Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

The chart below represents table wine sales by brand in the US.  Cupcake was deemed the Number 1 in the US for the second year in a row.  It is amazing to see a few things: 1) That Cupcake is such a high volume and widely marketed table wine and is really pretty good quality/value.  See our previous comments on the Cab here and the Merlot here . 2)  The consolidation in that spectrum of the US Market (see E&J Gallo and Ste. Michelle Wines). 3) We have tried a significant portion of that list (21 out of 30 by our count). It seems that there is definitely a marketplace around these high volume wines that we as consumers are not aware of.  When you think about it how is it they are able to produce enough volume to cover the entire spectrum of Grocery Chains, Drug Stores, Liquor Stores in the US and still have volume for shelf space in Joggins, NS or Paradise, NL.  That friends is a s#!tload of wine.  When you think of the snoot factor, you co...

This wine was a gift so we decided to give it a try tonight. It was a very nice gift once we tasted it.  This was double blind and we noted that this was a very familiar smelling wine.  As we started, it was evident we had similar wines before but needed to figure out what and where.  The nose was extremely familiar but we were torn as to what part of the Southern Hemisphere this came from. In the end this turned out to be a Cab from South Australia and is made by Yalumba which has a very Malbec-like nose which tricked Chris into thinking South America and Shannon nailed it on the first try.  The nose was very much a Cab once you put your mind to it with cherries, blackberries, and vanilla....lots and lots of vanilla.  It is a full bodied smelling wine and tastes about the same. This wine is balanced and excellent.  It has a very nice mouthfeel and is a really great tasting wine.  The blackberries are the key piece to this wine and they were not ...

We have recently come to try a couple of wines from Avondale Sky Winery here in Nova Scotia.  It is the newest winery to join the ranks here in what is a burgeoning wine industry.  The story of the winery's tasting room is becoming something of legend.  The owners of the winery were able to salvage a church that was being decommissioned.  The church building was actually floated down the Avon River to its new home at the winery.  The story of the winery is here . So tonight we are running down the two wines we have tried recently which is their 2010 Tidal Bay white and the 2010 The Landing red. Tidal Bay is the newly appointed Appellation for Nova Scotia and this version combines L'Acadie and Geisenheim grapes.  The Landing is a red made of Leon Millot grapes which is another cool climate variety. The Tidal Bay is a really nice white wine with a lot going on.  The wine is a little oily in the glass and has a light overall colour.  It is an...

Courtesy ncgia.ucsb.edu Just a short note this evening as we have been talking about the latest wine releases coming for 2011 and so it is the time of year when our friends in the Southern Hemisphere begin to release their wines for the grapes picked in their Fall of last year (or our Spring).  It is always surprising to suddenly notice the new year bottles coming onto the scene.  Winesur from Argentina reported, via Wines of Argentina, that the 2011 harvest developed better than expected in both quality and volume.  So, that is something to look forward to.  All across the Southern Hemisphere 2011 wines will be released and we are excited to see the first ones come in.  Places like Bordeaux are releasing their 2010 vintage which according to Robert Parker is one of the best he has seen in many years ( Wall Street Journal Report here ). Winesur also reported the Cabernet Franc has a tremendous 2011 of which we could not be more curious about.  We ar...

Label Slightly Different This wine was a bit of an unknown but one we have wanted to try for a while.  Let's rephrase that....we have wanted to try a Gewurztraminer for a while and this one from P.J. Valckenberg just happened to fit the bill at $18.50 locally. As far as Gewurztraminer goes, the wine is in the same ballpark as Riesling and they do have one thing in common which is residual sugar, but the Gewurz tends to be a floral with notes of spice and this one was no different.  The floral though was of a Peach orchard.  This wine was peachy in every sense.  It really smelled like a someone poured booze on a can of peaches.  This is not a bad thing by any means but the monerality and crisp acidity in a lot of German Riesling is replaced by mild tartness and what was described as cloves to us, really smells like Chinese Five Spice (so that kind of makes sense). In the glass it is a little more golden than we expected but it looks really nice.  Ov...

We poured this wine in the glass and it looks a heck of a lot darker than most Sauv Blancs we have tasted. It almost has the Oaked Aussie Chardonnay colour. But once we tasted it we could not really pick out an overtly vanilla or oak sensibility on the nose or the palate. So, it just looks darker than most. This wine is another from the Hill & Dale Winery in South Africa.  We have been fans of their Cab/Shiraz so we figured we give this one a try too, especially at $13 locally. The visuals on the wine are definitely atypical of the Sauv Blanc we have tried from NZ or the USA.  This has a depth of colour that we just don't see.  It looks good mind you just not the light Sauv Blanc tones we would expect. On the nose we get Citrus but we also get a load of Cilantro and Green Pepper.  They mention grass on the label and we can see that but it certainly has a bit more of the vegetal notes.  It is a fairly nice smelling wine if you like the greeness. On...

This wine is a very reasonably priced white from Argentina. It is another example of the Torrontes grape at comes in at $12 locally. We previously reviewed a Torrontes from Michael Torino ( click here to view that one ).  Based upon that review we see a lot of similarities between the version but some key differences as well. The similarities come in the look of the wine.  It is a very light and bright wine with a clear and almost green hue.  Reminiscent of Vinho Verde from Portugal to a certain extent but with a little Sauv Blanc thrown in there for good measure.  It is an attractive looking wine. On the nose there is also commonalities between the two with some perfumed floral notes but with a layer of soft sweetness in there as well.  A nice smelling wine indeed. The taste is where this one differs.  It is a much drier version compared to the Torino.  It has a crispness to it that is again Sauv Blanc-like.  It would make a nice patio wi...

We shall as good Irish descendants might, imbibe some on St. Paddy's Day. This may consist of Irish Coffee, Guinness, or even Wine. But, if we do decide to have wine....what should it be. We will most likely be having something Irish cuisine related. So what would you recommend to have with Boxty or Irish Stew or Colcannon? We were thinking something along the lines of Shiraz like a Katnook Shiraz or maybe a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre like Lavau Vacqueyras . If you were leaning towards the White wine end of things...it is heavier food those Irish love so you need something with balance and some acidity to cut through the fat, so maybe a Valckenberg Gewurztraminer . You'll note that all these are found at Bishop's Cellar ( @BishopsCellar ) which is just close enough to drag ourselves to after our early morning Irish Breakfast.  Whatever your choice, enjoy your St. Paddy's Day as responsibly as possible. Slainte! Keep on drinking! Chris & Shannon

This wine was recommended to us by one of our Twitter friends.  It was touted as being s great Spanish wine and we agree.  The wine is made by  Hoya De Cadenas in Valencia, Spain and is 85% Tempranillo and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. In the glass it is a thin looking wine but it is not as light in colour as say a Pinot Noir but still is not deep or dark.  The real star of this wine is the elegance on the nose.  It is a great smelling wine.  It has a powerful scent but it is not at all hot due to the fact there is only 12.5% alcohol.  That is not a knock on this wine at all as this wine is bold enough to support to hold solid flavour without the heat. On the palate there is a lot of oak and blueberries with a softness to the tannins.  The only knock is the balance falls off at the end and there is a little astringency associated with the finish which is extended. Overall, it is a really nice wine if it had just a little more body it would b...

Stumbled upon these today. They have a variety of ads/vids hosted on YouTube that you can access through their website at holyexpletive.com . The website is one of those Interactive Flash based sites (terrible) but the videos are funny.  They keep the actual wine chat to a minimum, as it looks like this is more a marketing play than anything else.  They make a Merlot and a Chardonnay from what we can tell. So, no commentary on the wines but, if anyone has tasted them let us know. Lots of fun wine stuff on the interwebs these days. Keep on drinking! Chris & Shannon

We have been guilty of playing into the anti-Merlot movement over the years. Not because of the 'Sideways' hangover but because a lot of the Merlot we tried earlier in the 2000's just wasn't that good or memorable. So, like many others, we took a break to let things settle. Rightly or wrongly that break extended over more than a couple of years. But, coming to our senses and reaffirming that variety truly is the spice of life, Merlot is back baby, as evidenced by the Video below. Give it a watch it is funny. Never tried the wine but the marketing is spot on.  Plus, it is fun to say...Gundlach Bundschu, Gundlach Bundschu, Gundlach Bundschu. P.S. - Org de Rac Merlot still on top for Wine of the Year and it is mid-March. Who knows...... Keep on drinking (and try some Merlot for heaven's sake)! Chris & Shannon

So, some of the backstory of how we came to have this wine shall remain hidden to protect the innocent. Needless to say, this wine was not purchased and the bottle was on the way to be 'recycled'. Trouble was the bottle was still full and the seal uncracked (we swear). This is not like George Constanza eating an eclair with one bite out of it from the trash, even though it was above the rim, on a magazine, and still had the doily on it and he knew who had taken the bite. Bottom line is we are not bums. Our assumption is that some generous party thrower just simply mis-placed the bottle into the recycling and that same person didn't notice that it was heavier than the rest of the bottles when moving it to a location where the public may or may not have access to that recycling. Upon which a person of certain wine knowledge and understanding might see an uncracked bottle of wine and think to ones self that the presence of that wine bottle amongst the rest was odd. Fur...

Just wanted to give a quick review of this wine, Las Rocas Garnacha from Spain. We had this as an evening wine and it was really good, though we could see this being a wine that some drinkers might not be super high on. There is a lot of oak and vanilla associated with this wine which is not surprising since the Spanish love their oak. Very fruit forward with dark fruit like blackberries and plums, it is a good drinker but those who find over-oaked wines off-putting might not like this as it does have a boldness to it. We liked it though and at $16 it is pretty good value. Spanish wines remain a strong interest for us.     Tasting Notes:   Score: Sight (0-5)  Lighter coloured wine, typical Garnacha look.  4.0 Smell (0-5)  Blackberries and plums with a lot of oak.  4.0 Taste (0-10)  Medium bodied with Blackberries and plums with a lot of oak as well.  Very tannic and it lingers....and lingers  8.0   Total:  16...

This wine was a promotional wine for the new Air Miles program. We had other Barberas from the NSLC but not this one. We consider Barbera to be equivalent to Pizza wine overall and by that we mean, it goes well with Italian dishes such as Pizza where you have Cheese, Sauce, and Dough to balance against so the wines have a bit of acidity and tannin. This example from Bersano fits that bill but does so really nicely. The wine is somewhat light in colour which typifies a lot of Italian reds.  It has a brightness in the glass which is attractive to the eye.  The nose is quite fruit forward and bold with a bit of heat.  Same goes for the taste as it is a fruity wine with a good amount of acidity but it has some balance which is nice, though there is some hotness there until the wine opens up. Overall, it is a good example of Barbera and at $15 it is great value.  We liked this one in general but it is a perfect pair for Italian fare (spaghetti and meatballs comes ...

Keeping it short tonight, but we found this online and thought it was funny: Too funny and living here in Canada it sounds about right! Keep on drinking! Chris & Shannon

So, second night in a row with a local wine. This time it is a new Grape and a new Producer. Blomidon Estates is a winery just outside Canning, NS that produces a variety of wines both red and white.  We have had just about everything they produce and we were excited to try this one as it also comes from the special 2010 vintage. When we tried it at the winery in the Fall it was what we would consider to be a bit young.  So, we decided to buy a bottle and let it 'age' a bit.  We decanted it and gave it some time to open up. The wine is really dark, similar to Malbec and it has a nice look in the glass.  The swirl is really nice and seems to be a lot heavier than the body of the wine.  This is where it gets tough.  The nose is not what we were expecting at all.  It has a bit of fruit but there is a chemical sensation to it.  We were hoping for something a little more smoky but it is really not as warm on the nose as we would like. On the p...

Note: 2010 Label is different Gaspereau Vineyards just outside Wolfville, NS is one of our favorite local wineries. Simply put, they make great wine. This wine is made of Nova Scotia's signature grape L'Acadie Blanc.  As a cool climate grape it resembles Sauvignon Blanc in many ways.  They are both crisp whites with notes of pear and they normally don't see oak. This version of L'Acadie Blanc is a nice easy drinking white wine.  The 2010 vintage was the best in recent history for Nova Scotia wines with a great Summer and extended Fall growing season.  Overall, it really does have an appealing flavour profile with a Poached Pear nose with Lemon Zest tucked in there.  In the glass it is a clean and brilliant coloured wine that shows there was no oak involved as there is an almost green tinge to the wine. On the palate it has a little sugar to start which is fine, but there is a second there on the mid-palate where this wine is in perfect (and we do mean...

We recently read a Blog post by a Wine Blogger more popular than us (who shall remain nameless) that stated something to the effect that Wine Blogging is in decline and those that are currently in Wine Blog arena are mostly vacuous and self-aggrandizing, providing little or no value to the wine discussion and are at best posers in the wine world.  The Blogger went on to suggest (in a very shoot from the hip manner) that the art form of Wine writing has been killed by the 140 character tweet-speak.  Finally, the Blogger discusses how Wine Bloggers judge themselves on the popularity of their Blogs and gather some sort of self-worth from it and that they live and die by the Comments left on their little forlorn Posts.  It was an interesting read to say the least, but it sure shone the light on what we had not considered when starting this Blog....Critics and Wet Blankets. While we certainly do not confess to being Wine industry 'Insiders', we do ...

This wine was a favorite of ours in the 2008 vintage. It tasted like a $40 wine at $15 and it was awesome. We judged it 85% and it was a very round wine with great balance. It was an absolutely great wine. So then 2009 comes around and we decided to give it a try.  As the title says what a difference a year makes.... The good news.....it is still a great wine.  That bad news....the roundness and balance we so appreciated in 2008 are diminished.  The 2009 version has a lot more acidity than 2008 and it is overpowering the fruit in the wine which adds astringency to it.  Still this is not a bad wine at all, but if you can still find the 2008 version buy a case of it or buy them out altogether.  At $15 the 2009 is still a great wine to bring to a dinner party.  It is very approachable but we are longing for the 2008.  A search may be in order. Even the visual seems to be different.  From what we noted for...

We are strongly considering attending this conference on May 27 - 29, 2012 here in Halifax. There are a lot of interesting panels and presentations being held. They span the entire spectrum from vineyard management and wine making to marketing and social media. It sure seems like there will be a lot of great opportunities to discuss the overall local wine market and well as the burgeoning industry here in Eastern Canada.   It is definitely on the radar. For the current agenda check out the Atlantic Wine Symposium Website. We dropped their logo on the right to give some props to them as well. Keep on drinking! Chris & Shannon

We polished off the 1.5L Monalto Nero/Cab from last night, so mission accomplished there...quick follow up: Still good the next day, worth a purchase...moving on. It is just passed midnight local time and we are bushed so all that to say we will leave it with a Question of the Day. WHAT is a favorite winery of yours anywhere in the world and why? And then twitter-ize it, tell us in 140 Characters or less. We'll get the ball rolling: Porter Creek Winery , Sonoma - cuz of the old dog that greeted us and the tasting table was plywood on barrels, and the Old Vine Zin rocked! There less than 140 Characters.  Over to you, you can message here or hit us on Twitter @UnfussyWine or Facebook . Nighty Night.... Keep on drinking! Chris & Shannon