Long time no post (part two)

And here are more wines, though not all will have notes. Sorry!

Melon Delight
Village Vintner Winery
Carpentersville, IL
Delicious and sweet. Honeydew melon, watermelon, and kiwi bring out all the best taste of melon with none of the badness. Highly recommended, will be great chilled during summer months. Even melon haters should love this; we both despise melon flavoring and most melons in general, and we can't wait to try it again.

2005 Cabernet Blush (premium dessert wine)
Lynfred Winery
Roselle, IL
Very sweet, almost syrupy. This had a woody flavor to it as well that was not unpleasant but surprising and helped balance the sweetness. Overall, a decent dessert wine.

2006 Syrah
né-go-ciant
St. Helena, CA (Terroir Napa Valley)
If you've been reading this, you know we like syrahs. Overall, they're spicy, woody, and have a distinctive bite. This syrah as a fair to good example of what a syrah should be, encompassing all of those traits. Bonus points for being reasonably priced as well.

2007 Rawson's Retreat (shiraz cabernet)
Penfolds
SE Australia
Unfortunately we don't have much memory of this one, other than knowing we enjoyed it. Penfolds almost always delivers, and we know this one fell into the "thumbs-up" category.

2007 Riesling
Substance
Walla Walla, WA
A dry riesling, but still fruit-forward and somewhat smoky with a definite bite. We enjoyed it, but do not think this is a sweet riesling. Bonus points for great labels, and extra bonus points for an awesome website.

Cherry Ginseng Wine
Traverse Bay Winery
Traverse City, MI
We took this to a party, and while other guests enjoyed it a lot, it didn't ring bells for us. Almost port-ish in quality. Good to know others enjoyed it, though.

January - February Wines

Verdi (spumante)
Bosca Winery, Italy
Light, semi-sweet sparkling white wine. Very refreshing but doesn't have a strong taste. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Cattleman's Red (American dry red wine)
Prairie State Winery
Genoa, Illinois
Full-bodied, oaky red with a hint of spice. Would be great with red meat. Has a strong aftertaste, but only slightly wooly feel after drinking. 4 stars.

Kishwaukee Blue (white table wine)
Prairie State Winery
Genoa, Illinois
Light, slightly fruity, slightly sweet wine with a good nose and a clean finish. The taste stayed with you but like most white wines left no wooly feel.  3.5 stars.

2008 Shiraz
Banrock Station
Kingston on Murray, South Australia
A good shiraz. Very peppery, full-bodied. Coats the entire tongue. A good buy for the price (easily found for under $10). 4 stars.

Mosel Riesling
Blue River
Germany
A gift from a coworker, this was a disappointment. Not a great riesling. Slightly sour, but not due to having turned. Dry reislings are good, but this is somewhere in between dry and sweet. Not really a semi-sweet, either. Ultimately, we're perplexed. 1 star.

Apple Wine
Hickory Creek
Buchanan, Michigan
This wine was okay. Not overly apple flavored, but a nice semi-sweet wine nonetheless. The apple adds a little extra to what would be simply an adequate wine. 3 stars.

Christmas White
Lynfred Winery
Roselle, Illinois
Forgotten until after the Christmas season was over, this was still a tasty wine for winter weather. Says to be served warm, but we had it at room temperature and were still pleased. A sweet, spicy wine, not as good as Lynfred's Christmas Red, but still a winner in its own right. 3.5 stars.

Blueberry Splash
Warner Vineyards
Paw Paw, Michigan
When they say blueberries, they mean blueberries. It tastes like blueberries as wine.  A sweet, but not syrupy, almost-dessert wine.  A nice, full-bodied flavor and aroma, and really awesome legs. 4 stars.

2007 Cotes de Provence (rose wine)
Domaine de la Sauveuse
Pugel-Ville, VAR, France
Another great find at Binny's, this time for a whopping $3. This was a very unexpected rose. An almost smoky taste with a surprisingly clean finish. Not sweet at all, and took a little getting used to when not expecting this kind of complex flavor. 3.5 stars.

2005 Calaccedo (petite sirah)
Monte Verde Vineyards
Paso Robles, California
A full-bodied red with a hint of pepper. A strong, but not unpleasant aftertaste, everything that you'd expect in a petite sirah. 3 stars.

2008 Rasenna (white wine)
Tenuta Le Velette
Orvieto, Italy
Complex, semi-sweet wine. Slightly citrus overtones, sort of spicy with a good nose, smooth finish, and nice legs. E enjoyed this one a lot. 4 stars.

Frankenmuth May Wine
St. Julian Winery
Paw Paw, Michigan
Not to be confused with Frankenmuth Wine, the Frankenmuth May Wine is the sweeter of the two offerings from St. Julian. We would not go so far as to say it's a dessert wine, but it's about as close as you can get. Sweet, with hints of spice and citrus, great for summer gatherings. Should be served chilled. (Also makes a great dessert with sorbet.) 4 stars.

Sunset Table Wine ("Sunset Truck")
Waterman Winery
Waterman, Illinois
A good, medium-dry red wine. Nothing fancy, goes down easy, but stays with you in a good way. An easy-drinking wine, this one is perfectly pleasant. 3 stars.

Holiday wine & cheese party aftermath

The week before Christmas, we decided to have a wine & cheese party for some of our friends. We did this not only because we like wine, not only because it was a good excuse to get together with people, but because M got these as early Christmas presents:

Yes, that is a winemaker nutcracker, and yes, that is a magnum of Riesling. (Or, as E likes to call it, a "big-ass bottle.")

2008 Riesling
Johann Falkenburg
Mosel, Germany
A run-of-the-mill Riesling, a little on the sweet side. A very safe bet for a party with a lot of novice wine drinkers. It was very sweet and fruity up front, but no finish. 2.5 out of 5 stars.



2007 Shiraz
Marquis Philips
SE Australia
One of E's early favorites, a peppery shiraz that has a very bold presence up front. Unfortunately, a friend at the party mentioned that it has little finish, which made E reconsider this as her favorite shiraz. Still, this is a good wine with good flavor, especially for the price. 3.5 out of 5 stars.





Pomegranate Wine
Sycamore Winery
Sycamore, Illinois
We bought this wine nearly a year ago, and we've heard that the winery has since closed. Good nose, the scent of pomegranate is very apparent. Like many fruit wines, it smelled better than it tasted. The taste was of a semi-sweet red, with little to no pomegranate taste whatsoever, all hints of fruit came from the smell. 2.5 out of 5.




State Red (dry red wine)
Prairie State Winery
Genoa, Illinois
A strong, dry red table wine, it had a nice woodiness to it. Good color, and unlike some of the other wines at the party, this had a nice finish. The taste held for up to half a minute after each sip was drunk. 3 out of 5 stars.






Almond Infusion
August Hill Winery
Utica, Illinois
(Side note: We've tried this several times, taken it to a few parties, and for some reason we can't find our previous reviews. Strange.)
We love this stuff. Plain and simple, this is the best almond infusion we've tried. Despite other Illinois wineries boasting that they have the best in the state, the August Hill vintage is hands-down the best tasting of them all. It has a nice, full almond scent and flavor. It is a semi-sweet sparkling wine that goes well with anything with which it is paired. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Raspberry Infusion
August Hill Winery
Utica, Illinois
Much like the AH Almond Infusion, this was extremely well-liked by our guests. It was crisp, light, and refreshing. The taste and smell of the raspberries were readily apparent, the bubbles were small and tight like many good champagnes. 4 out of 5 stars.





2004 Periquita
Jose Maria da Fonseca Vinhos, SA
Azeitao, Portugal
Another good find in the Sam's Wine bargain bin. (Note to Binny's, if you ever read this: you may have taken over Sam's, but until you bring back the bargain bin, you're not better.) A very dry red wine, it is very oaky up front but with a smooth finish at the end. The taste of this wine will linger in your mouth long after you're done with it. Not for the casual wine drinker. Only a few of the guests at the party liked this one. 3 out of 5 stars.


Cranberry Wine
Lynfred Winery
Roselle, Illinois
Another awesome fruit wine from Lynfred. We have had this many times in the past and will keep coming back for more. This is a very good wine for the holidays. A full-bodied cranberry wine with a very tart bite at the end. You can really taste the fruit in this wine. A rare 4.25 out of 5.





Cabernet Sauvignon
The Little Penguin
Nuriootpa, SA Australia
We bought this as an all-around table wine for the party. Despite some bad experiences with mass-market wines in the past (Yellow Tail, we're looking at you), this wasn't that bad. It didn't have the punch and pizazz that you find from "non-supermarket" wines, but this was pleasant enough. After letting it breathe in a carafe for a while, we found it was a nice, dry red which had a good up-front taste, but not much follow through. We could taste only a little amount of wood, but it had a pleasant bite at the end. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Vin Glogg
Glunz Family Winery & Cellars
Grayslake, Illinois
We bought this while visiting their store in Long Grove a few months ago. E fell in love with this spiced wine, which we have only drunk warm. It is a spicy, sweet red that, when warmed, almost evaporates on your tongue. When you think of traditional Christmas wine, this is what you think of. Most people at the party loved this. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

More catching up

There are a lot of wines from October and November that we have yet to input into this blog. So consider this post a dumping ground for everything we've drunk in the two months prior to today.

From October...

Trapolino
August Hill Winery
Utica, Illinois
Good, kind of sweet. Well-balanced wine with hints of fruit. 4 out of 5 stars. It is good for any occasion, will impress friends. And as always, gorgeous labels.







Oak Savanna (Semi-dry table wine)
Prairie State Winery
Genoa, Illinois
A good all-around white table wine. Has a nice hint of wood and has a steady flavor throughout the glass. Nice legs, starts out dry but with a sweet finish. 3.5 out of 5 stars.







Artesia Rose (sparkling wine)
Round Barn Winery
Baroda, Michigan
Found in the bargain bin at Binny's Wine & Spirits, this was a pleasant surprise. We bought it for $4.99 and went back for two more bottles. We'd tried wines from Round Barn before at the Lake Michigan Shore wine festival, and we knew their wines to be fairly good. This was no exception. It's a slightly fruity, semi-dry sparkling wine that goes well with any fruits or cheeses. It can be used for any occasion, before or after dinner. M thinks there are grape seeds at the bottom of each bottle, so do not be alarmed if you find what looks like tiny buckshot in your last glass. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Red October (dry red table wine)
Kickapoo Creek Winery
Edwards, Illinois
This was a wine we drank for Halloween, simply because the name seemed to fit at the time. This was very dry, had a lot of fruit up front but the finish was lacking. Again, a good overall wine if you're a fan of dry reds. It went really well with the steak we ate for dinner that evening. 3 out of 5 stars.





From November...

2008 Lodi Zinfandel
Falcon Ridge at Accents Vineyards
Modesto, California
This is one of M's all-time favorite buys from Trader Joe's. It's a wine that we usually have on-hand in our home. It is a dry, full-bodied red with undertones of oak and cork. It is fruity and big. It goes well with anything. We've taken it to several parties and many people have enjoyed it as well. 4.5 out of 5 stars.




Classic Blush (medium-dry blush table wine)
Warner Vineyards
Paw Paw and Fennville, Michigan
Very fruity, almost jammy in consistency. It's sweeter than most all semi-dry blushes we've tried. Should be chilled. This wine would be great sitting on a porch on a late fall day. 3.5 out of 5 stars.






Grapes of Love (Liebstrauben sweet white table wine)
Warner Vineyards
Paw Paw and Fennville, Michigan
This is a sweet white wine, almost an ice wine in its sweetness. This is great chilled. It does have a nice finish, is very grape-y up front, and would be good for a wine and cheese party. (As an aside, E's parents aren't big wine drinkers, but they both thought this was great. They even bought two bottles for themselves.) 3.5 out of 5 stars.




Pomegranate Wine
Lynfred Winery
Roselle, Illinois
This is what we expect from Lynfred's fruit wines: You can taste the fruit, it's sweet, and a little oaky. The hint of bitterness in the pomegranate fruit comes through well with this wine, giving a hint of a bite that's not the usual fare for Lynfred's wines. A nice change of pace from most fruit wines, and something we hope to see become a regular staple at Lynfred. 4 out of 5 stars.

Playing catch-up

A few more bottles we've tried and shared lately...

2006 Petite Sirah
Mitchell Katz at Ruby Hill (Livermore Valley)
Pleasanton, California
This bottle was a gift to M from his brother, who was traveling in Napa Valley for work. This wine was oaky, very up front, and full flavored, with an okay nose and legs. It tasted a little young. 3 stars out of 5.






Wild Watermelon
Waterman Winery & Vineyards, Inc.
Waterman, Illinois
When chilled in the wine fridge it developed an olive flavor, presumably due to the wine being made with the rind of the watermelon). The olive flavor did go away as the wine warmed up. If left out it still had a smell of olives but tasted like watermelon, yet not overly sweet like watermelon candy. Our advice is to decant it and hope for the best. Disappointing, as we tried this at the winery and enjoyed it much more, possibly due to the wine being freshly bottled. 1 out of 5 stars.


Barbed Wire Red (Red Table Wine)
Also from Waterman Winery & Vineyeards
A simple red wine with a slightly sharp, tart front and clean finish. It is a good table wine for any meal. 3 out of 5 stars.