Here’s a February present – some red wines that, for the most part, are worth buying, trying and buying again. These were all sent to us for review, and you won’t break the bank with this bunch.

2010 McManis Family Vineyards Petite Sirah ($9.99, Total Wine) –
This isn’t just a Bold wine, it’s a deep wine: deep color, deep nose, deep palate. In other words, I liked it. It’s a purple-black wine, very dark, with a nose of fragrant, dark fruits. One of my sighworthy wines. On taste, it’s big cherry pop, licorice, a little smoky and some root beer (really). It’s a full-boded wine with a long finish that paired very well with high-quality burgers.

2010 Casa Silva Reserva Pinot Noir, Colchagua Valley, Chile ($12 online) –
This is a light-bodied pinot noir that smells of sour cherries (in a good way) and pretty, pink raspberries. On taste, it reminded me of cherry candies; a little too light for my taste in pinot noir. It would be a good wine for someone who is trying to learn about red wines, because it’s not too expensive, big or heavy and would probably be just right for a big white wine drinker.

2007 Hobnob Vineyards Shiraz, France ($9.99 online) –
This wine turned out to be the perfect antidote for a long day at the office. I went home, opened this, took a deep breath and found full cherries and a little earth. Then I took a sip and found cinnamon, a little spice, some more cherries and a nice-bodied wine with a medium finish. This was the first vintage for U.S. sales from this winery and it’s aimed at the young, hip crowd. It’s not too shabby after work for any age! It’s on my “buy again” list.

2009 Mandolin Syrah, Central Coast, Calif. ($11 online) –
A deep purple wine, with a deep nose of brambles and blackberries, this was just terrific with burgers. In fact, I used some of this wine when I made the burgers and it elevated those to a really yummy place. My notes say it’s a serene wine that has unity. On taste, it reflects the nose, very cherry with a smooth mouthfeel. A really, very nice wine. This is on my “you can give this to me as a gift anytime” list. Anyone listening? And you can’t beat the price.

2009 Caldora Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy ($9 online) –
Here’s a food-friendly wine that’s also under $10 – what’s not to like? This Italian red blend has a light bouquet with faint cherry and a little cocoa on the nose. Sipping brings an off-dry, red fruit taste, specifically sour cherries, light currants and a little cola. It’s great with cheeses or pizza or red-sauce pasta dishes. If you get a chance, I’d recommend trying this medium-bodied wine.

2009 Tamas Estates Double Decker Red, Central Coast, Calif. ($8.99 ABC Wines) –
This blend of cabernet sauvignon, petite sirah and barbera (it was a Bold blend for sure) had a light cherry nose, so I wasn’t sure it would live up to Bold billing. On taste, it had some zippy spice, and proved to be a good, casual sipping wine. It’s comparable to a good house red in Italy or France, as it was good with food, too. It’s a medium-bodied wine that’s not pretentious and, for the price, you can’t go wrong with this one.

I have plenty of wine resolutions for 2012. It’s always fun to explore the new and alternative. But it’s also fun to discover greatness in a place or varietal you’d previously snubbed. Which leads me to one of the most popular, most guzzled and sometimes most infuriating varietals for the wine lover: chardonnay.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never turned my nose up at a good white Burgundy. But Cali chard? Puh-lease! To say that it’s not my style is an understatement.

In the past few years, through wine samples and online tastings, I’ve noticed a swing away from the typical California trend – winemakers experimenting with cool climate regions and steel fermentation, preventing malolactic fermentation, and a more subtle use of oak. Perhaps my previous snub to the stereotype was keeping me from appreciating some quality juice. I realized it was time to re-evaluate.

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Judges Jenny Benzie and Keith Higdon smell one of the many wines they judged. (J. Gwendolynne Berry/The Palm Beach Post)

“I love American wines,” says Gherman, a certified sommelier involved with the wine industry for more than 25 years, “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to travel, but I think that American wines are so wonderful and when you visit the winery, there’s the mom and dad and kids – they are farming! They are farmers producing this beautifully elegant product that makes every meal better.”

Now in its fifth year, the American Fine Wine Competition includes more than 600 wines entered, a panel of two dozen super-palates to judge, and $430,000 raised for charity from the event’s annual galas.

Here’s a look behind the scenes of this year’s VIP kick-off party and the 2012 judging. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the 2012 American Fine Wine Competition Gala on April 19. Read the full story

Already a month into the New Year and I’m visiting the New World! Here are some New World wines I’ve tried recently. These wines were sent to Swirl Girls for potential review.

2010 Foppiano Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc – Russian River Valley ($15 online)
A fresh, lively nose with a lot of lemon, lime, white grapefruit and cut grass aromas. On the palate, the wine is very tart and crisp but has a nice weight to it. A zingy little wine that would go well with ceviche or other light seafood fare.

2009 Columbia Crest H3 Les Chevaux – Horse Heaven Hills ($11 online)
I am a big fan of Columbia Crest’s H3 line. This blend of cavbernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, malbec and cabernet franc has aromas of dark fruits like blackberry and blueberry with notes of dark chocolate, coffee and baking spices. The wine has a lush and round mouthfeel with integrated tannins, a nice balance of acidity and a dry finish. A very approachable and enjoyable wine, great value for the price. Read the full story

Earthy's girlfriends were all too pleased to help her taste through some highly rated and high-priced wines. From left, Holly Lathrop, Linda Morton and Beth Valenza. (Jennifer Podis/The Palm Beach Post)

When a windfall of highly rated and high-priced wines lands in your lap, there seems to be only one logical and charitable thing to do.

Call the girlfriends. (And they were all too pleased to answer the call.)

So I kicked off an evening of wine and women with a Sonoma pinot, an Italian brunello, a Napa cab and blend, and Beth, Holly and Linda.

While we didn’t plan any specific pairings (although I did make a mushroom risotto thinking it might be a good complement to the wines), we each made food to share and taste beside each of the wines.

First on our enviable list was the 2009 de Coelo Pinot Noir, Terra Neuma Vineyard, from Sonoma Coast ($75 benziger.com). "De coelo" in Spanish means "of heaven" and there could be no more fitting name for this wine. The nose is very fragrant, with more spice than fruit, but the fruit makes a sophisticated entrance on the palate. Linda picked up blackberry, along with the black cherry, raspberry, cinnamon and vanilla that we all swooned over. It’s so very soft and delicate, yet maintains a firm structure and complexity. Nibbling on olive toasts with Port Salut cheese brought out the earthy character of the wine and even more applause for it. And pumpkin ravioli, courtesy of Linda, proved another good partner with its savory flavors and crème fraîche.

Dry Gwen made these notes on the de Coelo in a separate tasting: "Made by Benziger winery with fruit sourced from the Demeter-certified biodynamic Terra Neuma Vineyard. A deep, ruby color, this wine has a full and aromatic aroma of sweet strawberry and red and black cherries and berries with herbal, cola and licorice notes. This is a big pinot with a soft and smooth mouthfeel and a long finish. A complex and very enjoyable wine."

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One thing the Swirl Girls take seriously is lending a hand to help others. And, when it’s helping provide a home for families whose children are receiving medical treatment in Palm Beach County, and that’s combined with great wine and wonderful food, we call that serendipity.

It’s also known as the Taste of Compassion event, Monday at CityPlace’s Harriet Himmel Theater, which benefits the Quantum House. We will be there with some yummy vino to pair with food from some well-known area restaurants, such as Paddy Mac’s, Verdea, The Breakers, Talay Thai, Sailfish Point Country Club, Hoffman’s Chocolates and more.

This is one of our favorite events, because of the quality of the wine, the food, the cause and yes, the people. Stop by, say “hello,” and discover what wines we’re pouring. We’ll be dipping into some great-tasting wines: Eroica Riesling, Ruffino Prosecco, Coppola Director’s Cut Chardonnay, Erath Pinot Noir, Coppola Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon and the Antinori Toscana Red.

Join us for either early VIP admission ($125 ticket, starting at 6 p.m., gives you one hour early with special wine/food pairing) or general admission ($75 ticket, starting at 7 p.m.) and stick around for the silent and live auctions and raffle. Tickets are sold at www.quantumhouse.org. For more info, call (561) 494-0515.

With the holiday bills starting to arrive in mailboxes, we thought it prudent to list some of our thumbs-up wine reviews for bottles mostly under $20 (there are two that sell for $25). These are all good deals, and are all available locally.

Here’s to an economically sound 2012 – except for the occasional fabulous, more expensive wine that we just have to drink once in a while. Because life is for living!

2009 Estancia Zinfandel, Keyes Canyon Ranch, Paso Robles ($10.99 Total Wine)

Bold: Now I love my Paso Robles wine, that area having been one of my passions in 2011, so I was looking forward to this wine from artisan winemakers. It had a solid, good, clean taste with a little plum, some deep cherry and faint smokiness. It’s a full-bodied wine with a deep and smoky nose. It finishes well and would be great with any meat dishes.

2008 Chateau Ste. Michelle Syrah, Columbia Valley ($10.99 Total Wine)

Bold: This Washington winery produces one of my favorite sparkling wines (the brut) and it scores with other varietals, too. This syrah didn’t need an aerator, had a slightly spicy cherry nose, and tasted of mild spice and darker berries. It was smooth and even-keeled with wonderful spice/clove notes. It was a superb food wine and complemented my spicy sausage and Spanish rice dish .

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All the end-of-the-year festivities have given us ample reason to Swirl. Here are a few Italian wines we’ve received as samples.

Whites:

2009 Arnaldo Caprai Grecante Grechetto dei Colli Martani – Umbria ($16 online)
A fresh, clean and minerally nose without much fruit presence. Subtle apple notes on the palate but mostly an earthy, minerally wine with a medium body, nice acidity and very dry, clean finish.
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WHO: Robinson Hogan, certified sommelier,The Wine Dive, West Palm Beach

CURRENT SIP: Non-Vintage Gruet Brut, New Mexico

“Gruet is a wonderful producer of great value sparkling wines. The brut is very crisp and dry, bursting with flavors of apple and citrus. The family who produces this wine is from Champagne. They came to New Mexico to chase the American dream and to be able to work outside the strict French wine regulations. This vineyard is very high altitude, 4300 feet, so no matter how hot it is during the day, it cools at night and preserves the acidity in the wine. And the sandy soils mean they don’t have to use any pesticides. Plus, the wine is from New Mexico, which is a weird region where really nothing else is from. When’s the next time you’ll get to try a wine from New Mexico?

PAIR IT WITH: “A blood orange salad with mixed greens and a light dressing or a cold lobster salad would be great. It pairs well with a wide variety of foods, from fresh shucked oysters to ceviche and any food with a citrus or tart influence, or just for celebration!”

PRICE: $14.99 at Total Wine

Swirl Girl Dry (J. Gwendolynne Berry, left) enjoys a tasting party with her fellow Winettes. (Post file photo)

If your holidays were anything like the Swirl Girls’, you probably drank your share of good wine, including some glasses of sparkling or Champagne.

I hope you found some new favorites, but if you didn’t, here goes: It’s a new year, people, and that means new opportunities in the big, wide world of wine!

This list of five New Year wine resolutions is for you, and me, too.

I’m going to adopt all of them and if you do, too, by next December, we both will have learned a lot and had fun doing it.

Wine resolution No. 1: Pair wines with specific foods

This means thinking about what you’ll make for dinner by starting with what kind of wine you want to serve. Not what kind you have in the house (that’s no fun), but what kind you’d like to have if you could choose from many varietals.

Select wines before you select foods. Several sites can help. (Courtesy matchingfoodandwine.com)

Then research what foods go with the wine (two good websites for this are www.foodandwinepairing.org and www.matchingfoodandwine.com) . I like this approach because it usually solves the problem of, "What are we eating tonight?" My answer is given to me when I choose the wine first.

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