The Desert WIne Guy - Wooden Valley Winery - 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon

1998 Wooden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

    What an amazing article I have in store for you readers today. Many of you will not believe what I am about to tell you but I am here to tell you that everything in this article is true. I am really excited to tell you folks how a leaking, very old bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon survived against all odds to become a simply awesome bottle of wine. Let me start off by asking you a couple of questions. What happens to a low to medium priced Cabernet Sauvignon after a few years when it has not been drunk? What happens to that same wine when it leaks from the Cork? I think we all know what the answers to these questions is supposed to be. You would answer, the wine goes bad, it goes very bad and if that was your answers you would be right.....but not in this case. Well put those answers aside and give me the courtesy of letting me answer those questions for you because when you get done reading this article you are going to be in disbelief. Here we go from the beginning.

Leaking Through The Foil

Underneath The Foil

The Top Of The Cork

    In 1999 I made my first visit to Napa Valley, California. During this first trip I discovered so much about wine, a whole new world opened up for me and I fell in love with the Vineyards and what ever else went along with them. Lucky me because what better place to learn about wine than the area of Napa and the surrounding areas. One of the important things I learned was what I like and what I don't like in my wine.  On day two or three, I can't remember, I decided to take a little detour while headed back to the Napa Vineyards. While en route to Napa along Highway 5 in Fairfield California there was a little road named Suisun Valley Rd. Getting off that exit put you into farm country, it is beautiful country. I remember there was a great cheese store that made many different types of cheeses from scratch  as well as numerous fruit stands. On this road also happens to be Wooden Valley Winery. As a side note at the time it was also close enough drive from where I was staying that I visited it often while on vacation in Northern California. While I was there the first time (and all the others as well) I did a tasting (or two...or three) and fell in love with their 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon. I purchased a couple of bottles and they got put away on a shelf in my house. When I finally bought a refrigerator years later for my good wines I put two bottles of the Cabernet along with the other wines I had purchased on that trip in it. Around two (2) months ago I got bored and was reviewing the wines that were stored in the fridge and I noticed that one (1) of the bottles was leaking and it happened to be our review wine, the 98 Cab form Wooden Valley Winery. The wine had also leaked a little onto a bottle below it. I yanked the bottle out before it did any damage to the other bottles and I placed it on my counter in the kitchen. The other day in an attempt to clear the counter of clutter I came across this bottle and I decided this would make a great article. I thought everyone does wine reviews on wine that for all intents and purposes was bottled and remained sealed until time to drink it so what would happen if I did a review on a wine that was spoiled ( or so I thought). I was going to do an article on  bad wine. I also decided to document the whole process. I took photos of the leak going down the bottle, showing that the foil was indeed intact. I took photos of the cork itself still in the bottle. I took pictures of the cork lying outside the bottle. Little did I know that that documentation was going to be instrumental to this incredible story.
   Before we get into the actual opening and tasting process let's begin this story by talking a little about Wooden Valley Winery http://www.woodenvalley.com/ since this is where I purchased our wine. The winery is located in Suisun Valley, California. Today the third generation of the Lanza family runs the Vineyard. Mario Lanza & Lena Carlevaro both met in Oakland California in 1934 and got maried in 1937. One day Mario was injured in a workplace accident and it was suggested by his doctor that he move to a warmer climate, away from from the Bay Area. While Mario was visiting his friends who were the actual the founders of Wooden Valley Winery, Salvador Brea and his brother Manuel  he decided that he liked what he saw and decided to move to Suisun Valley with Lena and her two children Richard & Marlene. Mario worked with Salvador and in 1946 Mario was offered a partnership in Wooden Valley Winery. Salvador & Manuel eventually sold their interest in the business in 1955 to Mario with the understanding that the name remain Wooden Valley Winery which was named after the original name of the road the winery was on. The property started as 36 Acres but has since expanded to over 300 Acres. Today Marios oldest Grandson, Rick is the current winemaker for the vineyard.
   Lets now move on and discuss the opening of our review wine. This is the good part. The first hurdle I was going to have to overcome was the removal faulty cork. I started as usual of course by using a foil cutter to remove the foil. The foil was not in great shape and was slightly on the brittle side, it actually almost cracked off (but not quite) rather than came off as one piece. Having accomplished that daunting task and removed the foil successfully I was able to observe the top of the cork inside the bottle. Things were again NOT looking too promising here. The cork looked cracked or split in various places and appeared brittle although there were no pieces coming off. I figured that was going to change as soon as the corkscrew started entering it. To my surprise again the corkscrew entered the cork and still no pieces fell off. The cork almost moved out of the way rather that simply allowed the corkscrew to enter and attempt to go back to it's position as it normally would. O.K, now the corkscrew was fully in. I was feeling extremely lucky to this point and knew for sure that my luck was not going to last when I tried to pull the cork out. I had visions of the cork crumbling or breaking off in large chunks and the corkscrew coming up empty. To my surprise once again the cork started coming up in one piece, this can't last I thought. I continued to pull slowly allowing the cork to use whatever elasticity it had left to grip onto the corkscrew. Slowy but surely the cork was coming up until at last it was out with a soft popping sound. I inspected the cork and saw that the bottom had not lost any pieces so I had hope still that I was going to at least be able to do a tasting. The cork was badly split inside but it held for the opening process. I completed the usual ritual of giving what was left of the foil to one child and the cork to the other. By the way they are where the name "Mirror Image Vineyard" for the Sauvignon Blanc Vineyard I own since they are identical twins. There was now nothing left to do now but the tasting. Are you ready? Here we go.
   Come with me dear friend and take a journey to another part of the Mansion which I call my Tasting Room which I lovingly named Jerrys Loft which is dedicated to my benefactor who will remain undisclosed in compliance with his wishes. Come, come everyone time please don't lag behind time is so short. Welcome, if you would do me the honor to please sit back dear friends on this chair I have prepared for you and allow me to pour you a little wine while we listen to some Depeche Mode in concert on Blu-Ray DVD. Here, sit under the fan as well and we will talk a little bit about politics and world events. Once we have solved the problems of the world we will move onto the other items at hand. We will discuss the complexities that we deal with on a daily basis such as attempting to further establish our fortunes in life and  death. We will than deal with matters a little more pressing such as our families and how it's nice to get away for some adult conversation while the ladies shop and tend to the children.  It would be my privelage if you would indulge me and allow me to pour you a little tasting of a 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon I bought some years ago. I hope you are feeling a little rougish and rebelious today and are in the mood  to do a little experimenting and perhaps a little discovery at the same time. I am also so sorry my friends but I would offer you a Cigar however I gave up the habit some years ago. I pray you will also indulge my request to sample a wine that I know will surely offend your pallet. If you would do me the honor of assisting me with this review I will surely reward you with your gift of a precision crafted and cellard bottle of wine when we are done. Together  we will discover tastes that we both hope to never taste in a wine again. What is that you say? You will? Very good then shall we begin. Now that the narrative is completed let's head to the tasting.

The Cork After Being Removed - Notice The Cracks Along The Sides

   I poured a glass of our 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon and sat down. I wanted to hurry up and finish the couple of sips I had planned to take and move onto a real wine I had been dying to taste for a while. At first at the pour I fully expected to see cork floating in the wine. It was a nice surprise, more of a shock actually when that did not happen. Was this going out to be a pleasant event after all? On the pour the wine appeared a dark Blackberry with a slight tint of a medium Cherry tossed in. As I have said previously there was no sign of Cork even when held up to bright sunlight the wine appeared to have held up visually. There were no apparent discolorations or streaks of different colors that would lead me to believe the wine was tainted in any way. What I did notice when the glass was held up was that the alcohol that is left temporary on the side of the glass did not form streaks but rather took the shape of the wine that came to the side of the glass. This is a change from what I have noticed is usually streaks on the side of the glass once the wine has left it
   We will now move onto the bouquet of this wine which is of fairly heavy Oak followed by enough Cherry to make its presence known. These aromas were followed by Plum and finished with a hint of Cocoa. The Bouquet was simply great and there were no strange or offensive odors detected in the wine. The wine smelled very nicely balanced and had the hint of cocoa aroma at the end set it off perfectly. There also a hint of Alcohol.
   Now onto the next incredible aspect of this wine, the taste. This wine was supposed to taste like Vinegar, it was supposed to be Brown, it was actually supposed to go in the trash without being opened. Thankfully it did not go in the trash. This wine quickly opened up with a rich yet smooth Blackberry taste that was very deep and fresh tasting this was followed closely with just enough of an Oak taste to compliment the Blackberry. There was even a sufficient amount Cassis in combination with everything else to set this wine off wonderfully. On top of all this  there was even a rich Plum flavor followed by  Cocoa which was buried  deep inside the wine waiting to come out  to help with the finish. To my disbelief the wine even still exhibited some Tannins  to give extra life to the wine believe it or not.
    Lets sum up this review. I must pay my compliments to the wine maker at the time. He deserves all the credit for making such a perfect wine that it held up all these years and under harsh conditions. I don't believe that this Cabernet was meant to last this long. I remember it as a low to medium priced wine and I would never expect this result. I do remember that when I went back some years later the women behind the tasting counter told me that that year of Cabernet had become a classic but I never imagined this. Once again my compliments to the wine maker. The next thing thing that I want to address is that I think you the reader is going to ask is how is this even possible? Do you mean to tell me Desert Wine Guy that you enjoyed a 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon and to top it off the bottle was leaking? This wine is supposed to be spoiled, bad. Yes readers that is what I am telling you. I am fully aware that this wine normally should have been thrown away simply because of the age let alone that it leaked. This wine, for what ever reason even exceeded the taste and quality of many of today's Cabernet's. This wine is in my mind, a classic. On The Desert Wine Guy scale I give it a very solid 95 points. This is a classic Cabernet Sauvignon with all the power we have come to expect of a Napa Cab only not from Napa. There was no hint of this wine being anything but a premium wine. The Oak was a very powerful part of this wine but everything else blended in perfectly and the Oak simply completed the wine. Why did this wine hold up to the test of time? How did this wine hold up to the test of time? I simple do not have an answer for you, I don't know. I can only tell you it did. Thankfully I do have another bottle and this one is not leaking. I think I'll hold onto it for a while.



                                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy





  

The Desert WIne Guy - 2011 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon

   Today is a wonderful day in my little but ever expanding wine world. Today I get to write a review on the 2011 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon. I was so excited to review this wine. I just knew that this was going to be an experience that The Desert Wine Guy (and when you drink it) would never forget and I was right. From the very opening of the wine down to the last drop in the bottle it was pure Heaven. Lets start at the bottom line. Go out right now and buy two bottles. One bottle is for tonight the other is to be put away for a few years, for a graduation or a Prom (in my case) or a wedding or for any REALLY special occasion where you want to impress someone. I promise you will not be sorry you followed this advice.

   Peju http://www.peju.com/ is a winery I discovered when I made my first trip to the Napa Valley some years ago. I started by visiting the wineries on the right hand side of Highway 29 and very quickly learned the differences between a wine I liked and a wine that I didn't like. I learned what Tannins are, I learned what aging in Oak did. I learned so much at each winery. When I arrived at Peju I was already an expert (yeah o.k) on wine. I sampled their wine and new forever that that was what I wanted in a red wine. I tasted Tannins, Oak, Cherry and something else that I cannot explain.. What ever it was I never found it in any other wine including the rest of the great wines I have tasted. It is what makes Peju, Peju. Prior to my first trip to Napa Valley my exposure to wine was the “Wine Spritzer” that my mom made for pool time which was Carlo Rossi and Orange juice or Carlo Rossi and sprite. There was also the Manischewitz grape wine that my family had for the holidays while I grew up. You can probably see that I was not exposed to the upper class of wines in my younger days. After that Napa trip time went on and for what ever reason, I simply forgot about the Winery, maybe it is because it does not seem to be distributed to widely and I never run across it in stores, I don't know. That is the only reason I can think of. The other night I was at a local wine tasting located at an establishment named Khoury's in Henderson Nevada. After the actual tasting I was looking at their wine board and I noticed that they were serving a 2011 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon. Instantly I flashed back to the beautiful winery and that special taste that all the wines they made had. I immediately ordered a glass. At $10 a glass for the type of establishment it was that was somewhat pricey but I saw the name “Peju” and I had to try it in hopes I could re-live that Peju taste. The minute I tasted the wine I knew that the Peju taste was not gone, it was still there. There were only a few wines that really stood out in my tastings from that first trip to the Napa Valley and Peju happens to be one of them.
   The Peju family established themselves in Napa Valley, (Rutherford) California in 1982. When they bought the land which is situated on Highway 29 and the Napa River in Rutherford California there was a 1900 era house and 60 year old vineyards. The Vineyard is operated by Anthony and Herta Peju along with their daughters Lisa and Ariana and together they comprise a large part of the Peju team. The wine I am reviewing comes from the HB Vineyard. This particular Vineyard grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc & Merlot. The Vineyard has a beautiful restaurant as well as four (4) different tastings. There is the “Pejus Classic Tasting” The fee for the basic tasting which consists of four current tastings costs Twenty dollars and is put toward a purchase of thirty five dollars or more. The next tasting is the “Peju Private Tasting” which is with an appointment only and is the same as the “Peju Classic Tasting” only your group must be 8 or more people. This is followed by the “Peju Reserve Tasting” which lasts 60 minutes and is for 2-8 people and is also by reservation only. The tasting takes place in the Uluru room on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays. This is a private setting along with a tasting room Ambassador who shares the story of each wine, Peju's history and wine making style. The private tasting wine is made up of limited production wines. The cost is $75 per person. To top off the tastings there is the “Peju Private Wine Tasting With Artisan Cheese.” This tasting is only on Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 2:00 PM. This tasting consists of four current releases and is done in the Peju kitchen or Rutherford room. The wines are paired with crackers that are made in house and locally made Artisan cheeses. The cost is $65 per person. The winery also has art exhibits and a four level wine club.

   So...here we are finally, the review of the 2011 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon. As I stated above, Peju is one of the Vineyards that opened my eyes to just how great a wine could be. I went for a tasting at the Peju winery and instantly fell in love. I don't recall the year or the varietal but it was love at first taste. Jumping forward to this year I payed about $45 dollars for our review wine and it came home with me. It only took a week before I had the chance to do a review on it. Opening the wine released a brilliant bouquet of Black-cherry, Cocoa, Cassis, Oak & Blackberry, Liquorice. here were no flavors that were out of place or in strengths that threw off the wonderful flavor. The Tannins were delivered in such a way and in the perfect amounts while still leaving room for this wine to sit in a collection for a good amount of years still yet they were never to the point of overpowering the wine. The Cocoa which is hidden deep inside the wine only comes out just enough to let you know it is there while still making it's presence known. This wine is bright and full of excitement anticipating you drinking it. The wine finished consistent and did not fall off at the end. The taste remained strong and left you wanting more. In the glass the wine was a deep Ruby red / Plum that made you anticipate the taste which of course does not disappoint. I don't think that I have ever enjoyed a bottle of wine more than I have enjoyed this one.
   In closing I have to say the I cannot say enough about this wine. This is an exceptional wine that I think will become known as a “sleeper” . The flavors in this wine were put together in such a way as to make the wine taste in your palette as if you were feeling silk with your tongue. Everything could not be more perfect in a wine, it is everything you would ever want in a Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is the reason that Cabernet Sauvignon is such a popular red wine (13 percent of wine sold). I think that this wine sells now for $50 normally but in the near future will jump in price and if you don't get at least one to put away now you will be sorry you didn't. This wine will be talked about in the future as up there with the best. The wine-maker is Sara Fowler and deserves high praise for this wine. Mrs Fowler I take my Desert Wine Guy hat off to you for a job well done.

  On The Desert Wine Guy scale I am giving this wine 97 points. 

   

The Desert Wine Guy - Weather And It's Effect On The Vineyard

   

   With the weather starting to heat up and the Summer right around the corner I have decided to do an article on the Las Vegas weather and how Vineyards are effected by it. I studied and learned a lot of what I am putting in this article before actually putting in my Vineyards. I am still learning as I go. I guess you can consider this article a beginning teaching lesson for anyone who is thinking about putting in a Vineyard of any kind. Do some investigation into the weather conditions your area experiences. Check your “Climate Zone” of the are you live in. Look into a local College and see if they have a Vineyard program and are willing to offer assistance. Look into a professional winery in your area or even another area that has a climate similar to yours. I have learned so much from other winery’s like Sanders Family Winery (http://sanderswinery.com/) in Pahrump Nevada as well as One Acre in The Napa Valley (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJt-06dZyY). Some items to consider are the following. Does it get very hot? Does it get very cold? Does it rain often?. If it does how much does it rain? Look at your soil, maybe you need to pay to have it analyzed before planting anything at all. How about animals that are present, are there deer that might require a fence? Once these things are looked into you can look at the varietal of grape you can plant in your area. Not every varietal

does well or can even grow in every part of the country. As an example if you want to grow Pinot Noir in Kentucky good luck. Some grapes like the Riesling will burn up in the heat of Las Vegas. By the way I was not happy about this since I do love a good Riesling. Some grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc will do better in hot climates as opposed to cold climates. While Cabernet or Sauvignon Blanc may grow in some cold weather it might not produce much fruit or it might not stay green long before going dormant. These are just some things to be concerned about, there might be others that you can think of that are particular to your climate or situation. Having said all this let's move into the body of this article.

Those of you who have ever visited Las Vegas in the Summer already know just hot it can be. I think most people believe that nothing except Cactus and Snakes & Lizards can thrive out here. Don't feel bad I felt the same way originally. If you read part #1 of The Story of The Desert Wine Guy (http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-story-of-desert-wine-guy-part-1.html)  you will read all about my doubts, believe me there were many. I basically refused to live with a backyard of Desert and Cactus, I hate the Desert. Back to the heat issue though. Without question it does get hot here. It gets REALLY hot here. One day last year (June 30) Las Vegas had a temperature of 116 degrees. Yes you read it right. The coldest day last year was on January 15 and it was 23 degrees. With extremes like that you might think that Grapevines would die or be ruined so that when the spring came along the vines would be be damaged. Fortunately that is not the case. The weather in Vegas is not only hot, it is dry as well. Las Vegas itself gets very little rain and Humidity although that is starting to change because of all the people who are moving here and planting trees and backyard farms. The longest dry spell last year was 89 straight days from April 9 – July 6. The humidity last year went from a low of 5% in June to a high of 26% in November. Basically the longer the grapes can hang (grow) on the vine the better. If there is early rain or cold that will effect the crop and therefore the harvest time. This would mean that the grapes have not had a chance to fully mature, or ripen which means less flavor. Let's move now to a particular situation, we will use mine as an example.

    Since Angel Vineyard is growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Mirror Image Vineyard is growing Sauvignon Blanc I am going to focus on those two grape varietals. Since they both grow here in the weather conditions of Las Vegas this article applies to both varietals. To start off we will begin in the spring Time. Spring is when the vines start to flower and the berries start to set. This is an important time in the season. This is when the vine establishes what we grow them for, grapes. It is a time when the vine comes out of dormancy and is starting off it's growing season again. The weather can destroy all of the fruit and leave the vines themselves which may survive and we will have  pretty vines to take care of all year. At this time rain is a bad thing. Hail, frost & extreme cold are of course also bad for the vines. This time of the year the hail, frost and cold are three things I fortunately don't have to worry about. The area I do have concerns with is heat. Heat can be managed a lot of the time with proper canopy management. Which means being very careful with the amount of leaves I remove. The Cabernet luckily are thicker skinned and that does help avoid sun damage to some extent, still care with protecting the grapes from the excessive heat is important. The Sauvignon Blanc will need even more care with the heat. Temperature swings are also good for the type of grapes being discussed. Warm (not hot) days and semi cool nights work out well. The heat can also alter the taste of wine. With too much heat the Cabernet develops a peppery taste. In Vegas, rain is so rare that it usually is not an issue. The heat usually doesn't dissipate till late in the year which as we read above is ideal. The only real challenge here is managing the heat that gets to the grapes. If you can control that you are in great shape. One other possible problem is pests. There are some pests that are particular to certain areas of the country. Those of you who follow my blog (http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/) and wine (ONLY) Facebook already know that my main pest is The Grape Leaf Skeltonizer. They will destroy all the leaves of the vines and expose the grapes to the Vegas sun and I would then have Raisins. That, believe it or not is the only pest that I have ran into.

    In closing I encourage you to explore growing a Vineyard. It is great exercise taking care of the vines and gets you outdoors in the fresh air. In my case it also helps teach my children to respect (not worship) nature and the outdoors. It also is great satisfaction in eating your own grapes that you grew in your Vineyard. As for whether you can grow grapes in your environment plant 1 vine and see how it goes. Good luck.

                                                                                                                    The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - 2009 Monte Blanco Cabernet Sauvignon

  

   Today's wine is from Chili and is the 2009 Monte Blanco Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. This will be a short review simply because there really is not much to say about this wine, at least nothing good that is. This wine is light to medium red in color and has a very weak cherry/Blackberry taste to it. There is really no structure to speak of to this wine.  It is a very simple wine. There are no Tannins in the wine which might be because it is rather on the older side for this price point and this red might not have been produced using quality grapes. I can forgive the lack of Tannins however, what I can't forgive is the overpowering problem with this wine being jammy....way jammy/sweet. The wine is VERY sweet and makes fortified wines almost seem bland. There is no saving grace anywhere in this bottle. I say avoid it like the plague. If you want a sweet Red go buy a bottle of Manischewitz.

                                                                                                                  The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - Khoury's Wine & Spirits

   Today I am going to review a local wine/beer establishment named Khoury's, located here in Vegas. Myself and another wine blogger here in Las Vegas met to discuss a possible exchanging of articles for each others blogs. I had never heard of the establishment before and to be honest from the outside it looks like just another “Liquor Store”, it is not. Walking into the store you see a good amount of wines on racks which are separated by the types of wine they are some were separated by country such as Africa. The cool thing I noticed was that aside from the usual wines you see in larger wine & spirits stores there were a lot of Boutique type wines. The wines that were involved in the tastings were actually all Boutique wines. As with all Boutique wines they were all from small wineries that released in small quantities. There was one that stood out and that wast the “My Essential” which the label says is simply a red wine. I truly didn't expect much but it was amazing. It was sort of like seeing a mutt (dog) and saying “I see this dog in the eyes, this dog in the feet” etc; I was able to taste all the wines (it is a blend) as if I tasted different, individual wines. It was amazing, look for the review. There was a special section that was refrigerated and where most but not all of the wines were on the higher price scale. The wines in here were layed out in their winery packaged boxes that I felt added a little class. The entire place was clean and well stocked. The person behind the counter (I think he was the owner) was participating in the wine tasting which seemed to prevent him from walking around. While he was able to walk around and and assist customers it appeared he chose not to. It appeared that he was more interested in the register. There was another employee to assist people in the store and I did talk with him at the counter however I was not approached nor did I see him while I was walking the isles. The times I saw him was at the bar he did appear to be busy, what he was doing I don't know. I had no doubts that if I had come to the bar to ask for assistance that I

wine tasting at Khoury's

Tons Of Selection

would have gotten some. There was also a representative, Thomas from Crush & Cooper Wine and Spirits who distributes the wines involved in the tasting. He appeared very knowledgeable on wines and while very busy talking with customers and explaining his wines, was very personable, I enjoyed talking to him. It appeared to me that if you left the wine tasting area you were on your own. Speaking of the wine tasting itself. There were five wines available for tasting at the cost of $5 which was applied toward a purchase. There was a 2011 My Essential Red, 2012 Hindsight Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 A.P. Vin Gary's Pinot Noir, 2012 Turley Juvenile Zinfandel & the 2012 Failla Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (which I did not like). Thomas was in charge of the tasting and did an excellent job engaging in conversation and sharing his knowledge of his product as well as wine in general. One nice touch was a library of wine books that customers could look at. There were plenty of tables available to sit at and they filled up rather quickly because of the turnout which seemed like all regulars. I have to say thought that the customers were very nice and welcoming. While my wife and I walked around a customer came over and introduced herself and said she was glad we were there and invited us back. The whole place including the employees (at the counter) were very welcoming actually and being new my wife and I didn't feel out of place at all. There were waters, juices and energy drinks available should you go with someone who doesn’t drink, like my wife or for the designated driver which I recommend you bring. There is no food available although they do allow you to bring outside food in. There are plenty of places located in the shopping center to eat. If you want Pizza I recommend Montassanos which is located in the same shopping center. The place was well lit and there was no music which I found nice and allowed you to learn about wine from Thomas as well as talk to other people. Parking was not a problem either and the store is locate in a very nice part (Henderson) of Vegas. Being that this is a wine blog I left this part for last. The have an incredible selection of Beer also. There were large bottles of Samuel Adams that I had never seen before. I even picked up a 32 oz can of Pabst Blue ribbon for myself since Mrs Desert Wine Gal is from Wisconsin. Just like there were so many Boutique wines there were small production beers that are normally available in he states they are brewed in. By the way it is come as you are. I had a nice pair of jeans on and a U.N.L.V sweatshirt and was not out of place.

   If you come to Vegas I highly recommend that you check this place out. Go there on Wednesday for beer tasting night and Thursday for Wine tasting night. 

                                          
                                                                                            The Desert Wine Guy



                                                                                                                                          

The Desert Wine Guy - Israel And Wine - The History And Current Day Of Wine In Israel

   Since almost the beginning of the world Israel has played an important role in the history of mankind. In this article we will deal with Israel and it's importance in relation to wine. Many people do not know that since biblical times Israel has been producing, using and selling wine. The bible even comments that the kings of Israel had vast vineyards. Wine is thought to have reached the country of Israel from the Caucasus/eastern Turkey regions in 5,00-6,000 BC era. Archaeologists have actually discovered wine presses dating back to 100-400 CE and wine cellars have been discovered dating back to 700 CE in the area of the city of Gideon. Israel would also ship wines to the countries of Egypt & Rome in the late Byzantine and early Islamic period however the wines were thick & sweet. Being that we are blessed today with great wines available it sounds like we probably wouldn't want to drink the wines produced back then. The wine was so bad that they would season it with honey, pepper & juniper berries to make it drinkable. Even with all the flaws Israeli wine had, the average Israeli family drank an average of 92 gallons of wine a year. Today that average has dropped and is around 2 gallons. Israel has two ancient and traditional wine growing regions; the Shomron (Samaria region) and Samson (located between the Judean Hills and Coastal Plain) regions. There are a few different schools of thought on exactly where grapevines originated. Some believe that the vines originated in the mountains of Arat or modern Armenia while others believe that they originated in the Shiraz region of Persia (Iran). During the Muslim conquest of 636 AD wine presses (see above) were destroyed and wine production and grape cultivation activities for wine essentially ceased for about 1200 years, except among Christian monasteries.  

    The next evolution in wine for Israel was many years later in 1870. Wine again began to be produced with the help of Baron Edmond de Rothschild who brought over European varieties of grapes as well as helped finance the planting of vineyards near Rishon Le Zion on the coastal plain and sent teams of experts from Bordeaux to advise new local wineries on making fine wine. He also financed the construction of wineries of the Jewish settlements, first in Rishon Le Zionin 1882 and Zichron Ya’acov in the Mount Carmel area in 1890. Rothschild’s vision was to make the “Holy Land” a source of kosher wines for Jews everywhere and to sustain the local Jewish settlers with a viable industry. This idea didn't work out as planned when hard times ended his dream. In the mid-1890’s the vine disease Phylloxera, which had come over from France devastated the region’s vineyards. In the period that followed the Bordeaux varieties were uprooted and replaced with cuttings of Carignan, Alicante Bouschet, Clairette, Grenache, Muscat, and Semillon and the so called "proper root stocks" that experts considered more suitable for the hot climate of Palestine. Before Phylloxera took its toll there were about 7,000 Acres of vineyards in Israel; by 1914 there were only 880. 

   In the 1960's Carmel Winery and other producers reintroduced Bordeaux and Rhone Varieties. In 1972 Oenoligist Professor Cornelius Ough from U.C Davis went to the Golan Heights and saw the future in wine making in Israel. His advice created the Kibbutz named Moshavim and in 1982 the first grapes were harvested from the Golan Heights and a professor by the name of Peter Stern (again from U.C Davis) was hired to design a new Golan Heights Winery. The winery came online in 1983 and with Professor Sterns help they released their first critically acclaimed wine. Professor Stern also brought in other wine professionals such as a Israel Flam who later became Chief Winemaker of Rishon Le Zion in 1995. With him moving to Israel he played an important part in the success of the Israeli wine industry. Today Israel has five wine regions. They are Galilee which is Israels northern-most wine growing region. This region extends from the Lebanese border south. The Samson region which runs parallel to the Mediterranean Sea and includes the coastal plain southeast of Tel Aviv and the hills between the Jerusalem mountains and the coast. The third region is Judean Hills. This region surrounds the city of Jerusalem. It extends from north of of Jerusalem to the Yatir Forest south of Hebron. Then there is Shomron which is located near the Mediterranean coast south of Haifa and includes the Carmel Mountain range. Finally we end with the region of Negev. This region is an arid & dry one. Comprising about half of Israels land area. This region is actually in two sub-regions of Ramat Arad in the Northwest and the central Negev Highlands. 

    Israeli wine stayed like that until around 1983 when the Golan Heights Winery was established. This came after Israelis in large numbers started traveling to California and Australia & Europe. The Golan Winery soon discovered that the wines of the Grenache, Semillon, Petit Syrah and Carignan grapes would make the Israeli wine industry popular. Finally Israel had was about to be put on the wine map by a Cabernet Sauvignon from the 1984 vintage. That wine won a gold medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition. The Golan Heights Winery produces 4.5 million bottles of wine a year. There are now over 200 wineries in Israel today. Today wine in Israel while popular and profitable, wine is another source of contention in the land. While the Jewish people of the land incorporate it into their religious ceremony's On the Jewish side there are places in their holy books such as Psalms 104 ”And wine will rejoice the heart of man”. There is also "And wine gladdens the hearts of man" (Psalms 104:15) that indicate that Alcohol is permissible in the Jewish religion. I can also find no prohibition for it in the Jewish bible other than it being against being drunk The Muslim Quran is unclear on the topic of Alcohol. There appear to be conflicting Muslim scriptures on the subject. In an article dated September 2 of 2012http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/arab-israelis-erect-protest-tent-to-battle-planned-wine-festival-near-mosque-1.462261 in the Haaretz newspaper there was a wine festival held near a Mosque and “Muslim groups expressed outrage” and called the festival “unforgivable sin” and erected an protest tent. There are passages in the Quran such as 16.67 “And of the fruits of the date palms and the grapes, you obtain alcoholic drinks and goods. Verily in that is a sign for a people who use their understanding.” that indicate that Alcohol may be acceptable in the Muslim religion. There are however there are also places in the Quran that state Alcohol is bad such as Quran 5:90 “O you who believe! Intoxication's and gambling, (dedication of) stones and (divination by) arrows are an abomination of Satan’s handwork: so avoid it that you may prosper.” On the other hand there are examples in the Hadiths such as Muslim 3753 “We were with the prophet of Allah and he was thirsty. And a man said: ‘O prophet of Allah, do you want to drink wine?’ Prophet of Allah said: ‘Yes’. The man went to get the wine. The prophet of Allah said: ‘Make it intoxicated’. And he drank.”. There is also the following passage Quran 16.67 “And of the fruits of the date palms and the grapes, you obtain alcoholic drinks and goods. Verily in that is a sign for a people who use their understanding.” In ending this article I wanted to point out that there are the beginnings of cooperation between the two major religions in the Middle east area. As proof of that i will leave you with the fact that There is a Winery named Mony Winery which is owned by an Arab-Christian family and is located in Dir-Rif’at.

   Whatever the two religions believe or don't believe, alcohol seems to be just another divisive issue in the Middle East. Who is right and who is wrong? Well I guess that depends on your own point of view.

                                                                                  The Desert WIne Guy

                                                                                                                    

The Desert Wine Guy - Castello Del Poggio, Moscatto

   It's always a pleasure to taste a wine that one of my Facebook fans requests that I do a tasting on. I do have to be honest though. I am a huge lover of reds such as Cabernet Sauvigon and Merlots. When I do drink whites I prefer a nice Riesling or a Chardonnay. These are not too sweet and I find them refreshing. There are times when I will drink a nice Wine Cooler. Having said all this I was asked by a fan on my wine Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy) to review the Castello del Poggio, Moscato so I gladly obliged. The wine gets great reviews. The salesperson who sold me the wine said that she liked the wine. I read reviews that said “I was hooked after the first sip” and “This is a great wine that will satisfy even the subtlest palette”. Having read the comments from other people I was excited to think that this tasting was going to open up a whole new experience. In a way I guess you could say that it did. I had known that Moscato is a dessert wine and that it was a sweet wine. That was O.K with me though since I like the occasional wine cooler as I already said. I did some checking and found that a local large liquor store in my area had the carried the wine so I headed down a couple of days later and for around $12 picked up a bottle. This is great I thought. I am going to please a Facebook fan and expand my horizons on wine at the same time. It all started off very well. Read on to see how it ended.

   Castello del Poggio is located in Gambellara, in the province of Vicenza (Italy). Founded in 1821 by the Zonin family the Castello del Poggio Vineyard started off as a small one and built it's way to where it is today. The current Vineyard is 430 Acres. Today the seventh generation runs the Vineyard with the current President of the Company being Gianni Zonin. The company makes three different Moscato wines.

   Our review wine started a little shaky with me being that it is a screw cap wine. I know I'm going to hear from some of you that corks can be defective or go bad and ruin wine. I'm going to hear that more Vineyards are getting away from corks and going to screw caps and that it is better for the consumer because it makes for more consistent wines. Yeah, Yeah, yeah, I know all that. I still think that a decent wine deserves a cork, call me Old School if you want. This preference in fact stopped me from buying a wine the same day I bought our review wine. Moving on with the review, the wine poured a light golden with plenty of bubbles. There were so many bubbles that the edges of the glass actually developed a worrisome, weird thick foam that I found unappealing. The bouquet was of overpowering Pear with a slight aroma of Honeydew. Now as for how the wine tasted on my paletteRossi Asti Spumante which I'm sure we have all had at one time or another. This Moscato is far sweeter then even a Wine Cooler. It almost tastes like the juice from canned Pears only thickened up with sugar. this is all I can say. I'm sorry but I can't say anything good about this wine. I have noticed from reading other peoples reviews that this wine is far more popular with Women that it is with Men for what ever reason. I have even seen some reviews from people who have stated that they don't like wine but love this wine (because of the sweetness). I don't why this is but it appears to be pretty constant throughout peoples reviews. It appears that I am in the minority by not liking this wine but I can only report what I taste and smell. If you enjoy a very sweet wine that give it a try. If you enjoy a good Riesling or Chardonnay or even the occasional wine cooler than I suggest you stay away from this wine.

. I found the wine to be very overdone with Pear. The wine was very sweet and to top it off, extremely syrupy. We have here a carbonated, sickly sweet, syrupy, white wine. The wine is far sweeter than Martini &

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert Wine Guy - How To Read A Wine Label

   For wine lovers who may be just beginning to discover wine and maybe even for those of you who are casual wine drinkers but find the label on a bottle of American wine confusing or intimidating here is a short article on just what you are seeing on a wine label. Lets go ahead and look at the label I have included. Lets start off with the first item on the label we are going to look at which is....

  

1 - The 2001 in this case is the year that the grapes for the wine were picked.

2 - This would be the name of the Winery at or the brand name. It is not always where the grapes

     were grown.

3 - For line number 3 this is where the grapes came. If the “American Viticultu

ral Area” such as Napa

     is on the label that means that at least 85% of the grapes for that wine HAD to come from that

     region. If there is a county stated there than at least 75% of the grapes for that wine had to come

     from that county. If there is simply a state located in this spot then 100% of the grapes had to

     come from California.

4 - At times you will see the actual name of a specific Vineyard on the label. That simply indicates

     that 95% of the grapes for the wine came from that actual Vineyard.

5 - If you see “produced and bottled by” on the label than you know that the person who produced

     the wine is also the same person who bottled the wine. If you see “Estate Bottled” that means that

     the wine is made from grapes that come from the producers Vineyard.

6 - Here is where you will see the wine making information such as whether the wine was “barrel

     fermented”, “sur lie” or “oak aged” tell you more about the style or flavor of that particular wine.

7 - The actual location of the bottler is listed here.

8 - Here is where the volume of Alcohol is located.

9 - This line has the information on the volume of the contents. A standard wine bottle has a volume

     of 750 ml which is equal to five glasses of wine.

I hope this article assists you in your search for that perfect bottle of wine.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - The Story Of The Desert Wine Guy - Part 1

   Welcome to part #1 of the story of The Desert Wine Guy which includes the birth of Angel and Mirror Image Vineyards. Those of you who follow The Desert Wine Guy on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?ref=hl, my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCUb3w1n2S_UGU2yYRkFYQ/videos and my wine blog http://www.desertwineguy.blogspot.com/ now that I live in the desert of Las Vegas and I grow wine grapes. What you probably don't know is that I am married to a wonderful women and have 3 beautiful children. I choose to do my wine Facebook, wine blog and YouTube channel on my off time since I work long days in the Law Enforcement field. I have lived in Las Vegas 26 years and am originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. This whole wine thing started when I originally went to Napa Valley California around 20 years ago and fell in live with the whole grapevine thing. The peace of the Vineyards and the whole wine tasting environment I found simply amazing. How can I grow grapes in the desert I wondered. Oh well I thought, at least I can dream. While originally believing like most people do that you cannot grow wine grapes or anything except cactus in the soil, heat and dryness ( lack of humidity ) of the Las Vegas desert I have since discovered that this belief is simply untrue. I started off at first by undertaking the mighty challenge of growing a small garden. I developed a small garden over the past two years which grew very well and I was at first happy at that......at first. Then I started to do some (what I figured at the time) wishful thinking. I figured hey I’m really pushing my luck here, I've won out over the desert I should leave well enough alone. Well as you can probably guess by now my vision didn't end there. While at the local plant store one year I was wandering around and discovered that they actually sold wine grapes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot etc. That along with my visits to the Napa Valley as well as Temecula California and finally the vineyards in Pahrump Nevada which is around an hour from Las Vegas started me thinking. I wonder if these vines will grow here in Las Vegas and I wonder if I could grow these grape vines. I had concerns about the so called poor soil here in Las Vegas and of course the heat and dryness (lack of humidity). These three thing I felt would really do a number on grape vines. Then I started thinking that if I can grow Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant and those sort of things here in the direct sunlight and in the so called "poor soil" then maybe I really could pull this grape thing off. Wow, I thought. My very own vineyard, growing wine grapes right here in my own backyard. With all my research and everything when it came down to growing wine grapes I still knew nothing though. I mean the plant stores sell the vines for a reason, people must buy them and people must buy them because they actually grow them. I still couldn't believe it. Those of you who have visited Las Vegas in the Summer probably have doubts yourselves. I continued my reading and research online on wine and how the quality varied from year to year and why this would happen. I researched the ideal weather conditions for the grapes I wanted to grow. While doing the research I kept seeing that the weather that Cabernet Sauvignon likes is the heat. This combined with the fact that rain is actually not good for grapes because it can actually seep into the grape and ruin the taste of it as well as split the grape. Finally I decided I had read and learned enough ( I thought ) to at least venture to the plant store and look at the vines. I figured I could pick the guys brain and get some more information on how they grow. Well the idea of just learning on that trip didn't last too long. I left the store with around 6 Cabernet Sauvignon vines and headed home. On the drive home I was so excited. I thought I am actually going to give this wine thing in the desert a try. As I already have said I have always loved grape vineyards ever since that first trip to Napa Valley years ago so here is where it led me. Taking a few reinforcement trips to the Pahrump and Temecula California vineyards kept the love of the vineyard in my heart. Oh well I thought, I have to learn some time. And so off I went to the future home of Angel & Mirror Image Vineyards ( my backyard ) and developing legacy of The Desert Wine Guy. I proceeded to plant the Cabernet Sauvignon vines I bought without much real hope inside that I would succeed. I mean those people who did manage to grow these vines surely had special soil or knowledge way beyond what I had. Well since I had bought these vines while not in their dormant stage and probably about two years old the easy part I again figured would be planting. I mostly thought that in a few days they would start to shrivel up and eventually die. When that didn't happen I thought that they were only alive and seemed to be doing well because the real heat of the desert wasn't here yet. Wait until the temperatures start reaching into the mid ninety’s then we will see these vines die quickly. Well the heat of the Las Vegas desert came and stayed for a few weeks and still the vines were alive and growing like crazy. Then came the big surprise, the vines started flowering only I had no idea what what was going on. I guess with all my researching I didn't discover the growing stages of the actual grapes. I checked my vines every day and one day it appeared that the small flowers that were growing looked as if they were now dying. Once again I thought “I knew it was too good to be true”, I thought my grapes had died. A couple of days later I noticed that the flowers that I thought had died had now turned into little buds. All this while the heat was rising. Well anyway the buds I learned were grapes and they were getting bigger. I now went nuts calling my wife and children outside to see what was the beginning of my wine grapes. I had succeeded, I was growing wine grapes in the Las Vegas desert. I also thought ( wrongly ) that the hard part was over..... 

                                                                                                                 The Desert Wine Guy

   

The Desert WIne Guy - Is It Champagne Or Sparkling Wine?

   In the desire to keep this blog honest I feel it necessary to tell you, my readers that I got the Champagne making process (only) from another website. While I did tweak the wording at times a lot of it remained intact from the original writer. I was going to reveal his name but believe it or not the article did NOT have an authors name to post. The rest of the article is mine. I hope you enjoy the article as a whole and learn a little bit about Champagne or Sparkling Wine as I have done.

    The holidays are over but throughout the year we still find cause to celebrate special events. Today we will talk about Sparkling Wine and Champagne. Lets start off with a fact that I don't think most people know. The only Champagne on the store shelves come from the French region of …...you guessed it, Champagne, France. Technically, it is the only sparkling wine that can be referred to as "Champagne."Until recently, some American wine-makers took advantage of a loop-hole in international law and were calling their sparkling wine ‘Champagne’. As you can probably already guess the French government as well as the French people were upset. That issue has since been fixed and now no decent and respectful wine maker outside the Appellation of Champagne would dare call their product, however refined, champagne. I don't know about you but I didn't learn that until about a year ago and it was from reading an article in Wine Spectator Magazine. By the way in all the wine reading and research I have done over the last few years the name Dom Perignon does not even come up anymore. I haven't seen them even in the top 20 ratings of Champagne. Keep that in mind the next time you are out somewhere and you see this wine and it's price on the menu. What is Champagne besides that bubbly, fizzy loudly cork popping drink that we celebrate with? Champagne is actually mostly made from the wine grapes Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay although there are 8 different types of grapes that can be used. The entire process involves the following steps.

1. 
   Pressing: Grapes will be pressed as soon as possible, especially with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, as skin contact with these dark skinned varietals will soon begin to taint the juice if left on the skins.
2. First Fermentation: The next step is the first of a total of two fermentation’s takes place. A key factor in this first fermentation is that it be relatively quick and warm. The emphasis here is to produce a relatively neutral wine that is high in acidity.
3. Blending: The blending process in Champagne is what sets this region apart from just about any other wine producing region in the world. Most wine regions produce a new vintage of a particular wine every year, the Champenoise are master blenders. Although in a good year many domains will produce a vintage champagne, the Champenoise pride themselves on their masterful skills of blending multiple vintages to create a signature “house style”. Perhaps the epitome of this artful skill is evidenced in the wines of Krug, where up to 7 different vintages are blended to create their multi-vintage cuvee.
4. Second Fermintation: The wine is then bottled with a crown cap like beer and left to begin a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Here, active yeast will begin consuming the available sugar, resulting in the anaerobic production of alcohol within this sealed bottle. A by-product of this fermentation is carbon dioxide, which if not allowed to escape into the atmosphere, results C02 which is dissolved into the wine a.k.a., bubbles. This second fermentation generally takes between 4-8 weeks.
5. Lees aging: The wine now starts a period of ageing in the bottle where the wine will interact with the dead yeast cells (lees) and which will mostly influence the flavor and texture of the champagne when completed. This process is known as “autolysis”. Flavor characteristics relative to this bio-chemical process include nuances of baked bread, roasted nuts, and salty cheese. Chardonnay in particular is a varietal that benefits greatly from this lengthy autolytic ageing process. By law, non-vintage Champagne must age a minimum of 15 months on their lees, although most age between 18-24 months. Tarlant’s NV Cuvee Louis spends an incredible seven years on the lees. Vintage champagnes must age a minimum of 3 years on the lees, with many wines far exceeding this requirement.
6. Remuage / riddiling: Once the champagne has completed its extended lees ageing and is ready to be bottled it will go through a process known as “remuage”. This procedure is aimed at loosening the dead yeast cells and sediment  that has formed at the bottom of the bottle, and slowly moving it towards the neck of the bottle which it will be removed or disgorged.
7. Disorgement: This process involves removing the dead yeast/sediment in the neck of the bottle. Most often this is achieved by submerging the neck of the champagne bottle into a cold brine, thus quickly freezing the dead yeast matter that has collected in the neck. Once the crown cap is removed, pressure from the dissolved Co2 expediently pushes out this yeast plug, and voila, the champagne has been disgorged. 
8. Dosage: A measured amount of champagne and cane sugar will be added to the finished wine. This is known as the “liqueur d’expedition”. The amount of this mixture, known as “dosage” will determine the final sweetness level and style of champagne. In certain instances, no liqueur d’expedition will be added, resulting in a wine with zero dosage. Brut style champagnes are next on the dryness level with residual sugar falling between 5-15 grams per liter. Brut champagnes are amongst the most popular style of Champagne in the United States.
9. Re-corking: After a cork is inserted, a protective wire cap is placed over the bottle to help secure the cork and bottle. The wine is then shaken vigorously, in order to help integrate the wine with the liqueur d’expedition. The finished wine will now rest anywhere from several weeks to several months (and in some cases longer) before it is sent out into the big bad  world of wine shops, restaurants and connoisseurs.
   So now we have learned a little bit about the drink so many of us love to to celebrate good times with. I myself don,t like Champagne. I do however like a Spumante (Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante) in a Sparkling Wine which is the sweetest type of Sparkling Wine with a Brut being the driest.
   
   
   
   
                                                                                                            
   
   
   
                                                 
                                                                                                             The Desert Wine Guy
   

The Desert WIne Guy - 2012 Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Merlot.

  

  

 

  With Springtime (and the heat) right around the corner I thought that I would do a last minute review on a Merlot. Start looking for some Springtime wines to be reviewed soon. Having said that today's review will be on the 2012 Coppola Merlot that was bought by my wife for $12.99 at a local gas station. I am not expecting much and there is nothing available on line concerning it but it was a nice thought from Mrs. Desert Wine Guy. A little bit about the Coppola wineries. Coppola vineyards is owned by Francis ( of The Godfather fame) and Eleanor Coppola. The Vineyard is located in Geyserville, California and is the former home to Chateau Souverain Winery. According to the Coppola vineyards website the grapes for the “Diamond Collection” are grown from various vineyards across California. By the way the actor Nicholas Cage, (great actor) whose real name is actually Nicholas Kim Coppola is a nephew of Francis Ford Coppola. 

    Now off we go to the review. The review started off a little rocky. The wine was very jammy with a slightly overpowering Bing Cherry mixed with Cranberry Juice for it's flavor,  There were very slight tannins that did come out later in the tasting. Almost tastes like flavored cherry drink with a Cranberry finish. very slight body to it. This wine would make an OK summer wine with hot dogs and chips at the barbecue. At $13 I believe it a little overpriced since there are more serious Merlots available at that price. The wine poured a medium Purplish in color and rested in the glass with a Cranberry color. When swirled and tasted, the wine had an almost overpowering Cherry Cranberry Juice and I thought at times I detected a slight hint of Chocolate. You might think that since I tasted these flavors in the wine that it has some complexity, well sorry to disappoint but it doesn't. The wine is mostly straight forward Cherry & Cranberry. There are some other flavors but nothing other that would steer the flavor away from those two. 

    Here is my final two cents on the wine. It is kind of funny that at the opening of this review I promised a Springtime wine review because that is what I ended up doing here. I guess that's ok because it is the season. read on and you will have the first Spring wine review. For $13 dollars I find this wine slightly overpriced due to the fact that I have reviewed very good wines for a couple of dollars more. I assume the winery believes that the name Coppola should add a few dollars more to the price of the bottle. Don't get me wrong I would still buy the wine again however if you are after a serious Merlot this is not it. This is a summertime let's barbeque in the sun type of red wine. Don't take it to seriously. Maybe it wasn't made to be taken too seriously, who knows. I would also suggest that if you want to get the different flavors I found (as little as they were) that you open the wine 45 minutes prior to drinking it.

    Have a great spring everyone. As a preview of the next review, Mrs. Desert Wine Guy is at the store right now picking me up a white "Jug Wine" for review as a mixer with juice. I thought that would be fun. Till then, take care.

                                                                                                        The Desert Wine Guy