idontdrinkwine

Ermita de San Lorenzo Red 2001

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:20:00 +0000

Vineyard: Ermita de San Lorenzo
Location: Spain
Type: Red
Vintage: 2001
Alcohol Content: 14%
Purchased: 3/29/11 - Virgin Wine Club
Cost: $5.99
Rating: 6/10

It's a fancy one. A little gold net wrapped around it. Perfect for a gift!

There were two in the Virgin Wine Club box, and for some reason we left them until the final three. We almost drank the other remaining one first, but thought we probably shouldn't have two of the same one in a row later.

It's really not that bad, but doesn't leave much for description. If you have the box, no need to leave it for a special occation - just rip open that gold armor and drink it down.

Route 40 Malbec 2009

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 04:10:00 +0000

Vineyard: Route 40
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Type: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Purchased: 3/29/11 - Virgin Wine Club
Cost: $5.99
Rating: 6.5/10

I know, I know. You've been sitting around anxiously awaiting for my return for the last two years. I would be, too! You probably had to go two whole years without drinking any wine under $5, out of fear that it would be terrible. I don't blame you... it's a scary thought.

Anyway, here I am - back! I had to take some time off to be able to stick to the title of this blog. Now, it's not that I didn't drink ANY wine over the past while, but certainly not as much.

So, with a clean palate and a half-wine-head mind, let's get on to the task at hand:

This Route 40 Malbec is a great wine to come back to the blog with. If you've been a follower for long, you know by now that I'm a fan of Malbecs in general. But even so, this is a good one. Which is good, because...

There are 2 in the Virgin Wines Club case. Most of the wines in the case have been good, with few exceptions. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of those for you. Were you really going to get the case and not drink those ones, though? I highly recommend getting a case of your own and drinking them along with me. It's great fun. I even got a very futuristic (as in battery powered, lights up, etc.) wine bottle opener. Yeah, it's the thing below, there.

See you back, soon!

It's been a while...

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:27:00 +0000

... but I'm coming back. Look out for new content in the days to come! (Come on, I had to take a break to be able to say, once again, that I don't drink wine!)

Any requests?

Spiral Wines Cab Sab 2008

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:46:00 +0000

Vineyard: Spiral Wines
Location: Napa Valley
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol Content: 13.9%

Purchased: 1/24/09 - Trader Joe's, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 4.75/10

A nice Sunday afternoon treat. Nothing about the wine is especially good or bad - no strange features like many of the wines I chronicle. It's not going to offend anybody, certainly.

Like so many CA wines, there is a great blurb on the back of the bottle. One piece states: "Our wines are the celebration of our quest for growth and love of life." This is something I can certainly get behind, and I hope to enjoy more of their wines as their 'spiral of life' continues. In English: they will make more wine and I will drink it.

Terrenal Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:30:00 +0000

Vineyard: Terrenal
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol Content: 13%

Purchased: 1/13/09 - Trader Joe's, SF, CA
Cost: $3.99
Rating: 5.75/10

The first sip is a bit of a shock, but once acclimated it's good. Not really sure why the first sip is so rough, but it is. I'm guessing that 'shocking' isn't an adjective that vintners usually go for....

Petanque Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:57:00 +0000

Vineyard: Petanque
Location: Healdsburg, CA
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 13.8%

Purchased: 1/13/09 - Trader Joe's, SF, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 4.66/10

I liked this wine more than our guest raters. Oh well, they don't know what they are talking about.

I'm most impressed by the quote on the back of the bottle which says: "We built a Petanque court for a little recreation. Then we thought we'd better make a wine to go with it!" This seems to ring very true to me and certainly applies to this blog. They built the internet - better drink wine and blog about it!

La Finca Malbec 2009

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:23:00 +0000

Vineyard: La Finca
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Type: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol Content: 13%

Purchased: 1/13/10 - Trader Joes, SF, CA
Cost: $3.99
Rating: 5.25/10

I'm on a Malbec kick. Last one was a Malbec and the next one is a Malbec, too. The La Finca is certainly good, but I'd rate it the worse of the three. That said, I would certainly encourage you to get all three and try yourself. It's possible, that if you drink this one third, you might like it the best! Not because it actually tastes the best, but because you will be drunk.

Fuerza Malbec 2009

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:40:00 +0000

Vineyard: Fuerza
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Type: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 1/13/10 - Trader Joe's, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 6/10

If my tastes buds remember correctly (slim chance), this wine is a bit better than the same label and type from 2003. It's a very deep red/purple with a pretty unpleasant smell and aftertaste. The actual taste of the wine is pretty good though, and it leaves your teeth a nice color purple. Always good for a dinner party!

Opera Prima Merlot 2008

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:19:00 +0000

Vineyard: Opera Prima
Location: Spain
Type: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol Content: 13%

Purchased: 12/9/09 - Cost Plus World Market, Daly City, CA
Cost: $4.97
Rating: 4.25/10

Sorry for the long delay, folks. I wish I had a good excuse for you, but I don't. I just got kinda bored of writing all these posts all of the time. (Don't worry, didn't get bored of wine or even cheap wine.)

Not a great re-entry to the land of wine blogging, to be honest. Overly harsh, and while I have been known to like wines with a bit of a kick, this one just didn't do it for me. The label with the pretty flower is certainly misleading - I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if it had a guy getting kicked on the label?

Wine that Loves Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:11:00 +0000

Vineyard: Cielles C.A.R.L
Location: Trento, Italy
Type: Red
Vintage: n/a
Alcohol Content: 13%

Purchased: 7/24/09 - Cost Plus World Market, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $3.99
Rating: 5/10

Sorry for the long hiatus. I've been working awfully hard, and while I've probably had some wine in the last three months, I haven't had the time to write about it. I swear none of them have been amazing five dollar wines.

This wine is a good reentry. I didn't have it with Pizza - rather a cheeseburger. But it didnt't matter, it was still tasty and very red and full flavored and fun. There is a whole series of these wines at Cost Plus - I recommend you check them out. Your guest will get a kick out of them.

Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Tue, 12 May 2009 05:57:00 +0000

Vineyard: Columbia Crest
Location: Paterson, WA
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 5/11/09 - Safeway, Palo Alto, CA
Cost: $4.98
Rating: 4.5/10

And we have yet another sub-par Safeway wine. It's really unfortunate - its definitely to the point where I want to do all of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's -- simply because I can pick up a random cheap bottle of wine there and assume that it will be good. Now if only TJs bananas weren't always too green.

This wine is a little worse than average. I wasn't expecting all that much to be honest, but I was happy to see a new wine on the shelf. They seem to only stock the same thing month after month - so this was a pleasant surprise in that department at least. It smells pretty bad, and the aftertaste isn't great. Doesn't taste terrible - but I've had much better. Oh well...

Casa Solar Tempranillo 2007

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 05:55:00 +0000

Vineyard: Casa Solar
Location: Spain
Type: Tempranillo
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 13%

Purchased: 4/25/09 - Cost Plus World Market, San Mateo, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 6.5/10

This is quite a nice, full bodied wine. It's a nice ruby red color. It's a little thin, but I suppose I can forgive them for that.

Coolest of all, though, is the pink slinky on the label. Even though there is a slinky on the label, however, I would recommend against trying to roll it down the stairs. You'll end up with red wine everywhere and no cool slinky sound to go with it.

R.C.T.J.W.F. Zinfandel 2007

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:11:00 +0000

Vineyard: R.C.T.J.W.F
Location: Paso Robles, CA
Type: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 14.6%

Purchased: 4/08/09 - Trader Joe's, Menlo Park, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 6.25/10

Come on... what are you trying to do right now? Don't try to pretend you aren't. R.C.T.J.W.F. Figure it out yet? Want a hint?

You can't help but pick up the bottle and try to figure out what it stands for. Luckily for me, the price was perfect, so I was able to take it home and figure out what it tastes like, too! And you wouldn't believe it, but it tastes pretty damn good.

Yup, good tasting, intriguing labeled, cheap wine. How could it get any better? What? It's 14.6%?! Fantastic. I think I may have found a grand slam - and just in time for baseball season. If drinking on the CalTrain is still legal, I highly recommend grabbing a bottle of this guy for the ride.

OK, ok, I'll tell you. I know you're dying to know. Really Cool Trader Joe's Wine Find. Yup, they know it and now you know it. Go enjoy!

Poppy Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:43:00 +0000

Vineyard: Poppy Cellars
Location: Healdsburg, CA
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 12.2%

Purchased: 3/20/09 - Ralley's, South Lake Tahoe, CA
Cost: $3.99
Rating: 4.0/10

This was just a bottle of crud. This bottle, like the past one I reviewed, has a slogan: "Wine for your real life". I don't know what this means at all. Then again, I suppose if you think your life is crappy, and you want to turn your life into wine so you can drink it, here you go.

I really was unimpressed for two reasons. One it just tasted bad. But two was that it was weak. Fun label though - you have to admit.

Hard Head Cellars Shiraz 2005

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:04:00 +0000

Vineyard: Hard Head Cellars
Location: Healdsburg, CA
Type: Shiraz
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol Content: 13.9%

Purchased: 3/20/09 - Ralley's, South Lake Tahoe, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 6.0/10

This was really quite a good wine, despite the creepy kid on the logo. The slogan on the bottle reads: "For those who stubbornly insist on enjoying a good wine". I have to admit that I appreciate the notion. While I typically stubbornly insist that my wine be cheap, I always appreciate a good one.

Balatonboglari Merlot 2007

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:04:00 +0000

Vineyard: Balatonboglari
Location: Hungary
Type: Merlot - Semi-sweet
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 12.0%

Purchased: 2/25/09 - Trader Joe's, San Gabriel, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 5.5/10

Semi-Sweet Hungarian Wine! I was assuming I would get some sort of meaty flavored drink that would require drinking from a bone chalice. (Un?)fortunately I found myself with a rather mellow, sweet wine.

Now, I'm a huge fan of Manishevitz - so please feel free to throw this rating out if you would rather take a sip from the Gefilte fish jar. Looks like a beautiful place to grow wine at least.

Project Happiness Syrah 2006

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:13:00 +0000

Vineyard: Project Happiness
Location: Santa Barbara
Type: Syrah
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 13.8%

Purchased: 2/25/09 - Cost Plus World Market, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $5.99
Rating: 4.0/10

Another attempt at a wine over $5 - another reason to save the extra dollar. I felt like I had to give it a try: a giant smiley face! It's definitely a fun bottle to have on your shelf.

Wine isn't all that great though. Smells OK, but the taste is just kinda off. Makes you wonder what the rating would be if the label were a giant frowny face =(.

Vinas Chilenas - Trader Joe's - Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:29:00 +0000

Vineyard: Trader Joe's Vinas Chilenas
Location: Central Valley, Chile
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon - Reserva
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 1/29/09 - Trader Joe's, Menlo Park, CA
Cost: $2.99
Rating: 4.25/10

I had been hesitating buying another Trader Joe's wine after my last experience I had - and for good reason. This wine is not very good. It tastes like TJ's is trying to play it extra safe here, when it would be better if they just let the real flavors through. Much be a new vineyard, though, right? Maybe the quality will grow with time.

Fuerza Malbec 2003

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:40:00 +0000

Vineyard: Fuerza
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Type: Malbce
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol Content: 15.0%

Purchased: 2/25/09 - Trader Joe's, San Gabriel, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 5.0/10

Wines not bad but not as good last night. 15% is pretty strong, and you can smell it (not necessarily a good thing). Of course all of the same comments about Argentina and the label from last post apply to this wine as well.

Other thing is that this is a 2003 and the previous wine was a 2006. Makes you wonder why they are both the same price?

Fuerza Tempranillo 2006

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:05:00 +0000

Vineyard: Fuerza
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Type: Tempranillo
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 14.7%

Purchased: 2/22/09 - Trader Joe's, San Jose, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 5.25/10

I recently introduced my mom to this blog. I was a little worried, which is why I waited so long before sharing with her, but she totally loves it! Productive drinking!

So, mom has me over for dinner on Sunday, and I feel that I should act grown up and bring a bottle of wine to dinner - you know, let her contribute to the blog. She, however, has the same idea, so goes out and gets a $5 bottle from Trader Joe's herself. Did you guess right? Yes, you did! The same bottle! Well, almost - she got the Tempranillo (Malbec post coming soon). How funny is that?

To make everything better, the wine is pretty good. As I comment in the notes, the label is pretty cool. Plus, who doesn't like thinking about Mendoza and eating lots of red meat when drinking wine. I'll also be able to comment on the other Fuerza variety soon.

These trends (varietals, blends, multi-vintages) come in spurts, randomly. They aren't planned at all. Seriously!

Wild Hare Zinfandel

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:45:00 +0000

Vineyard: Wild Hare
Location: Paso Robles
Type: Zinfandel
Vintage: n/a
Alcohol Content: 14.4%

Purchased: 2/19/09 -Mollie Stone's, Palo Alto, CA
Cost: $4.99 (gift!)
Rating: 5.0/10

Two comments about this wine:

1 - It was a gift which makes it taste all the better. Please, everyone, feel free to donate wines to the idontdrinkwine stock. I will be certainly be gracious. I'm also very open to suggestions on what wine's to drink, where to get them, and I'll even put your notes up on the blog if you stay within the criteria: idontdrinkwine@gmail.com or @idontdrinkwine on twitter.

2 - This is the second installment in the Wild Hare vineyard line. I like the idea of going back and drinking other varieties from labels I've already had. What are your thoughts? Is a label going to be overall better than another, or are they going to focus all their energy in one to the detriment of the others. Both of these Wild Hares were decent enough, tonight's slightly winning out to the Petite Sirah.

Zarafa Pinotage 2008

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Vineyard: Zarafa
Location: Paarl, South Africa
Type: Pinotage
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol Content: 14%

Purchased: 2/12/09 - Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $3.99
Rating: 4.75/10

I was overjoyed when I found this bottle at Trader Joe's on the way home today. $4 is pretty cheap for a bottle of wine coming all the way from South Africa. My one time visiting the country I was able to make it up to Stellenbosch (Paarl is just north of there), which is where I went wine tasting for the first time in my life. Something about drinking wine next to a cheetah that I could pet really made my day.

This wine, while not bad, was a little weird. I have to say it smelled pretty bad in the first place - hint of rubbing alcohol. It just tastes different than other wines. (And unfortunately, the trip to SA was too long ago to be able to claim whether it was similar to other SA wines or not). You can't really go wrong with wine from SA with a giraffe on the bottle, though. I recommend picking up a bottle, despite not being on the top of the taste list.

Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:19:00 +0000

Vineyard: Trellis
Location: Sonoma, CA
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol Content: 12.5%

Purchased: 1/16/09 - BevMo, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $3.99
Rating: 5.0/10

I'm still trying to figure out the subtitles between vintages - while I can't quite make them out, I don't think that tart aftertaste is supposed to be on the list. It's too bad, really, cause the wine tastes pretty good until you swallow it. This contrast makes the experience rather interesting, but the strong (and rather bad) aftertaste is going to leave you not wanting more.

That being said, I did realize something about myself today drinking this wine that most of you have probably already figured out about me: I kinda like drinking bad wine. I know its bad - and I think I rate it appropriately - but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. I like pickle juice, too. Weird.

epicuro Aglianico 2006

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:57:00 +0000

Vineyard: epicuro
Location: Beneventano, Italy
Type: Aglianico
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Purchased: 1/16/09 - Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 7.0/10

This is actually a really good wine. It is very full, which I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume is a very Italian quality. Smells good, tastes great, and aftertaste doesn't ruin in.

The problem about these good wines is it doesn't leave me much room to rant. The blog is more useful the more good wines I find but is more humorous the more bad ones I have to endure. Maybe this is a good place to make fun of all of the people who have spent more than $5 on a wine recently and went home with something equal to or worse than this wine. HA!

Maybe I'll make a pay site for my blog. No one will trust my reviews if I'm giving them out for free, right?

Old Moon Zinfandel 2006

noreply@blogger.com (~) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:17:00 +0000

Vineyard: Old Moon
Location: Manteca, CA
Type: Zinfandel [Old Vine]
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol Content: 14.0%

Purchased: 1/28/09 - BevMo, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 6.25/10

This wine is pretty good, I must say. I'm enjoying a good run!

It's a rather mellow wine, with a rather mellow label. The 14% is a surprise - and it adds a slightly unpleasant smell of nail polish remover to the glass. Just slightly, though - not enough to put you completely off. The taste is nice and fruity with an aftertaste that has a bit of a kick but is OK.