Jan 5, ‘06: For new years, after reading Dr. Joe Schwarcz’s book Let Them Eat Flax which once again talked about how a glass of wine 3 times/week was healthy, Lionel and I decided to start drinking the god-aweful stuff for health reasons. And I must say at the moment it tastes like medicine, lol. Anywho, I decided to make this page to track the wines we have tried and what we thought of them. I will list the wines under the major grape from which they are made, and within these categories by date.
Cabernet Sauvignon
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Zonnebloem Cellers (South Africa), 2003
Sweetness Index: 00.
Alcohol Content / Volume: 14.0%
750mL - Dec 28, ‘05
Zonnebloem Cabernet’s grapes come from selected Stellenbosch vineyards. A variety of clones were used to give added complexity of flavour. Prior to the final blend, the wines were matured separately in a combination of 300L and large French oak barrels for 9 - 12 months. Although ready for drinking now, this 100% Cabernet from an exceptional red wine vintage, will develop more complexity as it matures. Maturation potential is up to 15 years.
Lionel’s mom and dad were very impressed with this wine, and said our first glass should be a good wine. Our tastebuds disagreed. According to the Red Wine Primer Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine to be lead up to as it has a lot of the bitter tannins from the skin, so it isn’t very sweet. We we drank it, our face couldn’t help but grimace. Honestly, horrid horrid stuff, but we haven’t yet acquired a taste for it. To get through it I had to dilute it with club soda, although sweetened ginger ale is sounding like a better option!! Very bitter, even with frozen berries put in it. Although ion the end the berries tasted lovely. I think we’ll not have this wine again until our taste buds are more “developed,” heh.
Merlot
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Drostdy-Hof (South Africa), 2004
Sweetness Index: 00.
Alcohol Content / Volume: 14%
$12.99/750mL - Jan 30, ‘06
A medium-bodied wine with lively berry flavours.
This one was Lionel’s choice, he wanted to try another Merlot, I wanted to get a Pinot Noir since we’ve already had Merlot, but we got this one and the Burgundy instead. Neither one of us liked it, it was very acidic and had a lot of tannin flavours. I had to mix mine with ginger ale to drink it - I don’t think we’ll be getting it again. Very dry and bitter.
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Naked Grape (BC, Canada), no year
Sweetness Index: 00.
Alcohol Content / Volume: 12.5%
$8.99/750mL - Jan 12, ‘06
Naked grape wines reveal themselves as they really are, without being hidden by the flavour of oak. Our winemaker has chosen not to oak age the wines, allowing the crisp fruit flavour and the true varietal characteristics to come through. Naked Grape Merlot is a soft, fruit driven wine with rich plum and black cherry flavours.
I thought this wine was much better than the Cabernet and the Shiraz, but still had an aweful taste when you swallowed. At least now it doesn’t feel like I should spit it out and use it as a cleaning agent, LOL. I think it’s tolerable, and I can drink a glass with only a few grimaces. If I don’t let it linger in my mouth I can survive it! I don’t know if I’ll ever reach the point where I enjoy it, heh, but that’s the whole purpose behind these reviews - to see how my tastes change over time :) They’re not for wine connoisseur that’s for sure, LOL!
Shiraz
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KWV (South Africa), 2002
Sweetness Index: 00.
Alcohol Content / Volume: n/a
$11.99/750mL - Jan 5, ‘06
At first gulp this one was also horrid, heh. Although we left it in the glass to “breathe” and it got less horrible with time, slowly graduating to extremely unpleasant within an hour, heh. It wasn’t so bitter in the mouth as the Cabernet, but it burned like a hot poker when you swallowed the stuff. After it breathed for an hour I tried to see if I swished it around in my mouth if it was as bad as the beginning - BAD IDEA. God aweful. I spent the rest of the glass swallowing it trying not to let it touch my tongue, and I had to throw out the last two mouthfuls because I just couldn’t drink the stuff anymore. Although, that being said, I’d just like to reiterate that it was not as bitter and grimace-inducing as the Cabernet, lol. Next time we’re going to try a Pinot Noir or a Merlot, apparently they’re sweeter and people just starting out with wine should try those first. The white wines aren’t supposed to be as aweful, but we need the chemicals in the skin for health… *sigh*
Valpolicella
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DiNotte Pasqua (Italy), 2004
Sweetness Index: 00.
Alcohol Content / Volume: 12%
$?/750mL - Feb 13, ‘06
A vibrant red wine made using New World techniques, giving the wine great fruit concentration and expression. Its intense aroma of rasberries, good acidity and soft tannins, make this an easy to drink balanced wine. Ideal on its own or as an accompaniment to red meat dishes, cheeses, and salads. Serve at room temperature.
This wine was Lionel’s choice. I think it’s even softer than the California Burgandy, less bitter. Has kind of an oaky taste to it. Not bad - not delicious, lol, but more tolerable than the Burgandy even. Very soft.
Variety Wines
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California Burgundy
Franciscan Vineyards (California, USA), Unknown
Sweetness Index: 01.
Alcohol Content / Volume: 12.5%
$5.99/750mL - Jan –, ‘06
A perfect blending of premium red grape varieties has produced our delightful medium-bodied Franciscan California Burgundy. A dark ruby red wine, with hints of berry and spice accentuate the good tannin balance and dry finish. An excellent companion to steaks, roast, and other flavourful cuisine.
The first thing to strike me about this wine was its cheapness, heh. The second: it was the only red wine for miles with a sweetness rating above 00 :D It also comes in 2L bottle for $11.99, so if it’s nice it’ll be more economical than any of the other wines we’ve tried so far. But there’s the catch isn’t it - “nice,” and “wine” don’t really belong in the same sentence do they? LOL. At least not this early in the game!
Well, this was the one wine Lionel and I could tolerate. It was still a bit bitter, but overall it wasn’t as acidic as the Merlot we bought at the same time, and there weren’t as many tannins. I wouldn’t describe it as good, but tolerable. Thus far the best we have had.
