Archive for the ‘Trash TV’ Category

TrashTV: A Cruise Down Whitehall Lane


02.09.2010

2008 Whitehall Lane Sauvignon Blanc

Seeing that this is called TrashTV, let me start by venting a little. Are you friggin kidding me? Is it just me or is this a flash back to last season when Ed had to leave because of his job only to come back a few weeks later? While I don’t think that Ali will be back on the show, I’m going to go out on a limb and make my prediction on how the rest of this is going to play out. Jake is going to narrow it down to Vienna and Tenley and the dumb ass will pick Vienna. After the final rose has been handed out and the show is over, it will be revealed that they have broken up and he will eventually end up dating Ali. There, I said it on the record. BTW, I have to send a big thank you to the Olympics, because of them I will get a two week reprieve from the madness of “The Bachelor”.

Now on to the juice!
This week’s pick was the 2008 Whitehall Lane Sauvignon Blanc which is 90% Sauvignon Blanc 10% Semillon. This wine generally costs around $16 a bottle and comes in at 13% ABV. I was able to find this at a local grocery store for under $14. According to www.whitehalllane.com, this Sauvignon Blanc has a cork free closure (A.K.A. a screw cap).

The Whitehall Lane shows a light straw color in the glass. Kind of the typical sauv blanc color. On the nose I get some apple, grapefruit and a hint of banana. I get some nice floral, citrus notes in this wine. On the palate I get a lot more citrus flavors, grapefruit and green apples. This wine has a bit of tartness almost like a sweet-tart. I thought that this wine was more reminiscent of a sauvignon blanc from the Marlborough region. The finish is light and crisp.

Would I buy/drink this wine again? I’m not crazy in love with this wine, but I don’t hate it either.
I give this wine 2.5 out of 5 corks!

Trash TV week 3: Elyse Zin vs. Robert Craig Zin


01.26.2010

Well, it’s Tuesday again and we all know what that means!  It is time for this week’s installment of how to survive “The Bachelor” (A.K.A. Trash TV).

Last night was a little different than in past weeks in that it turned into a girl’s night!  Hooray!  I thought that it was bad when I had to watch it with just my wife.  Now I have to sit through two hours of Jake always taking his shirt off, 8 caddy women trying to get the next kiss and my wife and her friend chatting the entire time.  Oh happy days!  Because we had an extra pair of lips to support, I had to hit the cellar up for two bottles this week.

This week’s picks were the 2006 Elyse Howell Mountain Zinfandel and a 2007 Robert Craig Howell Mountain Zinfandel.

First up was the 2006 Elyse Zinfandel (only because I thought that the RC Zinfandel would need to breathe for a few minutes) which I purchased directly from their tasting room for $37.

The Elyse Zinfandel is a dark ruby color with aromas of earth, raisins and light pepper.  On the palate I got flavors of plums, earth and white pepper.  This is a well structured wine with medium tannins and smooth finish. I paired this wine is some spicy Thai food and it held up very nicely.

Would I buy/drink this wine again?   Absolutely and I give this wine 3 out of 5 corks!

Next up was the 2007 Robert Craig Howell Mountains Zinfandel which was also purchased from the tasting room at around $50

The Robert Craig Zinfandel shows its Howell Mountain roots with aromas of black raspberry, white and black pepper.  The palate has wild berry, pepper, warm spices which evolve into a great mid-palate.  From there it all comes together with smooth supple tannins and strong finish that lingers around just enough at the end.

My wife and our neighbor both agreed that they liked this wine better than the Elyse.  They both felt that the Robert Craig Zinfandel was just a bit better rounded than the Elyse.

Would I buy/drink this wine again?   Absolutely and I give this wine 4 out of 5 corks!

And the WINNER was:  2007 Robert Craig Zinfandel

See you next week

WineDudeOnline

This week’s Trash TV


01.19.2010

After working the hockey game and seeing the Coyotes get their asses handed to them, I was looking forward to a nice bottle of Zinfandel and some trash TV.  Seeing that the wife was out of town, I couldn’t really raid the wine cooler (House Rules), I had to stop and find a bottle.  After going to my local wine shop I realized that they don’t have a great Zinfandel selection, unless you want to spend $50 – $80! So I end up having someone recommend the 2008 Sonoma County Three Valleys by Ridge Vineyards ($21).  I am usually apprehensive about buying wine off of a recommendation from new sources, but my friend Bill wasn’t around so I went with it.

After opening the bottle, I let it sit for about 20 minutes to breathe.  The nose didn’t give off much of anything so I’m a bit consumed at this point.  Now for the taste and I get a whole lot of, wait for it…NOTHING!  There are no discernable flavors on the front-end and only slight tannins at the mid-palate.   The finish is rather short and has a chalk like texture to it.  I have never experienced anything like this since I’ve been drinking wine.  The wine didn’t change through two glasses so I was forced to give up on it.  I can’t believe that I just said that because I hate wasting wine (don’t we all).  In all fairness, this isn’t a 100% zinfandel rather a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mataro, Syrah and Grenache.  Unfortunately this was like drinking the wine at communion.

The good news is that I wasn’t forced to watch another brutal 2 hours of the bachelor this week.  Because the wife was out of town I was able to indulge my inner geek and catch this week’s episode of Chuck.  I wish that I could “flash” like chuck, that way I would be able to pick out the perfect wine and not have to suffer through those bad recommendations.

I am sure that you can already gather what my verdict is on this, but I will give it anyway.  This, in my opinion, is a total PASS.  I don’t think that I would even drink this again if it was given to me.  I give this 1 out of 5 corks and say don’t waste your money.

WineDudeOnline

What does one do in order to survive through 2 hours of “The Bachelor”?


01.12.2010

Taste a new bottle of wine, of course!  This is one of my stipulations for me to sit and watch “Trash TV” with my wife.  Not a bad trade off if you ask me, seeing that I would probably have to sit there and watch it anyway.  At least this way I get to enjoy some good wine and do “research” for my blog.

Last night’s adventure was the 2006 Girard Artistry from Napa Valley.  I have previously tasted the Girard Petite Sirah and enjoyed it, but did not know what to expect from the Artistry.  Let’s just say that I was pleasantly surprised!

The Artistry is a blend of five Bordeaux-varietal grapes which is made up of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petite Verdot, 8% Malbec and 7% Merlot.  I will admit that I am not a huge fan or Petite Verdot or Merlot, but it all works in this blend.  The nose gives off hints of ripe fruit that invites you in.  I typically prefer to decant almost all of my red wines, but this one was near perfection right out of the gate.  My first impression that this was a very approachable wine that was ready to be had right now.  Kind of like your date on prom night!!!  The palate offers nice structured texture with flavor of currants, chocolate and blackberry.  The tannins are very well integrated and not overpowering which leads into a medium velvet like finish.  Even though I do not feel that this wine needed to be decanted, I did let it breathe in the glass for about 10-15 minutes and it kept getting better. 

Would I buy/drink this wine again?  At $30, which is what I was able to find this at one of our local big box wine shops, your damn right I would!  I think at $30 – $40 this is a must have for an everyday don’t break my wallet drinking wine.
I would give this wine 4 out of a possible 5 corks.