Tag Archives: wine reviews

How You Like Them Apples?

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Even MIT wunderkinds endorse the virtues of spirited apple wine… in a bar in Boston, no less!

Finnriver’s Spirited Apple Wine Reveals the Magnificence of Washington Apples

We all need a change of scenery from time to time. Our palates need it, too. Man cannot live on wine alone, so when you’re tired of ink-stained teeth, saturated with sauvignon blanc and melancholy from merlot, consider this very appealing alternative for your liquor cabinet. (Yes, I will be writing about liquor periodically!)

Finnriver Farm & Cidery is one of my recent favorite discoveries. They are an organic farm located near Port Townsend, WA and they make first-rate hard ciders and liqueurs from farm-fresh fruit, using traditional artisan methods. (Brief, important tangent: try their dry-hopped pear cider for something truly refreshing and interesting!)

Their Spirited Apple Wine will shake up your taste buds. Even if you’ve tried other craft ciders and brandies, I don’t think you will have tried anything quite as deliciously different as this. Best of all, once you open it, since it’s a spirit it will keep for a long time in a cool, dark place. It’s great on its own or for mixing. Martinelli’s will soon be a bygone, a distant memory.

From the tasting notes: “The wholesome apple may surprise you with the sultry side revealed in this sumptuous spirited apple wine, handcrafted on our Olympic Peninsula family farm. After fermenting the fruit, we capture the tantalizing sweetness of the apples by fortifying with custom-distilled apple brandy. May this bottle of Finnriver Spirited Apple Wine bring you warmth and good cheer. Alcohol content 18.5%. Our Spirited Apple Wine won a Bronze Medal from the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition.”

Another reason I really like Finnriver is their insistence on the inherent star quality of the apple. Currently in Washington (perhaps Oregon, too), dozens of acres of prime apple orchards are being decimated to make room for vineyards, due to the explosion of winemaking, to meet the demands of the wine craze. This is understandable, to an extent; agricultural landscapes change to accommodate consumer preferences (remember when Red Delicious was one of only three types of apples at the grocery store?) Yet it grieves me to hear this. As a native Washingtonian, I have a special place in my heart for our state’s prized fruit… as any Floridian would have for oranges. I’m also reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases) at the moment, so I’m extra wary of drastic changes in farming and the vanishing varieties of produce on our planet. It amazes me we can let things go so easily sometimes.

Fortunately, the tides are turning just a wee bit, and others are recognizing the massive potential of cider as a great tasting alcoholic beverage. Finnriver is one of the best cheerleaders for Washington apples that I know of, and I’m proud to jump on their bandwagon. I think you will, too.

*Note from Finnriver: “One interesting note: the Spirited Apple Wine is not classified as a liquor but as a fortified wine, so it can be purchased and sold at wine shops in WA state. (Of course that is all changing now…)”

Red Diamonds Are Everyone’s Best Friend

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Just remember, Red Diamonds are a girl’s (and boy’s) best friend!

Lasso This Merlot: Red Diamond Wines Shine Brilliantly

Many of you feel dazed and confused when shopping for wine. Rows of seemingly identical bottles stretch along for miles, all sporting cryptic labels with meaningless verbiage. “What does this even mean?” you wonder as you scratch your head and do your best to translate with a limited vocabulary. It’s as though you’ve landed in a rural French village in 1862, equipped with only a week of high school French. You begin to perspire and panic like a straight man in the salon shoes section of Nordstrom. Is that $30 bottle worth the gamble? Maybe, maybe not.

It can be overwhelming, but it need not be intimidating any longer! Here is a wine you can zoom in on with laser wine vision, swoop in for the kill, and get out in time to finish the rest of your shopping. Whew!

This, my friends, is it. This is the quintessential red wine you will want to buy by the case, because it is incredible. Red Diamond Merlot from Washington is one of my personal all-time favorite wines. It happens to be one of the top ten Merlots in America. (PLEASE don’t go up in price, Red Diamond!). It is perfect on its own, but it is also wonderful in sangria, a Spanish punch made out of red wine. It’s dark and fruity, with perfect body and balance. Did I mention it’s less than $10?

From the tasting notes: “Our Washington Merlot opens with a beautifully knit blackberry, cherry, and spice scented nose with a toasty oak background. Sweet fruit on the palate is complemented by medium-bodied but firm tannins. Red Diamond celebrates the personality of Washington’s distinctive red wines. Layers of luscious flavors are revealed in each bottle, exuding style and confidence. Our Red Diamond Merlot is a shining example of Washington’s best varietal – a polished wine with softly spiced black cherry, berry and plum flavors.”

Don’t limit yourself to just the Merlot… they also make other wines, including Shiraz, Malbec, and Chardonnay! I can personally vouch for the Cab, it’s outstanding.

A rule of thumb: any wine you cook with must also taste good. It need not be expensive, but taste good it must! (Like Yoda I speak, expert therefore I be).

Here’s a recipe for Sangria I made recently for a Cinco de Mayo party (courtesy of Better Homes & Garden New Cookbook, 14th ed., with my comments). I recommend using Red Diamond Merlot, as it imparts a subtle cinnamon flavor to the sangria and blends well with the citrus juices.

1 cup orange juice (no pulp)
¼ cup lime juice
1 750-milliliter bottle dry red wine (Red Diamond Merlot)
¼ – 1/3 cup sugar
Ice cubes

In a 2-quart pitcher stir together orange and lime juices. Add wine and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved (I like the sugar from Trader Joe’s). Cover and chill for 3 to 24 hours. Serve over ice.

I garnished mine with orange and lime slices, frozen cranberries and Golden Delicious apple chunks. This sangria is fantastic; it’s like winter mulled wine, but for spring.

I hope Red Diamond becomes one of your favorite go-to wines!

So Cheap It Feels Like Cheating

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Pinot Grigio for when your wallet’s hurting (but your taste buds are hankering)

The other day my friend commented about a shopping experience at a certain grocery wholesaler: “The food was so cheap it felt like I was stealing!” She could not get over how low the prices were on everyday food items.

Don’t you love that feeling? The moment you are stunned by an item’s price and then ride the wave of compulsion to buy it because it’s so cheap you almost feel sorry for it. It deserves your dollars by sheer virtue of its ridiculously low price. Oh yes, the psychology of spending money, always a fascinating topic.

Ah, Venice! Maybe X marks the spot of an ancient rat-infested wine cellar?

Gaetano D’Aquino White Wine of Venezie is – gasp! – $4 a bottle at Trader Joe’s and very tasty. It may be cheap, but it doesn’t taste like it (I love that in a wine!). Spending less than $4 a bottle, though, means you’re either buying a large quantity of wine on sale or you’re buying bad wine. Nota bene: The Rambling Vine does not like two-buck Chuck. It’s a taste issue. But you make up your own mind, it’s a free country.

This wine is super light with citrus flavors, and has a slight tart, mineral finish. It’s perfect chilled, and an ideal wine to have on hand during the summer. Pleasant, agreeable, should pair with any number of things.

Be reassured… you’re not cheating. It may be cheap, but you’re not cheating on taste and quality. Ciao!

Hailing A Cab? You’ll Need 14 Hands

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If only hailing a “cab” were as easy as hailing a cab… wave your hand in the air and POOF! A bottle of 14 Hands Cab!

Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I receive a commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own.

14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon

I’d like to hail a cab, a very special cab (sorry, yellow taxi, not you)… 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon, to be specific. So pay attention! This is one of the Rambling Vine’s ultimate, go-to red wines; full of great fruit flavors and exhibiting great, overall harmony and balance. I can’t tell you how many people I have recommended this wine to… even perfect strangers at the grocery store. Then when I see them next week they bow down before me with burnt offerings and… yeah, not exactly. But they gush over this wine, and you will, too!

Now, when I talk about 14 Hands Cab, keep in mind I also hold their Merlot in very high regard, so their Merlot is also a “not-to-be-missed” wine (I am writing about the Cab, selfishly, because I could think of more puns). Whether you like Cab or Merlot is sort of like asking a 14 year-old girl whether she’s Team Edward or Jacob… they’re both delicious in their own ways, just with slight differences. It’s a matter of comparing apples and oranges. So I don’t think you’ll have a problem with either one. Au contraire, they are both fabulous.

For a while the 14 Hands’ single varietals Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were only available at restaurants. The winery sold their Hot to Trot Red Blend in stores (also exceptional… another post for another day), but fans cried out for their Cabs and Merlots. Hallelujah, these are now also available to the general drinking public! In my not-so-humble opinion, this is the apex of affordable, extremely smooth, drinkable, high quality Washington red wine.

I secretly hope Washington wine doesn’t get too popular and correspondingly expensive (or worse, of inferior quality). That would be devastating. It’s definitely gaining more and more fans around the globe, and for good reason. Until that day comes, drink up! If this is your first foray into Washington red wine, this is my highest recommendation to you.

Cheers!

Put the Wine in the Cho-Co-Late and Drink Them Both Up

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Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I receive a commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own.

A Fine Chocolate Wine For Your Consideration

Red wine and dark chocolate: cliché Valentine’s Day trappings, or greatest palate-pleasing pairing in history? That is the question….

Enough pondering already. I don’t know about you, but most of my attempts to pair red wine with dark chocolate have not gone so well. They usually result in face scrunching and gagging. You have to consider the cacao and sugar percentages in your chocolate and how those will interplay with the grape type and sugar/alcohol content of the wine you select. With so many factors to consider, who has time to figure it all out?

Well, whoever thought of combining red wine and dark chocolate in the glass was a genius! And he who pulled it off successfully is my hero! You will be surprised how red wine and dark chocolate pair so seamlessly together in a dessert wine when you sip on Chocolate Shop, The Chocolate Lover’s Wine.

What a find! Not sure whether I should be glad I found this or unhappy that I am now addicted to this, but I’m sure excited to tell you about it! This red wine behaves like any other red wine in the glass but with the added twist that it is a SWEET wine; in essence, it is a dessert wine, but without behaving like viscous, syrupy Dimetapp in the glass. Let’s call it a dessert wine for non-dessert wine drinkers.

The first sip is like a mouthful of cherry tootsie pop but better! Real dark chocolate flavoring is added to drinkable and balanced Walla Walla red wine. The fact that there is a good quality wine as the base helps, so the consistency won’t remind you of Aunt Jemima.

Here is what the label reads: “… a deep, ruby red wine blended with rich, velvety chocolate. Inviting aromas of black cherry and chocolate combine in the glass and continue on the palate surrounded by hints of cocoa powder. Nuances of sweet red wine lingers [sic] on the smooth finish. Chocolate Shop provides you with an indulgent wine experience like no other.”

Whether you’re a coldhearted cynic, a hopeless romantic, or just craving a sweet wine, this will win you over.

Here is some further reading on pairing wine with chocolate, and another post I did on pairing chocolate and wine.

(Sidenote: Use an expert to make your life easier. When you do want to have a wine & chocolate pairing party, ask your local wine merchant for a red that pairs well with chocolates. There is usually chocolate available for sale, and they are more than happy to give you a great recommendation.)

Blinded by the White

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Surprise Pick: Alamos Torrontés 2010

These glorious first-taste-of-real-summer days in Washington in April bring the masses out of hibernation, for fear this could be the only Vitamin D we get until mid-July. The folks I always cringe at are the ones that bare as much pasty white flesh as possible in worship of the sun god, then scar our eyes again with a shade of wince-inducing “scorched lobster.” Didn’t they ever heed the wisdom of Baz Luhrmann?

I invite you to be pleasantly surprised by another kind of white… an Argentinian white wine!

I’ll start by throwing you a curve ball of a rare and little talked-about white wine, Torrontés. Have any of you actually heard of this wine and tried it? I had NEVER heard of it, until it winked at me at my local grocery store (lots of wines wink at me, and I can’t buy all of them). Naturally, I was curious, so I picked up a bottle for kicks. Alamos makes an outstanding Malbec at a terrific value (around $10 or under a bottle), so I figured a white from this label wouldn’t be a total loss. But then again, isn’t Argentina synonymous with juicy red Malbecs? Like Seattle & salmon, or New York & hot dogs? Some things are lumped together for good reason, and shaking up these fixed associations can trigger outcries from the traditionalists.

Evita wants you to understand just how GOOD Argentinian Torrontes is!

Well, phooey on them! Argentina makes an excellent white wine… yes, Argentina, land of acclaimed Malbecs, tango, and Evita Perón!

This is my new favorite white wine! Here’s why: “Torrontés has a unique expression in Argentina and has often been called the country’s signature white varietal. Alamos Torrontés captures all of the explosive aromatic character of this Argentine grape, with lively notes of citrus and peach fruit interwoven with delicate layers of jasmine blossom and fresh herbs. The wine is light and fresh on the palate with excellent balance and finishing with bright, crisp acidity.” It has all the characteristics I like in other whites (fruity, rich, floral and herbal notes) rolled into this one varietal.

Turn to Torrontés for an unusual but delightful crowd-pleasing white wine that’s not Chardonnay (let Chardonnay have the night off for once). Let me know what you think! And if you’re in the Seattle area, wear your sunscreen!