ForestVille Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Vineyard: ForestVille
Location: Sonoma, CA
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol Content: 12.5%

Purchased: 12/31/08 - Save-Mart, Tahoe City, CA
Cost: $3.50
Rating: 4.0

This wine gets a 4.0 on every scale: taste, smell, and aftertaste. They market it at 2 for 7 dollars to get rid of it. Don't fall for it. Even at high altitude, with good company and after another bottle, I would recommend finding something better.

With that, I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year's. Let 2009 be the year of the grape. Good grapes. Grapes that make wine that tastes good and is affordable!

3 blind moose Merlot 2006

Vineyard: 3 blind moose
Location: Woodbridge, CA
Type: Merlot
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 13.5

Purchased: 12/31/08 - Save-Mart, Tahoe City, CA
Cost: $5.99 (I know, I know, I'll explain...)
Rating: 6.00

I bought it cause there was a moose on the label. Hey, I like moose. Meese? But I have to say - I don't think its worth the extra dollar. It tastes fine - just about what a $5 wine would taste like.

Does have a cool label and a cool cork though. My picture of the label was a little shiny of the moose on the right, but luckily the moose on the cork is the same moose as the one on the right. Good luck, huh? And yeah - taking a picture of a wine bottle label is harder than you think. It is.

Rockbrook Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Vineyard: Rockbrook
Location: Sonoma, CA
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 12.5%

Purchased: 12/15/08 - BevMo, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $2.99
Rating: 5.25/10

This wine isn't too bad if you don't pay too much attention to it. The overall flavor is pretty good. If you do pay attention, however, the taste is a little more tart and acidic than it should be.

Given the fact that it only costs $2.99, however, I'm willing to forgive and forget. Additionally, it doesn't appear to be marketed as 'The Cheap Wine', which means it's less likely that someone will call you out on bringing a cheap wine to dinner. I say go for it.

Redwood Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Vineyard: Redwood Creek
Location: Modesto, CA
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 13.0%

Purchased: 12/15/08 - BevMo, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 5.0/10

This is another one of those wines that just doesnt have much taste. It's neither good nor bad, but whatever it is, there just isn't much of it.

I'm going to use this perch to let the world know that putting apples in your chili is a good idea. However, pairing said chili with this wine isn't a good idea - unless you are one of those people who put no spices in your chili. In fact, if your chili has no flavor, then maybe this wine is the perfect pairing for it.

Diablo Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Vineyard: Diablo Creek
Location: San Luis Obispo & Ripon, CA
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 13.0%

Purchased: 12/26/08 - Vons, Pasadena, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 3.75

After taking the first sip of this wine, I asked myself, "Is my lip bleeding?" Not a good start in my opinion. Maybe a good purchase for those of you who are iron-deficient.

I was hoping to find a whole new selection at the Vons while visiting Southern California for the holidays, but instead I found that Vons is owned by Safeway and have a similar if not identical wine selection. Oh well. Guess I'll have to go farther and wider in order to find new markets of cheap wine.

Purple Moon Merlot 2006

Vineyard: Purple Moon
Location: Manteca, CA
Type: Merlot
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 12/17/08 - Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $3.99
Rating: 5.75/10

Purple Moon, Purple Moon. It's a pretty boring wine, but in a good way. Seems like a wine that you can't really go wrong with. No one will dislike it, although I doubt anyone will go crazy for it either.

Purple moon, according to the back label, is referring to the color of the moon when they used to harvest the grapes. I don't think I've ever seen the moon purple, but maybe I haven't been drinking enough of last year's batch. The name definitely isn't referring to the color of the wine, which is a very rich red. I was thinking that the wine was going to be purple.

El Toqui Carmenere 2005

Vineyard: El Toqui
Location: Rapel Valley, Chile
Type: Carmenere
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 12/17/08 - Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 5.25/10

Sometimes I think that I should have a taste rating that is different than an overall rating. A 2005, Chilean Carmenere is a whole lot cooler than a 2007 Merlot from Napa. While I gave it a 5.25 for taste, there is something to be said for the different taste that it offers. Even though its not the top scorer, I'd still put it up there as one of my favorites.

The taste is still on the better side of a 5. There isn't much nose, but it's pretty fruity tasting. If you leave it in your mouth for a little bit, it gets spicy and there is a spicy aftertaste as well. All of this is pretty good, but there is a bit of a metallic taste hidden in there that really keeps it from getting a higher number.

Check them out online: Casas Del Toqui.

Charles Shaw Shiraz 2007

Vineyard: Charles Shaw
Location: Napa, California
Type: Shiraz
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 12/10/08 - Trader Joe's, Palo Alto, CA
Cost: $1.99
Rating: 3.25/10

Now I know that Charles Shaw makes good wine. I've had some. I know they make it cheap. I've purchased plenty. This Shiraz, however, (and the Valdiguie from a few days ago) just isn't cutting it.

It smells - bad. I mean, bad. Like shit. Somehow it doesn't taste like shit - but I had to figure that out after convincing myself to drink it after I had already decided that it smells like shit. I don't usually like to do that.

Don't worry, loyal readers -- I will find the 'Two Buck Chuck' that is both cheap AND tasty. Please, however, avoid the Shiraz. Leave that up to the Aussies.

Black Opal Shiraz 2006

Vineyard: Black Opal
Location: South Eastern Australia
Type: Shiraz
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 12/15/08 - BevMo, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 4.75/10

Not a very good wine. It tastes a little off. I blame it on the screw top.

I don't know why a winery would decide that they should use a screw top instead of a cork. I'm sure there is someone out there who says that using a cork somehow preserves flavor. The flavor of this wine, however, does not need any saving. In fact, if I were in charge of Black Opal, I'd welcome people blaming the wine tasting bad on the cork rather than blaming the taste on the actual wine.

Charles Shaw Valdiguie 2008

Vineyard: Charles Shaw
Location: Napa, California
Type: Valdiguie
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol Content: 12.5%

Purchased: 12/10/08 - Trader Joe's, Palo Alto, CA
Cost: $1.99
Rating: 3.25

I bet they tricked a whole lot of people into buying this one. Don't! 2 Buck Chuck is definitely known for putting out some pretty good wines for unbeatable prices, but this one is absolutely not worth the $2 that it costs. It smells like a public restroom at first, and after half a bottle is smells like a clean public restroom. Fortunately, it does taste a little better than that, but not much. For some reason I think of blueberries...

El Torito Tempranillo 2007

Vineyard: El Torito
Location: Castilla, Spain
Type: Tempranillo
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 12/4/08 - Cost Plus World Market, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 5.5

I was rather disappointed with this one. It was really weak, kinda watery. Nothing about is was bad, just disappointing. 

I'd recommend it for old ladies and young children. Not that young kids should be drinking, of course. Maybe it would be better if you ate it with something even more bland, like rice cakes or tofu.

Black Swan Merlot '06 '07

Vineyard: Black Swan
Location: South Eastern Australia
Type: Merlot
Vintage: 2006 and 2007
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 11/30/08 - BevMo, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: '06: 7.66/10, '07: 6.66

Double header Sunday! I wanted to get a sense of whether or not there was any real difference if the only difference is the year. Turns out, there is. I'm assuming that the '06 has just been sitting on the shelf an extra year, rather than being aged in a cask for the extra time - but I have no real way of knowing that. I also have no way of knowing whether the '06 would have tasted different last year... these, the unanswerable questions of wine drinking.

What I do know, however, is that the good people of Black Swan probably would have done better focusing on the grapes rather than worrying about their label. Wine 2.0. They should also try to get their money back from whoever they paid to do the write up on the back of the bottle: "...with a velvet finish like a jazz solo 'round midnight." Really? You guys really thought that sounded good? Who knows, maybe it does in Australia.

Regardless, they were both actually pretty tasty. The 07 tasted a bit more acidic and alcoholic, the 06 a bit smoother, creamier. If you can find them both, it was fun drinking both and trying to figure out the difference. You also get to drink twice as much!

Pinot Evil Pinot Noir 2007

Vineyard: Pinot Evil
Location: Pays de l'Ile de Beauté, France
Type: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 12.5%

Purchased: 12/4/08 - Cost Plus World Market, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 5.0/10

Ahhh, Le French tried to be le funny with the name. I guess I'd try to come up with a funny name too if my wine were boring. Not bad.... just not good -- boring. At first it tasted a little watery, even.

Bottles pretty cool though. And it's from France. The fact that it comes from a furniture-like store rather than a grocery store means that its less likely that other people will know about it. Yup, that's right - that means it's very likely to be the most impressive thing you can get for the least amount of money. The fact that the taste isn't offensive is an added bonus as well.

Searidge Syrah 2006

Vineyard: Searidge
Location: Napa, CA
Type: Syrah
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 12.5%

Purchased: 12/2/08 - SafeWay, Palo Alto, CA
Cost: $2.50
Rating: 6.25/10

This wine is actually pretty good, and the price is definitely right. The flavor is pretty mellow - sweet and fruity. I'd describe the small and aftertaste in the same way. I was a little sad when I went for another glass and there wasn't any left. I would have opened another if I had one sitting around. For $2.50, you can afford to have a couple of these laying around.