It’s time for another roundup of wine reviews. These wines were sent to us, so we got busy:

2009 Cupcake Vineyards Red Velvet, Calif. ($10 online): This wine with the luscious name (who doesn’t love red velvet cake?) is a pale red-pink. On the nose it’s light cherry, and the color and nose give away the fact that it’s a light-bodied wine. On taste, there are cherries and bit of raspberry, with a little vanilla. It’s a drinkable wine, certainly, and on the inexpensive side. This would be a good wine for someone who wasn’t sure about drinking red wine – it’s a good beginner bottle. It’s a little light for my taste, but that’s probably not a surprise.

2008 Sobon Estate Zinfandel, Amador County, Calif. ($12.99 Total Wine; $18 online): This deep red wine proved one of my favorites and I’ll definitely buy it in the future. It’s very cherry on the nose with some licorice and currants. The nose, like the taste, opened up in layers. One sniff wasn’t the total story; it has a really wonderful fragrance. The taste was warm, layers of black cherry and blackberries, a slight smokiness and a long finish.

2008 6th Sense Syrah, Lodi Appellation, Calif. ($15 online): On the nose, this pretty ruby wine had a slight spice to it. It tasted of cocoa, a smooth light cherry, with some spice and pepper. It’s a very easy-drinking wine that went well with pepper steak and onions. This wine takes at least three of your senses and does justice to them. Read the full story