Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

So the coming year will mark five years for the Unfussy Wine Blog.  We can't believe that it has been FIVE freaking years!  That said, our social contract with you, our audience, has been in a shambles for the bulk of 2015 and we are going to try and remedy this with a new approach to posting.  We could write more about it but why not tell you in a more interactive medium. Without further adieu, Chris will explain our newly proposed format: OK, that's just a teaser. Let us tell you more... But, really Chris, what IS this all about?! Hopefully this piques your interest to come back and check out our old reviews and maybe watch our One Minute / One Take Wine Reviews.  We have always felt that brevity keeps people interested and this certainly follows that thought-process but we would love your thoughts and feedback.  Tell us what you think.  Will this be interesting to you?  Would you watch a one minute (+/-) review in store with a b...

Our first post in many moons but hopefully many more to come.  We have some news on where we've decided to take our little Blog here which we will share shortly.  In the interim, the nice folks at Love Abode  provided us with an infographic on making a great Mulled Wine. Check it out below and try it for yourself.  We can smell the spices now. Have a happy and healthy and wine-filled holiday season everyone.  May you spend time with those you hold dear and may your hearts and glasses be full. Keep on tasting, Chris & Shannon

So our posting habits are sorely lacking these days.  We have been doing a lot more social media posting than we have blogging.  Some of that is no time to sit and write and some of that is pure laziness.  Either way if you follow this Blog we apologize for the lack of action. On to the wine... We love the value that Chilean wines bring to the table.  Great wines at great price points.  Carménère, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabs, and Chards are all good from Chile.  Chile has a number of wine regions in the country and this wine hails from the Cachapoal Valley which is a region we are not that familiar with.  Regardless, this is a great wine. The wine is very bright purple in the glass.  Reminiscent of Carménère in colour there is a very slow journey of the legs rolling down the glass.  This makes you think that it would be syrupy but it really isn't.  The interesting visual is a clear halo around the edge of the glass.  A very ...

Our good friends at Ora TV brought this episode to our attention. We have been following the Brown Bag Wine Tasting series regularly. William Shatner is a Canadian legend/hero/genius and on and on it goes and for him to do a wine tasting series in this format is amazing. So awesome and if you only watch the episode below you are really missing out. One of the unique parts of the show is he asks guests to describe wines without using wine lingo and using words from the guests area of expertise. You'll see what we mean in the episode. His guest below Ray Isle  is the Executive Wine Editor for Food & Wine  and also the co-host of a PBS show that we REALLY loved called  Vine Talk .  If you've never watched THAT series you are also missing out. Ray co-hosted with Stanley Tucci and it is a really cool look at wine and wine tasting with some famous guests (but that's another post for another day). Other than being an entertaining episode in general, Ray talks about...

Adam at CorrChilled  (a kitchen and catering equipment company in the UK) sent us this infographic and we thought it was worth sharing. We always love having easy to reference pairing information available to folks trying to decide what wine might go best with dinner. So enjoy and we hope it helps... Source -  https://www.corrchilled.co.uk Keep on tasting! Chris & Shannon

We had this wine many years ago when we lived in the US and we remember enjoying it.  From Bodegas Borsao  and the Campo de Borja region, this is a 60% Garnacha, 20% Tempranillo, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon blend which has been aged in oak for at least 8 months and then bottle aged for an additional 14 months.  It is this patience before going to market that makes this such a good wine. A medium bodied wine with deep purple colouring it certainly is showing it's age with some nice mahogany edges.  It looks really great and cascades down the glass in a sheet.  Extremely nice looking wine especially after a swirl. Chocolate AND vanilla bean hit you immediately when you stick your nose right in there.  That is quickly followed by plums and some toasty oak notes. A solid bouquet that makes one think the wine is earthier than it is but very nice. There are cherries and a recurrence of the chocolate on the palate but thi...

Courtesy IMDB.com This movie has been on our radar for a long time.  It originally came out in 2012 on the festival circuit in the US.  Nearly immediately it gained a cult following from wine enthusiasts for a couple of reasons.  First, there are few really strong documentaries about tasting wine out there.  Second, the reputation and mystery surrounding the Court of Master Sommelier exam and how hard it actually is. If you've never heard of this exam this movie will get you up to speed fast and it delivers a strong explanation of the requirements to take the tests and what it means to truly prepare for all aspects but especially the dreaded/beloved Tasting Exam.  The shear volume of information that needs to be consumed and remembered is astounding.  The theory test covers wine, spirits, beers, and cigars from around the World. There is the tasting exam and finally a formal dinner service to go through. If you have an interest in tasting wine and h...

Benjamin Bridge just launched the 2013 vintage of their Nova 7 and we thought it was time we get this review out.  The popularity and hype around Nova 7 is well deserved as it is a great wine year after year.  It certainly isn't for everyone but it does have a wide appeal with its slight effervescence and off-dry nature.  It's the aromatics of the Muscat that make this wine stand out.  It is a great cool climate white wine and is consistently a well made wine. The 2012 has a very reddish golden hue and it starts bordering on Rose in terms of colour.  As expected it has a slight sparkle to it and feels a little bit syrupy on the swirl.  Quite interesting in the glass. That all too familiar lychee fruit nose stands out but has some other notes under the covers as well.  Pears, peaches, and even mint make an appearance which is wonderful.  Another stand out smelling Nova 7. While not our normal style of wine or pref...

New Zealand was the first table we visited at the 2014 NSLC Port of Wines Festival so our palates were fresh.  We have had good luck with Stoneleigh Wines and this one truly delivers.  The price point for Kiwi wines was a bit higher than in previous years but the quality of wines were very high.  Both the whites and the reds were very solid across the board.  This wine however, was a stand out among them.  It is not a typical NZ Pinot Noir in many respects but holds true to the region in others.  The one adjective that stands out for this wine overall is "Elegance".  There is a refinement that other Pinot Noirs just don't have. In the glass the most noticeable variance from typical is that the wine, though ‎still quite light, is a much darker purple on the colour wheel.  The wine remains watery and this looking as one might expect but if the picture does it any justice at all it should the purple that you can...

As we go through our roster of wines from the 2014 NSLC Port of Wines Festival we get to try wines that stood out on the day.  The Italian table was a bit of a hit and miss group of wines wrapped up with a lot of really nice but expensive Amarones and Barolos.  This Sicilian wine came in at the middle of our price point at $21.79 which is a little high for Nero d'Avola but this is a nice wine.  According to Wikipedia this grape is the most important grape for the island at the tip of the boot of Italy. In the glass this wine is a lighter bodied red which is typical of this grape.  It is very purple in colour and in the glass you see it has a slight transparency for a darker red.  Again this is typical of the grape. The nose is very smokey and has a strong leather sensation when you breathe deeply.  There is a very plummy undertone to things and it makes it an enticing smell.  Really quite nice. Nero has Pinot No...

This is yet another selection from the 2014 NSLC Port of Wines Festival.  We didn't get to a lot of the Australia table overall but there were some highlights and we felt like this wine was one of them.  Australia gets a lot of attention during the show with very drinkable and palate friendly wines but for a few years we didn't feel like they deserved the hype.  We found a lot of over ripe and hot wines with too much jam in their reds and over-oaked whites.  We think Aussie wineries are getting the message that some jam and oak are great but too much doesn't keep people coming back for more. This Cabernet has a deep purple verging on black colour in the glass. The wine is very thick in the glass though the legs on the swirl are super speedy. It looks like a rich, thick luscious wine. The nose on this wine is pure strawberry jam. We're wary of that jam smell but it is combined with blackberries and black cherries and is quite attract...