drink more wine

Documenting the recipe we used for the party, from my friend Mindy… It has a lot of sugar, but got great reviews so I will definitely use it again…

1 bottle Merlot (or Cabernet)
1 bottle Simply Limeaid
2 T. cherry syrup
4 T. sugar

Mix ingredients well & chill… Add citrus slices & raspberries or pitted cherries a few minutes before serving… Serve over ice…

The cherry syrup added a bit of depth that the previous recipe didn’t have…

A bottle of merlot, equal qty. of sweetened limeaid, a half serving of OJ & a slice of orange… Yummy!

It’s sake, so I don’t expect to be into the wine, but the company should be good, so…..

This one is a $16 a bottle red zin from Paso Robles, complete with cork!

It’s blended with a bit of Petit Sirah (15%), a totally pleasant coupling… It’s a lighter medium bodied wine which actually delivered on the pomegranite & raspberry undertones promised on the label… I can’t say I found it irresistable, but it went down easy and I could toadally (groan) drink it again…

I’ll probably try other vintages of this wine, not only because of the juicy taste but because any wine with a dancing frog on the label can’t be all bad…

I enjoy a good merlot, but a lot of them too aggressive for me… This one is blended with a bit of Syrah and Petite Sirah and it’s marvelous! It has a smooth & rich plum/cherry-like aroma and taste that made me want to savor sip after sip after sip… There is a bit of an unusual aftertaste that the label describes as a hint of leather… I would never have described it that way, but it does have a teeny bite and leaves a slightly smoky taste in my mouth, delicious in combination with the sweet-ish plum/cherry flavor!
$17 a bottle, and worth every cent imo!

With a name like this, who could resist? We couldn’t! And that’s a good thing because we enjoyed this interesting little wine with smooth tannins and a nice, plum-y taste…

There were no surprises, no after notes of mint of oak, etc… but at $10 a bottle, this was a very pleasant drink…

It’s a blend of three grapes, Zinfandel from Amador, and Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from Napa… Apparently Zinfandel is ok when mixed with a nice cab & merlot…

While we love Mendocino County, and appreciate the sensibilities of the winery in question, this wine (again with the screw-on cap at $15 a bottle) was only a slight step up from the Cardinal Zin… After pouring half a bottle down the sink, we decided that maybe this could be salvaged for cooking, but it too had a very unpleasant bitter aftertaste… Tonight has definitely put us off red zins…

This is the nastiest thing I have swallowed in the last decade! After taking just one sip, we agreed to empty the bottle down the drain… Its sweet aroma and bitter aftertaste were too bizarre a mix for us… The screw-on cap should’ve been a clue that this was not worth $15 a bottle…

$10 a bottle…

Red Guitar is a blend of the Spanish varieties tempranillo and garnacha…
(We prefer whites, but we’re trying to drink more reds for the health benefits… Well, actually, we prefer martinis, but…..)

That said, we thought Red Guitar was a pleasant wine with very smooth tannins and a nice subtle fruity taste… Just one glass gave us a respectable buzz which was an unexpected bonus…

At the rate of a small glass each night, and with hubby watering his down with white zinfandel, we should average about a bottle a week…

P.S. I’m only writing these reviews so I can remember what we liked & didn’t…