Dinner at a friend's

Yesterday we had dinner at a friend's house and she made a pork tenderloin and rosemary polenta. It was delicious. Before the meal we had a meal of appetizer of brie and manchego cheeses along with crackers and some fig jam. We also sampled some of Cycles Gladiator 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cycles Gladiator
Cabernet Sauvignon
2005
California
Cost unknown

Reviewer #1: I almost spit this wine out as soon as a tasted it. It wasn't the worst wine I have ever tasted but it was extremely strong and oaky. I was glad that I hadn't poured a whole glass to suffer through.

Reviewer #2: I like a good robust red wine on occasion. But the Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon was a bit too much. It was overly strong and overly oaky. It tasted like it had been aged in old oak whiskey barrels. And I mean that in a bad way. But I don't like Cabernet Sauvignon to begin with.

The beginning

Over New Year's we went to visit my fabulous brother and sister-in-law down south and it turns out they have become quite the wine snobs. We cooked dinner one night using a 15$ bottle of red wine and they wouldn't let us finish the rest because it wasn't good enough to drink. We laughed at the notion as we tend to buy wine that is less than 15$/bottle. So we decided to start a blog to document our wine use over the next year. This might be the most boring blog ever as we don't drink a lot and don't know anything about wine...Here is the first bottle:

Barefoot
Pinot Grigio
California
88 points - Beverage Testing Institute
$4.99

The label says "Barefoot Pinot Grigio is a crisp and refreshing wine with bright aromas and flavors of citrus and fresh green apple. Hints of Jasmine complement a bright, delicate, flavorful finish. Barefoot Pinot Grigio is a perfect match with poultry, seafood, spicy pasta, and pizza. Refreshing!"

Reviewer One:
Pinot Grigio is one of my favorite types of wine. I have yet to have a bad pinot. It is easy to go down, light and goes with anything. This particular wine is similar to all the other 5$ pinots that I have had before nothing special but not bad. A guess it is really hard to review wine when you are as cheap a drunk as I am...it doesn't take much before everything is tasting okay.

Reviewer Two:
This tastes like I thought a 5$ bottle of wine would taste. It is a little harsh with not enough depth of flavor. It almost provides a warming sensation like a brandy or cheap liquor rather than the refreshing taste that I would expect from a pinot grigio. I say it maybe got 88 points out of 200.