Review: 2006 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Chardonnay Reserve

As I've mentioned a bit lately, the Chards have been my most recent wine of choice. Robert Mondavi's '06 Chard Reserve is another yum-yum in my book.
ZinfanHubby & I had visited Mondavi for the first time back in May while in Napa for our anniversary. As members of another Constellation wine club (Ravenswood), we got to skip the crowded main tasting room and got the VIP treatment & tasting (& cheese!) in the back. We do not buy white wines often, much less Chardonnay, but this one was too good.
ZinfanGirl's first thought upon opening the bottle: hello, mellow yellow! I mean seriously, "honey" "straw" and even "golden" don't do this wine justice. Next up was the smell. I am instantly transported back to my younger days as Non-AlcoholicGirl, as this Chard smells exactly like Martinelli's sparkling apple cider. Maybe this wine was created with kids in mind: it has undertones of caramel apple... or is it kettle corn? Slightly creamy yet tart yet fruity. Yum. Keep out of the reach of kids, OK?

Review: 2008 Qupé "Y" Block Chardonnay

I think my "weather-appropriate wine-o-meter" device is off because man! I am loving Chardonnay lately! One would think that with the cooler weather and shorter days that reds would be at the top of ZinfanGirl's list, but the Chards keep pulling through.

Last night, it was on me to find a wine to pair with a lemon-pepper pasta dish we were making for dinner. I think I did good with Qupe's 2008 "Y" Block Chardonnay. Well actually, Whole Foods did good, as I selected this wine based on WF's review that it "pairs well with poultry or seafood pasta." We've been loving the Central Coast lately as well, so it seemed like a good bet.

The color is extremely pale: straw with some very mild green undertones. It smells buttery (hi, oak barrels) yet slightly crisp. ZinfanGirl likes butter, so buttery Chards are always a plus. First sip has a very buttery forward and middle, and a lingering finish throughout the mouth. There is not much acid in this wine-- surprising for a white wine, IMO. The climax of this wine is in the forward; the back is a bit lacking. But it did pair fabulously with our lemon-pepper-chicken-pasta, so it all worked out well in the end.

Cheers!

Review: Four Vines 2006 Syrah (One Tree Hill)

On our recent trip to Paso Robles, we popped by one of our new favorite wineries/most recent wine club, Four Vines. Sadly, they were indeed still out of the Sophisticate Zinfandel that we love so much, but that didn't stop us from nabbing a few more bottles. One of them was their 2006 Los Alamos vineyard One Tree Hill Syrah. As I believe I have mentioned before, ZinfanGirl is usually indifferent about Syrah, but once again Four Vines is able to surprise me.

Reddish with almost a carmel hue to it, this Syrah isn't as POW! as most other Syrahs I've had. Four Vines claims this is due to the "low yield cool climate," which is fine by me. Leggy with just enough fruit, the main aroma and flavors of this one are spice & pepper. The body is rounded and smooth, noticeable in the mouth but not too heavy. Clean finish with just a linger of peppery goodness. I bet this would go well with blackened... well, blackened anything, really, which is probably what prompted ZinfanHubby to nab a bottle.

Another Four Vines success story, but overall I will stick to their Zinfandels and blends. Just you wait 'til I review their 2007 Cypher. That is going to be fun!

Review: 2006 Seghesio Home Ranch Petite Sirah

**Apologies, as I was not able to find a picture of Seghesio's 2006 Home Ranch Petite Sirah. Under the Grape Tree blog has a picture up, but since ZinfanGirl is cautious of photo theft & copyright infringement & blah blah blah, she figured she'd just link to the blog (and their review of the same wine) instead.**

There are two wines that ZinfanGirl can almost always peg on site: white Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. Looking at this wine sitting in my glass, I see this is a fairly leggy wine, dripping slowly down the edges as I swirl it. It smells warm, the way pumpkin pie smells warm-- don't get me wrong, I am not saying this wine smells like pumpkin pie (although that actually sounds kinda yummy...). Maybe it's clove or cinnamon. Let's give it a taste, shall we?

Wow, what a body on this wine! The mid-palate is where it's at! The warmth of the nose also continues down my throat, but not in an unpleasant burning way. Tannins in the finish are just enough to be noticed but without the moisture-sucking-ness of, say, a Cabernet Sauvignon.

There is definitely a dark/bramble fruit presence but it takes a back seat to the "warmy" essence. It's a toasted spice of some sort-- I bet this would make for an interesting mulled wine if it weren't so heavy. And at 15.5% alcohol, definitely proceed with caution. ZinfanGirl is continuously amazed at how just a 1% - 2% increase in alcohol/volume can affect her body & brain (like the time ZinFanHubby brought a bottle of Seghesio's Venom to France. After having spent months drinking 12% alcohol/volume French wines, one sip of this 16+% sangiovese knocked me on my ZinfanAss).

Although I think this wine *could* be matched up with food, its unique flavors and luscious body make it a fine stand-alone wine. Thumbs up, Seghesio.

Review: Seghesio Marian's Reserve 2007 Alexander Valley Red Table Wine

It's been awhile since ZinfanHubby & I have cracked into a Seghesio. We received a club shipment not too long ago and while entertaining guests the other night, decided to pull one out. Our options were either the Marian's Reserve or a Four Vines; having recently opened a Four Vines, Seghesio won out (clearly there was a lack of ZinfanLogic here, as we are going to Templeton this weekend and will surely stop at Four Vines). C'est la vie & stuff.

34% Zinfandel, 33% Petite Syrah (it shows!) and 33% Carignane, this wine packs a punch at a whopping 15.5% alcohol/volume. OK, math lesson over. Maybe ZinfanGirl has become overly sensitive to alcohol over the years, but the boozy-burning scent comes through almost as strongly as the jam of the Zin. As mentioned, the wine looks like a PS: practically purple & inky (in fact, having saved the bottle, I notice a small drip down the white label and it is blue. No exaggeration). Tannins throughout the taste, but they don't suck the moisture out of your mouth too much. The finish is clean and smooth, with a touch of fruit. Drinking this wine makes me want steak. I can't really ID any specific fruit, but the fruitiness is definitely there. This wine is nice: nothing memorable, but that works both ways, yeah?

Clearly ZinfanGirl has *some* fond memories of Seghesio...

Gettin' some ♥ZinfanLove♥ at Seghesio- July '07 (thanks to my ZinfanFriend Lindsey for the pic!)

Review: Wine Tycoon

ZinfanGirl considers herself fortunate that she does not tend to get sucked into time-consuming mindless games. She does not think twice about blocking Farmville invites on Facebook, and rarely picks up a video game controller (except Rock Band. She does love Rock Band). But she has always loved controlling things, which explains her lifelong love of the Sims games. So imagine her delight when a Sims-like game for wine-os hit the shelves...

Many hours were played, many liters of wine bottled, many regions of France explored. So why oh why does this game suck so bad?!

Any wine tycoon, real or fictional, can sum this up in one word: bugs. A freeze here, a glitch there-- these are all forgiveable flaws. I understand that Wine Tycoon is not backed by some game giant like Electronic Arts and therefore shouldn't be compared to such multi-million dollar standards. But y'know, when playing a game, I kind of take for granted that I'll be able to save. I have yet to be able to do so in Wine Tycoon. Sure the Save Game menu is there. It's right next to the Load Game menu. But type in a name, click "save" and try, just TRY to find it again. Good luck.

I did enjoy playing around the various regions of France (yes, the game is based entirely in France). Naturally my heart fluttered when, in the description of Champagne, I saw my former town of Troyes mentioned by name. Having an interactive outlet to help me memorize learn about different French varietals, wines and regions is really great. For a lower-budget game, the graphics aren't bad. I amused myself for hours trying to earn enough money to pay my workers, buy the best equipment possible, and protect my grapes from the Four Ills of Wine Tycoon: Pests, Overgrowth, Weeds and Soil Infertility.

So much potential, it breaks my ZinfanHeart. Aside from the Save issue (seriously, I still can't wrap my head around that one), there are a few other bugs. For instance, while playing in the Burgundy region, I got a request to sell some St Aubin, aged 2 years. Yet in the "Blending" section of the game, it is impossible to age St. Aubin. "Some wines should not be aged," it says. True enough, but then why, dear Wine Tycoon, are you ASKING for it?! In the "Career Mode" option, I am only able to play in Alsace. Other bugs include: some wines having $0 value (I had a batch of wine X-- forget which one it was-- and I would be asked to sell this wine for $0 no matter how great/small the quantity), some vineyards being unresponsive to treatments (yet they grew just fine anyway), and the mysterious hiring of workers (no, dammit, I said ONE bottler!). So, that's my technical opinion.

I was also bummed about not being able to participate more in the growing process. You pick a vineyard, pick a grape to plant, and that's it. But as most wine-o's know, there's much more to it than that. Vines on top of a hill are different than wines grown below. Direction plays a role too. And ZinfanGirl can attest first-hand that the weather is not uniform throughout France, which Wine Tycoon leads you to believe. It does not snow often in Provence, so please stop making it look like Christmastime in Troyes.

While there is different equipment you can buy for each step of the wine making, the only thing differentiating them is price, production and size. Barrels are barrels, no wood or steel. I know there are different presses on the market too. And why lump all "weeds" and "pests" together? Give the noble rot some love, yo!

So, my bottom line: Is it worth $20? I have certainly made stupider purchases in my lifetime. In the grand scheme of things, $20 isn't much for a few hours' of mindless entertainment-- hell, that's cheaper than a movie ticket + popcorn, and unlike going to the movies you can play Wine Tycoon naked from the comfort of your own home. But don't get your hopes up: other than a concise lesson on French wines, this game will not fulfill your dream to be a Wine Tycoon. Sorry, kids. They tried. They really did.

Wine Tycoon by Got Game Entertainment

P.S.- I do have an email in to their customer support about the Save issue. I will post back here ASAP if/when I get a response.

Review: 2006 Ridge “Old School” Zinfandel

Maybe ZinfanGirl is easily influenced by the name, but this zin had “old vine” written all over it. Well, that’s half correct. “Two of the four chosen parcels contain nineteenth-century vines, two were planted in the 1960s,” reads the label. Hm. Tastes more old vine to me, but who am I to argue with Ridge? ;)

This wine is a clear red, more garnet than ruby (I need to discover more red gemstones; I feel all my reviews regarding color refer to at least one of these two stones). Must be the 15% Carignane, because surely 2% Petite Sirah isn’t enough to affect the color (PS would make it more inky anyway).

Spice, spice, spice… and fruit, of course, but I think spice wins this one. I detect a hint of licorice as well. The palate and back are nice, but there isn’t much to the front. Perhaps I should left this one on the ZinfanRack for a spell? Too late now!

Another good Ridge wine, but nothing special. With respect to the wine, perhaps I should have waited a bit to open but. But it claims to be delicious now (and it is), and once again… who am I to argue with Ridge?
Zin out,
-ZFG

For more info, visit Ridge Old School Zinfandel

Review: 2007 Ravenswood Mendocino County Zinfandel

First of all, apologies for the less-than-great picture. Second of all, my bottle of Ravenswood’s Mendocino zinfandel is in a *green* bottle—does the one in the picture not look clear to you? And by clear I guess I really mean colorless... anyway, I digress.

Ravenswood's wine maker describes this wine as “very Mendocino.” Not being too familiar with wines from the Mendocino region, I will take his word for it. I’m guessing he means that the cooler weather makes wines from here a bit different than their usual Sonoma juice. There’s only one way to find out…

The blue-red hue conjures up images of rubies. My first sip of this tangy yet berry-forward wine brings to mind one distinct flavor: strawberry fruit Roll-ups. The mild tannins are noticeable, but they work well to balance out the front & back while still preserving the berry goodness that is Zinfandel.

So, Mendocino, I may just have to pay you a visit one of these days. Up for a new ZinfanFriend?

For more info, visit Ravenswood Mendocino Co. Zinfandel

Review: 2007 Four Vines “Sophisticate” Zinfandel

Every time I write about Four Vines, I feel compelled to once again thank Brandy at Donati Family for the recommendation. Seriously Brandy, THANK YOU from the bottom of my little ZinfanHeart.

Imagine my delight when, just one month after joining the Four Vines Incident, our first shipment arrived. Sophisticate is unlike any zin I’ve ever tasted. It is delectable to all the senses. The color instantly reveals that this zin has been fooling around with a bit of Petite Sirah: dark ruby with a slight blue-purple tint. The nose is slightly sweet, but not jammy-sweet like most zins; nay, Sophisticate smells a bit like caramel and a bit like licorice. The sensory pleasures continue into the mouth: tangy front, an almost candy-like (but not saccharine) back, and a sensuous finish. I swear it tasted a bit like coconut; Four Vines claims it’s “vanilla oak.” Whatever it is, it’s not traditionally zin-like, but it works.

Four Vines, you’re too good to me.


For more info (but no buying-- Sophisticate is sold out!) Four Vines Sophisticate Zinfandel

El Review: 2008 Calixa Rosado

The time has come to issue my verdict on my south-of-the-border wine purchase! I had a feeling I would end up pairing this wine with seafood, and I was right. I shared it with ZinfanHubby & two others last Saturday night over a dinner of mildly spicy crab-stuffed scallops, couscous and wilted greens, and it was, in the words of Goldilocks, just right.

The first thing I noticed about this rosé rosado was the color. It was a lighter pink than I usually see, with an almost orange-y hue to it. No matter, wine ain't for starin' at, it's for drinkin'! The wine had an acidic nose reminiscent of tart fruit. The flavor is like biting into a ruby red grapefruit: crisp, citric, not quite sweet but not not sweet, if that makes sense. The finish is clean and there is very little aftertaste. I bet this rosado would go smashingly well with a famous Baja California fish taco.

Verdict: Wow, Mexico! And I thought I was just here for the cerveza... I'll join you for a glass of wine any time!

Sadly I couldn't find a picture of this wine online, but here is the website with a little animated image & info about the wine http://www.montexanic.com.mx/

Salude!
-ZinfanGirl

Review: 2006 Ridge Zinfandel: Nervo Vineyard, Sonoma Co. ATP

Ah Ridge, thy reputation preceeds you! Actually, you do a fine job of living up to that reputation-- at least, the Judgment of Paris thought so ;)

Imagine my joy when ZinfanHubby came home the other day with shipments from both Ravenswood and Ridge. Imagine my continued joy when ZinfanHubby came home a couple of days later with shipments from the same two wineries. Turns out the thoughtful folks at Ravenswood and Ridge had held our prior shipments until the heat spell passed. Many thanks from ZinfanGirl for your preventive measures!

So, Nervo... it says this wine is enjoyable now, but "will be at its best over the next four to five years." ZinfanGirl stopped paying attention after the "enjoyable now" bit. Upon opening the wine didn't seem very special-- balanced body, very soft tannins, no detectable flavors. But having been aerated for a few minutes now, our little Nervo is warming up: a lush, almost caramel-y sweet nose that carries into the forward taste. Not too sweet-- we should all know by now that ZinfanGirl does not do sweet wines-- and cleans up with an extremely smooth finish. Looking at the wine, you can see what a heavy influence the 7% Petite Sirah has on the color: one may have difficulty pegging this as a zin based on sight alone, as the Nervo has the depth and blue-purple hue of the Petite Sirah. But the traditional zin flavors are revealed to the drinker as soon as the wine is tasted.

Verdict: While delicious, and certainly complex, the Nervo isn't anything uber-special in my book. Perhaps I should've listened and let it chillax for a few years, but what can ya do? :)

Cheers!
-ZFG

Review: 2007 Biale Party Line Petite Sirah

In case you couldn't tell, ZinfanGirl has quite a love for Robert Biale & his wines. Yesterday was the members BBQ/pick-up party, and I walked away with quite a take! I will tell my ZinfanReaders all about the party very soon (hopefully tomorrow); alas, for now, I will simply stick with a review to keep you going.

This wine is brand spankin' new. This Petite Sirah joins the Party Line Zinfandel & other amazing Biale wines. While known mainly for their Zins (fear not, ZinfanGirl will post a review of the new Black Chicken release soon!), Biale sure knows their Petite Sirahs & Syrahs. And the new Party Line is no exception.

Inky goodness is dripping down the sides of my glass. Just when I thought you couldn't get a wine with more POW than a Biale Zin, they have to one-up themselves with this pow-a-licious little number. The tannins are mellowed out by luscious black fruit-- any Biale fan will immediately taste and feel similarities (think: blackberry jam) between PLPS and PLZ. Heavier in the mouth than the PLZ, the PLPS is just begging to be invited to your next BBQ. But save the lighter fare for another time, as this wine is best served with real meat: we're talking lamb chops, thick steaks, and any red meat that is best served slightly charred. This wine would easily overpower something delicate like fish or chicken... unless we're talking Black Chicken, of course.

Read more about Biale's Party Line Petite Sirah here.

Review: 2006 Wente Vineyards Counoise

First and foremost, ZinfanGirl asks herself this: has Livermore Valley always been so close by? And why haven't I been there sooner? ZinfanFact: the Girl actually grew up in the same county as Livermore. Granted she was outta there long before her 21st birthday, and as we all know, ZinfanGirl never touched booze before that day... except in Mexico, where the drinking age is 18... and that spring break to Europe when she was 20... OK, there is clearly a reason she isn't called ZinfanAngel. Moving on...

The last time I wrote about Livermore Valley, I expressed my joy at tasting previously unknown varietals (please see Review: Murrieta's Well). This time around, I am sipping another new discovery: Counoise. The gentleman at Wente's tasting room was impressed that I got the pronounciation down pat on the first try and, despite never having heard of it, immediately pegged it as a French grape (ZinfanGirl is happy that her French degree still proves useful from time to time).

Ah, mon petit Counoise! This lovely little grape is used in Rhône valley wines, although its pepper immediately reminded ZinfanGirl of a delightful wine she tasted & bought at a Salon du Vins (wine fair) in Le Mans (Loire Valley, which is known for its sweet Chenin Blancs & is about as far from Rhône as you can get while staying in France). The wine was purchased and given to ZinfanBro without first recording the name, vintner, and other pertinent information. ZinfanBro was given a ZinfanWhooping when he confessed he and a friend drank said wine after the beer had run out one night & they were too drunk to drive to get more. ZinfanFURY!!! But again, I disgress, and the morale of this story is that I was delighted to finally find once again what I thought I had lost forever: that unknown, peppery red wine.

So, back to Wente: the label claims, "aromas of cherry, red licorice and graham. Flavors of candied cherry, red berry, and hints of vanilla and toasted oak..." No pepper? Srsly? That's the first thing I taste (followed closely by the cherry). And how on earth can a French varietal have notes of graham? If you ever have the chance, ask a French person what a graham cracker is-- you will get the same puzzled expression, I imagine, that I am still wearing (seriously, no pepper!?).

Tannins and acidity are mild, and this wine tastes & feels much lighter than it looks. It isn't very "earthy" or, as ZinfanHubby says, "dirty," as I suspect the French Counoises are. This is a good alternative to white or rosé on a warm afternoon (or maybe I am just telling myself this to justify drinking at 1:30PM). I'm recalling a lovely duck confit & candied cherry salad I had not too long ago and think this wine would pair perfectly with such a dish-- something light and berry-centric without being too sweet.

Oh Livermore, thank you so very much for introducing me to these new treasures. I'm so happy we're neighbors :)

Review: Morro Bay Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay

Yet another bottle of BBQ leftover wine. We have the best guests ever, they know me & ZinfanHubby all too well!

This Chard has been sitting in our fridge getting nice & chilly while ZinfanHubby & I battled some kind of infection all week. Wines, unlike friends & family, don't suddenly disappear when we get contagious-- my own ZinfanMama won't even hug me when I'm sick! Rather, the bottles sit, waiting patiently, and are all too willing to embrace us the second we feel (or think we feel) better.

I've been to Morro Bay (the city, not the winery) once. Cute, kinda sleepy little beach town not too unlike Half Moon Bay. I wouldn't have guessed there are wineries there, but considering its position between Monterey (which has wineries cropping up like wildflowers) and Santa Barbara (hello, Sideways!) it isn't surprising. I guess grape vines, like ZinfanGirl herself, are partial to the lovely California coast. Alas, I digress!

Let's see how badly the bug affected my nose & palate... it has the nice, crisp smell of well, a Chardonnay. Slightly sweet, slightly acidic, just enough oak, slight hint of creamy... butter? sweet? I dunno, it's just... creamy (maybe my nose has been affected-- that, or my wine description vocab). It is very light for a Chard, just enough of that signature Chardonnay golden hue coming through, but on sight one could almost mistake it for a Sauvignon Blanc.

This wine is crisp all throughout, but a bit acidic for my taste. The creamy smell was indeed butter; its taste hits about halfway down the mouth and gives the wine a nice mouthfeel. I'm getting two distinct flavors here: the acidity of fruit-- light fruits, maybe apples & pears?-- and the creaminess. Both are balanced, neither one dominates the other, yet they just don't... mesh. It's like sipping 2 different wines altogether.

Verdict: I'd prefer if the butter were more forward and the finish more crisp, but meh. Like I said, I didn't buy this wine, and I probably wouldn't again having tasted it. It has its upsides, and if you're a Chard fan it might be worth giving it a go (although I couldn't find a website for Morro Bay vineyards, I'd bet my money-- no pun intended-- that this wine was purchased at a grocery store for under $15). ZinfanGirl is not the biggest Chard fan, and this certainly isn't the wine to change her mind.

Review: 2007 Murrieta's Well Zarzuela

A couple of weeks back, ZinfanHubby & I ventured to the Livermore wineries for the first time. Having grown up not far from the region, it still seemed odd to me that this neck of the Bay could behold anything more than farmland and windmills (Wiki entry: Altamont Pass). Alas, ZinfanGirl now stands corrected, and happily so.

We were besides ourselves with this whole new viti-world that was not any further away than the more popular Napa & Sonoma regions. And when I say besides ourselves, I mean that we walked away with a lot of booty. And I am happy to add yet another region to my ever-expanding list of "Where I've Tasted" wineries.

We hit up the trifecta of Wente, Murrieta's Well and Tamas Estate. According to some friends, we need to check out the "off the beaten path" wineries (which ZinfanHubby & ZinfanGirl much prefer) next time we go, and offered to show us their favorite hidden gems. Huzzah for ZinfanFriends!

Commercial or not, all three wineries scored some points in my book. While Livermore valley Zins are not as-- attention-grabbing, for lack of a better term-- as our beloved Napa juice, they offered plenty of interesting blends and varietals. I am already looking forward to going back!

ZinfanGirl's first Livermore Valley victim-- er, review-- comes from Murrieta's Well. Zarzuela, wha?? Meaning "operetta" in Spanish, this wine is a blend of Spanish & Portugeuse varietals: Touriga Nacional, Tempranillo, Souzao and Touriga Francesca. I'd only ever heard of Tempranillo-- ZinfanGirl clearly needs to get with the global wine program! But the instant I tasted it, I was reminded of my time in Porto, Portugal. Obviously this wine is not port (you will soon learn the ZinfanGirl is not a port fan, and you will rarely see it mentioned here), but the texture immediately revealed its heritage. Unlike many reds, this is a perfect wine for a sunny afternoon and would pair perfectly with light tapas and a siesta. Purple hues and a light mouth are the first noticeable qualities of this wine; a lovely mix of a delicate fruit forward and strong spice finish make it a wine worth remembering. It is, to say the least, a complex wine, one that is sure to delight even veteran wine drinkers who perhaps have given up on finding anything new. And at $30 a bottle, it is a hell of a lot cheaper than a trip to Europe!

Review: 2005 Estancia Shiraz

Slacker? Not me. Especially not when sunny 3-day weekends are involved. Rest assured that ZinfanGirl is never far from the festivies! Being quite the hosts, ZinfanGirl & ZinfanHubby were busy with BBQs, bocce tourneys and poker this weekend. The best thing about hosting parties? All the leftover wine is OURS! *triumphant ZinfanGiggle*

I have actually been keeping a log of recent wine reviews, and will eventually get them all up here. Please check back later this week as I plan on posting many reviews on the site.

Reviewing wine is something I'm still shaky on. Is it possible to be "wrong" about a review? What if I hate a wine everyone else loves, or vice versa? Wine reviewers, please, send your input on this subject my way. And everyone else, please critique my reviews and let me know what I should elaborate on more (or less). I am counting on YOU, my readers, to get better at this whole review thing. See, ZinfanGirl is a nice girl at heart, and fears the day she has to write, "This wine is crap."

So here is today's review: 2005 Estancia Shiraz. A deep, purple-maroon is exactly the color I would expect from this wine. The dark fruit flavors are accentuated with an earthy taste; the wine gets its POW! in its strong back and tingly, lasting finish. Although this Shiraz is from California, every time I sip I can see why it is the wine associated with Aussies: it just begs to be served with a bold, robust meat dish such as lamb or ribs. Overall, it is a great wine to bring to a BBQ, and won't break the bank (BevMo has it on sale for $7.99, $5 off the regular price). But definitely serve it with a well-seasoned, slightly charred chunk of red meat-- this wine would drown out delicate flavors of fish or chicken, and I definitely would not classify it as a wine suitable for serving with dessert (maybe with a dark chocolate-- 80% cacao).

ZinfanHubby has just informed me that Estancia is a member of Constellation, and that we are entitled to tastings & discounts there through our other wine club memberships. Definitely something to keep in mind, as I've been wanting to check out the Central Coast wineries for quite some time now.

Cheers!
-ZinfanGirl