It happened again

Once again it has been a long time since our last post...no excuses. But we are now settled into our house, have an internet connection, and have re-established our collection of cheap wines. Our goal for this year is 2-4 posts/month with guest reviewers.

Today's wine is a Pinot Grigio. It accompanied a meal of grilled hamburgers, tomato and cheddar salad, corn on the cob, and sauteed swiss chard. A fine fall evening with crisp air and leaves just beginning to turn made this a perfect meal...except for the wine. The label says, "This wine is made from pinot grigio grapes, grown in the unique microclimates of the Veneto Trentino regions. It has a fragrant bouquet, a dry, clean taste with an elegant background of green apple. It pairs well with seafood, appetizers, pasta, pizza, and light foods."

Folonari
Pinot Grigio (Delle Venezie)
Italy
2006
<10$

Reviewer 1: I actually disliked this wine. If you review the previous posts you know that this is quite unusual for me. But this wine had a harsh after taste that was sort of like rotten green apples. Maybe it was because it wasn't paired with the proper food...but I doubt it. This is heavier than other pinots that I usually enjoy. There is nothing elegant about it. To be fair, I am on backup call and have only had one glass. Thus, my usual judgement could be impaired. However, I doubt that I could force myself to drink a second glass and will probably have nightmares tonight about the wine remaining in the bottle waiting in the fridge for me to drink tomorrow.

Reviewer 2: Although we haven't been reviewing wines regularly on the website, we have been drinking a fair number of wines. We had a very good 2006 Hugel Gentil from Alsace and also had a wonderful champange at a friend's house. (We went to dinner that dinner and saw the same champange listed on the menu for 85$/bottle. It was much better than the champange we had to celebrate the purchase of our first house, or the birth of our new nephew.) But I digress. Tonight's pinot grigio, is rather uninspiring. The best thing that I can say for it, is that it has a somewhat crisp, refreshing taste. I don't note any green apple. It could really say on the lable that it tasted like dish water and they would be closer to the truth. Tonight's meal was a perfect fall affair and I am glad that I had a Spotted Cow so that I was not left to accompany my meal with this sub-par wine from Folonari.

Gosh, it is almost June

I don't know how it happened but it is now almost June and the last post was in February. Thankfully, February was NOT the last time I drank a bottle of wine. I guess life got a little busy between finishing school, taking national exams, graduating, coaching, planning a wedding, buying a house. It is certain that now that I have graduated, bought a house, and will be making next to nothing, I will continue to drink 3 dollar bottles of wine for a long time.

Today's wine review is for Holy Cow Chardonnay. We received this wine at a wedding "shower" if that is what you call it when your grandparents and cousins show up for Sunday morning breakfast. The bottle has no description of this wine but it does have a really cool cow with a halo on the label.

Charles Smith Wines
Holy Cow Chardonnay
Washington
2006
cost unknown

Reviewer 1: Well the first time I tried this wine it wasn't cold and I didn't even finish my glass. However, tonight I tried again after it had been probably chilled and I drank two glasses. For those of you that know me, well you know the condition that I am in as I am typing this. I better be careful at the wedding. Anyway, this wine was very dry and while I would say that I don't love chardonnay this one was satisfying. It went well with our dinner of Risotto with spring vegetables and smoked ham. I really like the label and if I was more of a chardonnay fan I would buy this wine. But for now I will stick with the pinots.

Reviewer 2: I appreciate the fact that we were given a bottle of wine from Mattawa, Washington. But this wine is not tops on my list. It was much better when chilled (I'm still trying to train reviewer #1). I can't say much more than that because I didn't get any more because reviewer #1 drank 2 glasses. But in general I don't enjoy a chardonnay as much as a pinot grigio, reisling, or muscat. The wine was fine when chilled and contributed to a delicious risotto.

Pinot Comparison

Tonight we are making brocoli rabe with sausage for dinner and we are cooking with Redwood Creek Pinot Grigio. This wine is from California and the label says, " The fish were indeed biting today. We reflected as a thin fog weaved its way through the redwoods, softening the afternoon light. While the trout cooked over the fire, I retrieved the bottle of Pinot Grigio-chilled to creek temperature. We took our first sip. It was light and crisp, with red apple and floral notes as well as hints of ripe citrus. And, evidently, remarkable moments. " Huh, kinda poetic for wine label?

Redwook Creek
Pinot Grigio
California
2006
$5.99

Reviewer 1: Not bad. Okay, I know that I always say that but really I think that this is better than the first pinot we tasted. It has a little stronger aftertaste than I find ideal but it is smooth over all. It has a bold flavor that is not quite perfected as after a few sips hints of mouth wash can be tasted. We are not drinking it "chilled to creek temperature" so maybe that would make it better. That being said, I would probably buy this wine again but next time try to drink it surrounded by red woods.

Reviewer 2: There are instructions on the cork of the bottle about how the cork could be used as a fishing float, which I suppose is for the best. The wine itself, however, is not without its redeeming qualities. Judging from the story on the label, they intend for this wine to be hardy and they intend that the bottle will probably be carried into the woods and that whoever is bringing it won't be too upset if it breaks in transit. This wine is not as good as the Masocanali but is still fairly enjoyable. Definitely better than the Barefoot. It is a little more harsh and not quite as refreshing as the Masocanali. I can't say that I taste the apples, but at least don't taste the trout either.

Valentine's Day special

For Valentine's day, I splurged on a bottle of wine that was about 15$. We are finally getting around to drinking it tonight. According to the bottle: "Maso Canali is crafted from 100% Pinot Grigio grapes grown in Trentino's finest vineyards. Possessing a cool, Mediterranean microclimate, the hillside location of these premier vineyards provides the perfect terrior for growing Pinot Grigio Grapes. Maso Canali Pinot Grigio has a brilliant golden color with aromas of tropical fruit and apricot. This wine is well-balanced with ripe flavors of apple and pear, leading to the clean finish."

Maso Canali
Pinot Grigio
2006
Italy
$15

Reviewer #1: I am the worst wine reviewer in the world. My palate is not very refined. But I would say that this is smooth and doesn't force you to shutter once swallowed. I wouldn't say that I am to the level of tasting the apricots or pears but then again after one glass I am a little tipsy so not a very good reviewer.

Reviewer #2: "You spent how much on this wine? No wonder it tastes so good!" This is by far the best wine to date that we have reviewed at 3 dollar connoisseur. Unlike the other two wines we have reviewed so far this particular wine doesn't taste like it would be used to take the paint off of walls. I believe that a lot of that has to do with the fact that we spent 5x as much on this bottle of wine. Using my own vocabulary since I am not trained in wine tasting I would describe Maso Canali as crisp and refreshing. It is from Trento, Italy and wines from Trento always remind me of a friend of mine whose last name was Trento. He has nothing to do with this wine (at least I don't think so). But I love northern Italy and this particular wine makes me want to go back even more.

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.