This is a good wine for those of you who are looking for something mellow and smooth for a dinner party. Now more of your wine "snobs" will expect more but for the price you really can't go wrong. I enjoy this with various cheese, crackers, and apples. Of course it will hold up to a full dinner, but it is nice as a first bottle / appetizer wine.

    Now here is a good wine that is reasonably priced and not too mention the first time I had it was on a plane. (Delta airlines on my way to Paris no less). It is a decent wine, but really needs a meal to accompany it. And if all you have is your warmed box o' airline food in front of you, well then I say drink up and enjoy.

   Let's just say for the price there are quite a few other Pinot Grigio's available on the market....especially in California where I live!! This was brought over to my house for a dinner party, and granted the person who brought it doesn't know much about wine so we thanked them. I tried it, but was turned off instantly. Later on tried cooking with it...and it made my dish nearly inedible!! Please choose wisely when looking into the Pinot Grigio, that is all I can say.

    Now here is a good wine that is a great price!! This wine can stand to be in the cellar for some time or you can choose to drink it now. If you do choose to drink it now might I suggest open it up WELL before you plan to drink it or make your dinner, as this wine gets much better and mellows out once it has been exposed to the air. Decanting this wine would be an even better idea. I have had the 2004, 2005, and 2006 versions of this wine, and I will tell you that the 04 and 05 need a lot less time to open up, but the 06 is still EXTREMELY young.

    Ok again having ran out of the '02 some time ago I am going to focus on what I do have which is the '04 Bordeaux blend. The '02 was a great wine, nice balance, decent tannins, quality spice, and nice finish. The '04 is more of that and then some. This is a nice wine to open for an occasion or no occasion at all other than to enjoy life. I like this one with wild rice dishes, BBQ chicken and even a grilled burger. Mellow to most, but some will not appreciate the spice that comes from the Sierra Foothills of California, but for the price again you can't go wrong. Expect to pay under $15 retail and if you head over to the winery they will beat that price all day long.

    A sad day in a reviewer’s life is when a great Zin like this one is gone. The good news is that I still have some '98 and '03 left of this wonderful wine. The '98 is about done (meaning it is not gonna get any better), and will be finished off soon. Again I would recommend a good cut of red meat on the grill for this one. As for the '03....hmmm well that is a different story all together. Still has a nice spice to it with some flavors of ripe cherries, hint of tobacco, and is a little earth, but it pairs fantastically with chocolate. If you have a bottle of '03 treat yourself and a loved one to a nice night in with some dark chocolate and a bottle of the '03 Clarke Zin, you never know where it will lead to....

    Good wine, good winery, great people, and great value!! These are things you will find when you open up a bottle of the Coulson Chardonnay. Settled in the Sierra foothills, this area tends to get a decent Chardonnay crop for the appellation. I remember drinking the 96 and enjoying it with a light fish (Halibut, Orange Roughy, Tiliapia, Basa). It has a nice crispness to it, and the fish really brought out the flavor of the wine. Side note: I was also fortunate enough to pick up 3 bottles of the 95 Chardonnay back in Oct 07 from the winery as they were closing out on their library wines. Now most of you are saying that why would you drink a "foothill" Chardonnay past the prime? Well I got 2 reasons for you: 1. Cause I can....no no just kidding, mostly cause it was still good!! 2. When do you find a 95 Chardonnay anywhere? That is unless you are paying some ungodly amount of money for it right? Well the good news is that I still have one bottle left in the cellar that will be consumed this summer, and the better news is that those 3 bottles were cheaper than one bottle of the infamous Rombauer Chardonnay.

    Ah yes the Coulson Cabernets (and yes I put the hard T on the end of this one), here is another hit wine that is very drinkable with food or without. Have gone through my collection of the 2001 bottles about a year ago, and now have only 2 bottles of the 2002 left in the cellar. This is a great BBQ wine, whether it be ribs (beef or pork), tri tip, london broil, or even some great pork chops. (Pork chops and applesauce....just kidding). The 01 and 02 have one great thing in common, a smooth red that needs no time to open up. Nice mellow tannins, with a good finish.

    This is not a Napa cab, and if you can get past it not being a Napa cab then continue to read this post and enjoy.  First and foremost Napa is not the only place that can grow a good Cab, but of course the wine snobs will tell you different.  This has a great aroma and from the first whiff out of the glass I could tell that this was from El Dorado Foothills right away (even though I already know that).  But this has that distinct foothills smell from the wine that is very soothing to me.  Notes of blackberry and currant on the nose are the first indicators that you will be treated nicely when consuming this one.  Nice and even tasting on the palate, and smooth finish on this year.  I personally like the Cabs from this area since they tend to be a bit different from most other Cabs people are used to drinking.  And at 8 years aged, it is ready to be open up and enjoyed by all.

2001 Coulson Sangiovese
    There is only one bad thing about the 2001 Coulson Sangiovese....I only have 1 bottle of it left!!! Ha ha ha.....Ok, now to the serious wine review. Here you have another tasty gem from the Sierra Foothills in California. If you drink enough wine you will begin to determine where the wine is made, and this one screams foothills. Quality wine, great price, and with my red sauce I made for pasta all I can say is yum. I am getting hungry just thinking about it!! I also have 2 bottles of the 97 and 1 bottle of the 04 left in the cellar as well and let me tell you the 97 is fantastic! If it all you get a chance to pick up any of these years I would obviously start with the 97, then 01, and of course don't leave out the 04.

1997 Coulson Sangiovese
    Immediately on the nose you know you are in for a treat.  This vintage gives off strong essence of blackberry and gives you warmth to your soul that only a good Sangiovese can.  Bold and fruit forward, I would recommend a spicy Italian dish or at least some food with some layers to it to really release the levels of this wine.  This wine lingers on the palate making you want another drink sooner than later.  An end to a great wine that is not in circulation anymore, I know I will savor my last bottle very soon.

Now I know the label here reads 2003 Barbera, but you know what I don't have any of this left in my cellar. But what I do know is that the 2005 Barbera is awesome!! I recently purchased a half case from the winery and had a bottle just a couple of weeks ago. Not sure how many of you out there appreciate or even have tried the Barbera varietal but here is the one you need to start with. I remember the 03 went really well with some spanish Paella for a main course and for the appetizer sharp white cheddar and spanish olives. The 05 is on par if not one step beyond the 03 in that it has great legs, and years to come of cellaring. Pair with a heavy meal or strong / complex appetizers or if you are like me open up a bottle and share with the neighbors.

1998 Cucina Mista by Montevina – California Red Table Wine (12.0%) 1.5L size
So let me ask you this….do you have any red wine laying around that you can’t remember when you bought it, how it tastes or for that matter if it is even good?  Well chances are some of my readers right now are saying yes to this question, the other ones are asking “Who the heck leaves wine around?”  Needless to say I was faced with such a bottle recently.  It was a product of my vast cellar of wine, and was innocently opened up to create a rather large batch of Bolognese sauce for the house, and the neighbors.  What I didn’t realize was just how good this wine was, and how well it had matured.  Having nothing to compare it to (since it was not anything I purchased), I was blown away at the fact it was used for sauce.  Getting past my own snobbyness, I will let it go thinking that it will only make the sauce taste better.  The nose is overall pretty average, just your run of the mill table red, but after one sip you will be led to believe there is much more to this wine than meets the eye, um er nose rather.  Ripe plum, black currant, with an earthy leathery finish all has me wishing this was not the last of this wine.  Sadly this is the only bottle I know of, and having met the winemaker on numerous occasions, I will be asking him for more or at least requesting to make this again.  The tannins are all but nonexistent, but what do you expect for a 1998 table red.  Still this wine is really enjoyable, especially with the homemade sauce.

Well campers, I know that my forte is wine from California, (Northern to be specific) but I do like to mix it up from time to time.  I have Spanish blood pumping through my veins, and a good Tempranillo is like a transfusion for my people.  (No offense to any fellow Spainards reading this article).  Nice ripe plum & cedar on the nose for starters.  The first sip denotes leather, tobacco, cedar, cassis, and the rich ripe plum flavor.  The finish is that similar to a port, in which it is rich, smooth and a little on the strong side.  This is surprising considering the low alcohol content in this wine at 12.5%; well lower than most of the California brutes that I am used to drinking.  Enjoy this wine with traditional Spanish paella, grilled flank steak or like I am right now, just by itself.  Aged in oak barrels for 12 months, the wine appears clean in the glass and has a deep intensity with red-vermillion tints.  This one was purchased a couple of years back at Beverages & More for a very affordable price of $9.99 per bottle.  Oh and I almost forgot the best part, their current release is available at Bevmo (cause in California we are always trying to make everything "cool") for the very reasonable price of $12.99.  2004 Hoya de Cadenas Tempranillo

So what we have here is a quality Zin from the Lodi area of California (that most people won’t give the time of day since the label says Woodbridge on it).  Great mellow Zin with only 13.5% alcohol, not the normal killer from Amador or El Dorado Counties in California.  But with the lower alcohol content it really opens up the Zinfandel fruit.  What you will taste on this one is the following:  Blackberries, ripe raspberries, slight black currant, and a mellow spice on the finish.  So if you subtle (or not so subtle) wine snobs can get past the Woodbridge label you will be in for a bottle that will be empty by the end of the evening (even if you are alone).

Good wine, decent price. Now what we have here is a failure to communicate (I love that line), but what I am getting at is that this "Robert Modavi" wine is not really the Mondavi that most of us in the wine world expect. Now if you were fortunate enough to have the La Famiglia label back in 1999 - 2001 then you know what I am talking about. This Pinot Grigio is a good wine, so don't get me wrong, but it is nowhere near the previous vintages. Good luck finding this one, and if you do, it should be well under the retail price of $15 more like $10 and under category.  Again good warm spring / summer wine to be enjoyed at a BBQ near you.

2005 Prado Madera, Napa Valley Red Wine

This fine bottle was opened at a friends house, just because he wanted a nice glass of wine w/ some of his favorite cheeses.  We enjoyed a Spanish basque cheese, fresh mozerella, some goat cheese (nasty, but that is my opinion), and the best bleu cheese I have ever had!!  Being that this is an '05 it took a bit to open up, but by the end of the first glass it was opening up quite nicely.  The nose is unmistakably Napa Valley, but you might have heard this from me before.  I relate this wine to one of my all time favorites the 2002 Franciscan Magnificant.  I get a Cabernet Sauvignon base with some Cabernet Franc, some Petite Verdot & maybe just a hint of Malbec, but not too much.  There are ripe rich blackberries, currant, hint of leather, & the tannins are lively.  Not too bity, but the wine could lay down for at least another 3-5 years.  Fantastic with the cheese, but at the same time would be amazing with a grilled steak & potato salad.

A nice, rich, full bodied Syrah here. This one was kind of a surprise, (having never heard of this winery before) but a nice surprise at that.

So many wineries so little time, I know I know very cliché, but in the Sacramento region with all of the wine counties available I learn about 3 to 5 new wineries a month. And I don’t get out that much to explore the regions.

Needless to say I will be making a special trip up to Holly’s Hill in the very near future.

This Syrah was a gift from a dinner party held at the house, but I want more ($18 per bottle from the winery). More deep violet color, more rich bold fruit on the nose, and more Syrah chewiness on the palate. Mellow, yet slightly dry on the finish. All the things I hope for when I open up a bottle of red. Stay tuned for more from the winery soon. For more information view the site http://www.hollyshill.com/

A blast on the nose right away deep from the La Famiglia vineyards. You know from the first smell that you are in for a treat. Unfortunately for you readers out there the La Famiglia Colmera is no longer available unless you are lucky enough to find it in a local wine shop or by use of the internet. However, if you find some do yourself a favor, get it and drink it right away!! Sorry for the commercial, now on with our show.

Full luscious fruit forward, drinks just like a Sangiovese (even though it is a Sangiovese blend), with deep plum flavor and a nice mellow finish. There is a slight bite on the tongue as the last bit rolls back into the throat. Obviously with a 1999 the tannins are going to be mellowed out (if not completely gone), but I was lucky enough to have this about 4 years previous to this tasting and the finish was much bolder than now.

Fantastic with steak, beef stew, heavy pasta dish and of course my favorite anything garlic. This wine is currently not available unless you are very lucky in finding some in a wine shop or by scouring the internet. The website has it listed for $40.00 a bottle, but it is sold out. For more information check out the website: http://www.lafamigliawines.com/index.asp