A Zinfandel That Rocked My World

$21-$30, 4 Corks, Prices, Ratings 3 Responses »
Apr 282010

***I received this wine as a sample***

2007 Earthquake Zinfandel

I finished my 2nd big project in two weeks this past Wednesday, and while I’m always anxious right before a deadline, everything turned out really well.  There were definitely a few hiccups along the way, but in the end, both my supervisor and “the big boss” were happy.  After spending the rest of the afternoon catching up on the emails and paperwork that piled up, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I was able to leave work on time.  I admit that I jumped at the chance, and waiting for me when I walked in the door was a nice dinner and a good bottle of Zinfandel.

The 2007 Earthquake Zinfandel (winery, snooth) was a medium-to-dark purplish ruby.  On the nose, there were blueberries, blackberries, nutmeg, cloves, and alcohol followed by a touch of cinnamon, vanilla, and earth.  In the mouth, there were blueberries, boysenberries, blackberries, and baking spices, mixed with vanilla, earth, and alcohol.  The wine had medium tannins and a medium-to-full, velvety body.

Is this worth a glass after work? Definitely!  If you see this wine in the store, grab it; you won’t be disappointed. At $28, drinking this wine is like having a delicious piece of suede slide caress your throat.  I’ve reviewed a couple of other wines from Michael David Winery, one that I purchased and one that was sent as a sample, and while I enjoyed them both, it’s definitely worth spending the extra money to buy the Earthquake. The wine is smooth and delicious on its own, but when paired with cheese ravioli in tomato sauce and garlic bread, it practically sings.

Overall: 4 Corks

Posted by Alleigh at 8:00 pm Tagged with: , , , , ,

6th Sense On St. Patrick's Day

$11-$20, 3 Corks, Prices, Ratings 2 Responses »
Mar 172010

***I received this wine as a sample***

In 2004, I went to a local Irish pub with several of my friends to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  While a group of us were standing around talking, a guy not with our group came over and introduced himself as Mike before starting to talk to one of my girlfriends.  Mike had a few beers (as had most people in the bar) and was insisting that he was from Fargo, ND; however, as one of our own friends was from Fargo, we recognized that this guy’s accent was different.  I started to say something to him about it, but another guy stepped in to save Mike.  While the conversation between Mike and my girlfriend died shortly thereafter, the wingman and I spent the rest of the night chatting and having a good time.  We exchanged numbers at the end of the night.  A week after that St. Patrick’s Day meeting, the wingman and I went out on our first date, after which my closest girlfriends said they had premonition that he was going to be different…and 6 years later, we’re happily married.  Hubby and I both agree that neither of us knew as quickly as my girlfriends, but sometimes your friends see things that you don’t.  To celebrate our meeting and St. Patrick’s Day, I made a nice dinner and opened a bottle of 6th Sense Syrah.

2007 6th Sense Syrah

The 2007 6th Sense Syrah (winery, snooth) was blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah grapes and was very deep purple with slow forming, but drippy legs.  On the nose, there were juicy fruits—mostly blackberry, blackcurrant, and dark plums—followed by a touch of blackcurrant leaf and tobacco.  In the mouth, there were blackberries galore, followed by some black plums and a touch of tobacco and pepper.  The wine was very high alcohol, and had high acidity, strong tannins, and a medium-to-full body.

Is this worth a glass after work? Sure…you won’t be drinking anything out of the ordinary, but you’ll have a decent, reliable glass of wine. At a suggested retail price of $16, this wine was good, but a little unbalanced and boozy.  That said, I paired it with chicken Parmesan and garlic bread, which helped tone down some of the acidity and alcohol, and made the wine quite enjoyable.  All in all, the 6th Sense Syrah is a decent wine at a decent price, and it was great addition to the dinner celebrating Hubby and I meeting 6 years ago today.

Overall: 3 Corks

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted by Alleigh at 8:00 pm Tagged with: , , , , ,

6th Sense On St. Patrick's Day

3 Corks, Prices, Ratings No Responses »
Mar 172010

***I received this wine as a sample***

In 2004, I went to a local Irish pub with several of my friends to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  While a group of us were standing around talking, a guy not with our group came over and introduced himself as Mike before starting to talk to one of my girlfriends.  Mike had a few beers (as had most people in the bar) and was insisting that he was from Fargo, ND; however, as one of our own friends was from Fargo, we recognized that this guy’s accent was different.  I started to say something to him about it, but another guy stepped in to save Mike.  While the conversation between Mike and my girlfriend died shortly thereafter, the wingman and I spent the rest of the night chatting and having a good time.  We exchanged numbers at the end of the night.  A week after that St. Patrick’s Day meeting, the wingman and I went out on our first date, after which my closest girlfriends said they had premonition that he was going to be different…and 6 years later, we’re happily married.  Hubby and I both agree that neither of us knew as quickly as my girlfriends, but sometimes your friends see things that you don’t.  To celebrate our meeting and St. Patrick’s Day, I made a nice dinner and opened a bottle of 6th Sense Syrah.

2007 6th Sense Syrah

The 2007 6th Sense Syrah (winery, snooth) was blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah grapes and was very deep purple with slow forming, but drippy legs.  On the nose, there were juicy fruits—mostly blackberry, blackcurrant, and dark plums—followed by a touch of blackcurrant leaf and tobacco.  In the mouth, there were blackberries galore, followed by some black plums and a touch of tobacco and pepper.  The wine was very high alcohol, and had high acidity, strong tannins, and a medium-to-full body.

Is this worth a glass after work? Sure…you won’t be drinking anything out of the ordinary, but you’ll have a decent, reliable glass of wine. At a suggested retail price of $16, this wine was good, but a little unbalanced and boozy.  That said, I paired it with chicken Parmesan and garlic bread, which helped tone down some of the acidity and alcohol, and made the wine quite enjoyable.  All in all, the 6th Sense Syrah is a decent wine at a decent price, and it was great addition to the dinner celebrating Hubby and I meeting 6 years ago today.

Overall: 3 Corks

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted by Alleigh at 8:00 pm Tagged with: , , , ,

A Zinful Zin

$11-$20, 3 Corks, Prices, Ratings 3 Responses »
Feb 032010

Last Wednesday was the President’s State of the Union (SOTU) address, and while I don’t generally give details about my “day job,” many of you know that I work in the political arena. Therefore, the day of the SOTU was a busy one, as I speculated on and answered questions about what would be included, not to mention trying to figure out what it would mean for me in my new job if all of the rumors were true. After a busy of day, which included working a bit later than usual, I headed home to make a quick and easy dinner for Hubby and me and open a bottle of Zinfandel, since Zins are one of my favorite types of wine when it’s particularly cold outside. There’s just something about the spicy, jamminess of a good Zinfandel that warms me up. After dinner, I refilled my glass, grabbed my blackberry, and tuned in to watch the President.

The 2007 7 Deadly Zins (winery, snooth) was a deep, deep ruby. On the nose, there were raspberries, blueberry jam, nutmeg, cedar, spices, earth, pine needles, and ferns. In the mouth, there were raspberries, vanilla, cedar, and a touch of cola, pine needles, and earth. The wine was super acidic with medium tannins.

Unsurprisingly, this wine, which has a catchy name and label, has been reviewed by a number of my favorite blogs, including this review on luxury blog Luxist, this review on wine blog CheapWineRatings.com, this review on wine blog Wine Life 365, and this review on wine blog Wine Harlots. As you can you see from the other write-ups, there are mixed feelings about this 7 Deadly Zins, so if you’ve had a chance to taste it yourself, I’d love to know what you think.

As for me, Is this worth a glass after work? Sure…you won’t be drinking anything out of the ordinary, but you’ll definitely have a decent, reliable glass of wine. At $15, on it’s own, the wine was fine, although nothing particularly special. The beautiful nose led me to expect a luscious wine that I could sink into while watching the SOTU address, and it didn’t quite live up to those expectations. However, when paired with a soy-sesame marinated steak, the spiciness of the wine complimented the steak perfectly (for you regular readers, you’re probably tired of me pairing wine with a soy-sesame marinated, but I absolutely love it!). In general, it was a decent, enjoyable wine. You could definitely do worse.

Overall: 3 Corks

Posted by Alleigh at 8:17 am Tagged with: , , , ,
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