2008 Frank Family Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve Lewis Vineyard

Tonight John and Liz brought this along to dinner at Oliver-A Bistro in Bordentown, NJ, after acquiring this bottle on a recent trip to the Napa Valley. Although this wine is still relatively young, it sure showed nice, and just needs a bit of time for the oak to integrate in my opinion. With that said however, I do not think that this wine is over-oaked in the least, and it will definitely mellow out to my liking with another 6 months to a year in the bottle, but it surely is close right now! On the nose, this shows some nice crisp pear and nectarine qualities, with hints of caramel and oak. On the palate, this pear and apple really shine through, with hints of pineapple and a great creaminess to it. There are hints of buttery popcorn, which turns a lot of people off, but I don't think that it is offending in the least. One of the beauties of this wine is that it is so identifiable as a wine from Carneros. Upon first sniff, Zelda had a little smirk on her face and a sparkle in her eye, and upon first sip, she said, "That's Carneros." I looked at her in awe like I always do when she gets a wild hair like this, grabbed the bottle out of the ice bucket, and sure enough, this is a Carneros wine. I'e always said that she has a better nose and palate than I do, and once again, she proved this point. Could a guy ever be luckier? I don't think so! Not only is she gorgeous with the most amazing heart and soul, but she shares the same passion for wine that I do! How did we ever get so lucky to find each other so many years ago? The finish on this wine shows some nice acidity, and again this is just a pleaure to drink. Although this wine is drinking now, I would recommend holding these for another 6 months before re-visiting, and when that time comes, I think you'll be really happy with the results. All in all, a joy to drink, and worthy of 91 points. Cheers! -F. Scott.

Turley Release ALERT!

It is definitely that time of year! MAILER SEASON IS HERE!

Here is the latest offer from Turley. For more information, please visit: http://www.turleywine.com/

2008 Dragon Vineyard Zinfandel Howell Mountain 2008 Duarte Zinfandel Contra Costa County 2008 Dusi Vineyard Zinfandel Paso Robles 2008 Grist Vineyard Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley

2008 Juvenile Zinfandel California 2008 Mead Ranch Zinfandel Atlas Peak 2008 Old Vines Zinfandel California 2008 Rattlesnake Ridge Zinfandel Howell Mountain 2008 Turley Estate ZinfandelNapa Valley 2008 Vineyard 101 ZinfandelAlexander Valley 2008 Tofanelli Vineyard Charbono Napa Valley 2008 Rattlesnake Ridge Petite Syrah Howell 2008 Turley Estate Petite Syrah Napa Valley

Kosta Browne Spring 2010 Release ALERT!

Yes, mailer season is in full swing, so for those of you on the Kosta Browne list, keep an eye out on February 1st for the 2008 appelation wines: Sonoma Coast, as well as the Russian River.

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Early reports on these wines souds very promising, and it will be interesting to see how these compare with the 2007's, which for the record, we still have not tried.

Regardless, this is one of the few mailers that I am looking forward to this year, and I'll be sure to pick up a few of each! Cheers! -F. Scott

CoolVines Tasting - Springing Into March

This was the first wine today in the CoolVines - Princeton tasting. On the nose, there was some apricot, melon, pear, and hints of gooseberry. No cat pee on the nose on this New Zealand surprisingly. On the palate, there were some hints of pear and guava, but surprisingly, I couldn't catch a whole lot else on the palate. The acidity was crisp, with a simple finish that was a bit on the tannic side, but what do you expect with such a young wine. All in all, this is an easy drinker, and would be nice on the deck during the summer. Not much complexity only warrant this wine 83 points, but for the money, it has a decent QPR.

This was the second wine today, unfortunately I was not all that impressed. The nose to me was very reminiscent of "Pal" bubble gum(call me crazy), and some hints of pineapple and pear. On the palate, this wine was very drinkable, but not all that complex to warrant a high score. There was some more pear on the palate, with some apricot, and maybe a hint of honey. Very short finish with subtle acidity make this wine a good summer sipper, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it, but for the price, you really cannot go wrong. 80 points.

Even though today's wines weren't of the normal caliber that CoolVines has, they were great price point wine, and good values for those who may not consider themselves connoisseurs. For the money, you really cannot go wring with ether of these wines, and they will both make nice summer sippers. Kudos to Mark and the CoolVines gang. Cheers!

Happy New Year!

From our house to yours, we wish you the best in 2009! Once of my New Years resolutions this year is to keep up with this BLOG more than I have, but the end of the year was a busy year for us, with lots of travels, and lots of Air Force stuff going on. That being said, look for great things in 2009! As the ball has started to drop, we wish you a Happy New Year! Cheers!