Barefoot Cellars Zinfandel

Name: Barefoot Cellars
Color: Red
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: NA
Country/State: California
Region: Various
Price: $6
Stars: 3 (out of 5)

Not bad for a $6 wine...The Barefoot wines are usually very reliable and serve as good values across all varietals. I drank this wine last night after dinner when the kids were in bed as I watched the Magic beat the Cavs to advance to the NBA Finals!! The nose was similar to most Zinfandel based blends I've enjoyed, with cherry and raspberry being the dominant aromas. The taste was primarily cherry, raspberry, and vanilla. I didn't really pick up on any of the spice that I usually find in Zins. Also, it was not as full bodied as I would have preferred and tended to be a little more towards the off-dry side instead of dry...Overall, it was a decent wine for a great price.

Borsao

Name: Borsao
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Tempranillo/Garnacha)
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Spain
Region: Borja
Price: $8
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


Wow! I liked this wine a lot...For less than $10, this was another great value from Spain. We drank this wine last night with a pork roast and some pasta. The color was a very deep red/purple in the glass, with an aroma of red berries and black cherry. I really expected this wine to be similar to the Red Guitar, also from Spain and also a Tempranillo/Garnacha blend...Instead, it really tasted more like an Australian Shiraz. It was very juicy and jammy, but soft and velvety in the mouth. I'll definitely be buying more of this in the future!!

Winzer Krems Gruner Veltliner

Name: Winzer Krems Reid Sandgrube
Color: White
Varietal: Gruner Veltliner
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: Austria
Region: Kremstal
Price: $10
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)

We had this wine Saturday night with chicken and bruschetta pasta...This was our first Gruner Veltliner and we had very different opinions on it. Krista did not like it at all, saying that it was too tart...I really enjoyed it, however. It seemed very well balanced, with a distinctive white fruit taste (apples, pears, peaches) and great minerality. The medium body provided a nice feel and weight in the mouth. I nearly finished the bottle later that night after dinner as we watched "Marley & Me" for the first time. I'm not going to lie -- it got a little dusty at Blue and Wine headquarters. I don't know if it was the wine or the fact that we have a nine year old Lab (mix) of our own...I'm sure it was a combination of both.

On it's own, I would probably rate this wine higher, but since my wife and I enjoy drinking wine together and she really didn't like it, I had to dock it by a 1/2 point or so.

"We're Back, Baby!!!"

"What are you, using my baby's?"...This classic line from Seinfeld seems appropriate since it feels like the last time Kentucky basketball has seen this much excitement was back when Seinfeld was still on the air. Of course, this is an exaggeration and isn't meant to diminish the joy we've all shared in watching players like Tayshaun, Bogans, E.D., Chuck Hayes, G Fitch, Cliff Hawkins, Azubuike, Ravi Moss, Sparks, Ramel, Joe Crawford, Rondo, Meeks, Patterson, and all of the other players who gave their all to the Big Blue Nation only to come up empty (in terms of Final Fours and Championships) over the past 10+ years...

Thanks to the arrival of Coach Calipari and what could possibly be the best recruiting class ever (John Wall (above), Eric Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, Jon Hood, Darnell Dodson, and Daniel Orton), excitement is at NCAA Tournament level and it's only May. But even if they don't turn out to be the best class ever, they have already succeeded in something perhaps more important --- they have combined to make Kentucky relevant again. At UK, championships matter (SEC championships, SEC tournament championships, National Championships), being the winningest basketball program in the country matters, but deep down most Wildcat fans want a team they can be proud of, a team that is in the discussion for the Final Four...That's all we really want...A team that is in the mix...a contender...a team that matters. With this class plus Patterson, Miller, and probably Meeks, this team matters. That's enough for now.

This quote from an ESPN.com article by Dana O'Neil accurately sums up the views of the majority of UK fans:

"Kentucky is Kentucky because of its fan base. Capturing their hearts and loyalty is vital to a coach's success. Rick Pitino mastered it. Tubby Smith only partially did.
Gillispie's gravest miscalculation was that he failed to recognize how much all the non-basketball stuff mattered."

Now we have a coach who completely gets it...He knows what's important to Kentucky fans and he seems to genuinely enjoy and respect their passion. All that's left to be seen is if he can get these guys to buy into a team first approach, to sometimes put their individual success on hold for the greater good of the team. I'm confident he's the right man for the job.

I can't wait to see this team play. I'm sure at times it won't be pretty since they will be really young, but the athleticism and collection of raw talent certainly reminds me of the heyday of the Pitino era, when he trotted out teams loaded with talent --- DA, Antoine, Mercer, Delk, McCarty, Sheppard. Those teams destroyed everything in their path. I don't know if this team will be able to recreate the success of the mid-1990's Wildcats, but the pieces are in place and I can't wait to find out!!

Martin Codax Albarino

Name: Martin Codax
Color: White
Varietal: Albarino
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: Spain
Region: Rias Baixas
Price: $12
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)

We had the 2006 vintage of this wine back in March and thought it was excellent, so I was really excited about trying the 2007...We drank a couple of glasses last night with a dinner of tilapia stuffed with crab meat. The wine paired well with the fish, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered liking the '06. Maybe the '07 is just too young?? I don't know. It was still very citrusy and refreshing. It just seemed a little more watery to me. I remember the '06 as having a really nice full mouthfeel, but the '07 just seemed a little, well, flat by comparison.

I finished the last couple of glasses tonight without food, and it was much better than last night...However, it still seemed to be lacking the fullness that I really enjoyed that last time we had this wine. I want to try other Albarinos in the future, especially the Nora and the Burgans, both of which I've heard good things about.

Razor's Edge

Name: Razor's Edge
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Shiraz/Grenache)
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Australia
Region: McLaren Vale
Price: $15
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

The Razor's Edge Shiraz was one of the wines that really got me excited about wine when I first drank it last summer. Therefore, I had high expectations for this one, a blend of Shiraz and Grenache, that received a high score (91 points) from Robert Parker. I don't generally put a lot of stock in wine scores by "experts" but sometimes they help as a frame of reference. I usually get much more use out of postings by a few trusted wine bloggers. I also have never been led wrong by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher of the Wall Street Journal's Tastings columns.

We had this wine with a Mother's Day dinner of grilled steaks and twice baked potatoes, after the kids went to bed. I actually decanted this wine for 30-45 minutes, primarily because it's a big Australian red that could be kept for 8-10 years. I don't have enough experience with decanting to tell if it helped or not, but it definitely didn't hurt...The wine was smooth and ready to drink with a nice long finish. The taste and nose were very similar - blackberry, raspberry, cherry, with some spice and pepper. The wine paired excellently with the steaks, and was also very nice on its own after dinner. I've actually seen this wine sell for $10-12 online. I paid $15 for it and still thought it was a great value for the money.

Mirassou Pinot Noir

Name: Mirassou
Color: Red
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: California
Region: Various
Price: $8
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

I was really prepared to not like this wine based on the fact that "cheap" and "Pinot Noir" aren't usually a good match. I was worried that it would be dull, flat, or something worse. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The Mirassou Pinot Noir was much better than I expected for the price. This was an excellent value (less than $10) for a very tasty wine.

The aroma was not very complex, but still really nice. I smelled mostly red fruits - cherry, strawberry, with some vanilla. The taste was all strawberry with some vanilla-like creaminess. We drank this wine with marinated chicken breasts and stuffing. I also drank a couple of glasses without food and really enjoyed it. I would definitely buy this wine again. It was very smooth and balanced, light bodied, and easy drinking. Mark West makes a Pinot Noir in this price range that I've read good things about. That's probably the next one I'll try.

It really makes me want to try some higher end Pinots to see what all the fuss is about.

Red Guitar and Mark Davidson White

Name: Red Guitar
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Tempranillo/Garnacha)
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Spain
Region: Navarra
Price: $10
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)






Name: Mark Davidson
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chardonnay/Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc)
Vintage: NV
Country/State: Australia
Region: SE Australia
Price: $10
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

We enjoyed both of these wines at a dinner party at our house last night with a few friends. We've had each of these wines within the past few months and really liked them, so we were anxious to share them. They both went over very well, especially the Red Guitar. It paired excellently with the lasagna that we served. The Red Guitar is a Spanish blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache). It's incredibly smooth and highly drinkable; fruity without being too sweet.

The Mark Davidson was just as I remembered it when I last had it in March. Here are the notes I made at that time --- http://blueandwine.blogspot.com/2009/03/mark-davidson-white-blend.html

These wines are quickly becoming two of our favorites. We continue to have great success with blended wines. They just seem to be tastier than most of the standard varietals we've had.

Clean Slate

Name: Clean Slate
Color: White
Varietal: Riesling
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: Germany
Region: Mosel
Price: $12
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

This wine was very enjoyable...It was clean, fresh, and crisp with great balance. It is probably considered "off dry" because of it's relatively low alcohol content (10%), meaning less of the sugar was converted into alcohol. However, the sweetness was more of a hint, not at all overbearing or overpowering. We drank this Riesling with Chinese food (steamed dumplings and sesame chicken) and it paired quite well.

The aroma was nice --- green apples, pears, and a stone-y quality that I was excited to actually pick up on. I've read several times about wines smelling like stones or stone fruit, so it was exciting to be able to smell it in the glass. The taste was similar to the nose with flavors of apples, peaches, and pears. The finish was quite long and refreshing. I bought this wine at Publix as I haven't seen it available at the other wine stores that I usually frequent.