Tasting - Baci Dolci

Name: Baci Dolci "Sweet Kiss"

Variety: Marzemino, Merlot

Region: Colli Euganei

Country: Italy

Year: Non-Vintage

Price: Regular $15 Sale $9.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "A blend of 50% Marzemino 50% Merlot. A delicate, slightly frizzante wine with an intense ruby red color. Fresh strawberry & black cherry aromas with hints of roses. Cherry pie flavors, medium-full bodied with refreshing sparkle to balance the semi-sweet balance." Vintage Cellar

My review: This wine had aromas of sweet strawberries, mixed berries, and a sweet "teenager" perfume you might find at a preteen's favorite clothing store. This wine was sweet. Mega sweet. Sweetest wine I've ever tasted, more than moscato, more than those cherry juice wines. Whoa. It was like a torte with strawberry compote and sweet like candy with powdered sugar on top. How crazy! If you are a sweets person, this is the wine for you. Dessert is served.

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Oasis del Cuyo Malbec

Name: Oasis del Cuyo
Variety: Malbec
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2012
Price: Regular $12 Sale $6.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "Deep ruby color. Appealing red fruit nose with hints of tobacco. Medium bodied with a smooth and lush mouth-feel. Finishes dry with lasting flavors. Excellent choice for a young and fruity everyday wine. Enjoy as an aperitif or with meats and pasta dishes." Vintage Cellar

My review: This was a really interesting smelling wine. It has a "wet basement" component to it along with what I actually thought was the slightest smell of bourbon, as if it had been aged in old bourbon barrels for a small amount of time. Maybe after hitting most of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail a few weeks ago I can just pick up that aroma much more easily. It's interesting that after smelling something specific like that time after time you can actually begin picking it up in other places, especially with wines! This wine tasted extremely dry and young, probably one of the more dry wines I've ever tried. It was peppery with blackberry and cedar box flavors. I was curious as to what tobacco even tasted like because I don't know, but there was an extra flavor in there that I was guessing was tobacco from just kind of guessing around. Very interesting wine-I'd like to try it with a meat dish, that's for sure. Too strong for just sipping for me!

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Terranoble Cabernet Sauvignon

Name: Terranoble

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Central Valley

Country: Chile

Year: 2013

Price: $8.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "This Cabernet Sauvignon offers an intense and deep color and lovely aromas of red fruit, pepper, and tobacco. It has smooth tannins, freshness, and rich fruit, which gives the wine a good balance. Pair with barbecued beef ribs, grilled sea bass, or spaghetti alla Bolognese." Vintage Cellar

My review: This had that "butter, copper, dark mixed berry" smell to it like any good Cabernet Sauvignon to me,  guess. I feel like I ought to come up with a specific word for that so other people can relate to this smell with me. It's a mixture of aromas that comes up way to often for it not to have its own name! In addition it had a bit of a wet stone smell as well. It tasted dry and light and had flavors of plums, matches, and charcoal. I agree that this would be great with barbecued ribs or brisket or something and would really like to try it with that. I don't think sipping Cabs without food really does them any justice, but maybe that's just me.

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Terranoble Chardonnay

Name: Terranoble
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Central Valley
Country: Chile
Year: 2015
Price: $8.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "This Chardonnay offers a wine with an attractive color and lovely aromas, such as ripe pear and pineapple, mixed with butter and vanilla notes. It is a fresh style of white wine, with medium persistence in mouth. Ideal as an aperitif." Vintage Cellar

My review: I have a very specific bouquet description for this wine: raw chicken on a backyard deck. You know the smell of nice deck boards? Not quite "oakiness", but something else...but a very distinct  raw chicken smell in there as well. It had a straw/wheat component as well and held that into the wine's flavor profile as well. This was a medium-bodied wine that was slightly dry and acidic. A very interesting take on chardonnay that differs so much from the typical California Chardonnays! It was interesting and would have tasted great with food.

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, VA without food.

Tasting - Santola Vinho Verde

Name: Santola

Variety: Loureiro and Pederna

Region: Vinho Verde

Country: Portugal

Year: Non-vintage/N/A

Price: $7.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "Soft and creamy, although with just the right Vinho Verde bite, this is a crisp and clean wine, boasting light pear and pink grapefruit flavors. Off dry and very fresh." Vintage Cellar

My review: This wine had aromas of tropical fruit, grapefruit, sour apple, and other subtle citrus notes like orange and lemon. This was a semi-sweet wine that was medium-bodied and very drinkable/sippable for a summer day. It had a sour tang, but it wasn't acidic enough to make that a huge problem at all, it was pretty nice! The greatest taste notes I got out of this wine were the tropical fruit notes as well as sour apple. I would definitely recommend this wine and would try it again!

This wine was tasted at Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Lost Vineyards Spumante Italiano Moscato

Name: Lost Vineyards

Variety: Spumante

Region: Piedmont

Country: Italy

Year: Non-Vintage

Price: $6.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "Pale color. Confected, fruity aromas of yellow apple, honeysuckle, pear tartlet, and honeydew melon with a satiny, shy, spritzy, moderately sweet light-to-medium body and a sleek, fast yellow apple, candied pear, honeycomb, and sweet papaya finish with no tannins and no oak. Simple and approachable with sweet apple, melon, and candied pear on a framework of gentle, delightful bubbles." Vintage Cellar

My review: The color was so fun and pink! And it was bubbly! I was expecting something really fun and sweet and that was what I was in the mood for. This should be sweet right? Wow, no. That was...crappy department store dressing room. Yeah, I'm bringing up that aroma description again like I did with a past Riesling. It's so weirdly specific. Interesting. That and mushrooms. I seriously love the bubbles and the chill in this wine, but wow, it just didn't go together. I don't usually was "sparkling", sweet mushrooms. It was just odd to me. It was extremely vegetal in a sweet wine. Like a big old mixture of spinach and mushrooms that got a bit too much sugar put into it. Probably wouldn't recommend this one, but it didn't make me miserable or anything. The combination was just weird.

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon

Name: Jip Jip Rocks
Variety: Shraz and Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Padthaway
Country: Australia
Year: 2013
Price: Regular $19 Sale $8.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "This red wine is a well above average effort with lots of flavor as well as Australia's so easily obtainable, lush fruit. The 2013 Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon (55% and 45% respectively) exhibits a dark ruby/purple hue along with a layered, peppery, berry fruit-scented nose revealing licorice and meaty notes. From a much lighter vintage, it is a supple, easygoing red to enjoy now and over the next several years. 87 points." Robert Parker

My review: First off, the name of this wine is awesome. Second off the color of this wine is mega dark and looks great! So...to the aroma. Animal farm. This was straight animal farm and was stenchy like wet goats. It was pretty weird and made me say "whoa!" out loud because I definitely didn't expect that! That same taste was coming through with the taste along with some oranges and petroleum thrown in there. I don't think I'm used to this as much as I thought...maybe this is somethingI will come to like but the animal stench was just so strong I'm not sure I could get past it. Unless of course you served this with some beef or lamb. Then it might be as awesome as the Jip Jip name!

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Alta Luna Pinot Noir

Name: Alta Luna

Variety: Pinot Noir

Region: Vigneti delle Dolomiti

Country: Italy

Price: Regular $20 Sale $9.95

Year: 2011

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "On the nose cherry, plum, and berry aromas mingle with notes of spice and tobacco. On the palate soft, supple tannins and refreshing acidity are beautifully balanced by ripe cherry fruit flavors on the finish which is dry, harmonious and elegant." Vintage Cellar 

My review: A very drinkable wine! It had a woody taste to it, but it wasn't quite oak. Cedar probably. There were some berries in the bouquet as well. This wine had excellent structure and a good balance of acidity, tannins, and sweetness. Something interesting in this wine that I hadn't experienced before was a slight "ting" it gave me in the back of my mouth after it went down. Not quite sour, but more of an after"feel" as opposed to an aftertaste. I would recommend this wine, I thought it was a great Pinot!

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - El Cortijillo Verdejo

Name: El Cortijillo

Variety: Verdejo

Region: La Monacha

Country: Spain

Price: $5.95

Year: 2014

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "Golden straw color. Bright, attractive, tropical aromas of creme brulee and fruit tart with a silky, bright, dry-yet-fruity light-to-medium body and a smooth, intriguing snappy lime and apple finish with crunchy, fruit tannins and light oak. A super smooth and pure white sipper. 90 points." Beverage Testing Institute

My review: The aromas of this wine spoke of sweet tropical fruit like guavas with a hint of light white grape juice as well. A medium mouth feel that's fairly acidic and sweet gave it a good tang. It had a citrus thing going on as well, but might be a little bit of what the institute described as "snappy" lime, possibly with a bit of grapefruit. There was some sort of spice on the back end as well, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was, it wasn't black pepper, but it was there! I really enjoyed this wine and bought myself a bottle. A 90 point wine at 6 bucks? What a steal!

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Trattoria Pinot Grigio

Name: Trattoria Busa Alla Torre

Variety: Pinot Grigio

Region: Veneto

Country: Italy

Year: 2014

Price: $7.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "A Venetian favorite! It is crisp and dry, rich and spicy with hints of peach and honey...perfect with salads, pasta, chicken, and fish! Musaragna is an organic wine estate near Venice, Italy." Vintage Cellar

My review: For a wine I consider extremely New World, I would have to say there were some interesting Old World elements to this Pinot Grigio that were really interesting! There was definitely a fruit forward element of peaches and honeysuckle, but there was definitely some element of stenchiness as well. It was a bit like a wet towel along with mushrooms and asparagus. The taste of this wine was also pretty vegetal, had great structure, and a clean acidic taste. I'm getting used to the idea of Old World wines and I'm starting to like them a bit more, but I guess trying it without food is still strange! It would have been fabulous with some grilled chicken or a hardy fish.

This wine was tasted without food at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Tasting - Fetzer Gewurztraminer

Name: Fetzer

Variety: Gewurztraminer

Region: Monterey County, California

Country: United States

Year: 2014

Price: Regular $12 Sale $8.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "A rainy minerality on the nose of this sweet wine manages to cut through the sugared oranges, honeysuckle, and ripe, tropical white fleshed fruit, from peach to cherimoya. The palate is full of honeyed apples, white peach and pineapple, but the decent acidity and chalky element stops it short of treacly. 87 points." Wine Enthusiast

My review: Oh no. A Gewurztraminer. If any of you actually took the time out to read my previous experience with Gewurztraminer and had a good laugh at my expense, you'd know that I would be very cautious about the next one. But then again, I tried Crane Lake's other 3 wines and hated them too, so hopefully it's just the winery. Thankfully, I was correct. This was surprisingly good! Turns out I hate Crane Lake, not Gewurztraminer. I would like to take a second to time out and apologize to the grape. Sorry, G. Anyways. This wine in particular had a floral and tropical fruit smell which I really enjoyed. The taste of was wine had some acidity to it which is great. This really avoids that flabby taste in the last Gewurztraminer I had. The taste of passion fruit was there and it wasn't rotten this time. It was good. It was sweet like apple juice with a bit of dryness to it just enough to make it a wine and not a juice. I thought this was great and have changed my mind about the G-word.

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Maipe Malbec

Name: Maipe

Variety: 100% Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2015

Price: Regular $12 Sale $6.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "The 2015 Maipe Malbec is another 100% Malbec, with a deep purple color and a style similar to the Lexicon, with chocolaty, blackcurrant, and blackberry fruit, as well as touches of licorice and earth. It is delicious, soft, and round. 87 points." Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (March 2016), Excellent Wine Values for Under $25

My review: A powerful bouquet of buttered toast hit me alongside an equally potent blackberry jam aroma. This would make an excellent breakfast! And also reminds me a bit of grape flavored gummies or fruit leather, so basically that jammy component. I don't typically like the "jammy taste" of wine, but this one actually surprised me by not showing that in the mouth feel at all, which I am thankful for just staying in the aroma. The taste had more of an old school style to it that the aroma, which balanced the wine out in a cool way. It had a match stick component alongside charcoal. It would have been excellent with some barbecue! It was a very summer/fall evening kind of drink that is good for cool evenings around the grill or bonfire. A bit dry and had some subtle cranberry aspects to it as well. I really enjoyed this wine and would recommend it.

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Manoir du Carra Beaujolais Nouveau

Name: Manoir Du Carra

Variety: Gamay

Region: Beaujolais

Country: France

Year: 2014

Price: Regular $12 Sale $4.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "A pretty floral wine, with a rose petal note underscoring the rich pomegranate and sweet plum flavors. The fresh acidity is balanced, and a light spice note lingers on the finish." Vintage Cellar

My review: My classic combination smell of butter, copper, and oak, but not very strong. Had a strawberry and plum aroma, but no dark berries or anything of that sort (like blackberries, mixed berries, or any of that). There was a subtle floral hint to it that made the wine smell kind of pretty. I just noticed that my description actually lines up with the review for once, so that is something. The flavor had a great balance of sweetness and dryness and was medium-bodied. Although there was no mixed berry aroma, that's a majority of what I got in the flavor profile, along with that pomegranate

they spoke of. Oak is definitely present in this wine, but not overpowering and no oak monster. I really liked this wine as well and actually purchased it because the price was so great!

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Mapreco Vinho Verde

Name: Mapreco

Variety: Alvarinho, Arinto, Loureiro, and Trajadura (Rose)

Region: Vinho Verde

Country: Portugal

Year: 2015

Price: Regular $10 Sale $7.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "The cherry color reveals a slightly fizzy wine that is a very fruitful rose made from the traditional Vinho Verde white grapes. Adding a splash of red to offer flavors with notes of strawberry, cherry, and berries. A delightful twist on the original." Vintage Cellar

My Review: So this is going to sound...funky. The first word that popped into my head when I smelled this wine was "snakes." Don't ask me why. I don't believe I've ever picked one up and smelled it before. So this may have possibly been the smell of a snake skin purse, but I had a friend back me up and say, "No this actually smells like the amphibian and reptile section of a zoo, but in a good way." In a good way indeed. This was like a wet leather amphibian kind of smell, I suppose, but it was backed up by some magnificent aromas of strawberries and cream and french vanilla coffee creamer. OH yum. The tastes were a mixture of sweet on the start and sour on the back end. It was a light bodied wine with a raspberry and grapefruit taste. I loved this wine a lot and I would definitely recommend it!

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.

Tasting - Mars & Venus Chardonnay

Name: Mars and Venus

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: La Mancha

Country: Spain

Year: 2014

Price: $5.95

Shop/wine critic/winery review: "A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortably overdelivers vs. its modest price tag. No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with a hint of caramelized pineapple. Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties or weekend sipping." Vintage Cellar

My Review: Unlike what the review said, I actually did smell and taste the oak, but it wasn't overpowering at all and maybe that's what the description was trying to get at here. There were aromas of butter and apples with a hint of ginger spiciness to it. The taste was actually pretty sour, like a grape-flavored candy such as a Warhead on the back end, but it hit like a cart load of apples. I actually found this fairly enjoyable although I'd have to get used to the sour component! 

This wine was tasted at the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, Virginia without food.