This Napa Valley Sangiovese from Rutherford Hill winery really hit the spot. We were a tad nervous after opening the bottle from all of the sediment around the cork which had an odd vinegar smell. Fortunately the wine smelled good! It had an agreeable vanilla and cherry nose with hints of nutmeg. Taste was enjoyable. [...]

Years ago we were introduced to the fine tasting wines of Van Duzer at Houston’s; a great restaurant down in Orange County that has an amazing beef dip sandwich. Houston’s is a chain restaurant with multiple locations, one in Napa Valley called “Rutherford Grill” and several others in various states and cities. (Santa Monica, Manhattan [...]

We’ve had a warm few October weeks in Southern California and what better way to celebrate these summer-like days then a refreshing bottle of Torrontes wine from Argentina! This is such a great varietal from South America and this bottle of white wine from Jose L. Mounier was no exception. It’s floral, fruity and still [...]

During these times of our economic uncertainties, we’ve been cutting back a bit on our monthly wine budget. Sad to say we’ve even cancelled a few of our favorite wine clubs until things pick back up. Anyway, we’ve been looking for those “bargain wines” that taste great and are under $12 a bottle. During our weekend [...]

An easy to drink, enjoyable bottle of Malbec from Argentina. Just wish we could mix this one with a little merlot and stick it in some oak a bit longer. May just give it a bit more body and depth. Overall was good though. We’d drink another!

During our last visit to Napa Valley, we ran into some fellow wine tasters that went on and on about how great the wines were over at Goosecross Cellars. We just had to put it on our list for the day. And aren’t we glad we did. Goosecross had some fantastic wines including this [...]

Packed full of juicy fruit, some cedar and vanilla flavors, this well balanced Merlot from the Trinchero family really hit the spot. We’re getting a case of this one for sure. A fantastic wine for under $10! Winemaker’s notes: The goal with all of our Trinchero Family wines is to offer the purest expression of the grape variety; [...]

We recently had some family out to visit that had arrived with this great bottle of Cabernet from EOS. (Paso Robles, CA) Filled with aromas of toasted oak, black cherry, berries and molasses, this wonderful red wine did very well with our grilled tri-tip steak. Tastes of raspberries and plum with a nice long finish [...]

We were in our local Target the other day and stumbled upon the wine section. (Not sure if that is just a California thing?) Found this Pinot from New Zealand which was marked down from $15 to $10.50 a bottle, so we decided to pick up a few bottles to try. To our surprise, it [...]

This 2004 Napa Valley Bordeaux-blend really hit the spot. We immediately knew we were drinking a quality red wine and not something that came out of the bargain bin over at Von’s. As part of our Rutherford Hill wine club, we occasionally get a bottle or two of Terlato wine. Thus far they’ve all been [...]