Let’s explore some wines in a higher price range, but not bottles that are totally out of your reach. The most expensive wine here is $35, which is more than I pay for a “weekday wine,” but something I’d spend on a gift for a friend. There are some good gift ideas here. We were sent these wines for review.

The Climber Chardonnay, Clif Family Winery, Calif. ($16.99 per 1.5L box) –
Yes, this is a boxed wine. And a pretty good one, too. This is unoaked chardonnay packaged in an environmentally friendly package. It’s really a white bag of white wine, with holes along the top for both fingers and thumb. It could be hooked from your belt as you ascend the nearest, um, hill in Florida (hence the name Climber), but really just plop it on your fridge’s top shelf and enjoy this wine. The nose is a light citrus, and on taste it’s also light and refreshing with some tropical tinges of grapefruit and a little lemon.

2008 Walter Clore Private Reserve, Columbia-Crest ($35 online) –
This big wine is aged for 30 months in French and American oak, and is made from merlot (57 percent), cabernet sauvignon (32 percent), cabernet franc (8 percent) and malbec (3 percent). It’s got a great big nose of cherry pie and earthy, ripe fruits. On taste it’s big, too, with blackberries and dark cherries and a whole dark-fruit cocktail going on. I paired it with linguine and a red sauce of sausages and onions and it was a terrific meal.

2009 Incognito, Michael David Winery, Lodi, Calif. ($16.99, Total Wine) –
This red wine blend has syrah, cinsault, carignan, mourvedre, petitie sirah, Grenache and tannat in it, so it’s more of a United Nations of wine. All those varietals mixed together resulted in a very pretty, very berry nose. I shared it with a fairly large group of wine drinkers and they tasted lots of berry, slight spice and earthy tones. One person commented it tasted mostly like a shiraz, and the bottle’s logo received some thumbs-up vote for “nifty.” I don’t think the taste knocked our socks off, despite it having seven different grapes inside.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.
Read the full story

Final part of our three-part round-up. See part one: under $20 reds. See part two: under $20 whites.

From Earthy:

2009 Biltmore Reserve Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley ($24.99 online shop.biltmore.com/)

Now this is a pinot with sass, if there can be such a thing. Candied cherries and raspberries on the aroma, with cherry, oak and vanilla in a round and gentle body. It’s your comforting, upstanding friend with a slight tendency toward mischief. This wine’s got attitude, but it still remains a little reserved and subdued.

2010 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre, France (online from $23.99)

This French sauvignon blanc has a nose with a delicate floral scent, but also gives up lemon and freshly-mowed grass. The light-medium body has a crisp acidity and carries lemon and grapefruit, but it’s not overly tart. It actually has a delicate mouthfeel, a short finish and is so very easy to enjoy. A Sunday brunch kind of wine in my book.

From Sweet:

2009 Seghesio Old Vine Carignane ($28 at seghesio.com)

Big, dark, beautiful. Dark fruits, rich stewed plums and a touch of mint flavor this heavy wine. It was a touch alcoholic but it felt in character with the wine. It had a spicy, lingering finish. This is a brooding wine but not dangerous. Delicious with burgers, pizza, red sauces or a very hot day.

2007 Conn Creek Cabernet Sauvignon ($25 Total Wine)

This Napa Valley wine under $30 had a deep, rich raspberry smell, beautiful balance and nice, well-integrated tannins. The alcohol is a little bit high and the wine ran a bit hot. A heavy usage of oak made it a bit awkward now though that might change and smooth over with a few years in the bottle.

2009 Flora Springs Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Napa Valley ($29.98 winelibrary.com)

If you close your eyes and imagine a well-crafted, very typical California Chardonnay, the Flora Springs Chardonnay appears. It has all the characteristics you’d expect out of a California Chardonnay – oaky, caramelly, toasty, and buttery with notes of apples and pears. This is a well-crafted wine – it doesn’t have faults of being overly-oaky or leave you feel like you’re gnawing on wood. Full, big, and creamy buy this for your inner chard lover.

From Bold:

2007 Conn Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, Collins Holystone Vineyard, Napa ($24.99 Total Wine; $23.95 Crown; $27.99 ABC)

This is a limited-production series that lives up to the expectations of something that’s ‘limited’ – it’s a big, juicy red fruit-forward wine on the nose, and a tasty, zingy, spicy mouth full of yummy (that’s what my notes say!). It’s got some nice undertones of earth and cola. I’d buy this to go with a pizza or a nice rack of lamb.

2008 Reginato Celestina Sparkling Rose of Malbec, Mendoza (online from $20.99)

This is a very pretty wine, with a cherry/strawberry color that smells faintly of cherry. It’s a soft sparkling wine with strong bubbles to tickle the nose, some sour cherry notes on taste, and it ends with a malbec-like darker fruit taste. It’s an interesting wine and would add some gumption and color to a holiday table.

2008 Antinori Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato, Bolgheri, Italy ($24.99 online)

This blend of cabernet sauvignon (50 percent), merlot (30 percent) and syrah (20 percent) is from close to the Tuscan coastline. It’s aged 8 months in oak and 4 months in the bottle. The garnet-colored wine has a nose of slight cocoa and dark fruits. It was a bit tannic with dark cherries and blackberries on taste and a nice, smooth, long finish. This is a drink-with-meals wine and won’t disappoint on the table.

Part two of our three-part round-up. See part one: reds under $20.

From Earthy:

2010 Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home Sauvignon Blanc, Northern Sonoma ($10.99 Total Wine and ABC)

A pale yellow color with aromas of lime and grass, it actually smelled juicy. It’s got a bright, yet tame acidity with citrus flavors, predominantly grapefruit. This is a friendly, appealing wine, and while its subdued acidity makes it a great match for food, it’s just as good for sipping by itself. And that price makes it an even better as an everyday sipper.

2010 Biltmore Reserve Viognier, North Carolina ($15.99 online at shop.biltmore.com)

Its color is enchanting: a pale yellow body with a pale green cast that shimmers in light. An aroma of pear, honey, and a little bit of orange that’s so elegant, it’s reminiscent of the intrigue of early evening scent of a woman who walks by and just a few seconds later you catch the air of her perfume.

The Biltmore has an almost airy feeling on the tongue, but finishes long with citrus and unripe pear; it’s almost sour here, but not in an unpleasant manner. It’s not as rich or honeyed as other viogniers I’ve tried from France and California.
Read the full story

Time again for another round-up of wines. This time, the wines come from regions in the New World, mostly California with a few wines from Argentina and the Pacific Northwest. Most of these wines were sent as samples for the Swirl Girls to review.

Non-vintage Sokol Blossor Evolution – Oregon ($14.99 at Total Wine, $15.99 at ABC, $16.95 at Crown)
It’s sort of like throwing all the grapes you can at a wall and seeing what sticks. This blend of well, basically everything is a bright lemon color and has a sweet, candied pineapple aroma with lychee, peach, pear, and white flowers. On the palate, it’s fresh and slightly sweet with a medium body. It paired nicely with a spicy Thai red curry with duck.

2010 Michel Torino Estate Cuma Malbec – Cafayate Valley, Argentina ($11 online)
Made with organic grapes, this deep purple/magenta-colored wine has a juicy, berry-filled nose of blueberry, blackberries and spice. There was a strong whiff of alcohol in the nose as well. On the palate, the wine had a grapey, bubble-gum fruit flavor that was reminiscent of a Beaujolais. It has a medium-bodied, slightly thin feel in the mouth. There was a nice level of acidity and soft tannins. This is a simple, one-dimensional wine that would be nice for a casual party.

Read the full story

There’s just something comforting about fall foods. Warm, soothing soups, fragrant apple desserts, hearty pasta dishes that make you wonder exactly why no-carb was ever popular.

Wanting to take full advantage of fall foods, I invited Dry and Mr. Dry over for an Autumnal dinner. The goal was casual and easy food and the pairings weren’t too planned out. All the wines but the Burgess were sent free for review.

We started with a roasted butternut squash soup with sage croutons and a 2009 Honah Lee Viognier, a single-vineyard 100 percent viognier from Tarara Winery in Virginia. I had tried this wine while on a trip to Virginia last week and loved it so much I bought a bottle to bring home. While Virginia might not be the first wine-producing region you think of, they’re making beautiful wines and have a rich history of winemaking. It’s a wonderful area to visit and the wines have a breathtaking acidity. It smells like a tropical oasis – bananas, lychee, pineapple and coconut. Almost as if you were sniffing banana boat but in a much more delicate, refined way. It’s a round, luscious wine that has beautiful balance. This was my personal favorite of the night that I kept sipping on, even as the rest of the company turned to red. This wine is available online from Tarara Winery for $30 a bottle.

We also tried out the 2010 White Blend Incognito from Michael David Winery. The wine is a blend of viognier, chardonnay, muscat, sauvignon blanc and roussanne from Lodi, California. This wine didn’t agree with me. I found the acidity too strong and Dry agreed that it smelled and tasted as if perfume had been dumped into the bottle, it was that floral. While the acidity didn’t bother the rest of the table so much (I’m very sensitive to acidity) it had an alcohol level of 14.5 percent, which is quite high for a white wine and that also contributed to the perfumeyness of the wine. The Incognito sells for $18 at MicahelDavidWinery.com. Read the full story

It’s a rare round-up when I have nothing bad to say about the wines I recently tried, yet here I am, in that most excellent place to be. All of these wines reviewed were samples and all were wines I’d drink and buy again.

2009 Emma Pearl Chardonnay, $18 available online at emmapearl.com
I first heard the buzz about the Emma Pearl chardonnay when I attended the Wine Bloggers Conference in Virginia last summer. I didn’t get to try it until recently though and was thrilled that the wine lived up to the hype. It has a nice smell of apples, caramels and pear and a succulent richness. There were beautiful butter and caramel notes without being too oaky. It’s lush, round and rich but very ladylike. At $18, it’s a nice chard for all sorts of white wine lovers. It’s ladylike and elegant, the sort of wine you expect decked out in pearls and long gloves.

2008 Clos de los Siete, $18 available at Crown, $16.99 at Total Wine
This lively, interesting blend is made of 56 percent malbec, 21 percent merlot, 11 percent syrah, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon and 2 percent petite verdot. It smells of raspberries, dark cherries, and juicy, ripe blackberries. It’s pretty and lively. There’s a taste of black pepper and a kick of spice at the end. It’s very nice, drinkable and pleasant and somehow manages to be both smooth and spicy. I really liked it and the price is nice, too! Read the full story

We Swirl Girls love to shop for wine. Whether we’re perusing the aisles of a local wine shop, buying online or even bidding at  auction, there’s always a bottle or two in our basket.

But sometimes the best place to pick up a great deal is right in our neighborhood grocery store. It’s quick, convenient, and often has a surprisingly good selection. So for those of you wondering what to buy while on the weekly food trip, here are a few of our  selections:

Read the full story

The last few months, I’ve been sampling wines from every end of the financial spectrum – starting with an eight-dollar wine and drinking my way to a $69 bottle (it was a special occasion). Overall, I found satisfaction in almost all of the wines, which were all sent for review.

2009 Seghesio Rockpile Zinfandel ($37.99 at Total Wine)
This chewy, cheeky wine proudly displays how a high-alcohol zin can play nicely by keeping its alcohol firmly in check and balanced. Still chock-full of ripe, black fruits – so ripe the wine practically turns your fingers black through osmosis on the glass, but still well-integrated, well-balanced and well-enjoyed. At $38, it’s a more expensive zinfandel, but is delicious with some juicy meat. I’d enjoy this again if someone else was buying and I’d likely hide the bottle in a kitchen cabinet if I discovered it at a party.

2006 Raymond Generations ($69.99 at Total Wine)
I saved this bottle for months and finally opened it on my boyfriend’s birthday. At $69, it’s quite a splurge. First thing I noticed was how much sediment it threw. It’s got a complex, interesting smell of smoke, tobacco, sweet and ripe fruits, plumbs, black cherries and some alcoholic heat that emanated. Blessed with nice legs and a long finish, it also carried firm, unyielding tannins. Unlike many cabs, it didn’t coat my mouth with thickness and, while it smelled incredibly fruity, it tasted a bit older-wine style. We enjoyed the whole bottle but I have to say at $69/bottle, I think there are other wines I would buy first OR wait to open this for maybe 10 more years, when it will probably be a very different wine. Read the full story