Bogle Essential Red 2010 (about $12)

About the Wine:  Bogle is a go to for many California wine drinkers because it is fairly cheap and also consistent from vintage to vintage.  I don't know that anybody really loves this winery but it is hard to deny that they almost always produce something reasonable for the price.  The nice fellow at my local wine shop kept recommending it, so I decided to try it.  He also told me that he regularly drinks Mark West Pinot Noir so I may regret trusting him.  If you drink Mark West Pinot Noir then you are welcome to comment on this post so that and my wine snob friends can silently judge you.

About THIS Wine:  It is very dark in the glass with a purple rim.  The label informs me that the wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel.  It unclear if this a field blend but given that there is no appellation more specific than California I doubt it.  The Syrah dominates the nose with jammy red fruit but I do get some smoke and a subtler undercurrent that I associate with Cab.  I am not usually a fan of California Syrah.  It's usually a sticky, jammy, mess.  The winemaker did a nice job of moderating that with the other varietals so that there is a lot of fruit and pleasingly lingering jam finish tempered with some spice and just generally tamed into something pleasant.

Drinking This Wine:  This is not really a food wine.  It is better as something to sip on a cool day.

Overall Impression:  It really pains me to endorse a popular brand, but I have had twenty dollar bottles with less appeal.  This one is a good value.

Fanti Rosso di Montalcino 2010 (About $17)

About the Wine:  Brunello di Montalcino is a type of wine from Tuscany that usually starts at about $40 a bottle and requires substantial aging.  I like these wines.  I like to look at the bottles and gently fondle them before putting them back on the shelf.  Rosso di Montalcino is the baby brother of Brunello.  It is cheap and drinks relatively young.  But is it worth a whole seventeen dollars?

About THIS Wine:  It is red in the glass with a pink room.  The nose pops with jammy fruit, presenting more like a Syrah than a Brunello.  The palate is smoother and more refined than the nose would indicate with very well integrated tannins and a soft finish that lingers.

Drinking This Wine:  This is good by itself but I think it would be a perfect companion for roasted pork.

Overall Impression:  This is a tasty and unpretentious wine at a reasonable price.  At $17 a bottle it is fair for the price.

Black Bear Red Chair Petite Sirah 2010 (about $14)

About the Wine:  The Petite Sirah grape and the Lodi region are among the most unpretentious things in the history of the wine business.  Generally derided as "fruit bombs", these wines helped usher me into wine appreciation with their easy drinking, fruit forward nature.  The posh wine shop where I now work finally got in some Lodi wines.  I don't know if my awesomely compelling arguments had anything to do with it so I have no choice but to assume that they did.


About THIS Wine:  The wine is opaque, unless you hold it up to a bright light in which case it is blood red and still opaque.  Blackberry, dark chocolate, and leather make up an usually brooding nose for this kind of wine.  The berry flavor delivers on a slightly creamy palate that ends in a jammy finish.  This is not as over the top as some Lodi wines but it definitely has the characteristics of the region.  Mocha lingers on the palate.

Drinking This Wine:  This wine needs no food but if I had to pair it with something I would say a heavily seasoned pork roast.

Overall Impression:  This is an example of everything I love about Lodi.  At $14 a bottle it is a good value.

Grand Portail Bordeaux 2010 (about $13)

About the Wine:  2009 was one of the great vintages of Bordeaux, some say the best in the last ten years, others say the last twenty, and some even say the last thirty.  This is a 2010, which is also a good vintage but one that is largely ignored due to its proximity to the brilliant 2009 and the disastrous 2011.  I had the good fortune to attend a 2010 Bordeaux grand tasting in Manhattan earlier this year and after sampling the wine maker's products we all wished them a heartfelt congratulations on a job done.

About THIS Wine:  It is purple in the glass with a pink rim.  Cherry and pomegranate dominate a nose that is very atypical of a Bordeaux.  These flavors, along with some hints of mocha, define a fairly straightforward palate with a light finish.

Drinking This Wine:  There is very little tannin structure so it does not really need food.  It would be a good burger or sandwich wine.

Overall Impression:  This is not something to impress anyone but it is a very nice wine and could easily go for a few dollars more.  That makes it good for the price.

Warwick Valley Winery Black Dirt Red NV (about $12)

About the Wine:  The Warwick Valley Winery sits in the Black Dirt region of upstate New York.  The area is so named because it was once the site of a glacial lake and eons of sediment deposits turned the soil completely black.  It is one of the richest farm areas in the Northeast and maybe the country.  So how does their blended, non vintage wine taste?

About THIS Wine:  It is ruby red in the glass with a pink rim.  The nose is not as a bright as I expected, though red fruit notes are definitely present along with an undercurrent of fig.  The palate is fruit forward and abrupt.  The flavor is pleasant but it is sharper than I expected for such a mild nose.  A very subtle raspberyy finish lingers.

Drinking This Wine:  This is a barbecue wine.  Drink it young and maybe slightly chilled.

Overall Impression:  I can't say I am impressed but neither am I disappointed.  This wine is reasonable for the price.

The Lucky Country Shiraz 2011 (about $14)

About the Wine:  This inexpensive Shiraz started as a side project from the same wine maker that brought us Two Hands, a Shiraz best defined by I have no idea what because it's way out of my price range.  This is either going to be a great bargain or something that wine maker crapped out over a weekend.

About THIS Wine:  It is dark red in the glass with a violet rim.  The nose is very jammy with a lot of dark fruit and some forest floor notes.  The fruit delivers on the palate with just a hint of black licorice.  The finish is smooth and does not linger.

Drinking This Wine:  This is fine for a sipping wine or something to go with a hamburger.

Overall Impression:  This is a decent Tuesday night wine and it is priced as such.  It is fair for the price.

Petite Petit 2010 (about $17)

About the Wine:  Traditionalists sometimes call California winemakers the "Mad Scientists" of the wine business.  While the makers from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Tuscany strive for consistency, California winemakers are forever trying to find ways to make wines that are truly different.  Michael David is a maker of particular vision and with an especially pronounced disregard for tradition, as demonstrated in this blend of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot.  These are two grape varietals that never meet in traditional wine making.

About THIS Wine:  It is opaque purple in the glass with a violet rim.  The nose presents the jammy red fruit that more or less defines the Lodi appellation.  That fruit is present on the palate with an interesting undercurrent of tannin that makes this a good wine for a light meal.  Pasta dishes or a light lasagna seem especially suitable.

Drinking This Wine:  As stated, it would be good with lighter Italian food.  It would also make a good burger wine.  There is a little too much acidity for a sipper.  Another year of aging would not hurt this wine but it will not get much better than it is now.

Overall Impression:  This wine is okay but I can't say I'm especially thrilled with it.  Much as I am a fan of Michael David I am going to have to say that this one is a little overpriced.