The Wine Commonsewer

The House Blond on Learning Spanish

2012-01-18T23:18:51-08:00

Hooray for Spanish 1, I can read the label on a bottle of wine from Chile!

Your Government Knows Best, Junior #SOPA

2012-01-18T10:23:25-08:00

More information at http://americancensorship.org/

Early Morning Light

2012-01-17T10:47:08-08:00

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Happened to glance out the window Monday morning and thought the light was kind of interesting. You are looking at the Lake Mathews Estelle Mountain nature reserve, which encompasses most of the open area and then arcs around to the left. several miles further out, at the base of hills, lies Corona, California.

As Always,

TWC

Photo Credit: TWC 01-16-2011 ©

On Boxed Wine

2012-01-15T12:17:18-08:00

Normally, we try to keep it clean around here, but this is priceless. My apologies.

As Always,

TWC

Box Spring Mountain at Sunset

2012-01-15T11:58:06-08:00

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Box Spring Mountain is at the east end of March Air Force Base near the intersection of I-215 and I-60 in Moreno Valley. The mountain is only red in the setting sun for a few minutes on certain clear evenings. It is about fifteen miles southeast of Casa de las Rocas Grandes, humble abode of TWC.

As Always,

TWC

Photo Credit: TWC 01-14-12 ©

2010 Primal Roots Red Blend

2012-01-09T21:24:40-08:00

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Ten bucks US is too much for this wine, there are simply too many attractive alternatives. That isn't to say it's a bad wine, though it has a bit too much cloying sweet cherry for my palate. That might not bother you. It is a blend of 37% Syrah, 43% Merlot, and 20% Zinfandel, mostly sourced from the North Valley. That would be the San Joaquin Valley, better known as the Central Valley of California. The winery is in Acampo, which is, essentially, Lodi.

The wine is not a bad Tuesday night wine. Good with pasta or pizza. Definitely improves with air. Give it a good sloshing in the decanter, which will help the sweet cherry on the backside, but not the fumes on the nose. Fumey is a TWC technical term meaning that there is a predominant aroma of alcohol. Behind that there are aromas of red fruit and a little whiff of grenadine.

Winery Tasting Notes:

The 2010 Red Blend has aromas of mocha, vanilla, and spice that give way to a silky texture along with rich flavors of raspberries and chocolate that are truly uninhibited.

Once again, TWC's rule about kitsch and cool factor kicks in. Quite often, the cool factor of the label is inversely proportional to the quality of the wine. This one comes closer to selling sensual and uninhibited than some do, but, it sells at 42% above TWC's Standardized Wine Price/Value Ratio®. It is a perfect $6.99 wine.

UPDATE: This wine is available at Sam's Club in So Cal for $6.98.

Bonus:

As Ever,

TWC