Tasting - Lost Vineyards Spumante Italiano Moscato

Name: Lost Vineyards
Variety: Spumante Italiano Moscato
Region: Piedmont
Country: Italy
Year: N/A
Price: $6.95

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.

My Review:
Generally I love the sweet wines at the end of these tastings, but this one was pretty disappointing. The smell was off putting to me - kind of like a rotting fruit smell but also kind of like a fruit roll up that has been in its shiny package for a while. There was also an earthy flower aspect to the smell. When tasted, it just tasted exactly like soda to me. If I were to shut my eyes and blindly taste this, I would assume it was just Sprite with a little bit of grenadine. There were not layers in this taste at all. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon

Name: Jip Jip Rocks
Variety: Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Padthaway
Country: Australia
Year: 2013
Price: $19 (Sale $8.95)

Robert Parker:
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.

My Review:
This was a very pretty blood garnet color. The smell was pretty potent with dark bitter raspberry flavors and a little bit of peppermint at the end of the nose. It kind of smelled like it had been sitting in a dark and musty cellar for a while before we went to taste it. When tasted, there were a lot of layers in the taste which was cool to taste. Some dark fruit tones, with still that slight mint aspect were tastable. The wine was not overly bitter and had a clean finish. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Cavit Alta Luna Pinot Noir

Name: Cavit Alta Luna
Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Vigneti delle Dolomiti
Country: Italy
Year: 2011
Price: $20 (Sale $9.95)

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.

My Review:
This was a super "loose" wine and was very flowy in the glass. It smelled like cherry with hints of tobacco, and a little bit of pomegranate with raspberry. When tasted, this wine was fruity, beginning more bitter but was very smooth. This wine seems like it would cut through heavy food well, if you were serving it with a rich dinner meal. There were slight hints of pomegranate in the taste, but overall the finish was very nice. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - El Cortijillo Verdejo

Name: El Cortijillo
Variety: Verdejo
Region: La Monacha
Country: Spain
Year: 2014
Price: $5.95

Beverage Testing Institute 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.

My Review:
This wine smelled like pears to me, but not sliced pears, pears that still are completely intact. This wine was a little crisp smelling and smelled fresh. When tasted, there was a clean ended on the back pallete and had flavors that were grapefruit and tarte. This wine was dry, plain, and one dimensional. Not to say this wine was bad, because it was good, it was just forgetful and nothing special. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Trattoria Busa Alla Torre Pinot Grigio

Name: Trattoria Busa Alla Torre
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Region: Veneto
Country: Italy
Year: 2014
Price: $7.95

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! Musaragno is an organic wine estate near Venice, Italy.

My Review:
This beautiful golden colored wine seemed to have more substance to it and was less "watery" when swirled around. The wine almost looked more like syrup in the class, instead of a white wine. It smelled rich and right of the vine with hints of tangerine and bread that smelled like it was freshly baked. When tasted, it was not directly full of heat but had a little bit of a metallic aftertaste. I really enjoyed this wine but the aftertaste was slightly different and definitely unexpected. This wine had hints of apple on the pallete and was not too sweet. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Fetzer Gewurztraminer

Name: Fetzer
Variety: Gewurztaminer
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2014
Price: $12 (Sale $8.95)

Wine Enthusiast 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.

My Review:
This wine smelled exactly like a fresh cut meadow and was terrific. It smelled like the middle of a spring day that hadn't gotten too war. There were not really any fruits coming out because the main focus was on a grassy smell that was not too earthy. It tasted like carbonated with the fizziness with hints of strawberry. I would like to eat pretzels with this wine to even out the super sweetness. It had a clean finish here the aftertaste didn't linger too long. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Maipe Malbec

Name: Maipe
Variety: Malbec
Region:  Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2015
Price: $12 (Sale $6.95)

Robert Parker 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.

My Review:

This wine smelled sweet with a hint of rubber sole from a shoe. There seemed to be a hint of cinnamon smell as well, except there was not outward spiciness that hits you. I would say that it was more sweet smelling like sugar rather than fruity. When tasted there were little hints of rotten strawberries with the heat on the end with a sub par aftertaste. I felt like I needed a piece of gum after drinking that because it did not end the best way it could have. There was an overall smooth flavor, but no sugar flavor.