Renwood Petite Sirah 2009

Well, well, well. Looky what we have here. Another delicious Petite Sirah! I don't know what the deal is lately, but we are having a great string of luck with affordable Petites! This is a bit of a surprise, as it was under $20 at BevMo!

Bottom line: Better buy two, because once you open one, you'll drink it and just want more.

Casa Barranca Grenache 2010

I posted about other Casa Barranca wine earlier (their Cabernet). This Grenache is the shit. It just is. Hard to say if it is fully the shit, but I would venture to say yes.

Bottom line: It is the thing you should be drinking right now. If you look down and realize you are not drinking this, you have made a terrible mistake somewhere in your day. But I still love you and there is time to make up for this egregious error.

Wine Tasting - Vino V, Old Creek Ranch

We decided to make a day trip to Ojai and Old Creek Ranch winery. It is a nice way to spend an afternoon.

For the most part Vino V had most of the same wines they had last time we were here. But the good thing is, I needed to restock on a couple favorites. The 2011 Chenin Blanc and 2006 Syrah. A wine he had that I do not recall him having last time was the Grüner Veltliner (2011), which is a white, very light, fruitier, sweeter than the Chenin but just as delicate.

It is funny because the wine maker is a pretty manly guy and his wines are very delicate and gentle, but also intricate.

He surprised us by tempting us with a 2008 Chardonnay, not on the wine tasting roster. We tried a 2010, and it was good, but just good. The 08 is tantalizing. Not sure if just age contributes to the character, or the vintage is just better, but I couldn't resist buying a bottle.

Next we wandered five feet to the right to try the wines at Old Creek Ranch. They focus mostly on varietals from the Spanish and Italian regions (some southern French as well), like Grenache, Sangiovese, Viognier. We started off with two fruity but acidic whites: a Tocai Friulano, and an Albarino. These have a citric acidic bite, which would go well with food. They are apparently really popular in Spain.

The Viognier was much better than the last one I tried, but it isn't for me. Not as buttery as a Chardonnay, and not as sweet as a pinot gris, but relies on more subtle complexity. At this stage in my learning, I need a white to hit me over the head with uniqueness, otherwise, I lose interest.

The next two wines were a Carignane, which was good, but a little on the light and dry side for me, and De La Tierra, a blend mostly of Morvedre with a little Grenache, Syrah and Viognier (which seems a really odd combination to me--and overall it was). Again, see aforementioned requisite baseball-bat-of-flavor. Wines cannot play coy with me; I am but a child needing to be hit in the head...with a baseball bat (which I imagine any of you reading with more experience than I, would like to oblige. Maybe for charity one day, I'll sell tickets and you'll get your chance).

Ah, the OCR 2010 Grenache, which I post about more in the future. This is a lovely flavorful wine, and I rather enjoy both tasting and drinking, as is their Sangiovese (2009), and their Petite Sirah (2010). The Sangiovese is amazing and I was excited to taste it again, and to get another bottle. I'm always wary of Petite Sirahs, since I am so often disappointed, and this was a new wine on sale for the first time this spring. It was lovely and at $35/bottle, an excellent value ($28 if you join their club). Their Syrah (2009) was not exciting however, and I was bummed as I typically like Syrah a lot. They touted it (in the description) as amazing, but I just can't agree. It could also have been that by now, my tasters were shot, but it just didn't have the same allure the other wines did. There was no sex in that bottle for me.

Speaking of price the Petite Sirah, and the Barbera wine were the most expensive of their wines. They range from $22 to $35, and are sophisticated and nicely priced.

Lastly, I need to mention their 2009 Barbera wine. This was a surprise, as I'm sure we tried it the last time we were here, but I don't recall it. It was nearly sold out, and they had a 2-bottle limit, so we bought our limit. This was smooth, right, silky, a beautiful dark red, fruity, and just fucking nice to drink.

We ended our day at Paradise Pantry, where they served us cheese, more wine, and a variety of other amazing foods.

Bottom line: Go for a drive to Ojai and buy some wine! Stop in Ventura for the cheese!

Sebastiani Merlot 2007

I mentioned this wine before when talking about the Sebastiani Cab. While still good, it is not as complex as the Cab. But at eight to ten dollars, a good deal for a better than average, delicious drinking wine.

I like Merlot. Because I don't only enjoy tasting wine, I also enjoy drinking it. And this is rather drinkable and generally lovely.

Dare I say, you can't go wrong with Sebastiani? I guess I have more drinking to do to find out. So far, so good.

Bottom line: Drink it!

Vampire Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Vampire makes many varietals. I don't remember what this tastes like. By the time we got around to opening this, we all agreed it was tasty enough to drink, but honestly, my tasters were shot.

Bottom line: Amazing (pending further investigation)

Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

Light elegant, and way more better than most other shit Pinot I have tried. And there's a lot of shit out there.

Pinot can be tricky to find a good one. I think it is harder to find a Pinot, than it is to find a Zin, say. Big and beefy, there can be so much going on in a dark red that you can find quirks in the variety that you like. Pinots seem like they don't have the fullness of flavor to rely on, so you screw up one little thing, and the whole batch is ruined.

Or it could be I have no sophistication and am full of shit, grasping at straws to justify my severe lack of knowledge.

Whatever. This one=good.

Bottom line: It won't curl your toes, but it might help with the ironing.

The Cutrer Chardonnay 2006

I know little about Chardonnay. They are shifty and I don't trust them. Just kidding. They all suck. Just kidding again. Only most of them.

This one is actually quite good. The label states Russian River Valley, and is Bottled by Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in Windsor. I have no idea what the fuck any of that means.

This has a definite structure to it unlike many Chards that are just liquidy and taste like white wine. So much structure, when I opened this bottle, a small piece of scaffolding plopped out into my glass.

Bottom line: Why are you still reading this crap? Go buy some and drink it!

Stark Raving

I wanted this wine to be good. But it just was not. Normally Rosenblum is better than average, but despite a great name, and label, this Costco wine is only so-so.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't pour it out. I powered through. And if you are desperate enough, you can too.

Bottom line: Only if you are collecting cool labels, or mediocre flavors.

Casa Barranca Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

This lovely slice hails from a winery in Ojai which claims to be "organic." I'm not necessarily big on only buying organic stuff, but if YOU are, then you are in luck. This is good. They have a couple of other varietals I picked up as well, a Syrah, and a Grenache, both of which are just as delightful (though their Syrah, I think "orgasmic" is more accurate).

Now if you are only just arriving at this blog, there is a real possibility that I'm full of shit. I would say a relatively high percentage

Bottom line: Yum

Vino V Chenin Blanc 2011

This is a delicate but feisty dry white. It is versatile and good with savory and sweet. I had a chicken and pasta dish followed by a fancy chocolate and it continued to delight and enthrall through each flavor sensation.

Vino V is in the same building as Old Creek Ranch Winery. They even share a vineyard, but focus more on traditional grapes, like Chard, Cab, Syrah, etc, whereas Old Creek is more focused on Grenache, Sangiovese, etc.

It is a nice little winery and the Chenin shows their sophistication.

Bottom line: Drink it with a fox, drink it in a box, or go crazy and drink it with your mouth.

Two Angels Petite Sirah 2007

I am occasionally surprised by a wine that is both cheap and tasty.

This is not one of those times.

Kidding! Just fucking with you. For a $10 Petite Sirah, Two Angels 07 is an excellent value.

It is no David Fulton. Few wines are. DF is THE king of wine. My personal favorite and the wine against which all other wines are compared. Few measure up.

All that being said, I do not have $45 to spend on a bottle of wine every day. There are some petite Sirahs which are cheap and good. Or at least cheaper. Titus has an excellent one for around 30, and Rosenblum has a Pickett Road for around the same.

Most petite Sirahs I have tried in the "cheap" price range have sucked. Seriously, Powder Keg, wtf were you thinking? Tastes like burned wick, and that IS the nicest thing I can say for them. Petite Sirah is hard. It is dark and jammy and needs to be layered and sexy.

It is just hard to make sexy wine. After a bottle of DF, you will have to take a week off work, because you will still be having sex. Two Angels is like a cheap but satisfying quickie in the broom closet.

Bottom line: you never know where the day will take you, so bring a condom.