Korbel Brandy

Korbel Brandy

Korbel California Champagne Cellars 

40% Alcohol (80 Proof)

You rarely hear about California brandy.  It's always the stuff from Europe that garners attention.  Not that there isn't amazing brandy made in California (Germain-Robin for example), it's just not that big of industry here in American compared to say our wine or craft beer cultures.

Cherry Pie Pinot Noir

Cherry Pie Pinot Noir

2010
Hundred Acre

Stanly Ranch, Napa Valley, California

Jayson Woodbridge

Every time I think of cherry pie, I think of the Rock hit by Warrant.  I can't help it.  It gets stuck in your head.  Not that it has anything to do with this elegant wine, though.

But this, this is the review of the Cherry Pie wine, a Pinot Noir from winemaker Jayson Woodbridge.  Not quite the same as a song by Warrant.  Not at all.

Layer Cake Chardonnay

Layer Cake Chardonnay

2011

Pure Love Wines

California

I'm finally catching up on trying the various varietals from Layer Cake Wines.  This is my first tasting of the Layer Cake Chardonnay, the 2011 vintage to be precise.

Layer Cake Pinot Noir

Layer Cake Pinot Noir

2010

Pure Love Wines

California

I find Pinot Noir to be one of the more interesting wine varietals.  I think it's because of the huge variance it can have in tastes, much more so than many other wine types.  I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing, it just is what it is.  I've heard this is because it's a difficult grape to work with.

Speaking of Pinot Noir, for today's review  we have the 2010 Pinot Noir from Layer Cake...

Bear Flag Dark Red Wine Blend

Bear Flag

Dark Red Wine Blend

California

And the award for the craziest wine label goes to... Bear Flag and their Dark Red Wine Blend.  

Seriously look at that label!  There's a crack down the middle where there isn't any label, just the glass bottle.  I've never ever seen that before.  It's simultaneously cool and crazy.

Speaking of cool and crazy, that pretty much sums up this wine...

Ravenswood Petite Sirah

Ravenswood

Petite Sirah

Vintners Blend

2009

California

I'm willing to bet that  a lot of people don't know the difference between Syrah, Shiraz, and Petite Sirah.  It's all a bit confusing at first, I get that.  But nothing too complicated.

Beringer Pinot Noir Founders' Estate

Beringer Pinot Noir

Founders' Estate

2009

California

I find Beringer interesting.  Not so much for their wine, itself, but rather the huge variety they have within the wine they produce.  They make several bottles under $10 and several costing $200+ a bottle, with many, many bottles in between.  There are not very many wineries than can claim such a feat.

Layer Cake Cabernet Sauvignon

Layer Cake Cabernet Sauvignon

2010

Pure Love Wines

California, USA

Amazingly, this is the fourth Layer Cake wine I have reviewed.  

I've already formally reviewed their Primitivo/Zinfandel (2008), Shiraz (2010), and their delicious Malbec (2010).  Well now, it's time for their Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2010 Vintage to be precise.

Primal Roots Red Blend

Primal Roots Red Blend

2010

Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel Blend

California

Here is another red wine blend from California, the 2010 Primal Roots Red Blend.  

I always find blends interesting.  Not necessarily because they're all that good, but because this is the result of someone trying to mix a few different styles of wine from multiple batches and vintages and come out with something that tastes desirable.  At least that's their hope, I'm sure.  Blends usually seem to be mild and easy-going, with only a couple here and there worth seeking out.

Flip Flop Merlot

Flip Flop Merlot

2009

California

You never hear people raving about Merlot.  Perhaps that movie, you know the one I'm talking about, ruined it forever.  I'm not saying Merlot is my favorite wine variety either, although I have had a couple really good Merlots this year.

Beringer California Collection Chardonnay

Beringer

California Collection Chardonnay

2010

California

About a month ago I reviewed Beringer's California Collection Cabernet Sauvignon (see the review here), which was slightly better than your average sub-$10 bottle of Cab.

Beringer's California Collection is essentially one step up from their entry level wines and as such, costs a couple bucks more a bottle.  They're still cheap wines (being under $10), but a little bit better than the regular versions.  

Stone Cali-Belgie IPA

Stone Cali-Belgie IPA

California/Belgian India Pale Ale

Stone Brewing Co.

Alcohol Content: 6.9%

IBUs': 77

Usually Stone Brewing Company never lets me down.  But maybe I'm getting bitter and old or maybe I'm becoming a beer snob because this time they have.  Sorry, Stone Brewing.  

Let's cut to the chase.

Bogle Merlot

Bogle Merlot

Vintage: 2010

California

Bogle Vineyards is one of those wineries whose bottles you can find just about everywhere.  

Grocery stores, restaurants, wine cellars.  

They're everywhere.  

I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just the way it is.  

It's a winery that sells, well, a lot of wine.  Fair enough.

So this one is the 2010 Bogle Merlot.  

Tanilla Porter

Tanilla Porter

Knee Deep Brewing Company

California

IBU's: 30

Alcohol Content: 6.3%
 

Every time I go to my favorite wine/beer cellar they're always trying to get me to buy one beer...

Tanilla.

And I've had Tanilla a few times at a restaurant, so I know what it's like.  But every time I go in to this store, without fail, they try to get me to buy some.  I even give in a little and will take a small free couple ounce sample every now and then.  Okay, I will always take a free sample.

Well, I finally gave in and bought a bottle from them.  They wore me down and it worked. 

So now, we dance!  

I mean... review.  Well, you can dance if you want to, but I'm going to write this review.

Tanilla is a porter from Knee Deep Brewing Company out of Lincoln, California.  When you pour it, it looks remarkably like cola, from the color to the carbonation that only forms a meager, short-lasting head.  It smells of medium-roasted malts, coffee, and vanilla.  Tasting brings about a good bit of vanilla bean, roasty malts, and a bittersweet finish.  

Now, this isn't a terrible beer, but with all the hype the guys at the wine cellar give it, I would expect more.  Afterall, that's where I typically buy The Abyss.  Bottom line, this is a thin, simple vanilla-flavored porter.  I've heard they make an Imperial Tanilla which I bet is a helluva lot more badass. 

Personally, I prefer my porters with a little more girth.  

Drink This: if you want a basic vanilla-flavored porter.

Don't Drink This: if you want a big, burly porter. 

Cheers!             

Baker's Dozen Jammy Cabernet Sauvignon

Baker's Dozen

Jammy

Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin: California

Vintage: None

Sweet wines are certainly gaining more popularity, especially if you look at all the new sweet reds and Pink Moscatos in the market.  And hey, there's nothing wrong with that.  It's just a natural shifting of the trends, I suppose.

So, what we have here is another sweet red.  

This is the Baker's Dozen Jammy Cabernet Sauvignon.

Now, with the word jammy on the label, you're not going to buy it expecting a big, dry Cab.  And from a winery like Baker's Dozen, I guess jammy is only fitting.  This is another non-vintaged wine out of California.  I feel as though I've been reviewing a ton of Californian wines lately for some reason, but that's beside the point.  

Okay, enough rambling, let's taste this wine.

The Baker's Dozen Jammy Cabernet Sauvignon pours a moderately dark, yet bright ruby color.  It smells extremely fruit forward with tons of blackberries, strawberries, and vanilla.  Tasting brings forth exactly what you'd expect, a big, jammy mouthful of sweet blackberries, strawberry jam, blueberries, cranberries, and some milk chocolate in the finish.  

This is so juicy and jammy, that it almost doesn't even taste like a Cabernet Sauvignon.  

It's almost as if a sweet desert wine, a standard Cabernet, and a strawberry pie had some sort of drunken menage a trois and this is the resulting love child: the Baker's Dozen Jammy Cabernet Sauvignon.

That being said, it's not awful and it would probably go well with some sort of pie or ice cream, especially if you're in a mood for SUGAR.  But, it's miles away from most Cabernets out there in terms of style.

(*Check out my other Cabernet Sauvignon reviews here.)

Drink This: if you're in the mood for a super sweet, jammy red wine.

Don't Drink This: if you're looking for a traditional Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cheers!  

           

Naked Grape Cabernet Sauvignon

Naked Grape

Cabernet Sauvignon

Grape Valley Wine Company

Origin: California

Vintage: None

With a name like The Naked Grape, you know you're going to get attention.  

It's hard not to notice what it says when you're cruising the wine aisles.  It's human nature, I suppose.  

Plus it sounds a bit... naughty.

The name The Naked Grape isn't just for eye-catching the buyer, it's also a description of how their wines are made.  A "naked" wine refers simply to any wine that hasn't been aged in oak, or at least hasn't been aged traditionally.  I reviewed Big House Wine's Unchained Naked Chardonnay (check it out here) and while there wine is also "naked," it is still aged in steel barrels and neutral oak.  So, I guess there's a little bit of wiggle room within the definition.  But regardless, it's not traditionally aged, that's the key. 

The Naked Grape Cabernet Sauvignon pours a deep garnet color and smells of blackberries, blackberries, and more blackberries.  Tastings brings lots of clean, dark fruit flavors, more blackberries (imagine that!), and a hint of black licorice.  The finish is short and still quite fruity.  

This is definitely a very fruity and clean tasting wine.  It's certainly different than many other Cabs and a welcome change of pace from the usual.  In its attempt to bring forth the natural grape flavors, they have succeeded. 

Would I choose this over a traditional Cabernet Sauvignon?  Not likely.  

But like I said, it's a good change from the usual.

Drink This: if you want to taste an unoaked Cabernet Sauvignon full of clean, dark fruit flavors. 

Don't Drink This: if you're looking for a traditional, oaky, tannic Cabernet.  This isn't it.

Cheers!  

  

Rex Goliath Shiraz

Rex Goliath

Shiraz

Origin: California

Vintage: N/A

Alcohol: 13.5%

Okay, so once again I'm reviewing a pretty cheap wine and once again, I've poured myself a slightly overfilled glass.  

Oops!  

It's some weird subconscious thing.  Cheap wine = drinking more.  And I know, it makes it hard to swirl, sniff, and all that formal wine jazz.  But hey, it's cheap wine so who cares.  Anyway...

 

Not too long ago I reviewed the Rex Goliath Free Range Red wine (link is here) which I found a bit underwhelming.  I was hoping their Shiraz would fare better, so I bought another bottle with that giant 47 pound Texan circus rooster and saddled up.  

Yes, you read correctly.  

The rooster on the label is of a giant rooster that was in a circus in Texas.  Why a California winery chose this as their icon?  And for a wine, no less?  I haven't a clue.

The Rex Goliath Shiraz pours a deep purple and smells of blackberries and oak.  Tasting brings surprisingly dry raspberries, plum, black licorice, and a good deal of oak.  The finish is short, yet smooth, with relatively mild tannins.

This really isn't a bad wine at all.  And for the price ($5), it's a pretty damn good California Shiraz.  Overall, the Rex Goliath Shiraz is considerably better than their Free Range Red.  

Rex Goliath, you have redeemed yourself! 

*For other Shiraz reviews click here.  There are also a few write-ups about the differences (or lack thereof) between Shiraz and Syrah.

Drink This: if you want a well above average Shiraz around the $5 price point.   This would easily make a good everyday type of wine.

Don't Drink This: if you're looking for a cheap, sweet red wine.  Like I said in the tasting notes, this was surprisingly dry, especially for a budget wine.

Cheers!  

Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon

Cupcake Vineyards

Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin: Central Coast of California

Vintage: 2009

Alcohol: 13.5%

It's been awhile since I reviewed any wines from Cupcake Vineyards.  The last one was their Red Velvet wine (follow the link for the review), which I found "oddly alluring and pleasantly drinkable."  And that's no joke.  Even though it's a silly name and concept, the Red Velvet wine is a guilty pleasure of mine.  

I'm man enough to admit it.

But now, we have the Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon.  Cabernet Sauvignon, of course, being one of the big red wine varieties.  

Who drinks red wine and doesn't enjoy a nice Cabernet?  

That's right, no one.

The 2009 Cupcake Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon pours a dark ruby color and has aromas of cherries and currants.  It tastes like (surprise!) juicy cherries, tart plums, and a hint of vague spice and mocha followed by a sweet, soft tannic finish.

Make no mistake, it's a decent everyday type of Cabernet.  A bit sweet, but hey, it's freaking Cupcake Vineyards.  What do you expect?!  

Personally, I still prefer their Red Velvet over this.  But hey, this isn't bad either.  I look forward to tasting the 2010 vintage soon.

Drink This: if you want a decent, sweet everyday type of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Don't Drink This: if you're looking for a big, burly Cab.

Cheers!         

  

Barefoot Shiraz

Barefoot Shiraz

Origin: California

Vintage: ?

Okay, so here's another cheap wine.  

Super cheap.  

We're talking like $4 or $5 a bottle cheap.  And hey, there's nothing wrong with that.  It just lowers my expectations a little.

Shiraz is famously grown in Australia, but this bottle is from California.  And as I've said before, Shiraz is technically the same grape as Syrah.  However, since the grape was historically grown in two different climates (France and Australia) which produced different flavor profiles and were subsequently named differently for each place, wineries outside of these regions tend to name their wines depending on whether their wine has Shiraz (heavier, jammy) or Syrah (lighter, peppery, acidic) characteristics.  

Does that make sense? 

Good.

Back to this bottle.  This is from Barefoot Cellars, a California winery known for making affordable/budget wines which can be found just about anywhere.  They also produce pretty much all of the major varietals.  This is their Shiraz, which unfortunately has no vintage.  

The Barefoot Shiraz pours a dark garnet verging on purple and has aromas of grape jam, grape jam, and oh yeah, more grape jam.  It tastes moderately sweet and predominantly of blackberries with a hint of spice.  It is a bit too thin, mild, and short-lived.  Nothing really interesting or all that tasty going on here.   

Drink This: if you've already had a few drinks and you don't really care what you drink.  This could be good to serve to drunken house guests so they don't guzzle down all of your good stuff.  And hey, it's SUPER CHEAP!

Don't Drink This: if you want something interesting, or tasty, or complex.  Not to be harsh, but this wine is a bit too much of nothing at all.  I really wish it had a vintage so they could tweak the blending yearly.  I've had considerably better wines from Barefoot... oh well.

Cheers!        

Mad Housewife Cabernet Sauvignon

Mad Housewife

Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin: California

Alcohol: 13.5%

So...

I'm not a housewife.

I'm a man.

BUT in order to drink this wine in the mindset of its intended audience (the disgruntled housewife stuck at home, chasing children, changing diapers, constant crying, laundry, and all that other fun stuff), I decided to pour half the bottle into my glass...  

Yep, HALF THE BOTTLE.  Check out that picture!

That'll improve any tasting!

Alright, so here's another wine obviously targeted toward the female wine drinkers out there (much like the Little Black Dress wines).  And I kind of like the retro housewife picture on the label... in some weird, borderline creepy kind of way.  But, that's another topic altogether.

The Mad Housewife Cabernet Sauvignon is another cheap California wine ($6).  It pours a dark purple and smells of fairly subdued cherries and a hint of nondescript herbs, with a bit of harsh alcohol.  It primarily tastes of black cherry with hints of chocolate and pepper in the finish.  Tannins and oak are not really present here, leaving a soft, short finish.  

Mad Housewife Cabernet Sauvignon is fairly simple and fairly bland, but remarkably easy drinking and I guess when you're a mad housewife, easy-drinking is what you want...

Drink This: if just want to drink red wine.  Granted, there's nothing off-putting or bad about this wine.  It's just simple and easy, which ironically is also how I like my women.  (Just kidding, Honey! I love you!) 

Don't Drink This: if you're looking for a flavorful, complex, or challenging wine.

Cheers to all the mad housewives out there!  Drink up!