The Lot 160 Old Vine Zinfandel goes with the Sampler Case I ordered from Cameron Hughes – see this earlier post for more info. I really loved their Lot 147 Cab Sauv – just a great wine.

Unfortunately, I was not impressed with the Lot 160 Old Vine Zinfandel. Upon opening, you can just smell the fruit bomb that has exploded in your kitchen. Huge berry jam aromas overwhelm, without any tannins to really back it up. After a couple of days after opening, it improved some but next time, I’ll stick with a tried-and-true zinfandel or try something new.

Origin: Lodi, San Joaquin County, California
Where: Cameron Hughes Online
Price: $13
Next time: I’ll pass

This beautiful label portrays a blended wine of 50% Monastrell and 50% Syrah from Spain. I’ve had some great Monastrells before, but Syrahs are often too pungent for my taste. Unfortunately, the Nabuko was on the too-strong side for me, being very pungent, spicy, and smoky. If that’s your style, go for it! You can learn more about the winemakers on the importer’s website.

Origin: Spain
Where: Highland Wine
Price: $15
Next time: I’ll pass.

Generally, I’ve had some really positive experiences with wines, especially Pinots and Sauvignon Blancs, from New Zealand. I’m a big fan of the kiwis, and I was really intrigued by this wine – according to the label, this winery was the first in NZ to produce Sauvignon Blanc. Unfortunately, I wasn’t impressed by their Pinot Noir. It seemed very acidic and unbalanced… it was just a weird wine.

Origin: New Zealand
Where: Hop City
Price: ?? around $13
Next time: I’ll pass.
Screw cap

You know how I’m always on the hunt for a ridiculous cheap but awesome wine. I tried this one last fall, after buying some wines from Harry’s Farmer’s Market. This G’day Mate! Shiraz is Harry’s answer to Trader Joe’s “Two Buck Chuck.” Unfortunately, this wine isn’t making the list for a new favorite. Shiraz isn’t a very drinkable wine without a hearty meal to go with it, but I would opt for a different Shiraz in the future.

Origin: Australia
Where: Harry’s Farmer’s Market
Price: around $3
Next time: I’ll pass.
Screw cap feature! Yeah!

I had high hopes for this $13 California Cab. Unfortunately, I wasn’t overly impressed.

According to the website:

Our Rio Vaca estate vineyard lies 10 miles east of the famed Napa Valley, separated only by the craggy Vaca Mountains. Planted in ancient volcanic and alluvial soils, majestic 25-year-old vines produce grapes with complex and concentrated flavors.

The Vaca Cabernet Sauvignon was fermented in small, separate lots then aged in 60-gallon barrels. reserve lots of Syrah were cold-soaked prior to fermentation. Cold-soaking extracts darker, concentrated colors and fruits leaving behind harsh tannins.

The wine was aged 14 months in barrels, 25% new. a blend of 60% American, 20% French, and 20% Hungarian oak adds toasty vanilla, clove, and cedar highlights. the results is a dark wine, ruby in color, with ripe blackberry and plum flavors. Layered with velvety tannins, the finish is long and enduring.

The high acidity as well as the cedar and oak notes are the source of my sub-par opinion of the Vaca Cab, but if those characteristics appeal to you, give it a try.

Origin: California
Where: Highland Wine
Price: $13
Next time: I’ll pass.

I remember trying this wine for the first time a couple of years ago at New Year’s, and loving it. This wine is a great example of what two years of tasting some really excellent wines can do to your palate. I’ll tell you what… it makes this wine taste like a horrible fruit bomb, an extreme adult version of fruit punch.

I’d say, if you’re a newbie to wine, give this one a try. You might enjoy it. Otherwise, steer clear.

Either way, do go to their website and check out this extremely fun game – Ad Libs! W and I have found it’s really more fun the more inappropriate the words are that you put in.

Origin: Vin de Pays D’Oc, France
Where: Publix
Price: around $10
Next time: I’ll pass.

The Torre del Falasco Corvina was one of the first I tried in 2010 while celebrating the new year in Blue Ridge, Georgia. It’s only $9, which is great. Unfortunately, I wasn’t blown away by the flavor. It was lighter bodied than I was expecting it to be, more on the dry side, medium tannins. Just didn’t blow my socks off.

I’m not too familiar with the Corvina grape at this point, so I checked out this Italian native on Wikipedia. It’s no wonder I wasn’t blown away by the flavor – Wikipedia describe the grape as:

Corvina produces light to medium body wines with a light crimson coloring. The grapes naturally high acidity can make the wine somewhat tart with a slight, bitter almond note. The finish is sometimes marked with sour cherry notes.

Not sure I’ll be spending much time in the future on evaluating Corvinas.

Origin: Italy
Where: Highland Wine
Price: $9
Next time: I’ll pass.

Highland Wine is one of my go-to retail spots for great flavors and great values. They always have the best of the best, as well as great tasting but economically priced finds. I tried a few new ones recently from the super economical choices, including Lucky Star Pinot Noir (love it!) and Pine & Post Cab (post coming soon!). Another of these wines was the 2007 Leaping Horse Merlot from California.

Despite the more than excellent price tag (just under $5.50 a bottle), I wasn’t a fan of this wine. It just summed up all the things I often dislike about Merlot. The tannins weren’t blended well with the other flavors of the wine, and the berry flavors were surprisingly heavy, unbalanced, and lacked smoothness.

However, many other reviews online rave about this wine. I’m tempted to try it again just to see if I got a bad bottle. If you’ve had this one, I’d love to hear your opinion.

Origin: California
Where: Highland Wine
Price: less than $5.50
Next time: I’ll pass (at this point) but am considering a re-taste

Willamette, Oregon often delivers some fabulous wines, especially Pinots. Unfortunately, this one didn’t measure up, and neither did the dinner that went with it.

The wine seemed very light and watered down, and none of the flavors seemed fused together. It just didn’t deliver on flavor, texture, or balance.

Origin: Willamette, Oregon
Where: Smyrna WOB
Price: approx $20
Next time: I’ll pass.

The other night, Highland Wine and DBA Barbecue hosted a great wine-tasting centered around wine-pairing with… you guessed it… BBQ! It was really fun, and I enjoyed snacking (making a meal) on the big variety of appetizers and sampler dishes they brought out.

Here’s what we tried:

N.V. Cavas Hill Brut Rose Reserva Artesania Cava ($12) to go with pulled pork and smoked chicken – This was my favorite wine of the night. Stunningly delicious – so fresh and crisp with light sweetness. Now that the weather’s getting chillier, this was a punch of springtime. I’m going back for some bottles of this!

2007 Petit Rimauresq Rose Grenache/Cinsault (Provence, France: $15) with wings and smoked turkey – This rose was more dense and mellow compared to the first wine. Less spring-like and crisp, it reminded me more of baked fruit, maybe like apricots in its heavier qualities. Not bad, but I’d rather have two bottles of the first one and skip this one next time.

2008 Bauer Haus Riesling QBA (Nahe, Germany: $13) to accompany white cheese and corn muffins with honey butter – SUPER SWEET! If your friend likes White Zinfandel, give her this instead. A little of this sweet wine would go a long way for me, but I think it would be really awesome with a spicy asian dish. I’d love a slightly less sweet version of this wine, but I would definitely not turn down a glass of this Riesling.

2008 Terra Antiga Vinho Verde (Portugal: $13) to pair with oysters on the half shell – Ah, one of my new favorite wines from this summer. It’s like honeysuckle. Go get a bottle if you haven’t already. It’s awesome. I didn’t try it with the oysters (they were out of season, and I don’t like raw oysters… enough said)

2007 Winzer Krems Gruner Veltliner (Austria: $13) with bacon wrapped shrimp and boiled peanuts – Nice light sweetness but high on the citrus flavors. It paired well with the shrimp, but overall I wanted less citrus and less acid.

2006 Flora Springs Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (Napa, CA: $21) to go with deviled eggs – I said “no, thanks” to the deviled eggs, but for folks who like a mild oaky, buttery Chardonnay, you’ll like this Flora Springs. For non-oaky, non-buttery Charddonay fans, skip this one and get a Le Chat Rouge instead.

2007 Umani Ronchi Montepulciano D’Abruzzo (Italy: $13) to accompany frog legs and grilled portabella sandwich – This was my favorite red wine of the tasting. It was mild and fruit-forward, not overpowering, just a great humble wine. I see a few bottles of this coming my way soon.

2007 Finca El Origen Malbec Reserva Mendoza (Argentina: $11) to pair with pulled pork salad – This wine packed a punch in terms of jammy and spicy. I didn’t dislike it but I never embraced it either.

2008 Penelop Sanchez tinto Joven (Spain: $14) with brunswick stew – As with most grenaches, the high tannins didn’t deliver the experience I wanted. When paired with a heavy stew, the tannins would be balanced better, but still…

2007 R&B Swingsville Zinfandel ($12) with andouille sausage, red beans, and rice – I think I tried this wine back in the summer at the Smyrna Wine Festival. Recommended.

2006 Vaca Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Small Lot Reserve ($14) with Texas beef brisket – EXCELLENT Cab. Medium tannins (but goes great with food), some spice but not overly so, and full-flavored. Go get some!

2005 d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original Shiraz-Grenache (Australia: $17) to parnter wth Carolina-style spare ribs – This wine was enjoyable and it definitely goes great with a big piece of meat.

2007 Opolo Vineyards Summit Creek Zinfandel ($21) paired with baby back ribs – Reminded me of a port in its dessert wine similarities. Lots of caramel flavors. I prefer a lighter zinfandel to this dessert bomb but it was fun to drink. Skip mentioned it would pair with chocolate really well… I might have to try that one at some point. A Vosges Barcelona Bar would do the trick.