The Desert Wine Guy - On The Tempranillo Grape

                                                            

Tempranillo Ready For Harvest

   Today I want to talk about a wine grape that has fast become one of my favorite varietals. Today we will talk about the Tempranillo (temp-rah-NEE-yo) grape. Like most Americans I had never heard of this varietal until I went to South Coast Winery (http://wineresort.com/) in Temecula California where I did a tasting and this varietal was one of the wines included in that tasting. I immediately fell in love with the varietal as I noticed that this wine was truly different from the Cabernet Sauvignon that at the time was my favorite and that I was accustomed to drinking. This wine was peppery, had Tannins and was earthy and simply struck me as being a deep oakey red in a way that was unique in comparison to a good Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. There is a great chance that many of you guys might never have heard of this grape but I am here to convince you to at least give this grape a try as I think you will be happy. Bottom line, if you love a big red than this is your wine. For those of you who have access to a place called Total Wine & Spirits (http://www.totalwine.com/) you will find the Tempranillo in the "Other Reds" section. Let's now look a little deeper into the Tempranillo grape and it's history and we will of course start at the beginning since many of us will be learning about this grape for the very first time. By the way I will learn along with you so don't feel to bad.

Tempranillo Vineyard In Washington State

                                                
   The word Tempranillo means "little early one", this is due to the fact that it flowers, buds, and ripens around two weeks earlier that Spain's other popular red grapes. The Tempranillo is a black grape and is one of the most famous and best known of Spain's native grapes, it is also known as the Cabernet Sauvignon of Spain. In Portugal it is even used for fortified wines (Ports). Some of the characteristics this wonderful grape has are it is thick skinned, it's intense ruby red color and violet-blue undertones with weak acidity. The grape makes a medium to full-bodied red wine with full fruit flavor. The grape is also known for it's medium to strong tannin's. The wine is usually aged in Oak for 12-18 months but not always. Tempranillo is also largely used as a blending grape such as Merlot and others. I hate to say it but the Tempranillo grape is also used for "Jug Wine" as a blending grape. The grape also goes by many different names in Spain such as Tinto de Toro, Pinto Madrid, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Ojo de Liebre. When it comes to aging a red wine look no further than the Tempranillo which has the structure to age very well.  As for growing conditions the grape loves the heat but does enjoy cooler nights and is above average when it comes to withstanding cold Spring temperatures. The growing of Tempranillo has spread from Spain to California (where it first arrived in the 1900's probably in the form of seeds) to Oregon, Texas (1998) and Washington State. This spread has been at a very slow rate but if wine reviewers and writers like me keep writing about it hopefully there is a great chance that people will at least give it a try and fall in love with it as I have. I really believe that if given a try, people will be hooked and the popularity (as well as the price unfortunately) will start to climb. For those of you who are looking for a review on this varietal from me I just so happen to have a 2011 Tempranillo from ST AMANTI (http://www.stamantwine.com/About-Us/Winery) winery located in Lodi, California. When I complete that tasting I will do a review on it and post it. Till then folks get out there and try a bottle of Tempranillo and e mail me and let me know what you think.
   If you still want to know more about this varietal check out this pdf  http://iv.ucdavis.edu/files/24363.pdf. It is everything you always wanted to know about this grape....and more.

Tempranillo On The Vine

                                              
                                                                                                                 The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - IG WInery - 2016 Rogue Valley, AVA - Riesling

   Well guys, a couple of weeks ago I did a review of the new IG Winery which is located in Cedar City, Utah and I mentioned a little bit about their 2016 Rouge Valley, AVA, Riesling that my friend recommended I purchase a bottle of. Today we will see if my friend was correct in his judgment / suggestion. Before we begin , I have a confession to make. I am a lover of simple and inexpensive Rieslings such as Chateau Ste Michelle (https://www.ste-michelle.com/) and that is a burden that I guess I and many other lovers of inexpensive Rieslings will have to bear....happily. Inexpensive Rieslings such as Chateau Ste Michelle fit into a very popular segment of semi-sweet to sweet White wines in general. To me a Riesling should be bright and fruity and yes, semi sweet yet not a "sugar bomb", after all it is not a Wine Cooler. Carbonation is not something I want in a wine either unless I am drinking a Champagne. A Riesling should also not be expensive in my opinion, it is a Summer / pool / Barbecue type wine that should not be offensive either in sweetness or price, to anyone. The Chateau Ste http://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/chateau-ste-michelle-2015-riesling-columbia-valley-wa) costs $7 at my local Supermarket and earned a score of 88 points from Wine Enthusiast magazine for their 2015 vintage. Getting back to our review wine, does this review wine meet all or most of that criteria? Read on and you will see. One last item before we move on. For the sake of time, I wont get into too much about the IG Winery other than to say that the owner and winemaker is Doug McCombs who just so happens to live in Las Vegas as well. If you read my last review (https://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-desert-wine-guy-look-at-new-ig.html) which I just wrote on the Winery you will learn a little bit about the winery.

   So, now the wine. Let's start off with the simplest item and that is the closure. The 2016 IG Riesling starts off visually at least, looking good. I thought the label is very clean and professional and the bottle is actually sealed with a Cork and I like that. Summer wine or not it is still real wine and deserves that amount of dignity in my book. Unfortunately for this wine, that is where the good news stops. The wines appearance in the glass was very nearly clear with perhaps the ever so slightest hue of Gold, in other words the visual appearance of the wine is not really impressive at all. The next flaw in the wine was the fact that there was no Bouquet to it. To me as I put my nose to the glass I just simply did not pick up any Bouquet. This was not an isolated instance as I went back to the glass a few times with the same results. O.K. lets talk about the Palette which I guess is the most important thing although all aspects of the wine are responsible for the final impression on your mind as well as Palette and combined helps make the final product in your glass. Upon initial tasting there was a note of Alcohol that I did not really care for. At an Alcohol percentage of 13%, which is not

an unusually high percentage for this varietal, I found this was strange indeed. This Alcohol note also didn't seem to fade right away but if it had it would have been considered a very minor flaw in my book and probably while not overlooked, wouldn't have been of too much note. Moving on with my review of the wine on my Palette, there is Green Apple and Grapefruit that are certainly present and in appropriate amounts, there is however a hint of spice on the finish that I found out of place and rather offensive on the Palette as well as being out of place in the varietal I thought. The spice note caused the wine to display a rather sharp "edge" of sorts in my mouth. Right off I also just find something "flat" or "watery" in general to the wine. I'm not quite sure what it is but there is a little something (once again a flatness) that semi to have dulled the finish.  There is a semi detectable note of Apricot as well that I picked up but it does nothing to support or rescue the wine. As for sweetness or a sugary note on the Palette I have to say that there was some expected sweetness that I picked up rather oddly as almost a tartness on the side of my Tongue. Speaking of the Tongue there is also a feeling that seems as if there was something left on the Tongue after swallowing, almost like that feeling of Tannins left by a Red wine.

   Well guys, that is about all I have to say here about this wine. While the wine is drinkable it is not something that I would recommend to you. At $25 I believe that this Riesling is way over priced for what it is and way over priced for a good Riesling. I think I will Stick with Chateau ste-michelle for a great Riesling and I think you will be happy. As a side note you can buy three (3) bottles of that wine for every one (1) bottle of the IG Riesling and save $3 while you are at it.
   On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine 75 points - " Mediocre: a drinkable wine that may have minor flaws".

                                                                                                                  The Desert Wine Guy
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The Benefits Of Resveratrol - A Follow-up Look At A Powerful Antioxidant

   Today we are going to be taking a little break from wine reviews. Have no worries though as we will still be sticking with the topic of grapes. Today we will be discussing an Antioxidant that is found in the red grape skin although it is also found elsewhere, The Antioxidant that we will be discussing is named Resveratrol. This will actually also be an update of an article that I wrote on the Antioxidant back in December of 2016 (https://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-desert-wine-guy-whats-all-this.html). With all this increased talk today about the supposed health benefits of Resveratrol and how the wine industry has latched onto this supposed benefit and is trying it's best to make it appear that because red grapes have Resveratrol as part of it's DNA that red wine is now the healthiest drink on the planet, I thought this would be a great time to re-visit the topic. So let's go ahead and get right into this then. One thing I want to mention before I move on however is that I would like to point out that throughout this article I will try to stick to the issue at hand which is does Resveratrol and not wine provide any significant benefits to our health. I will try to stay away from the debate of whether wine is healthy or not however at times it cannot be helped and the two issues will in inter joined. You will also see in my closing paragraph that these are indeed two different topics. So, with that said, let's get on with it. The first question we need to answer is what is Resveratrol?

   Resveratrol is an antioxidant. Antioxidants are believed to help the body fight against diseases such as Cancer and Heart Disease by protecting the body against what is known as "free radicals"which damage cells and allows disease to take root inside our bodies. Using antioxidants helps the body in neutralizing and removing these "free radicals". As well as being an Antioxidant, Resveratrol is also what is called a Phytoalexin which is a class of natural antibiotic compounds produced as a part of a plant's defense system against disease. On top of all that, Resveratrol is also a stilbenoid which is a type of natural phenol, and a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants in response to injury or when the plant is under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi. Putting it simply Resveratrol is a compound that helps destroy bad cells in our body and helps our body repair itself as well. Okay now that we know what it is, let's find out where Resveratrol can be found.

   While it is accurate that Resveratrol is found in higher concentration in the skin of the red grapes as well as red wine (with Merlot being the highest in concentration) according to Oregon State University you can also find it in Peanuts (very small amounts) as well as red berries, Dark (dark) Chocolate (the higher the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate, the higher the concentration of antioxidants it will have), Bilberries Cranberries & Blueberries just to name a few. So now that we know what Resveratrol is and where we can find it, lets learn about the latest research on it.

On 2003 Dr. David Sinclair discovered the anti-aging properties of Resveratrol. Since then the topic of Resveratrol has been big news with the wine industry as they use it to promote consumers drinking more red wine and the supplement industry which benefits that industry by selling Resveratrol.  Here is some of the latest research that is available on the subject. A March 6, 2018 report by Medical News Today (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321126.php) reports that according to Dr. Shuai Cao of the Division of Biology at Kansas State University states that Resveratrol "has a good chance of inhibiting all poxviruses." According to an April 2, 2018 article in the San Diego Tribune Dr. Philip Goscienski says (http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ramona-sentinel/news/local-news/sd-cm-ram-wine-and-chocolate-20180207-story.html) that among the health benefits attributed to Resveratrol are reducing inflammation, protecting DNA as an antioxidant, slowing down aging and protecting against cancer. According to an August 14, 2017 article in the Philly Voice (http://www.phillyvoice.com/component-red-wine-has-similar-anti-aging-effects-diet-and-exercise/) a study from The Journals of Gerontology is quoted as saying that the benefits of Resveratrol shares many of the same benefits as a drug prescribed to fight Type 2 diabetes called Metformin.

   An article in Medical Daily (https://www.medicaldaily.com/drinking-red-wine-type-2-diabetes-resveratrol-benefits-heart-health-reducing-417066) which was written on May 8, 2017 The American Heart Association on  May 4, 2017 posted a study (http://newsroom.heart.org/news/can-the-antioxidant-resveratrol-reduce-artery-stiffness-in-diabetics) where researchers found a 300 milligram (mg) per day dose of Resveratrol decreased aortic stiffness by 9 percent in type 2 diabetes patients. All is not well with Resveratrol however as a February 2018 article (https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/grape-expectations-is-red-wine-good-for-your-heart) posted by Harvard Health Publishing (Harvard Medical School shows. The article in part states "Dr. Kenneth Mukamal, a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. All of the research showing that people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol have lower rates of heart disease is observational. Such studies can't prove cause and effect, only associations."

   I will begin this closing paragraph with a study. Here is where I also must blend the two different subjects of wine health and the benefits of Resveratrol together. According to a March 5, 2015 article in Forbes Magazine (https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/03/05/can-a-daily-glass-of-wine-help-prevent-cancer/#27f469e2227a) Daryl Davies PhD who is a professor in the department of Clinical Pharmacy and the Director of the MS program in management of drug development at the USC School of Pharmacy is quoted as saying the following "Antioxidants (Resveratrol) in wine are so low that it’s a joke,” In other words compared with the negative health effects of Alcohol, the amount of Resveratrol you would get in wine is not worth the risk.To me, this sums up the article. Yes, red wine has some health benefits such as Resveratrol BUT (and it is a big but) the fact that you are consuming Alcohol which is not good for you in so many ways the negatives of Alcohol far out way the small benefits. In all actuality since there are so many negatives to Alcohol in general you could say that there are not positives since they get eliminated in the end. I my opinion if you want to take Resveratrol (and I definitely do) then don't use wine as an effective means of doing it. Eat your red grapes, Grape Juice, eat your Blueberries, Bilberries, cranberries, eat the Dark Chocolate (in moderate amounts) and REAL peanut Butter without High Fructose Corn Syrup. Here is another very interesting item to take note of. According to a study done by The US Library of Medicine National Institute of Health (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13129286) "......after 18 min of heating at 190 degrees C, between 17 and 46% of the resveratrol had degraded in the various Vaccinium species." Without getting into a discussion on the matter, raw foods are healthier than cooked or processed foods. Eating the fruits themselves also provides your body a great source of other antioxidants, dietary fiber, vitamins C and K and manganese.

Before saying goodbye, I want to remind you that there are two different subjects that seem to at times be meshed together as one in the conversation over Resveratrol. The first discussion should be about the benefits (if any) of resveratrol and the second should be the health benefits (if any) of red wine. Perhaps this meshing of the two (2) topics shows the power of the Alcohol or wine industry I am not sure. As I stated already, Resveratrol is available in more places than red wine. One other interesting thing that I found while researching this wine is that it is almost impossible to find the amounts of resveratrol used in studies or the amount of Resveratrol that a glass (or a bottle) of red wine contains. Call me paranoid but I do not believe that is done by accident. There was only one (1) article (https://www.worldhealth.net/news/resveratrol-diabetes-arteries-stiffness-cardiovasc/) that I could find that actually posted amounts of Resveratrol used in a study. That article went on to conclude in part "..... a subgroup of 23 patients with particularly high arterial stiffness saw a 9% decrease with the 300 mg dose and a 4.8% decrease with the 100 mg dose.". In my opinion Resveratrol has shown it's benefits without question and I am a believer. I have started taking 300 MG of Resveratrol a day and perhaps you might want to as well.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a Doctor and am not giving anyone any medical advice with this article. I suggest if you wish to know if Resveratrol is safe for you that you go see your Doctor before taking it.

                                                                                                                  The Desert Wine Guy

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Pacific Crest Wine Co. 2015 Centennial Trail Chardonnay

   So the other day I was relaxing around the house waiting for my Tempranilo vines to arrive in the mail when I received an E-Mail from Mr. Mark Feinberg who is the Senior Account Executive for Balzac Communications & Marketing (http://balzac.com/) located in Napa California inquiring as to whether I was interested in sampling (without charge) three of the wines from two of the wine accounts they represent which are Oregon Trails Wine Co which is located in the Willamette Valley Oregon & the Pacific Crest Wine Company which is located in the Columbia Valley in Washington State. I told him that I would be delighted to and a few days later I received a box in the mail containing three wines, one of which is our review wine the Pacific Crest Wine Co. 2015 Centennial Trail Chardonnay (https://pacificcrestwineco.com/wine-info/). So today happens to be a beautiful day here in the Las Vegas Valley and all my work is done is the Vineyard (yeah right) so I brought my Laptop outside by the pool along with some music (70's & 80's only) and of course the wine and here we are. Let's start off this review with the following information. This wine is 100% Chardonnay and comes in at 14.8% Alcohol, it is also kept for four (4) months in French Oak as well. The Winemaker for this wine is winemaker Linda Trotta and the wine retails for $16.99. Let's now dig into this wine and see what I think about it.

Winemaker Linda Trotta

   The first thing I can tell you is that this wine is sealed with a Cork and not a Screw Cap, that in itself earned this wine points in my book right off the bat. The graphics on the bottle itself were designed really nicely and with thought. The wine inside was presented nicely as I liked the semi see through bottle that contained it.
   Moving to the nose of this wine I will tell you that the minute the wine was opened I was able to pick up it's Bouquet as the bottle sat on the counter waiting for me to get a glass. Notes of Peach, Nectarine and floral notes announced themselves immediately and I actually was confused as to whether it was the Peaches that were in the tray in front of me on the Kitchen counter or whether it was actually the wine. Taking the wine outside settled that confusion as there were no peaches outside, it really was the wine, nice.
   Let's talk for a minute about how the wine presented itself in my glass. I was immediately impressed by the medium Golden in color liquid that was sat my glass. The Sun was out and shined brightly on the wine and it sparkled and enticed me to try it right now. As you can probably imagine I am dying to taste this wine anyway so I gave in and did indeed take a sip, hopefully it will not disappoint. Ar this point, judging solely by the wonderful Bouquet and the incredible appearance of the wine in my glass, I am anticipating a super nice wine. let's find out if my hopes do indeed become a reality.

   Moving to the Palette now I will tell you first off that this wine does indeed have slight Barrel Tannins (or Polyphenols) that are actually rather nice (I love Tannins) and that you will notice. These Barrel Tannins really become an integral part of the wine and your tasting experience of it without being anywhere near the point of approaching dominance or being overpowering, they simply present what comes across as acidity. I will tell you that there is Apple (or Malic Acid) note on the Palette but that would be an understatement. I am talking about an Apple (Malic Acid) that brings a sort of semi brightness and slight tanginess to the wine and also presents itself nicely as does the other notes present such as medium Lemon that sat at an absolutely perfect level and because of that there certainly is no puckering of the mouth nor anything even close going on. Yes, there is indeed a tropical semi-tartness to the wine but once again nothing in the way of offensiveness only pure brightness and liveliness which I thought was outstanding. Let's discuss the note of creaminess that the varietal is sometimes known for. I would not say that this Chardonnay is "creamy" as it really brings with it that sense of zest in the form of Lemon that really tries it's best to exclude or eliminate any creaminess. Guys, let me stop for a second and tell you right now that it is hard for me to continue this review as all I want to do is sit back and enjoy this wine. I will not allow myself to do that however because I want...no need to go on and tell you what you are missing out on. As the varietal is known for as well, there is a note of  Limestone here that brings a moderate mineral quality to the wine that is simply outstanding and yeah, I said outstanding folks.There is also plenty of fruit on the palette as well. As on the nose there are tropical notes of Peach and Nectarine although these notes are not overpowering they begin on the front palette and last through the finish rather nicely. I know that you are wondering now whether or not this is a fruit forward White, have no worries, it is not. The fruit is more on the moderate side and very enjoyable without being overpowering. As I previously mentioned, the wine is aged in French Oak for 4 months yet again no worries as this is not an overly oaked (Malolactic Fermentation) type wine by any means.  For those of you who are tired of the overly oaked interpretation of this varietal you have found your Chardonnay. Before leaving the discussion of the Oak however, I will tell you that the French Oak is noticeable and if you are completely turned off by an Oaked Chardonnay I would recommend that you look for another wine as you will certainly taste the Oak. Having said that I want to let you know that there is some nice White Pepper on the Palette which actually flatters the fruitier side of this wine and keeps it in check. This wine is not done folks, there is more to it and I am enjoying this wine tremendously. The wine has note of fairly decent minerality and semi racy acidity that it gladly places on display for the taster to enjoy. Let me say as well that this is somewhat a combination of warm weather and cool weather Chardonnay, sort of a best of both worlds actually. Perhaps it would be better explained as a blending of Old World and New World together. One thing to mention is that the wine is lacking a buttery note that the varietal is known for however there is a slightly oily note that can be mistaken for it. Once again as with all the other notes, this particular one does not attempt to overpower or cover any of the other notes and each note is expressed fully, allowing for a full bodied and somewhat complex white wine. Well, it is time to wrap this review up so let's move on and do just that.

Washington State AVA's

   In my opinion the wine has a lot to offer for loves of the varietal grown in hot as well as cooler climates. Although this particular wine is grown in a hot region it exhibits the characteristics of both and I am loving it, I couldn't ask for more in a Chardonnay. Folks I am super upset that I only have 1 bottle because I easily could have enjoyed another. The wine is that incredible. I have one last thing to say before I give my rating. I have had many people send me free wine and I have bombed a lot of free wine. I say this because I do not want you, the reader to think that I am giving this wine rave reviews simply because I was given it for free. This wine is outstanding because the winemaker did a great job with great grapes, that is it. Mrs. Trotta my hat is off to you. Having said that I give this wine 93 points and it earned every point.
                                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy
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The Desert Wine Guy - 2011 Estate Bottled, Lava Cap Zinfandel

2011 Lava Cap Estate Bottled Zinfandel

  Hello everyone. Today I would like to begin this review by letting you know that there is a new edition to The Desert Wine Guy family. I would like you guys to meet Max, he is an 11 week old German Shepherd puppy. Max will be guarding the Vineyards in the future when he gets older and hopefully not eating the grapes along the way. Max also has everything to do with how I came across the wine that I am reviewing. You see about three weeks ago we took a 9 hour drive to Oroville California to pick up Max from the breeder and had the delight of passing through some of the most beautiful country side along the way.  We made the long trip up and spent that night in nice hotel room in Paradise California. While I had heard that there were wineries in the general area I had promised Mrs. Desert Wine Girl that we were only going up to get Max because she was concerned about getting back home so the kids would be able to get sleep for school (I know huh) for school so we did not have time to stop at any of them. On the way back we stopped at a Gas Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and while the family was using the rest room I started wondering if this place sold any wines made in the area. Well, guess what I found while I was looking around? Yep, a few bottles of our review wine, the 2011 Estate Bottled, Lava Cap Zinfandel. Here was now my opportunity to try one of those wines and keep my promise at the same time. The price of the wine was $18.45 and so I bought a bottle and we headed home. Almost as soon as we got in the car a little voice in my head told me to get at least two bottles. I even told Mrs. Desert Wine Girl "watch, the wine will be great and I won't be able to find it anywhere". Here is a spoiler alert, I was right on both counts. I just figured we had spent enough money on the trip and that one bottle would simply have to do. So we get home and a couple of days later I open this wine to review it and after about 10 minutes tasting it I immediately knew that I was going to need to buy more of this wine. I later punched it up in a search engine and found that it is no longer available.....anywhere...except for a little Gas Station 9 hours away. I started kicking myself for not buying the last two bottles. Well, it's too late now i'll just have to move on so let's now learn a little about the Vineyard.

Max - The Vineyard Protector

  The Lava Cap Winery ( http://www.lavacap.com/) is located in Placerville California high in the Sierra Nevada foothills which to my surprise is also an American Viticultural Area (AVA). The lava Cap (named for the volcanic debris flow) Winery is located along what is called the Apple Hill Wine Trail (http://applehill.com/wineries/) and includes 7 wineries. It is my understanding that the Lava Cap Winery is very dog friendly as well. Who knows Max might even visit one day. The winery was founded by the Husband and Wife team of David & Jeanne Jones. Although David unfortunately passed away in 2008 the winery is still in the Jones family with Charlie & Noreen Jones at the Helm. Vines were first planted in 1981 while the winery itself opened in 1986. Today the estate vineyards are comprised of 60 acres of vines and over 11 different wine-grape varietals. The property sits at an elevation of 2,400 to 2,800 feet above sea level. Now that we have learned a little about the Vineyard, lets get into the heart of this review and see what the wine is all about.

Jones Family

 

  On the pour the wine was rather light in color to the eye, almost like a Cherry soft drink only not thick with nasty High Fructose Corn Syrup. The wine also sat in the glass the same way as well, very light Red in color. Now, I have had many great Zins in the past that showed in the glass the same way this wine is and so the color did not put me off in the least bit as these wines ended up being really great wines in the end. I was rather excited to taste this wine and I hoped that this would be one that I would enjoy as well. As is customery with the varietal, this wine came in at fairly high Alcohol level of 14.9%. Let's move ahead now and talk about the Bouquet and what I thought of it.
  Bringing the wine to my nose I picked up the moderate sense of Black Pepper as there should be in this varietal. There was also a pretty decent note of Cocoa as well as a nice light note of Raspberries that were on the end of the Bouquet. There was also a small note of Oak mid Palette but nothing to dominate the other notes as this is not an oakey style wine. So.....now on to the tasting of this gas station bought wine.

  Moving onto the Palette and how this wine came across, or presented itself to me. I must say right off the bat that having already tasted this wine I will jump forward for a moment and lead off this section with the following three words....."oh my gosh". Going backwards now I will tell you that Black Pepper is certainly the first thing that you will taste when drinking this wine. As on the nose however, don't worry because on one hand this Black pepper is not overpowering but on the other hand it is on the front Palette and is ultimately super pleasant. This is a Zinfandel for people who like varietals such as the Tempranillo & Syrah. There are also semi soft yet distinctly noticeable Tannins that are just perfect and the wine is certainly ready to drink in that aspect. Following up on these Tannins I will tell you that they are are actually at a level that they are neither too soft nor too heavy nor are they overdone. What a super clean, polished wine and also one that is not overly soft rither. Moving on now to other notes let's talk about Blackberry. A deep Blackberry is picked up on the

Lava Cap Vineyards

Tongue and again is not domination as it is in some wines. Along with the Blackberry comes a rich Black Cherry fruit that comes across rather dark and deep. As I previously said, while the Oak is not dominating this wine that is not to say that it doesn't impact the Palette because it really does. There is a sort of warmth that comes from this Oak as the wine did sit in American and French oak barrels for 20 months and could not help but be noticed. There is also a nice semi dark note of Tobacco that I really enjoyed and found to not be overpowering but again just powerful enough to make an impact. Topping this wine off is ripe Jammy notes that express themselves on the palette in the form of a slighty fruity (jammy) but not offensive sugar note and that also seems to help in developing a contrast between the Tobacco and mellowing out of the Black pepper and oak as the notes come across the palette. It is now time guys to place a wrap on this review and give you some last thoughts as well as my rating of this wine so let's go ahead and do just that.
  Well......here we are wrapping this review up. Can a simple gas station bought wine excel in the taste and quality department? I don't know about these places sell some questionable wines (Yellow Tail) as a general rule of thimb but in my humble opinion this particular wine absouletely was an exception to that rule. I give the winemaker big props for putting this wine together. This wine was well thought out and it is apparent that a lot of knowledge and effort was put into the growing of the grapes and the making of this wine. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I happily give this wine 91 points.

Lava Cap Tasting Room

P.S - Before leaving I feel that I need to point two items of interest out. The first thing is I need to issue a word to the wise here. This is a powerful wine in the sense of Alcohol content and it really hit me hard. I ate a decent Lunch yet about 3/4 of the way through the bottle I had a fairly decent "buzz" and had to finish this review prior to finishing the bottle as I usually do.Point number two is that I contacted the Lava Cap winery on February 25th and requested assistance from them in purchasing some more of this wine. As of  the publishing (March 7th) of this article I have not had any response at all from the winery. This is a large strike in the area of Customer Service as far as I am concerned.
 
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The Desert Wine Guy - Santiago Station - Non-Vintage - Sauvignon Blanc

   $4.99, What a way to begin a review huh? Well that is what I chose to use as the lead for this article and when you get done reading this review you will see why. $4.99 is also how much (or little) this wine costs at a big box Liquor retailer. While I did go there specifically looking for a Sauvignon Blanc, I had no intentions of, let alone coming across this low priced wine and actually buying it. Well anyway,  So here is how it happened. I actually succeeded on my original mission and did end up buying a Sauvignon Blanc that ran around $20 but as I was walking to the register I came across wines lined up in the main walkway and ya see, there was this wine. This particular wine was a Sauvignon Blanc as well only it cost $4.99 and well.....how could I resist? So here we are reviewing that particular $4.99 which is the non-vintage Santiago Station Sauvignon Blanc from the "Devils Back" (Central Valley) in Chile, the wine comes in at %12.5 Alcohol. What can you and I expect from a wine that is less than $5 and from a place named Devils Back as well? Read on and you will find out.

   Lets start with the closure of this very inexpensive wine. Most of us will not be surprised to find that we are talking about a screw cap and you all know my feelings on that. In the case of a wine at this price point I can find it in my Heart to excuse that. Upon opening the wine and bringing it to my nose I wasn't surprised to find that the Bouquet was just as packed as some of the same varietal that cost a lot more. On the opening of the wine there was some rather nice Pear that brought to mind the soon to come Summer season and the words pool, pool, pool was screaming in my mind. Next up was Green Apple which came just as quickly to my nose and continued thoughts of the pool combined with thoughts of the Summer Sun were still again in my mind. I actually started to think about going to purchase a Bathing Suite now. A very tropical Bouquet was being presented here indeed and I was liking it. Topping off these two different fruits was a little Lemon Grass on the nose that also peaked its way through. There is the thought of both Peach and Nectarine when breathing in the wines Bouquet and there is a debate in my mind as to whether both are actually present on the nose or not. Whether the two are actually present or not is neither here nor there because I believe that you also will have your debate I have no doubt. Either way the Bouquet was nice but none of the notes were strong enough to actually dominate one over the other but were present enough to enjoy them all. In closing out this paragraph I will for a second expound upon the fact that I have spent a lot more money on wines of this varietal as well as others (reds as well) that exhibited less of a Bouquet or one on par with this wine. So, after telling you about this rather nice Bouquet, here we go onto the Palette and how this wine presented itself there.

   To me, this is where the wine excels and earns a ton more respect than it's cost might imply. The first thing that I will say is that if you are looking for tons of Acidity in your Sauvignon Blanc, look somewhere else. That is not to say that there is no Acidity at all as there actually is some on the finish but that particular note is not this wines strong point. Having said that I will let you know that the little bit of Acidity that does exist is truly noticeable. Fortunately as well, the little Acidity that does exist is on the finish and helps to add a little bit of complexity to this $4.99 wine. On first tasting this wine there is an incredible Peach note that semi jumps out at you and fills the Palette superbly with bright fruit. This (as I previously said) brings the Summer season and the pool to mind, oh yeah! There is a hint of Pear on the Palette as well that shines it's way through and meshes superbly with the Pear, I couldn't ask for better. So far this $5 wine is impressing me, I hope it will continue. Moving on there is also a grassy note that is completely unexpected in this inexpensive wine. Folks don't get me wrong, this is certainly not a "sharp" Sauvignon Blanc as some of us might be use to but is a "soft" and distinctly fruity one. There also is no "green fruit" to speak of. There is no grapefruit and lime to speak of in this wine so I guess it is not what the Doctor ordered for you hard core Sauvignon Blanc lovers who expect minerality, freshly cut grass, green peppers, or herbs out of the varietal so beware and look perhaps for another wine perhaps from France as this varietal from Chile is more along the softer, less Acidic, less stringent expression of the varietal. This is in all actuality a more simple expression. Now, I said simple right?

Did I also mention that a mild note of Pineapple was displayed on the palette? I didn't? Well, it's here. No, it's not overpowering and it is on the back end as well along with the slight Acidity but it is also blended really well and yes.....I love it. You know guys, I could go on and on but why? Let's face it, in reality this wine won't truly match up to the varietal standards that some of you demand of the Sauvignon Blanc grape. As I said earlier however, it is more along the lines of the varietal that the country of Chile will present. There, I said it. Is it close enough? The answer is both yes and no. Yes it has some of the characteristics of a Sauvignon Blanc and no, it does not have enough of the characteristics of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal. Will this dilemma cause a deduction in the total points from my overall rating? Yes, it will. But, will I in turn add some points due to it's price and enjoy-ability, yes, I will. Is the wine the ever so slightest hair on the sweet side? Let me answer it like this. If a 4 would be perfect in the sweetness category and a 7 would put it over the top in the sweetness category than this wine would be a 5.5. Lets get to the conclusion of my review and see what my final thoughts are. 

   So here we are, my final thoughts on this wine. Did I enjoy this wine? Heck yes, I really did! This is certainly a tropical fruit led wine as really to an extent all Sauvignon Blancs from Chile are but this wine does deviate a substantial amount from the varietal standards and as such that must also reflect in the total score. Putting all the pluses and minuses together however and evaluating all the pros and cons, I give this wine a fairly nice 88 (Very Good Often good value; well recommended) points. I enjoyed the wine. It held enough to the Sauvignon Blanc standards for me to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate it but didn't hold enough to this standards to score it any higher.  There was enough to keep it in that ball park indeed, but not enough to bring it to the 90 point mark, not enough adherence to the varietal to justify the reaching or breaking of the 90 point mark. My final recommendation on this wine is to stock up on it and get ready for the pool and the Summer. In fact, buy more than enough to make it through this Summer and put some away for next Summer, it is $4.99 and it will last. Nice job on creating the wine folks.

   One last thing. What words would I use to describe this wine? Rich, Tropical fruit forward, smooth, citrus fruit, ever so slight Lemon Grass, nice yet light on the finish, acidity, Green Apple,

                      The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2015 Robert Mondavi, "Private Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon.

  Today we are going to be taking a trip to the Napa Valley and discuss a wine from the prestigious Robert Mondavi vineyards which is now owned by Constellation Brands. Today I will be reviewing the 2015 Robert Mondavi, "Private Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon. Let's start off this review by learning that the grapes for this Mondavi Red are grown in the Nothern California Coastal areas and as such are therefore are not subject to the hot days of the Napa Valley. Whether or not that will make a difference in this wine remains to be seen. The grapes also come from different vineyards throughout Northern California. This wine up for review is also a wine which is blended with small amounts of Syrah, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Tannat, and Petit Verdot. That's a heck of lot of different wine varietals if you ask me, why this wine would be blended with so many different varietals is beyond me, perhaps the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes of this vintage or these vineyards were not all that great, I don't know. At an Alcohol level of 13.5% and at a cost of around $8 this of course is also the low end of the Mondavi wine line up. Still with all this being said, none of that means that you or I should not or will will not enjoy the wine so let's dig a little deeper into this wine and find out whats is going with it.

  Let's begin this review at the Bouquet. On the nose this wine is rather impressive with a strong note of Cedar or Cigar Box as it is sometimes described. To me the aroma of Cedar or Cigar Box is an awesome opening for what is supposed to be a serious Red varietal such as that of Cabernet Sauvignon. Following up this note of Cedar or Cigar Box is a deep and rather rich Blackberry that when combined together with the other note continues to give me the impression that this should be a fairly serious wine and one that is well put together. Another note that I believe always goes great with the ones already on display and that is also present here is that of Black liquorice, and boy is that note ever present as that note is not shy here and I am loving it. Let's talk also about the note of Leather, you know that smell of a nice Leather jacket that you break out as the weather begins to cool off in the Fall and you put away when the weather begins to warm up in the Spring. That rustic Leather note is also presented rather well in this Bouquet. Blended in super nicely is also the note of Cocoa that presents itself on the nose rather nicely as well and will indeed make you sit up and take notice. On the end of the nose is an aroma of a sort of candy sweetness. This is the run of what my nose is picking up here in this wine and it is a lot. So far, so good folks. I specifically want to draw your attention to the Bouquet of this wine because the wine is certainly demanding that we pay attention to what it is appearing to promise us. The Bouquet is presenting this wine as a powerhouse of a wine but whether the rest of the wine supports that or not remains to be seen. I am sure you have been fooled once or twice into thinking that because the Bouquet of a wine is great that the rest of the wine is great, we probably all know better now. Let's try the wine on the Palette now and see if it is as presentable as the Bouquet is. Folks before we move on I leave you with a question. Since we are talking about an $8 wine here, should it even have this kind of a Bouquet in the first place?

  Moving to the Palette now I will tell you that this is really and truly a fruit forward wine. but unlike a lot inexpensive and fruit forward wines this particular wine does indeed have something to offer in the way of a little bit of depth or complexity. Now, don't get me wrong because on one hand this is NOT a $50 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon but on the other hand it wasn't designed or priced to be either. First let me state right up front that aside from being a fruit forward wine this wine is also heavy on the sugary or sweet side as well. When first tasting this wine, aside from the Sugar or fruit forwardness, the note of Black berry is the note that will hit you first. The Blackberry is mixed with Molasses which in a large way also adds to the sweet / sugary note. Aside from the Blackberry all is not truly lost because there are some other notes that push the wine forward.......to an extent. Let's talk about Tannins for a moment. Could there be Tannins in an $8 wine? Isn't this particular wine just meant to be drank and for you to then move on? Well....yes and no. Yes, there are Tannins present and they are soft but they are also perfect here in this particular wine. If you love Tannins but do not like the strong Tannins of an Oakey Red that is capable pf being Cellared for years and that still needs time to develop then you surely will love these Tannins. They are just enough to let you know that they are there and to give you some time to enjoy them. There also enough Tannins to tell you that the wine can be around for a least another few years to enjoy as well. Long term aging, defenitely not, but three to five years is a can do here. There is also an astringent note to this wine that is on the Mid-Palette which is perfect because that is where these Tannins are also at their most notable. Moving on now let's discuss the note of Cocoa that is present. This is not a note that I expected to be present folks. I figured that this inexpensive wine was pushing it as it is. The Cocoa reminded me of a baking Cocoa and added another sense of depth to the wine. There was some Black Pepper but just slightly more than a touch and I believe that this was really presented nicely in combination with the Molasses and Tannins. Improving this inexpensive wine is the note of Oak. While I cannot tell you what type of Oak or for how long the wine sat in this Oak. What I can tell you is that the Oak will be noted and enjoyed throughout the entire Palette. Rounding out the palette is a note of leather as well. As you can see now, this wine does indeed have some depth to it and would have been a great wine if not for the over powering and Sugary fruit forwardness that it overloads the Palette with. Let's discuss what that did to this wine and how it ruined it in my opinion.

  So I am sitting here in my Loft and I am in a way but to a very small extent able to appreciate this wine due to some of the notes present, except I find it extremely difficult if not impossible to get over that sweet and over powering fruit forwardness of the wine. Yes, on one hand the wine does have a lot to offer but on the other hand this offering is killed by that fruit forwardness especially when it is combined with the Molasses note. Now, don't get me wrong as I said, there were things to enjoy in the wine and there were enough notes that tried their best to overpower the sweeter notes but in the long run the sweeter, fruit forward notes did overwhelmingly win out. 
  So, it is now about time to wrap it up folks and give you my final feelings on this wine. Would I recommend this wine to anyone? The answer is, that depends. This wine is perfect for the person who loves over the top sweeter reds or someone who loves a fruit forward wine. Now don't get me wrong, you can srill love a Red that is on the fruit forward side (I do) there is nothing wrong with that but this wine is waaaayyy over the top in my book. If however you have a Palette that is developed or sophisticated enough to pick up on the various notes that I mentioned then it is also probably developed enough to categorize this wine into it's rightful place which is in the "not acceptable" book. If this is the case with you then I suggest you (and I)  look elsewhere for an inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon as there are many great ones on the market. 
  On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine 82 points

                                                                                                               The Desert Wine Guy


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The Desert Wine Guy - A Review of The Vegas Valley Winery

   I told ya so. Yeah that's right, I told ya so. Ooops, what happened to your humbleness there Desert Wine Guy? Ahhh sorry foks, let's try this again. For those of you who follow me on my WINE ONLY Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy/) you might remember that in 2015 Las Vegas, Assembly Bill 4 passed through the Nevada Legislature and as of May 25, 2015 counties in Nevada which have a population of 100,00 or greater were now permitted to have wineries. Well fast forward a few years and now Clark County does indeed have it's very first winery. The Vegas Valley Winery (https://vegasvalleywinery.com/) is now open for business. Yesterday (Dec 22) I took a trip to Henderson Nevada to see what the winery was all about and to check out the wines themselves. What I left the winery with was without wine and with mixed feelings so let's move ahead and see what I discovered.

Inside The tasting Room

   To start off here I want to tell you that I am really baffled by what I found at the winery and I think you will be as well. The first problem that I ran into is attempting to find the winery. The winery is located in an area that is dominated by warehouse style buildings.While there are businesses in some of these buildings the entire area is very industrial looking and not some place I would ever think would house a type of business such a Winery. When I attempted to call and get directions to the winery as well as to find out if my children were allowed to be present (they are not, must be 21 or over) my call went to a voice mail which actually went to a different business (Greap Expectations) and wasn't returned until about an hour later. I eventually plugged the address into my car and made my way across town. Pulling into the propertys address which is 7360 Eastgate Rd, Ste 123, Henderson, Nevada 89011, Ste 123 I (finally) found that the winery is locared all the way in the back (getting off the Freeway I thought my GPS messed up) of the above mentioned warehouse buildings and next to another business which is owned by the same people (Grape Expectations). This particular business will actually allow you or a group of people to create your own wine under the supervision of Mike Schoenbaechler (their Winemaker) and allow you to age that wine in barrels in their Warehouse. Both businesses share the same large storage warehouse. Some other issues that I found fairly annoying were that when you go to shop on the website you find that there are no products to purchase. When you click to subscribe to Vegas Valley Winery E-Mail list you are also giving Grape Expectations and not the Vegas Valley Winery permission to E-mail you. To make matters even weirder, the winery also has no wine to sell other than by the glass. The tour that you will be takes about five minutes as there really is nothing to see as they do not grow any grapes at the winery and the actual space dedicated to the winery itself is very tiny, to me it was a waste of five minutes and more an advertisement for their other business.

Wine Barrels Aging

   Okay so now I am in the winery. Keeping it on the 100% folks, I was a little disappointed actually to see just how plain the winery is inside, the place just appeared bare and void. The tasting counter looked bare and there was a small T.V in the right hand corner. If you are expecting to see a winery like Napa or even Arizona I think you will be disappointed as well. I know that you might be having second thoughts about visiting the winery now and I truly don't blame you for thinking this way but there are indeed a few positives to the winery. The first positive is that hopefully this is only the start of wineries themselves coming to Southern Nevada. The second positive is that the wine was really enjoyable. The third positive is that the staff was great. I ended up spending a lot of time talking with Ryan who is one of the pourers as well as a certified Sommelier and an ex Henderson Police officer. Ryan was wonderful and very knowledgeable of the wines he was pouring, it was a pleasure talking with him.

Bonded Area

   Now for the wines themselves. Aside from the employees of the winery I was impressed with the wines themselves. There is a tasting fee of $8 for 5 wines and I enjoyed each one. My favorites were the 2015 Subtle Blond Riesling ($7.50 a glass) made from grapes grown in the Suisun valley. The wine had notes of Peach and other tropical notes. The wine was slight more than what I would call semi-sweet but not overdone in the sugar aspect on the Palette. If you have ever wanted the perfect white for the pool, this is most definitely it. On the Red side was the awesome 2015 Zinfandel ($9.50 a glass) made from grapes grown in the Paso Robles area. What a wine here folks. Fruit forward with notes of Peppercorn, light Black Cherry. I thought the wine was wonderfully jammy but to just the right point before backing off and avoiding being overdone in that department. There is also a 2015 Gamay Rose with grapes from the Suisun Valley

"Professor of Yeastology" & Director of Marketing & Advertising

and selling for $8 a glass that was over the top candy sweet with a note of Jolly Rancher and didn't interest me in the slightest but I could see it going very well at the pool for all you sweet wine lovers. The winery also sells a White named "Whimsical with grapes from the Suisun Valley for $7.50 a glass and is blend of Riesling & Sauvignon Blanc which was really nice as well, I did detect a slight carbonation to it. Finishing up the reds is a 2014 Syrah with grapes from Paso Robles for $9.50 a glass. All the wines with the exception of the Gamay Rose were really enjoyable and if I could I would have bough a few bottles of each but as I previously stated, there are no bottles available for purchase and to make matters worse they don't know when they will have the bottles to sell.There is food available with Pizza ($6.50 - $8.50) and a meat & cheese platter at $15.50.
   Well there you have it guys. There really isn't much more left to say. Overall to me it appears that the Vegas Valley Winery opened prematurely and isn't truly prepared to do business, at least as of yet. It also appears to me that the owners are using the winery and the media attention due to it as a draw for their wine making school in hopes to draw more business for it with perhaps hopes of that business spilling over and therefore becoming able to expound on the upstart winery they currently have. My suggestion is that you stop by for a few glasses of good wine and some conversation with the staff but don't expect much other than that. I don't unfortunately see any reason for customers to be drawn back to the winery. In Las Vegas there are many wine destinations that are much more lively and much more welcoming to the wine lover.
                                                                                                                 The Desert Wine Guy

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