Fiat Vino

A great zin. Bought the Grandmere (French for Grandma) for $13 from The Wine House in LA. Decanted for about 2 hours, perhaps a mistake–the wine was open but lacked the strong fruit I expect from a cali zin. Nevertheless, the wine was well balanced with some fruit flavors, pepper, spicy, nice finish with a bit of heat but not overpowering. Paired well with pulled pork and BBQ fixins. How can you not love Grandma! Renwood has a cool history. Chek it out HERE .

Nice fruit driven Pinot. Won't offend anyone but won't WOW anyone either. It was paired perfectly with that relaxing moment after putting the kids to bed. Available everywhere. Not a steal at $18, but you could do much worse.

A 2003 Cali Cab rated at 93pts for $18 sounded to good to be true...and it was. A very good wine but no steal for for the price and rated too high IMO. Time has mellowed this wine: not a lot of fruit but a well-integrated full-bodied Cab with mellow tannins and a relatively short finish. Had it with bacon-wrapped beef filet, baked sweet potatoes, and a side salad. Meat & potatoes need a Cab, right?

I'm really digging Beaujolais. This is from Louis Jadot which is a mega Burgundy producer. The Moulin-A-Vent cru wines supposedly have more body and substance than other Beaujolais crus. This has bright, fresh cherry, strawberry. Sweet flavors but a dry wine. Ruby color. Medium bodied. Subtle chalky, earth tones. Pinot-esqe (but 100% Gamey grapes). 2009 is supposed to be a great Beaujolais vintage. I haven't had other vintages that I remember but I've had several from 2009 and they are all awesome, this one included. At $16, this is serious bang for your buck.

This juicy Pinot hails from Central Otago in New Zealand, I hope they haven't been hit too bad by the recent earthquake in Christchurch. This was another grab from The Grocery Outlet for about $6. There are tasty jammy fruits of red ripe goodness. There is some oak too. Drink up cowboy.

We pick up this four dollar Rosé at  the Grocery Outlet, marked down from $12 or so. I has almost no oak on at all which allows the fruit and a subtle floral note to come out and play.  This paired well with some Thai food, balancing a little heat and the saltyness well. This was a steal at $4, we should be in detention right now.

This rosé a comes from a Spain and is a border a France, the bodega's been in the family since a 1647. It is 100% Grenache and has a nice drinkable crispness. We paired this with some halibut and it was perfect. We grabbed this at the Grocery Outlet in Oceanside and we should be arrested because it was only $2.99 (though marked down from $25).  I would grab some of this yourself if you see it. Santé!