Jose Maria de Fonseca Periquita 2005

This was a nice little $9.99 number - less than that with discounts and the NH liquor store's wonderful case sale. Dan and I are both voting "yum" on this one - but only if you follow typical red-wine-drinking instructions and wait a FULL hour after you open this before you start indulging. If you do, you'll be rewarded with a smokey, berry-licious mouthful of yum. The texture of the wine is somewhat light, like a Beajoulais, but it's got a far more intense flavor with hints of earth and cedar mixed in with that light fruitiness.

When we first started sipping, after it had been open about a half hour, we declared it a nice food wine - something that could even accompany traditionally "white wine" foods, thanks to its light texture. But after an hour, when we were finishing our second glass on the couch, it realize it's full sipping potential - you can definitely enjoy this one all on its lonesome if you like!

Campus Oaks Old Vine Zin

Alright - so this puppy is a bit higher than my usual $10 per bottle price limit for buying wine. But it tastes like you should pay $40 for it - which, in fact, we did the other night at Jumpin' Jays. Turns out it runs you $13.99 (pre case discounts which we always take advantage of...) at the NH Liquor Store. This is one of those perfect, quintessential zins - a warm, berry-flavoured, rich mouthful, perfectly balanced between sweet and dry. There's a lightness in texture to this one as opposed to my usual staple zin, Ravenswood, that reminds me of a pinot noir. Totally worth the $14. I'd call it a perfect mouthful!

Who's Wagging What?

This little number falls into the catagory of "Wines with Funny Names". A while back, we had a Sunday Supper Club. With three couples trading homes each week we would cook, drink and have hangovers on Monday. It became a game to find wines with strange names. The easy one's were Menage a Trois and Fat Bastard of course. But frankly, the Red Rooster (I think) Pinot Grigio was AWESOME.

So in a bit of nostalgia, I bought the Dog Tail Vinyard WatchDog White California White Wine. At least it had a "real" top to it - still not a cork but I've gotten over that bit of wine snobbery.

As we know, a White Table Wine does not possess the requisite number of specific grapes to have a real grapey name. Given this wine's lack of "oaky-ness" I would not attribute a chardonnay type of taste but instead lean more towards the pinot grigio essence. I enjoy it - it is nice to come home to. I will not, however, be serving it to impress but to calm down after a long day.

Can't figure out why the poor dog has his head buried on the dirt.

I do believe this little baby was about $4.00 at my favorite discount grocery store.

Embarassing

This is a very very cheap Sauvignon Blanc. Its become something of a goal to find a very cheap wine that would not necessarily be embarassing to serve, you know - like Mad Dog or Riunite or something of that nature. This is a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2008.

I liked it actually. For $3.99 (after a $3 off coupon) it served it purpose. When my friend had it this weekend she tasted Guava? Certainly not the grapefruit one would expect with a SB. What I found particuarly amusing about this little bottle is that it has not a cork nor a screw top but a very strong foil top that holds tightly down a plastic disc that intends to keep the wine from leaking out of the bottle. This is definitely a conversation wine - I'm just not sure where the conversation is going.

Oh, and I have a bunch of it in my wine fridge.

Emilio Lustau Amontillado Sherry

I know, I know - you're not supposed to drink sherry. You're supposed to cook with it. Unless you're an old Victorian gentleman, perhaps. But Dan and I are sort of old Victorian gentlemen, and can't resist paying tribute to a literary reference, so we decided to give it a try, and I have to say, I'm definitely a sherry convert. When you're not buying that sketchy stuff you get in the cooking oil aisle, it's very tasty - though it's a taste you've got to become a bit accustomed to, before you can appreciate it. The first couple of sips leave you thinking, what the hell is this stuff? But give your tastebuds some time to learn the new language, and they'll thank you. Amontillado - or at least this one - has a rich, warm, full flavor, with tones of vanilla and hazelnut, but not the least bit sickly-sweet. It's a beautiful red-gold in color and just warms you up from the inside out. Dan and I very much enjoyed savoring this bottle and plan on trying more sherries, when we can find them!

Burgans Albarino 2008

A tasty Spanish little number that ran us about $10 at the liquor store with the case sale they had going this month - otherwise I think it's definitely less than $12. This one was yummy - tasted sort of like a cross between a Savignon Blanc and a Viognier. There was a nice grapefruit-honey flavor to it, but a subtle one - the citrus was just enough to give it that little bit of tart crispness but it still maintained a flavor profile that was, on the whole, pretty soft and smooth.

We had this with some thai red curry and spicy basil chicken, and it was a lovely accompaniment, but a wine like this is also definitely a good sipping wine whether there's food around or not. A great buy, as far as we were concerned!

Welcome!

Hey kids! Welcome to the Benson Family Wine Journal, a place where we can share our tips on all the tasty stuff we drink! I know, sounds delicious, doesn't it?

Include a picture whenever you can, and the full name and year of the wine - and otherwise have a ball!

LOVE!