white christmas

cono sur, chile 2008
viognier, a white wine
13.5%

a white wine with a thick, viscous body, finally! it's got a hit of tannins buffered with a layer of peach nectar. according to the lable it goes well with shellfish and asian style food, i believe it. as it was, i was tossing the wine around with bites of liver pate and foil-wrapped triangle cheeses, not a great match. the pate fought with the heavy meloniness, and the cheese brought out the acidity like a 35 year old man in a cheap pizza shop. this wine is lovely as a snack on it's own, and sipping it looks classy to a set of teetotalling parents. a bottle of friday night in your purse!

$9.99
three and a half stars

Soleus

Morande Reserva

Well, the one I drank had a different label and wasn't a 'pianero rosa' or something.  It had a nice ink blotch/squiggle that sort of looked like a tree and it was a cab sav.  I have had my eye on it for a while but I'm slightly nervous about chileans because they're not argentinians (although the Palo Alto at b33phd1p & wango's the other night has me thawing a bit).  

It's dry and spanking new like a tennis ball, but doesn't smell like one thankfully.  It is well balanced with a reserva tannin, but a little fine for me, I tend to like a body that begs to be wrestled.  I would like to see what it could do to a hot dog with mustard and relish. 

Rating: pending.

-J. Floorburn

it's done now

yellow tail from australlia, 2008
60% shiraz and 40%cabernet
13.5%

tasty like a piece of dark chocolate covered marzipan. not much attack. more reminiscent of an easter bunnies candy eye. i crave a stronger tannin and leather flavour from my wine, but if you'd like a wine that's sweet and easy then try this guy out. happened to go nicely with a tomato and mystery meat sauce.

L'Orangerie !!

what does that say ?! oh yes !

behold....

Chateau de Pennautier 

L' ORANGERIE DE PENNAUTIER 

Vin de Pays Cite de Carcassonne - 2006

purchased and recommended from Liberty Wines on Robsonstrausse when inquiring about heavy french wines.  when i saw the name i had to stop everything, talking and all, and just buy this and get out of there.  it felt too good to be true.

it turns out, above the ultimate curb appeal in the name alone, this wine was so excellent.  unfortunately it's a rarity there now.  if you can find it buy it.  here's the technical stats :

style: Soft & Supple Reds

grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot / Grenache

description: full-bodied, fruity, and full of the taste of rural France, but with an elegant finish ! Vivid ruby-red colour showing a nose dominated by red fruits (raspberry, redcurrant) with hints of blackcurrant leaves and cherry-stone, (cherry-stone ?) oh well.

country: France

region: Languedoc-Roussillon

producer: Chateau de Pennautier (Vignobles Lorgeril)

it was like, 25 bucks.

The Old Farm

I have been sampling la vielle ferme for a couple of years now. I heard that this wine comes from a family of organics but it doesn't say so on the label. No matter, it is a very agreeable, affordable, french red. Don't overthink it, you know? It's got shickens on the label. Goodnight, pictured here with homemade palak paneer by wendeep.

-Floorburn

Mystery Meat Bolognaise

Monsieur Orange and Mr. M. Jackson trade secrets.

A modest little dinner party just sort of happened last weekend involving these two, sarge, wendeep, myself, brie, a bocconcini basil salad, a block of meat we figure was lamb, gluten free spaghetti, and four bottles of wine, surprise, surprise.

M. Jackson brought the french: Domaine la Combe, vin de pays d'Herault, '06, 13%. He reported it to be "peppery".

Monsieur Orange offered up his current fancy: chianti. He says, "No body, easy... you drink it and you don't feel drunk, then you are... perfect!" "My new girl." This one happened to be Melini Chianti, 12.5%, '07.

I purchased Benjamin Nieto Senetiner Red Wine, Argentinian malbec, '08, and that seems to be all I have written in my notebook on the subject, I'm sure it was fine.

Mattress was in town this weekend and indulged us with two lovely performances and he brought a bottle up from the states which I traded him for a sample of Doi Chaang coffee. It turned out to be Yellow Tail shiraz-cab. Sheesh. When I was a kid I used to like cream soda, now I like wine. I honestly wonder if it is real. Surely they add an artifical vanilla flavouring. It was so gross, sip after sip just as bad as before, it tasted like melted candy-apple shells.

Good night.

-J. Floorburn

South Africa

I have the internet. Now i have little time to devote to the little things like story, feelings. Regretably, standards have fallen in the realm of adult entertainment. "How's the smut business, Jacky?"-- That's what a guy in my dream asked me the other night.

Okay, I been trying the South African wine. Excelsior 2006 Cab Sav $15.99, 14.5%.

Purple shit. Dark cinnamon spicy-like. Smells and attacks like an Argentinian malbec but finishes like the French. There is some sort of abject flatness not unpleasant like cooked kidney beans.

Alright, I been tryin' another. Excelsior purebred red, 14.5%, $15.99.

Here's a blend. Uglier than his brother, but does the job as well. Drinkable without snacular-type nibbliar-like food items.

Ratings: Cuban cigars of wine.

-J. Floorburn

Holiday Season Feelings

i thought of my little pet project today after sipping the very best French Malbec (ah the french) at Liberty Wines.

i do still love wine very much.

i will have a lot to say this up and coming holiday season !

cheers

-BD

Just Getting My Feet Wet

Hey Folks, thanks for the invite! Great posts so far.

I'll be contributing, once I've done some more sampling.
Going to send Alyssa an invite also.
See ya on Tuesday if not before.

Jesse

What Are You Doin' Fer the Rest of Your Life?

Jean Bousquet malbec '07, 13.8% alc. Altitude: 1,200 meters.

Full rich fruity over-the-top dense plummy blackberry port-like proofing bread with chocolaty brandied cherry.

Serve this at your next job interview, or drink it when it's a boy, or heck, when it's a girl...

Rating: Single and childless.

Feels like: 4.2

-J. Floorburn

Many a Goode Olde Tyme Had By All

Nary a goode tyme wasted.  Come all ye who doth spendeth the goode tyme with thy friends and eateth all the lasagna. Cheers be to the future of our kynde, on the morrow may ye be guided by goode wine and necessary whimsy and voteth for thy mayor carefully, and with much humility and chagrin, as the Olympix cometh to towne. Not once, not twice, but thrice now hath we the opportunity to thwarth yon evil. Let us voteth and retire to breaketh a fast perhaps with pancakes?

-J. Floorburn

you still gotta pay your damn terasen bill

hardy's
riesling & gewurztraminer
australlia 2007

jumped right off the bus into the ceder cottage looking for a something to quench my working class thirst. two days before payday in the midst of a budgetary shitstorm (i.e. i blew my paycheque on bacon and shoes) and i'm thinking of wine. first the coats off then the corks out. this wine required about ten minutes to decarbonate itself, after that things got worse. the nose had hints of rising hot cross buns and a week old bouquet from a bad date. i detected koala piss and pineapple on the tongue. but after d&d was cancelled i went for it on this bottle, the buzz mellowed the flavour, but resulted with me waking up at 6:30 for work with a mid week hang over. at a mere 11.5% alcohol i won't make this mistake twice. it does however have a cute bird stamp on the bottle, foiled by curb appeal!

maiden blog voyage

dunavar "connoiseur collection"
2006 pinot gris
hungary
$13.00ish at the cedar college

this little number is an unassuming tasty wine. it calls itself fashionable and elegant. the dunavar is not as classy as audrey hepburn, but might be able to pass for bridgit bardot. the wine feels like a soft summer apricot cloud on the tongue. and a delicate fruit salad on the nose. mellow like a marshmallow. a bit caramely. it tastes just as nice the next day with an afternoon of bookbinding and talking heads. i'd probably buy it again.
3/5

Playing Catch-up

Now that Wendeep Oaksminder (pictured) is knee deep in the arduous task we all know as 'wine sampling', we seem to be sampling faster than we can post. Maybe soon you will read of her experiences first hand, but for now I'll tell you some things that were said over a special treat we specially treated ourselves with last weekend.

Dos Fincas Vina Amalia, Argentinian 60% Cab, 40% malbec, 13.5% alc. $18.99 @ Liberty wine mechant, Granville Island. (Rumour has it this can be found slightly cheaper at the Liberty on Robson? [and yet another rumour has it this can be found even slightlier cheapier at the cold b&w at oak and 25th?])

Nose: Bitter rubber, summer lily, vanilla, fresh cut red cedar, Field's shoe department in August.

Mouth: Leather shoe unworn, long finish with a hint of banane, robust as pound cake, drink it with a fork.

Palate-ball: Fresh figs (good), Aged goat gouda (pretty good), chile pepper gouda (okay), strawberries (good), applewood smoked cheddar (highlight with strawberries), french brie (with this wine is like yougurt and fruit, so really good).

Rating: 3.85 of 5



-J. Floorburn

Cono Sur Revisited and Comparerd

Here we have close friends and lasagna. (I realise the lasagna is not pictured and only one close friend is, but you'll have to take our word for it. And yes, hallowe'en was a week ago.)

Keep goin the way we're goin. bicycle schmycicle. I think we canm agree that the inorganic cono sur is inferior to the organic. A bunch of wines drank in tandem will NOT corrupt each others flavours. The next one out-does or fails against it's predecessor. LARPing. In the woods and shit. Stanley Park one afternoon. If you are a dwarf, you dress up as a dwarf. When wine's on sale, take it.

-J. Floorburn

My First Australian

Tintara Horseshoe Row. Medal winning 2006 shiraz. Monsieur d'Orange says it's "Good, really good." I say have it with halibut with lime and butter, it can satisfy a craving for fried chiggen.

Alc. 14.5%/vol.

Rating: nice, nicely done.

-J. Floorburn

The Joy of Painting

Well, it was November first, time to carve the pumpkin. Sort of a diorama, here in the photograph. The Trapiche lives over here, just nestled next to the pumpkin house. And the little gourds, they're just snuggling playfully, enjoying themselves.

Seeds roasted at three twenty five for about fifteen minutes with olive oil, seasoning salt and curry powder makes a snack not unlike popcorn.

Most of this bottle was drank over "Ironman", the movie, and good humour was sufficiently sustained.

Rating: pretty good
-J. Floorburn

France Vs. Argentina

Argentina: Don Miguel Gascon, 2006 malbec. 50% french, 50% american oak aging. $15.99

France: J.P. Cheney, Founder's Reserve, merlot-cabernet, vin de pays d'oc, 14%. Bottle no. 02470

The Gascon is rich, fruity, and dry. It has a two-phase drinking experience, enjoyably complex, wheras the Cheney is mellow, subtle, and is fully integrated thus consistent from start to finish. With rich foods such as baked herbed goat cheese pyramids, prosciutto, and pate, the french merlot-cab shows off its sophistication, but the Argentinian malbec is confident and robust to stand up to Dinner. I would choose the Cheney for a fresh palate, or a relaxing hot bath, but the Gascon is intriguing enough to demand repeated taste-testing.

Score: I'd like to call it a draw, but...

France: 4 Argentina:4.1

-J. Floorburn

Another Go at B.C.?

At an old friend's birthday party at Sate Sato Indonesian restaurant tuesday evening I had the mild surprise of not being disgusted by not one, but two B.C. wines. Mission hill Cab Sav just leaves the Jackson Triggs in the dust. It may not be great but I sure had low expectations. Then some guy in a sweater I just met graciously bought the birthday girl a bottle of Hillside Estate 2005 merlot. (After he saw me scribbling away at the end of the table he asked, "were you drawing?" To which I replied, "ha, ha, no... I am reviewing this wine, just taking notes.") Wendeep exclaimed immediately upon sipping, "velvety!", impressive since the label itself says 'red velvet in a bottle'. It also says 'big, luscious' and I would agree. It is rather complex for a B.C. wine.

Just a thought on my obvious disdain for B.C. wine products: Maybe they are so over-priced that I just can't afford a drinkable one. What a shame considering the government subsidies.

Bye for now.

-J. Floorburn

Mediocre Label

Il Bastardo, Italy

This is my first attempt at 'Curb Appeal'. I chose this for the label but let me be clear: I do not like the label. B33phd1p was with me and said he has been avoiding this one for weeks because of the label, fair enough. Back at b33phd1p's ninth floor pad the air was fresh, the lap dog was excitable, the jack-o-lanterns glowing and the glasses clean. We set up a cheese board with figs and dates for later (we had three bottles and a date with wango apres work). Sitting on the patio we commenced aggressive sniffing. Amazing! The smell of vanilla was impossibly strong (which turned out to be true as there was a vanilla scented candle steadily burning a heavy corruption of our olfactories). B33phd1p put the candle out but the smell lingered. With our noses deep in our glasses and with very raucous laughter we both reported two very distinct stinks: wine and vanilla. I could definitely smell grapes, and not fresh ones either. This wine is way too acidic to have without food and it dried the tongue out like way oversteeped black tea. It also gets worse with breathing. One glass down and we recorked it with a loud: "NEXT!"

Rating: 1.2865 of 5

-J. Floorburn

P.S. Is that a bottle of Efes in the photo? I would greatly welcome a turkish beer at this point.

The Current Thing

At a recent party a couple of acquaintances of mine were drinking this tasty gaffer and they twice offered me a glass. I answered in a strong affirmative to both invitations but as I was already a bit tipsy (okay, i'll admit plastered)my response came out something like this: "yessh shertanly, I'm a journaliss you knoa! Nowsh my chanz to review it... haven tried it bafore." I no doubt drank those glasses and amazingly enough I sort of remembered what the bottle looked like so I could get one of my own when sober.

Amado Sur by Trivento 2006. 75% malbec, 15% syrah, 10% bonarda, and 14% alcohol. (Which I guess adds up to 114%.) Anyway, the colour is a deep cherry reddish-purple much like the inside of a blood orange. It smells of plum which is common but true with hints of caramel and hickory smoke. With a full round flavour and smooth, long finish it seems under-priced at $15.00. This is my current regular drinker. Argentina is killing it.

-J. Floorburn

HELLBENT 2006

There was thunder in the air on the night we went to the liquor merchant atop Olde Davie Street to procure this little spoke of South Australian wine from Kangarilla Road Winery.

In our possession now it is HELLBENT 2006 Red Wine.

In a small motor-car we recovered the miles of primeval forests of the Down Town's West End until the wooded ascent of the Barclay rise brought us to our home, Barclay Tower. This street bore an aspect more than usually sinister as we viewed it by night and without the accustomed crowds of locals and residents, we were often tempted to use the acetylene headlight despite the attention it might attract.

With this gourd, rumored to be 'from the vineyards just beyond the lake of fire', we returned to our room on the ninth floor of this dark tower, peaked-roofed, incredibly old, and crazily leaning backward, forward, and sideways.

It was a sense of routine which kept me from going mad when we uncorked the exquisite shiraz-cabernet. I had drilled myself in preparation for the crucial moment, and blind training saved me. Recognizing the soothing evil as no substance reachable by matter or material chemistry,

...I am forced into speech because men of this web logging site have refused to follow my advice without knowing why. In the midst of this daemoniac spectacle, I tasted a fresh horror which brought cries to my lips and sent me fumbling and staggering towards the unexpected....

"triumphant silky tannins, godlike surges of deadly berry sweetness, and plum-y impressions of sound like the chirpings and murmurings of objects unknown on earth or in the solar system !"

hey, it's really good ! @ $16.99

lilliputian delights

Ernest and Julio Gallo
Cabernet Sauvingnon

hey now, look at this little fella...

it's the Emmanuel Lewis of Great Stuff !

we actually enjoyed our tiny portions of this bottle of wine fit for air travel.

250 ml.
$3.49

Wine from the Fiend Folio

Name: Dis Tinto 2006
Region: Valencia
Location: south east of Spain
Frequency: Very Rare
Number Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 16.99 (on sale)
Move: so quickly
Hit Dice: 5
% In Lair: 14.5%
Treasure Type: Q (x3)
No. of Attacks: about 4
Damage/ Attack: palate drying
Special Attacks: 50 % Tempranillo, 50% Syrah
Special Defenses: nice label
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Size: S (750 ml.)

Although usually invisible, this bottle of wine can materialise in the form of an animal, fire, a human being, and a mundane object. The most common depictions of this kind of wine show them as humanlike figures the size of small children. These morphed wines can live in human homes wearing the clothing of peasants, hunched and ugly, or may live on ships, smoke pipes and wear sailor clothing.

Legends tell of this wine as a house spirit of ambivalent nature; while it sometimes performs domestic chores, it can play malicious tricks if insulted or neglected.

labels

Good evening....

i'm starting to realize that i cannot easily detect plum, blackberry, or spices in any glass of wine.

i'm not even going to try tonight.

....the following wines were purchased and enjoyed purely from the labels alone.

Curb Appeal (new feature, AHEM.. i said NEW FEATURE)

it is 'Curb Appeal' week here at ManyWines HQ

we do this, maybe you do this ....

... i encourage you to post a wine purely purchased on label alone.
it does not have to be the greatest label you've seen (obviously), but one that has at the very least caught your attention.

buy it. drink it , take a picture of it.
and i now pronounce ... "CURB APPEAL WEEK !" *


so Here is...



The Red Sedan
2006 Product of Australia
Shiraz (77%)Malbec(23%)


dense purples
fruit with long finish

sleek as a red sedan and smooth as a leather interior



* ('curb appeal week 'duration may last longer than one week...or much less !)

GOON BAG

Here we have a fine (read: shitty) box (read: bag) of Franciscan burgundy, boxed (read: bagged) for Peller in San Fran; for Abbey in Truro, N.S., Winona, On., Kelowna, B.C., and de-boxed by Jesse Wilson and friends.

Now I paraphrase for temporary substitute first time wine reviewing journalist and regular life-long dungeon master and super-hero animator Mr. Jesse Wilson (pictured next to me with a lovely [read: gross] fountain of said wine flowing down his non-professional yet experienced gullet).

Not all bad. Not overly bitter, nor sweet--which is good, but not quite as good as others. Metallic. Overall pretty good, mind you I'm hungry, it's late and I've been on a wine hiatus. (Here I offered jesse some brie for palate-ball. -ed.) Excellent! Life is good. Takes the edge off. (Then Jesse explained the drinking technique we see in the photo.) I like to drink it from a stream, after all Willy Wonka says chocolate tastes better when mixed by waterfall. Let it fill your mouth all the way before swallowing, I call it the "wine-stein". (HA HA! Now I offered sharp cheddar. -ed.) This cheese makes it brazen and crass.

There you have it. No rating. Not recommended, not discouraged. Somehow entirely enjoyed.

-J. Floorburn

P.S. Sorry for the recent narcissistic run of self-portraits.

Nighty night.

Fungus?!

After turkey stew our co-hosts Heather and W. D. Allen entertained us with a sort of fancier-than-late-harvest 2005 botrytis semillon by Bimbadgen Estate (Australia) and a game of scrabble. Other guests included Wendeep Oaksminder and an old standby named Lightfoot.

Apparantly botrytis is a greyish mould one WANTS growing on grapes as it draws water out of the fruit thus concentrating flavours and sugars. I understand it is a dicey task of controlling the alcohol levels and will easily fall below official 'wine' standards (leaving one with a 'cider' or a 'cooler' perhaps?) Then, using God knows what procedure, the fungus and other impurities are removed, extracted, exiled, killed, 'shaken down', or sent to Abu Graib for all I know, and we are left with quite an amazing beverage, definitely for sipping not chugging.

Notice the golden colour. I tastes just like it looks plus apricotty, citrusy, leathery (in a good way), syrupy, spicy and a half million other things. W. D. himself contemplated: "one could virtually never run out of adjectives to describe this".

-J. Floorburn

Pascual Toso

During thankstaking leftover turkey stew, an associate of mine and co-host for the evening W. D. Allen offered me a glass of (I think previously uncorked) Pascual Toso malbec. 100% malbec that is, 2007 from "las Barracas" estate of the Maipu region, Argentina. (I am naturally too classy to have enquired of my host the price but may ammend this post in the future.)



The nose on this beauty has deep black cherry and even coffee if you wait for it. CLASSY. I figured by the smell it might taste a bit tannicky but lo: dry and smooth as silk. This can't be cheap but worth the probable splurge. An absolute pleasure.



-J. Floorburn

And you thought you loved Oprah...

Well my friends, you haven't met OMRAH. Mmmmmmmmmm.

A shipwrecked 2005 drunken Shiraz hailing from the banks of Western Australia -this beauty is not one to make you get caught in the nets - she will have you riding on the high tide till you're looking for the message in the bottle - and this is what it says:

Lady in the streets. Freak in the sheets - just like Oprah.

Blueberries, plum, spice. At $21.99, a cast above my fiscal compass and let me tell you "knot" an eyepatch wasted. This little treasure chest will have you diving into your next glass like Arturo Miranda.

Will pair well with a cozy pair of your boyfriend's socks and/or a hilarious night beside the boats. Arrrrrr.

Docking in at 14.5% alcohol

Recommended for the sailor in all of us.

4 of 5

where am I ?

fishcage

fishcage shiraz viogner 2006
South Eastern Austrailia

blackberry, plum, cherry oh my !

...we're off to drink this Viognier, this wonderful Viognier of Oz !...tralia

It is a Shiraz (93%) and Viognier (7%) ...the nose has spicy components, and the palate is all the before mentioned medly of fruit. but you knew that......  

c'mon what IS the point of this !!!! ????

I initially considered cellaring this one until 2010. But alas... i opened it, and had a good glass !  I doubt it will be re-considered for re-cellaring at this time.

14$ alc./vol
750 ml.
%14.99

contains 'sulphites'

ahoy hoy !!

make way, make way ! i have spent $36.99 !

it IS Yellow Label WOLF BLASS 2006 Cab Sav

1500 ml

wango got 2 glasses.. i reviewed the rest .

RED HEADED STEP SON

As if I were Geppetto, i found my son at the local Super Valu @ Davie. He was there, amongst the bright, bold and beautiful autumnesque pumkins. Lacking melanin and a pretty face, this albino was surely mine to find. With one foul swoop, we approached full, and complete adoption.

Ol' Geppetto needed a quick cat nap since it was almost happy hour and there was work to do.

Upon my workbench, a glass of vino, tools for carving, and a fathers will to mould a son into what he was meant to be. Knowing nothing of how this fine child will meld with my love and perserverence, he became.   

Thus child I present to you tonight, without name until I found this wine I will speak of.  

 

Everything fitting. Like the Lodi Old Vines of Zinfandel  of "Gnarly Head" I sip tonight, my child is complete. 

Much like my son, this wine is 'head pruned' --meaning the shoots grow directly out of the head of the trunk with no trellis system. 

These Old Vines produce fewer grapes...which in turn creates a more intense flavoured wine that explodes on inpact...in the mouth. With layers of jammy blackberries, cassis and spice, start with Gnarly Vines, end with a Gnarly Wine!

...also a possible after-thought, I may smash his head --"that explodes on inpact"!

<3

Casa de Campo Reserve Malbec Shiraz

You know, the problem with "knowing" about "good" wines is this: with such a wide selection of well-reviewed wines on our little blog, it is difficult not to stick to the proven standards. For this reason, tonight I purchased Wolf Trap and Sasyr, both previously reviewed by me - and both still drinking extremely well. But the third bottle? Well let's try something new, shall we comrades? And here she comes - a comely little something something from that little mongrel of a South American Nazi hideout: Argentina!

It is Malbec and Shiraz, and my first impressions are pretty and nice. Wino11's first words upon tasting? "Mmm...lovely". Say no more, m'lady - say no more. I have favored Argentina's Trivento Shiraz for some time, and this sleek number has the same deep, sassy tonguecaress - but tempered with the ditzy hurrah of a young inbred Spanish malbec.

Blackberries. Butter. Caramel. Currant. Oh boy. Some acidity - but it fades, gently. Malbec and Shiraz have fairly generic reputations, but in this case the two commingle like Simon and Garfunkle. Or Hart and Mould, if you will - and I know you will.

Pictured with its white sister.


13.5 alc. / vol.
750 ml - $17

Rating: 3.9
Feels like: 3.9

Orson Welles Commercial

FOUR-BALL IN THE FACE-POCKET