Tasting - Cupcake Angel Food

Name: Cupcake Angel Food

Variety: Made with Chardonnay and other varietals including Viognier

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Price: $8.99

Winery Review: "Made with premium California chardonnay grapes as a base, this new release is luscious, aromatic and reminiscent of an angel food cupcake,” said winemaker Adam Richardson. “Flavors of baked Granny Smith apple and hints of toasty vanilla combine for a creamy mouth-feel that has become the signature of Cupcake Vineyards.”

My Review: I smell some pear in this wine along with several sweet smelling aromas. This wine smells like it would taste very rich and delicious. I definitely taste how this wine tastes like angel food cake. It almost has a lemon taste to it as well. I don't know if I like this wine. I can't get myself to enjoy it. I'm not sure what else I'm tasting but I don't like it.

Tasting - Angove Shiraz

Name: Angove Red Belly Black Shiraz
Variety: Shiraz
Region: South Australia
Country: Australia
Year: 2008
Price: $13.99

Winery Review: "Inky black with purple and garnet hues, this wine follows its lovely color with aromas of rich plum red currant and liquorice together with spicy vanillin oak. The soft silky texture and fruit richness of the palate have great length and finish with exquisite mouth filling dark fruit flavors."

My Review: It smells like NyQuil but the more I swirl and smell it, the more I identify a perfume scent. I think the reason I'm smelling NyQuil is because I'm detecting the licorice scent for sure. I'd have to try this wine again to decide if I like it or not.

Tasting - Zin Your Face

Name: Zin Your Face Zinfandel

Variety: Zinfandel

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Price: $14.99

Critic Review: "October, 2011:  Still light red in the glass, pinot noir in tone, with no hints of purple any longer. Soft red fruit on the nose, no vegetable tones now. The palate brings rock candy sugar together with red currants for a friendly sip, with acids taking a decidedly back-seat now, merely lifting the tone and holding the finish together for a few moments.  The friendliness lifts this to three stars, making it a best value when achieved on sale.  At retail price, it is value for money. Following long decant, five days kept cool in partially filled bottle:  Wow.  Both the nose and the palate have held fast, despite an exceptionally long period in air. "

My Review: This wine smells real peppery and spicy. I love the smell of this wine. I'm also smelling a slight floral scent also kind of smells like nail polish remover but in  a good way. That could be the alcohol scent I'm smelling though, too. As I continue to smell this wine I'm picking up on scents of vanilla and almost a brown sugar scent. It tastes spicy for sure and not at all sweet like I described the smells I was getting. I definitely like the smell better than the taste. My first taste wasn't good but I'm liking the wine more and more as I continue to taste it. I'd definitely want to enjoy this with a steak.

Tasting - Fat Cat Merlot

Name: Fat Cat Merlot

Variety: 76% Merlot 24% Mixed Reds

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Price: $9.99

Winery Review: “Fat Cat Merlot has a silky red color that has a playful hint of cherry and berries.   As the wine flows, a melody of berries and fresh fruit round the palate and ends with a smooth finish.”

My Review: It smells really rich, kind of has a molasses or syrupy smell to it. I smell possibly a hint of blackberry. It tastes kind of like black cherry with maybe some raspberry. I thought the wine had a lot of flavor. It tasted very sweet to me but I did like this wine a lot. It's definitely a new favorite red and I'm glad that I found a red I can enjoy!

Tasting - AmRhein's Sauvignon Blanc

Name: AmRhein's Sauvignon Blanc

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Virginia

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Price: $11.99

Critic Review: "The Sauvignon Blanc has not been released yet, but Steve and Debbie were kind enough to give us a little taste. This wine displays lovely aromas of lychee and citrus. It was good acidity and a bit of crispness in the finish. Be on the lookout for this new vintage when it becomes available.""

My Review: All I can smell is alcohol but that may be because I had a slight cold when I did this tasting and it's difficult for me to smell. However, I do smell a hint of apples. After tasting it, I was able to taste some lemon and also an apple taste as well. It's okay; I didn't want to finish the glass though because it just wasn't doing it for me.

Tasting - Friuli Pinot Grigio

Name: Friuli Latisana Pinot Grigio

Variety: Pinot Grigio

Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Country: Italy

Year: 2011

Price: $10.99

Winery Review: "A dry, white wine with pale golden reflections. The bouquet is intense with fragrances of light citrus fruits and white flowers. On the palate it is well balanced with hints of sweet grapefruit that carry through to a crisp, dry finish."

My Review: I sensed a strong scent of apples, possible a slight apricot smell to it. While tasting it, I also caught onto the apple taste. It kind of smelled like apple juice to me so I expected it to be very sweet. However, I was wrong. For a pinot grigio it was very dry and had a really acidic taste. It was very harsh on the mouth so I was completely surprised by this wine. I didn't like it too much other than the slight apple taste.

Tasting - Don Simon Shiraz

Name: Don Simon Shiraz

Variety: Shiraz

Region: Tierra de Castilla

Country: Spain

Year: Couldn't locate year

Price: $3.99

Critic Review: John Wine Snob says:

"I walked by it several times giving it a furtive look. It was a $2.99 bottle of Don Simon Shiraz from Spain with no vintage. Never heard of it. Yes, I am a Cheap Wine Snob, but I was in an upscale supermarket in Scottsdale. I kept my dark glasses on, and when no one was watching I threw it in my basket and buried it under my bucheron and imported saucisson. When I got it home, opened, and sipped a first sip, I was sort of surprised. If it had been my second bottle already I would have liked it more, but still it was not bad. It was very juicy and fruity, and had a little taste of going outside and eating a bite of your lawn. I drank it with some cheap Japanese takeout and watched a couple of old movies. Nice evening after a day that tried my patience."

My Review: Immediately smelling the wine after I poured it, I caught a hint of a peppery scent. It was a little harsh on the nose but not unenjoyable. It tasted a little bitter yet had hints of fruity flavors to it. I thought it was a slightly heavy wine.