Origin: South Eastern Australia
Price: $10ish.
Date drunk: February 21st, 2009
We probably bought this because there's a bird on the bottle. There's a disappointing amount of wildlife discussion on the back of the bottle, though.
g.: This smells way better than the last chardonnay.
Okay, I can't really figure out what this tastes like, but it's not bad. As you swallow, the taste changes dramatically, but it doesn't linger at all. That's pretty nice. It's a little spicier, but the finish is really smooth.
d.: It's a little bit sweeter than the last one, too. I think I might like the other one more.
g.: There's something just not right with this one. Maybe just too sweet.
d.: It's a cloying sweetness.
It was. It got worse. I think we got sick of this after a glass and a half. We'll stick with warm climate birds next time, thanks.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Two Oceans - Chardonnay
Origin: South Africa
Price: $9.75
Date drunk: February 21st, 2009
d.: It's a weird ball of taste.
g.: I thought it was fine on the first sip, but I think I just threw it back like a shot. Nice. Anyway, I kind of shuddered on the second sip.
d.: There's kind of a smoky sourness.
g.: Oh my god, it smells like something that I know but I don't know what it is [wow]. I think it's cat food. Or maybe something rotting.
d.: I agree about the cat food.
g.: I don't know about this one. Maybe it's just been awhile since I had a chardonnay, but it seems weird.
d.: I think I like it, despite it being smoky sour cork rotting cat food wine. It's a good sipping wine.
g.: I'll see how it tastes by the third glass.*
* Not rotting, and not like cat food. Pleasantly surprised. It held up well.
Price: $9.75
Date drunk: February 21st, 2009
d.: It's a weird ball of taste.
g.: I thought it was fine on the first sip, but I think I just threw it back like a shot. Nice. Anyway, I kind of shuddered on the second sip.
d.: There's kind of a smoky sourness.
g.: Oh my god, it smells like something that I know but I don't know what it is [wow]. I think it's cat food. Or maybe something rotting.
d.: I agree about the cat food.
g.: I don't know about this one. Maybe it's just been awhile since I had a chardonnay, but it seems weird.
d.: I think I like it, despite it being smoky sour cork rotting cat food wine. It's a good sipping wine.
g.: I'll see how it tastes by the third glass.*
* Not rotting, and not like cat food. Pleasantly surprised. It held up well.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Pelee Island Winery - Shiraz Cabernet (blend)
Origin: Ontario
Price: $9.95
Date Drunk: February 18th, 2009
To begin with, I feel I have to mention that this is the first night of solo wine talk; g.'s tackling the white and, as she doesn't enjoy them, I get to take care of the red. To be honest, I find this a bit strange—I think my favourite part of this wine-blogging is the union of it—the sense of communion over a shared bottle of wine: criticising it, laughing over it, yelling sour grapes at it and, of course, drinking it. Together. This method—a bottle each—strips the process of much of that togetherness, that shared moment when we react to the first sip of the shared bottle of wine, see the reaction in each other's eyes. The social aspect of it is lacking tonight; as a result, I imagine I'll not often be drinking red wine. It just feels sort of lonely to each be at our respective computers, typing away, drinking away. There. Now that that's out of the way, I'll get on with it.
So, for starters, of course, we need to get the description of the bottle's animal out of the way:
I really like the colour of this wine: it's a deep almost-purple-red, which light doesn't seem to like penetrating; I'm not going to say it's some sort of impenetrable wine-fortress or anything like that; it just looks good.
The scent of this is that typical slightly nose-stinging red wine scent.
The first gulp elicited no shivers or any such adverse reactions: a good start. The taste is fairly smooth, with a bit of a tang at swallow-time, but with an overarching sense of good almost tastelessness—like water, but with something richer lurking in the shadows, something insinuating sourness, with maybe an almost cherry hint sneaking around in the taste's backyard. A lightly fruited wine that works its magic through subtle flavourings that become more pronounced the more I drink it.
I think I'm a fan.
Price: $9.95
Date Drunk: February 18th, 2009
To begin with, I feel I have to mention that this is the first night of solo wine talk; g.'s tackling the white and, as she doesn't enjoy them, I get to take care of the red. To be honest, I find this a bit strange—I think my favourite part of this wine-blogging is the union of it—the sense of communion over a shared bottle of wine: criticising it, laughing over it, yelling sour grapes at it and, of course, drinking it. Together. This method—a bottle each—strips the process of much of that togetherness, that shared moment when we react to the first sip of the shared bottle of wine, see the reaction in each other's eyes. The social aspect of it is lacking tonight; as a result, I imagine I'll not often be drinking red wine. It just feels sort of lonely to each be at our respective computers, typing away, drinking away. There. Now that that's out of the way, I'll get on with it.
So, for starters, of course, we need to get the description of the bottle's animal out of the way:
The Indigo Bunting often graces the grassy woodland edges, shrubby roadsides and open brushy fields of Pelee Island with its excited warble and evening flight song. Usually seen as a black silhouette, the bird relies on brilliant sunlight to transform its dark plumage into the bright turqoise-blue for which it is named. The Indigo Bunting is the only small North American finch which can boast this distinctive colouration.
I really like the colour of this wine: it's a deep almost-purple-red, which light doesn't seem to like penetrating; I'm not going to say it's some sort of impenetrable wine-fortress or anything like that; it just looks good.
The scent of this is that typical slightly nose-stinging red wine scent.
The first gulp elicited no shivers or any such adverse reactions: a good start. The taste is fairly smooth, with a bit of a tang at swallow-time, but with an overarching sense of good almost tastelessness—like water, but with something richer lurking in the shadows, something insinuating sourness, with maybe an almost cherry hint sneaking around in the taste's backyard. A lightly fruited wine that works its magic through subtle flavourings that become more pronounced the more I drink it.
I think I'm a fan.
Barefoot - Pinot Grigio
Origin: California
Price: $9.95
Date drunk: February 18th, 2009
This California Pinot Grigio caught my eye in the Australian section of the LCBO--not because it was misplaced, but because there was a big card printed in Comic Sans saying that it won some award from the Toronto Star: Best Wine Under $12. It got 89 points. I have no idea what that means, but 89% is totally an A and that's fine with me.
I picked this because I wanted to have a point of reference. Some other dude thinks this is a pretty decent cheap wine; do I have such refined tastes? I'm going to guess.... probably not. However, I DID like that wine selected by Dan Akroyd. Cred.
Okay, firstly:
- It's not cold enough yet, but I'm impatient.
- I just ate some cheddar goldfish to get rid of toothpaste aftertaste, so my mouth is kind of tainted.
I can get behind this wine. It even conquers those handicaps I ended up creating for it, and it's a seriously tough game to beat toothpaste. It's a lot bolder/stronger than other pinot grigios I've had (which are usually really mild and closer to water than wine), and is really warm and full. There's kind of a grassy/lemony taste on top of the regular sweetness. Like other pinot grigios (I think?), it isn't sharp, bitter, or dry, but I definitely keep going back to "stronger." Full bodied? Or some other wine-jargon I know nothing about.
I like pinot grigio a bit more understated, but this is definitely good and interesting. Nothing about it makes me cringe, and that's always a good sign--if I can get a non-cringer for $9.95, I think that's pretty swell.
I will definitely buy this again. Thank you, Toronto Star, for both your sensationalist reporting and your taste in wine.
Price: $9.95
Date drunk: February 18th, 2009
This California Pinot Grigio caught my eye in the Australian section of the LCBO--not because it was misplaced, but because there was a big card printed in Comic Sans saying that it won some award from the Toronto Star: Best Wine Under $12. It got 89 points. I have no idea what that means, but 89% is totally an A and that's fine with me.
I picked this because I wanted to have a point of reference. Some other dude thinks this is a pretty decent cheap wine; do I have such refined tastes? I'm going to guess.... probably not. However, I DID like that wine selected by Dan Akroyd. Cred.
Okay, firstly:
- It's not cold enough yet, but I'm impatient.
- I just ate some cheddar goldfish to get rid of toothpaste aftertaste, so my mouth is kind of tainted.
I can get behind this wine. It even conquers those handicaps I ended up creating for it, and it's a seriously tough game to beat toothpaste. It's a lot bolder/stronger than other pinot grigios I've had (which are usually really mild and closer to water than wine), and is really warm and full. There's kind of a grassy/lemony taste on top of the regular sweetness. Like other pinot grigios (I think?), it isn't sharp, bitter, or dry, but I definitely keep going back to "stronger." Full bodied? Or some other wine-jargon I know nothing about.
I like pinot grigio a bit more understated, but this is definitely good and interesting. Nothing about it makes me cringe, and that's always a good sign--if I can get a non-cringer for $9.95, I think that's pretty swell.
I will definitely buy this again. Thank you, Toronto Star, for both your sensationalist reporting and your taste in wine.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Deinhard Green Label - Riesling
Origin: Germany
Price: $10
Date drunk: February 7th, 2009
g.: It smells delicious. We also really like the frosted bottle. I think d. wanted this because it's German.
d. + g.: It's fizzy.
d.: Is that bad?
g.: I don't know. I don't think I care. It's good. I think.
d.: It has a snarl to it at the start, at the penultimate moment before swallowing, but then it softens.
g.: It tastes like pop. Wine-pop. Grape coca-cola that has fermented. The bottle says that this is a 5 on the scale of 1 (dry) and 10 (sweet). I think it's at least a 17.
This post was brought to you by: an elevated blood alcohol level.
We drank these bottles last week and got a little too tipsy to actually put them online. This week, we've opted for rum and coke. Until next week. Or tomorrow.
Price: $10
Date drunk: February 7th, 2009
g.: It smells delicious. We also really like the frosted bottle. I think d. wanted this because it's German.
d. + g.: It's fizzy.
d.: Is that bad?
g.: I don't know. I don't think I care. It's good. I think.
d.: It has a snarl to it at the start, at the penultimate moment before swallowing, but then it softens.
g.: It tastes like pop. Wine-pop. Grape coca-cola that has fermented. The bottle says that this is a 5 on the scale of 1 (dry) and 10 (sweet). I think it's at least a 17.
This post was brought to you by: an elevated blood alcohol level.
We drank these bottles last week and got a little too tipsy to actually put them online. This week, we've opted for rum and coke. Until next week. Or tomorrow.
Masi - Soave
Origin: Italy
Price: $13ish
Date drunk: February 7th, 2009
g.: The first sip was terrifying. It got better after I swallowed it. I have no idea what this tastes like, besides crazy.
d.: It has a weirdly bitter after-taste that just sits and accumulates.
g.: It's really tingly.
(This is the first time we've tried a Soave. It may or may not be the last.)
We can't find the words to describe this wine. Sorry.
Price: $13ish
Date drunk: February 7th, 2009
g.: The first sip was terrifying. It got better after I swallowed it. I have no idea what this tastes like, besides crazy.
d.: It has a weirdly bitter after-taste that just sits and accumulates.
g.: It's really tingly.
(This is the first time we've tried a Soave. It may or may not be the last.)
We can't find the words to describe this wine. Sorry.
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