CigarZin

Back in December I posted about a search for CigarZin. I'd tasted it at a local restaurant called 309 and very much wanted a bottle. In January I took C back to 309 and ordered a glass but was told that the Cosentino winery had been bought out and that they didn't have any of the cigarzin left and weren't sure if they were going to continue making it. I was bummed. We tried their normal zinfandel and it was good but not as spicey and wonderful as the cigarzin.

Then a couple weeks ago while at the wine tasting at UFS I ran into bottles and bottles of cigarzin. Another quick check of their website shows that they did merge with Vintage Wine Estates early this year. But their wine shop very much looks like they will continue to make and sell the CigarZin. The website lists the bottle at $22, I paid $14 or $15 at UFS a local discount store (with a huge liquor section).

I do perfer that good wineries stay small and family owned. Not that I know a lot about this but I love the romatic idea of it. Large wine companies that take over all the smaller ones ruin that dreamy perception. But I know that can get sorta political and I'll stick to more of what I know...good tasting wine.

CigarZin is yummy and yes that is now an official term to describe good wine. It has a nice rich berry flavor thats followed up by this spicey bite that makes me say hmmmmm. I could drink this wine by itself but it would be supurb with a nice meal. I will be buying more of this wine in the future. I give it 4 stars!

wine shopping

Two weeks ago was the semi annual wine tasting at UFS a local savers store. I know lots of people that go there for their booze but you can also get pretty much anything at this store. I'd heard about these tastings, free wine and spirit tastings and usually a fairly good selection. So C, R, M, and I went to check out the hub bub.

Apparently it wasn't as big as it usually is but it was still a good time. I tasted a bunch of wines and a margarita in a can. The margarita in a can tasted like Sprite, which was eh at the time but it's still in my head. I may have to pick some up. We tasted good wines, and bad ones. One bad the guy said had hints of grapefruit, I'm pretty sure it was grapefruit juice. We left with 3 lovely bottles plus M picked up a red Greek wine for us to drink. I don't remember what the name of it was but it was pretty good. Not too dry not sweet either. A nicely balanced wine. I should have kept the bottle for a real review.

One week later we had a slumber party that destroyed my wine stash. 6 bottles were emptied between 3 of us. My beautifully stocked wine rack reduced to 2 meager bottles. 2 that were more expensive and didn't want to waste on our drunkenness. Good times good times. That's what wine nights/slumber parties are all about. =)

Echelon Pinot Noir

Echelon pinot noir was the other bottle I bought at World Market up in Chicago. I paid $10 and had high hopes. I hate to blog this, but this wine was a disappointment. C and I opened it while cooking dinner. It was harsh and very alcoholy. We poured large glasses and swirled and let it breath while we cooked dinner. The thought being air and food would tame it a bit. Unfortunately not, we still found the wine undrinkable and ended up dumping the bottle. Perhaps the bottle was contaminated with cork rot, but the cork looked to be in good condition. Doesn't matter though, I cannot give it another chance. I give it 1 star.

Oscar Night follow up

Yep it took a while to type up the Oscar night follow up, I've been sick again. This has been one heck of a year for colds, flus, and infections. At the moment everyone in my house is one the mend, and I'm playing blog catch up. With Miranda in town and tonight's wine slumber party lots of wine will be had.

So....

Oscar night was fun. We skyped across the country and drank together. There was a slight lag so California knew who the winner was about 5 seconds before we did but it was still fun. Unfortunately we had a big storm pass through and the we lost the channel showing the Oscars for a good part of the show. This kinda sucked but we did make do by watching Daniel Craig as James Bond, which sorta makes up for anything.

The first bottle opened for the red carpet and beginning of the show was Four Vines 2008 Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel. I bought it at World Market a few weeks back when I was up in Chicago visiting the fam. I think I paid $10. This was a decent wine for the price. Smooth and fruity tasting. It's great for an every day cheap wine. It's good for I'd buy it again." On a side note while visiting their website I found they are doing a 4V Drink Naked Tour. I kinda wish their blog was updated.

The second bottle opened was Gnarly Head Pinot Noir. I've had their Old Vine Zin before and remember it being good. The pinot noir was $10 and I figured worth a try. It was ok. Not a lot of depth of flavor and it didn't get better w/ air over the next few days. It wasn't offensive or bad, but didn't stand out to me. I give it two stars.