  The addition of the brandy increases the alcohol content of the resulting wine but also kills the yeast, preventing it from converting the natural sugar to alcohol and resulting in a much sweeter beverage.  These sweet, strong wines are sometimes called dessert wines because the high alcohol content and intense tastes make them incompatible with a meal.  Port is the classic drink to have with a cigar because the taste of the wine is strong enough to be appreciated through dulling effects of the cigar on the palate.

About THIS Wine:  Ports tend to be very dark, almost black in the glass.  This one is a garnet color that fades to a pink rim.  The nose is thick and spicy with hints of tobacco and leather.  The palate is thick with sweet, jammy raspberry, cherry, and spice.  These flavor linger in a potent but pleasant finish.

Drinking This Wine:  Have it with a cigar or with something sweet like ice cream or cake. 

Overall Impression:  Port wines tend to be expensive, so at twenty dollars this one is good for the price.

Cloudline Pinot Noir 2009 (about $18)

About the Wine:  The Drouhin family are well known producers of Pinot Noir in France's Burgundy region.  One of the younger members of the family took a liking to the climate and soil in Oregon and set up her operation there.

About THIS Wine:  The color is a uniform garnet with a distinct pink rim.  The nose is heavy with lush, jammy red fruit and hints of clove.  The fruit delivers on the palate in a very rich, red fruit taste that lingers pleasantly in the finish.  The finish is neither dry nor bitter.

Drinking This Wine: Neither dry nor tannic, this is an easy sipping wine.  It would also pair well with roasts and other seasoned red meats.

Overall Impression:  It is unusual to find a bottle of this quality for under twenty dollars.  At eighteen this bottle is a great value.

Graziano Zinfandel 2007 (about $16)

About the Wine:  Shelf life for wines under twenty dollars s very hard to predict.  Most wines, especially red wines, should be good for at least five years but it does not always work out that way.  For that reason it is always something of a gamble to buy older wines on a hipster budget.

About THIS Wine:  The wine is garnet color in the glass with a ruby room.  The nose pops with sweet cherry, raspberry, and other jammy red fruit.  The fruits deliver on the palate and fade into a tannic finish.

Drinking This Wine:  It is alright for sipping and would also go well with burgers and game meats.

Overall Impression:  This wine is pretty good, but not spectacular and I doubt if it will keep much longer.  It is should be about thirteen or fourteen dollars and is thus a bit overpriced.

Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir 2010 (about $18)

About the Wine:  Australia is a sad story in the wine business.  Its arid climate is conducive to growing any number of quality wines and for a time the continent was the next great frontier in wine production.  The rise of Yellow Tail and other low quality brands so thoroughly damaged the reputation of the continent's wineries that many in the business view it as a dead trend.  But a few plucky vineyards have manged to carry on with quality wines.

About THIS Wine:  The color is a uniform garnet, a very encouraging sign in Pinot Noir.  Fruit is surprisingly lacking on the nose, which favors a musty, smoky odor.  A palate of bright cherry and spice gives way to a licorice finish for a pleasantly complex experience.

Drinking This Wine:  Good as a sipping wine or perfect with roast duck.

Overall Impression:  The wine is very good and the price is not exorbitant.  It is reasonable for the price.

Dragon's Hollow Merlot 2008 (about $12)

About the Wine:  Part of the adventure of wine making and drinking is the quest for new places to grow grapes.  Each place gives a distinct terroir and places with lower labor costs offer the possibility of very good wine at a low price.  Thus it was only a matter of time before someone started a vineyard in China.

About THIS Wine:  The wine is a light purple with no discernible rim.  Smoke and red fruit blend for a very pleasant nose that utterly fails to deliver on the palate.  I was surprised that such a bland wine could have such a bitter, acidic finish.

Drinking This Wine:  Don't.  Just Don't.

Overall Impression:  This is a bad wine at any price.

667 Pinot Noir 2010 (about $13)

About the Wine: This line of wines are made from vines grown from cuttings from very good vines in French vineyards.  The idea is to capture the best vine stock and recreate the fine wines they produce.  It would be interesting to taste 667 alongside its French counterpart.  Sadly, I must make do with tasting this Pinot Noir by itself.

About THIS Wine:  It is garnet in the glass, almost the ideal color for Pinot Noir.  Jammy cherry and licorice are present in the nose and deliver on the palate along with a slightly smoky flavor.  The finish is pleasantly dry.

Drinking This Wine:  I sipped a glass with a friend and we found it light and pleasant.  This is a good sipping wine.  It would also do well with salmon or seasoned poultry.

Overall Impression:  Though lacking in complexity this is a very pleasant wine and it is quite versatile.  At thirteen dollars a bottle it is a very good value.

Line 39 Chardonnay 2011 (about $11)

About the Wine:  Some time ago I reviewed Line 39's 2010 Cabernet and found it quite good.  One of the challenges winemakers face is the need to produce multiple varietals under one label.  The obvious benefit is name recognition.  If a customer tries one varietal and likes it then they are likely to experiment with others.  The problem is that great soil, weather, and wine making process for one grape may not work as well for another, damaging the brand.  Alternatively, the terroir and process may make multiple varietals taste the same.  The noted New Zealand wine company Oyster Bay produces Chardonnay that tastes so much like their Sauvignon Blanc that the need for both is questionable.  So it will be interesting to see how this works out.

About THIS Wine:  Light and luminous in the glass, this wine has no distinct rim.  Smoke and mineral notes dominate the nose with hints of citrus underneath.  The smoke is no doubt the product of oak barrel aging but the prominence of the fruit and mineral smells means that the wine was in oak for only a short time.  I would guess no more than six months.  Minerals are strong on the front palate with citrus growing prominent as the taste develops.  The minerals linger in the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  It could be a sipping wine and would also go quite well with white fish or unseasoned roasted chicken.

Overall Impression:  Nothing spectacular here, but the wine is pleasant and inexpensive.  It is  good for the price.