Some Wine, Cupcake?

Today's subject? Cupcake Vineyards 2009 Chardonnay.  I was very excited to try this label because, well, simply because it says cupcake.  No, I didn't imagine a cupcake-tasting wine.  But I did receive a delightful surprise with this $11 white.  Light citrus on the nose with a lovely pale yellow color.  This wine is not too dry, nor too sweet.  At first I noticed the taste of citrus with a touch of spice, which quickly mellowed to a creamy vanilla and butter flavor.  After swallowing give yourself a minute to enjoy the finish.  The flavors linger for quite a while.

My biggest warning is to be sure to drink it at the right temperature.  If it's too cold you won't be able to recognize all the amazing flavors in the wine (so let it sit out a bit longer).  If it's too warm the result is not dissimilar to leaving beer out for too long.  I enjoyed this wine with sautéed Basa fillets and a garden salad.  Not bad at all!  And at that price, who can go wrong?

A Lighter Cab...

Blackstone Winery's 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the lightest Cabernets I've tasted to date.  It does not have the spice and depth typical to a cab.  Though it got better as it had time to breath (we actually thought it was better the second night after we opened it), it was light bodied and weak flavored.  The company uses grapes from several Californian regions.  My husband decided that by using grapes from so many different regions the winery did not commit to a specific flavor and it shows.  This wine has no definite direction.

It was tough to distinguish many flavors.  Sour cherry came through (my husband's first reaction was- "Wow, this is sour!") and there was a touch of spice.  The nose was more interesting with spices, oak, plum, and vanilla.  Again, these were more noticeable after the wine had some time to breath.  The tannins were light and acidity moderate.  At $10 I'm sure this is a good wine for someone, but as my tastes become more discerning I don't think that someone is me.

Hot Weather = Chilled White Wine Time

I must say that, in general, I used to prefer red wines to whites.  However, seeing as it has been in the high 90's - low 100's here, I have gravitated towards the cool, refreshing, white wines.  And I've liked it.

Beaulieu Vineyard's Coastal Estates 2007 Chardonnay was not bad.  On the nose you could notice citrus scents that fell to pineapple and sour green apples.  It has a bit of a bite at first sip.  This lessens as the wine warms in your mouth.  Green apple flavors give way to lemon and limes, with a hint of vanilla on the finish.  Don't take your next sip immediately but note what the flavors do.  They linger and mingle like a Christian congregation after church or as family does when we attempting to say goodbye.

For $9 a bottle, I'd say it's worth it!  It will especially go well with Chicken Francese or with swiss cheese.

Barefoot Falls Short With Zinfandel

Time for a second wine in the Zinfandel category.  First, let me say, I love the plays on words you can find on almost any Zinfandel bottle.  Like our last Sin Zin.  This bottle claims this wine to be "Zinfully delicious!"  Being one who enjoys a corny joke now and then, I find them very amusing.

Barefoot's Zin had a great price, but for $7.60 I'd prefer their Muscato or the Riesling I had a few weeks ago.  The Zin had a fruity nose and light body, but no depth of flavor.  As a friend who was tasting with me said, "It tastes like... wine."   That's about all there was to say about this wine.

I'm a bit disappointed, as I've always enjoyed the low price point of Barefoot.  But perhaps my sense of a good wine in improving.  (I was informed on LinkedIn that I am a "wine geek in training.")  Either way, I hope disappointing does not become a pattern for Barefoot wines.  I'll keep trying and let you know what I find.

Stay cool (which is extremely difficult right now in my part of the country) and drink up, y'all!

-wine dummy