Pine & Post Cab 2007

Pine & Post Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
I stopped by to purchase a bottle of something for the weekend. I had posted the wine list for the Vineyard’s Saturday’s tasting and saw that Pine & Post was being featured. John pointed out the Cab cost $8.99 and that fits my budget. I can’t say I’ve had many Washington Cabs so it was worth a try. I liked it and Mrs. Dan liked it. Now it’s barely a cab at 75% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It was a nice way to end the week. I let it decant for a while and the taste changed a little. The fruit forward taste lingers into a long smooth finish with some nice tannins. No abrupt changes in the taste. I was trying to determine the aroma before reading the tasting notes. Couldn’t quite hit it but the notes says “hint of cedar.” Hmm. I think that does describe it. Not that it makes it smell like my sock drawer where there’s a cedar shaving freshener. Something different from what that I’m used to.

Nice balance of fruit forward taste and dry finish. The tasting notes say ” A full mouthfeel is complimented with developed blueberry and leather notes. Lingering fruit and coffee gives way to balanced tannins on the finish.” Definitely a full bodied wine. Not sure about the blueberry but the leather is a possibility. The fruit does linger. Not sure about the coffee.

I noticed the cork wasn’t really cork. It had a “Diam2″ logon on it. I went to their website and this is a composite closure made to have neutral effects on wine. I had seen this type before but had never noticed the logo. I would imagine with all the wines out there is only so many cork trees. I might to look at this some more.

I look forward to tasting it again at the Vineyard’s Saturday tasting. Anyway, P&P Cab. I give it three corks

From: Washington State
Winery: Pine & Post
Cost: $8.99
Year: 2007
Stopper: {WEB 2}Diam2 Closure

1 Cork: Drink it on April 14th while finishing your tastes to prep yourself for an even worse taste
2 Corks: Drink it on April 15th after determining you only owe one arm
3 Corks: Drink it on April 16th to celebrate getting a refund.

Red Guitar Old Vine Tempranillo Garnacha 2006
It was a movie day. One of those days where you sit around the house piddling with stuff and watching a movie… sorta of. I kept driving Mrs. Dan crazy asking her what just happened when she wasn’t piddling and she drove me crazy doing the same thing when she was piddling. We did manage to construct one of those business desks in a box. Office Depot managed to give me a $250 desk instead of the $129 hutch I bought when the stock clerk misread the part number. I real bargain for $129. It was a much nicer desk that the one we bought. But I’m too much of a Boy Scout. I had to stop my piddling and head back to exchange it for what we actually bought.

To celebrate the new desk and Mrs. Dan’s parents coming over for dinner we opened the Red Guitar I bought some time ago.

They all like it. It’s different but that would be the case for folks who almost never have wines outside Napa/Sonoma/Australia. Tempranillo is a distinct grape. Add the Garnache and I find a higher acid that balances the nice fruit. The acidity seems to have settled down a bit as the bottle aired for about 10 minutes. A nice fruit aroma that’s smells sweeter than it tastes. I couldn’t tell you what it smells like because I’m on Day 5 of a cold I got from Mr. Ben. Maybe I could determine that if I buy it again sometime.

We are making Turkey Hmmmm tonight. If you’ve followed my posts Hmmmm is anything that is thrown together with what’s on hand. It doesn’t have a name other than the main ingredient followed by Hmmmm. The Hmmmm is pronounced as if you were asking a question.

This wine most definitely gets influenced by what you eat. Was nice with the Wheat Thins Garden Valley Veggie Toasted Chips. It was good with the Kirby Chip Dip. It’s a secret family recipe from Mrs. Dan’s Mom’s Family. All I can say it has cream cheese, sour cream, onion and horseradish flavors to it. Very yummy but to divulge the recipe, which I have been entrusted, would result in divorce proceedings.

Okay, I just tried the Turkey Hmmmm. It tastes like Tuna Hmmmm. Then I saw that Mrs. Dan had used a box of Tuna Helper with the turkey and a box of frozen broccoli. Tastes good, but tastes like tuna.

Darn. The bottle just ran out. I got a bottle of Cranberry Wine for Christmas (2 bottles actually) from Aunt Carol that’s in the fridge. I’ve been meaning try it with some turkey so I’ll open that. But that’s another review.

So, with four adults I didn’t have a chance to really study its nuances. I would like to have let the Red Guitar sit around awhile to see if letting it breathe would improve it. A good excuse to buy another. Maybe I will have shake this cold by then.
From: Navarra, Spain
Winery: Bogegas Ada
Year: 2006
Cost: Under $10
Stopper: Cork

Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Put it out on the drink table at a party and claim someone else brought it
2 Corks: It will get you through a meal and that’s about it.
3 Corks: Make up excuses that you need another bottle to further study.

Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
This was on sale so I thought I would revisit it. I bought the 2007 vintage back in July and liked it. I’m glad I did. This is a nice wine for the price. The first taste is very oaky. But later the oak isn’t as noticeable. Very strong fruit presence. I have to wonder if this under $10 wine would cellar. When I tried their Pinot Noir I was very disappointed. I’m glad the 2008 vintage is just as good as the 2007. I still haven’t been able to find the Carmenere shown on their website.
This is a “green” wine as Cono Sur is known for it’s “CarbonNeutral®” delivery. This cab is not part of the organic label. There was a little green tag hanging on the neck that said: “Since its conception, Cono Sur Winery has been deeply committed to the development of its environmental polices, believing that high quality wine production can work hand-in-hand with eco friendly practices. The winery has been pioneer of organic wine production in Chile. This quest has driven Cono Sur on its approach to such an important issue as climate change. In order to help prevent the increase in global warming, Cono Sur has taken its environmental performance to a whole new level, by becoming the first winery in the world to obtain CarbonNeutral® delivery status. The CarbonNeutral® delivery status means that CO2 emissions from the shipping of Cono Sur wines have been measured and balanced to net zero through high quality Greenhouse Gas Emission reduction projects.”
I was just going to post this as a Daily Pour but since it’s under $10 I guess I have to rate it and make it a Cheap Bastard pick especially since it was a new vintage. The label says there are “forest fruit aromas” and I think that’s a good way to describe it.
“Blackcurrants, blackberries and black cherries” is the description on the label. Blackberries is a good way to describe the taste. Nice balance, slightly acidic. Strong fruit. A slightly dry but fruity finish. Mrs. Dan said she liked it as she complained about the chewy rotisserie chicken from Publix. I guess it made up for my purchase of he chewy chicken.
I’ve seen this wine in most of the wine shops around. This is a good standalone sipping wine as far as I’m concerned. But what do I know. I’m a cheap bastard.
From: Chile
Winery: Cono Sur
Purchased: Publix
Cost: $7.59
Year: 2008
Stopper: Screw Cap

The original Buena Vista Irish Whiskey and the new Tullamore Dew

Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey

The Daily Pour (or sip in this case): It has been a long day of programming, technical documentation, dinner preparation for a three-year-old and covering a wine dinner. It can be fun covering wine dinners. You meet really nice people enjoying themselves and really nice people who actually put the dinner on. I was really impressed with the staff at the Partridge Inn. From the manager to the servers….excellent!
But the bad part of covering a wine dinner is that you see all this great food and wine being served……water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink…. if you know what I mean. I seldom get to participate in an event because of time. Why have a website if you can’t post what you’ve covered quickly. Donna, of Ninth Street did manage to sneak me a taste of the Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon and the Simi Russian River Chardonnay. Both most excellent. I just wished I had an opportunity to try the fried lobster on a stick. It is well known that if you put meat on a stick, even if the meat is lobster meat, and fry it, men will eat it. It’s in our genes. When I was on RAGBRAI in 2000 and 2003, if you fry it, they will come. They were selling fried meat on a stick on the side of the road just about everywhere. I digress.
I made it home by 8:15 where I was greeted by Mr. Ben who decided that grapes were dingleberries and he wanted dingleberry juice. In this case the dingleberry juice was cranberry juice and he managed to spill it all over him and Mrs. Dan, who was working at the computer. Luckily no keyboard or mouse was harmed in this industrial accident.
But it was straight to the bathtub for Mr. Dingleberry. So, why have a website if you can’t post the event in a timely manner? Giving your son a bath and reading him “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” is one of life’s best pleasures and quite frankly, more important that posting something on a website.
He’s now sound asleep, Mrs. Dan is sound asleep, I’ve posted the photos and copy from the “Evening on the Verandah Wine Dinner” from the Partridge Inn and it’s me time.
While in San Francisco for the Filemaker Developer’s Conference I took a trolley car ride (the cable cars were full of tourists) to Fisherman’s Wharf where I ventured up to near Ghiradelli Square to the Buena Vista Cafe. They claim to be the American Home of Irish Coffee. Back in July 2005, me and Mrs. Dan stopped there while on vacation/business and had some of their Irish Coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker but I could drink me some of those. We bought an Irish Coffee kit, complete with the little official Buena Vista Irish Coffee glasses and a bottle of their custom labeled Irish Whiskey. Shortly thereafter Mrs. Dan was pregnant with Mr. Ben and alas, not able to drink any of the said whiskey. I was on a mission to purchase her a new bottle to replace the one I pretty much drank by myself (over many months you understand).
But times have changed. The clerk in their gift shop said that they had been importing the same green bottled Irish Whiskey blend since 1955 through an importer in Florida (I still have that bottle… it has the instructions for making Irish Coffee on the back). It was blended and bottled in Ireland by Cooley Distillery. For some reason, the clerk said, the importer stopped importing it and they had to switch to Tullamore Dew in November of 2008. The original whiskey was almost clear. This new whiskey is amber colored. Both are very good. I just poured myself a little bit of what’s left of the original and compared it to the Tullamore Dew. The Dew has a much more pronounced finish, leaving a tingle on your tongue. The original is a bit more smooth, with a more refined flavor. Not to say the Tullamore Dew isn’t refined. There is a difference despite what the clerk said. But once in the Irish Coffee only a purist would know the difference and by the second glass wouldn’t care.
I’m sitting here at the kitchen counter with my trusty Mac laptop, enjoying the end of the day with a new friend, Tullamore Dew. Mission accomplished. I got the new bottle home and me and Mrs. Dan enjoyed a taste of it this past weekend. The old green bottle has the instructions but the kit had an extra bit of info…. how to properly prepare the whipped cream that tops the Irish Coffee. It has to be made days in advance and allowed to come of age in the fridge. Days? Hmm. Not now. I’ll just sip it straight.
From: Tullamore, Ireland
Distillery: Tullamore Dew, established in 1829
Purchased: The Buena Vista Cafe, San Francisco
Cost: $More than I can normally can afford (around $28 plus a damn $20 to Delta Airlines by forcing me to check my @#% luggage)
Size: 1L
Notes: Triple distilled using “the finest grain and purest water. It is then patiently aged in specially seasoned oak casks to full develop its distinctive smoothness. The result is a double gold award winning whiskey with well balanced notes of spice, citrus and caramel.” (plus it is imported by a San Francisco Importer who probably won’t dump them down the road)

Just like Guvnah Sanford’s Argentine Tail went south on him, my Argentine Tale goes south on me as well. One great Argentine Wine I had for $2.97 is replaced with a $2.97 stinker. I just realized I had more than four glasses of this stuff trying to finger the taste and aroma. I better stop before I actually drink more of it.
From: Argentina
Winery: Lost Vineyards of the World
Cost: $2.97
Size: 750ml
Year: Who Knows

Score: 1 Cork
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Make sure your hazmat license is up to date before serving
2 Corks: Good enough for a tailgating party at a South Carolina game
3 Corks: Good enough for a wine tasting at your momma’s house

So I opened it before Mrs. Dan came home. It was time to watch the replay of today’s mountain stage up Mont Vendoux. I wanted to get a head start so I could describe how much I like a non-Cab before she distracted me. Plus I wanted to welcome her home with a wine smugness that I had picked a great wine that wasn’t a cab.

My first taste reminding me of a Gahan Wilson cartoon in Playboy (back when I could read such stuff) where the waiter was standing in front of a customer and his face was scrunched all up like a Picasso painting and the customer was saying “I told you the wine was bad.” It was so tart that my nose touched the back of my head. I couldn’t enjoy it. The acidity was way too high. Mrs. Dan came home and took a si[ out of my glass. Her face kinda contorted. “A bit tart wouldn’t you say.” No poop, Sherlock.

I tried another sip to figure out what was wrong with when it I had a moment of déjà vu. A couple of years ago I was sitting in a Chinese restaurant with my buddy Brett. I had a bit too much wasabi on some sushi and took a swing of water to calm it down. Brett had just asked me how my mother was and thought he had asked an uncomfortable question because I got this horrified look on my face. The wasabi hit the gag reflex at the back of my throat about the time the water did. I tried to hold my mouth shut but it just seemed to worsen things. Kinda like restricting the end of a water hose. You can cover a lot of territory that way. Well my water hose of a mouth covered Brett and the wall behind him. The redneck sitting in the next table was a bit put off. I’m not sure if he got sprayed or not. One of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

Mrs. Dan was trying to get a present ready for a birthday party when this tart Pinot Noir hit the back of my throat. A sudden burst of red spray covered the center island of our kitchen. Mrs. Dan was part of the collateral damage. I spent some time cleaning up the little speckles of red on the Target bags and pretty much everything else.

I have now poured the rest of this wine down the drain because I couldn’t risk another eruption. The taste was all acid and alcohol. If there was some fruit in there I don’t know what it tasted like. Maybe Publix is leaving their wines out on a hot loading dock before they put them on the shelf. I was very disappointed after enjoying the Cono Sur Cabernet so much.

Lance Armstrong had a pretty good day pedaling up Mount Vendoux, ensuring that he would be on the podium Sunday to receive third place. I’m just sorry that I was distracted from watching a great ride with cleaning up little speckles of Pinot Noir from around the kitchen.

Yes dear. I will buy Cabernet Sauvignon next time.
From: Chile
Winery: Cono Sur
Cost: $9.49
Stopper: Screw Cap

Score: 1 Cork
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Pour it down the drain before you spray the little white dog.
2 Corks: Accept the fact you paid less than $10 and you get what you paid for.
3 Corks: Rejoice that a great wine can be had for under $10.

Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
I had already tried Red Bicyclette and Cycles Gladiator so I needed to find a new bicycle-themed wine to enjoy while watching VS.’s coverage of the Tour de France. I got caught in one heck of a thunderstorm near Lake Oconee so I stopped at Oconee Cellar to wait it out. This was a good opportunity to look for label with a bicycle and something under $10. I completed by quest with Cono Sur’s Cabernet Sauvignon. This Chilean wine is pretty “green” environmental-wise. The label says “At Cono Sur, we do things the natural way. Everywhere you look you will see bicycles propped up against walls and at the end of rows of vines. The bicycle symbolizes our spirit of innovation, passion commitment and respect for the environment, as well as aour persistence in always finding the latest techniques in the vineyards and winemaking in order to take care of our land.” They also feature the “CarbonNeutral” delivery logo on the label. Their website shows a several label lines including an organic one. This cab is not part of the organic label.

Heck I was sold when I saw the bicycle on the label and the price. The fact the winery is pretty green was icing on the cake…. I’m getting ahead of myself. That’s assuming that this wine is worthy of a $8.99 price tag. And the answer is ….yes. It ranks up there with good cabs from Napa, most costing much, much more. The last cab I wrote about, the Mad Housewife Cab, tastes like grape KoolAid compared to this. I liked Mad Housewife because it would be okay sipping on a hot day slightly chilled. This wine is at the other extreme, not sweet, with very robust dark berry flavors: Blackcurrants, blackberries and black cherries. I would agree with the label and say it has “forest fruit aromas.” Good smooth finish. A nice dark color. Better served with an excellent meal or watching the Tour de France with your feet on coffee table. I don’t recommend watching the 8:30am coverage and drinking wine. Wait until the 8pm replay.

Mrs. Dan liked it and that’s a plus in my book. I need to find where this wine is sold locally. Oconee isn’t exactly like heading out to the local store. But until I do find it I’ll be stopping back in Oconee to see what other Cono Sur wines they might have. The website shows a Carmenere that could be interesting or maybe a Riesling on a hot day. I need to broaden my horizons. There are still 5 stages left in this years Tour de France so I better hurry, this bottle’s almost gone.
From: Chile
Winery: Cono Sur
Purchased: The Oconee Cellar
Cost: $8.99
Year: 2007
Stopper: Screw Cap

Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Moral dilemma: Do you pour it back in the bottle and risk contaminating the landfill or pour it down the sink and endanger the sewer system?
2 Corks: Next time look for something better to enjoy the Tour de France
3 Corks: Raise a glass to Phil Liggett, Paul Scherwin, Craig Hummer and Bobke and watch Lance try for number 8

Cycles Gladiator Merlot

Okay, let me go ahead and jump in the gutter (with apologizes to the Hahn Family). I had to wonder, “what wine goes with dog poop?” The answer: any wine if you’ve just spent hours cleaning it up.

The names are changed to protect the innocent. Mrs. D we’ll call her, decided to vacuum our new living room rug before Mr. Ben had a chance to completely cover it with toys. It being a dark rug, and still being early in the morning, she didn’t notice the present Miss Adobe, the dog, left for us. The spinning front brush of a Hoover sweeper vac makes quite a smelly mess, all the way through to the bag.

Guess who spent about 4 hours disassembling a Hoover upright, disinfecting every inch and then putting it back together (about 4 times since I didn’t quite remember how the parts were on there in the first place). I was amazed it still worked. I even found a nail in the main motor housing that had been forced through by the blade. That took a while to remove.

So, at the of the day I didn’t want to pair a wine with anything except my mouth. Mrs. Dan… er Mrs. D, tackled the carpet so she was in no mood to doing any pairing except maybe her foot with a little white dog’s hind quarters.

I have been preparing this lean mean pedaling machine of a body for this year’s BRAG (Bike Ride Across Georgia). For those of you who don’t know me I’m sure you’re impressed that I would spend a week pedaling my bike across the mountains of North Georgia. For those who do know me can stop laughing since you know the only lean thing about me is my iPhone and the only mean thing is the size of my gut.

I’ve always loved the Cycles Gladiator wines for the classic painting of a nymph floating along with a winged bike. In all my years of cycling I’ve never quite seen anything like a nude blonde hovering over a bike but on RAGBRAI 2000 I did see some things in public that would make the nymph put her clothes back on.

The label’s artwork is from a French advertising poster for a bicycle manufacturer. The label says “The invention of the bicycle ushered in a new spirit of freedom during the late 19th century. The Golden Age of Cycling reached it’s pinnacle in 1895 — that same year French painter G. Massias created one of the great Parisian art posters advertising a fashionable new bicycle: Cycles Gladiator.”

They have a cool website. They also have an amazing cycling jersey from Hincapie Sports featuring the label artwork. But I must keep to my cheap bastard ways and just dream of wearing one.

I digress.

I wanted to prep for BRAG with some cycling-themed labels. BRAG’s two weeks away but after such a “poopy” day this was the closest bottle so it won. BRAG can wait.

I’ve tried some of this label before but didn’t remember much about it. The Merlot is the cheapest of the three common red Gladiators. One of the fancy wine magazines said it was one of the best under $10 Merlots. The Cab is under $10 but is about $2 per bottle more. The Pinot Noir is about $5 more and puts it out of this cheap bastard’s $10 price limit.

Much drier that the Merlots I typically drink. I really enjoyed it wanting to keep a note in my wine diary saying, “drink this because its enjoyable” rather than “it’s Merlot and typically you drink Merlots.” A good fruit taste that isn’t typical of Merlots (at least the cheap ones I buy) Not overly sweet. The soft tannins are are not distracting. The soft finish pleasantly lingered. Enough of the comments. I liked it. Mrs. Dan like it so I think I’ll be pedaling back for more. Maybe next time I’ll splurge for the extra $2 get the Cab.

From: Central Coast, California

Winery: Cycles Winery (Hahn Family Wines)

Purchased: Toast
Cost: $7.99
Size: 750ml
Year: 2006
Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:
1 Cork: Use it to mask the poop smell in the vacuum.
2 Corks: Will do in a pinch when cleaning up a mess.
3 Corks: I think I might treat myself to a second glass.

Gato Negro Cabernet Sauvignon
I stopped by Vineyard Wine Market to try the Fat Tire Amber at their Friday/Saturday tasting. Something caught my eye quickly. The three Gato Negro selections for the wine part of the tasting were all $4.99. That will get a cheap bastard’s attention every time. When I got home I opened the Cabernet Sauvignon for Mrs. Dan. She has a web site going live this weekend and has been pacing like a nervous dad in a delivery room. I had a taste before I left for the Tasters Guild Tasting in North Augusta. My first reaction was it is a bit acidic. When I got home the bottle was pretty much were I had left it, level wise. Either Mrs. Dan didn’t like it or she was busy working. I had another glass and sat to think about if I like it or not. I think letting it breath for a while toned down the acidity.

My first reaction is that this isn’t want I look for in a cab. But then again it’s $4.99 a bottle. The label says it is “medium body with succulent red berry flavors.” Not sure I find any thing succulent. It also says it has soft tannins. I think the tannins are a bit strong actually. I would probably enjoy this better if I ate it with something spicy as the label recommends.

Update: It’s now a day later and it has improved a bit. Hmmmmm. I just finished grilling some chicken breasts marinated in Northern Italian Salad Dressing, with some Montreal Steak seasoning. I think this is a better wine when served with a meal, rather than just sipping. This is a 2008 so maybe a bit of age would improve the tannins. I’m going to give it 3 corks because it’s $4.99. If it were $9.99 I’d reduce it to 2 corks. I’ll have to give the Malbec a try later this week.

Gato Negro's black cat logo on the screw top

From: Central Valle, Chile
Winery: San Pedro
Purchased: Vineyard Wine Market
Cost: $4.99
Year: 2008
Stopper: Screw Cap

Score: 3 Corks.
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: This is that little kid no one picked to be on a team… and you did cause you felt sorry for him and he wound up dropping the ball and costing you the game. Never again.
2 Corks: This is that girl you picked to be your lab partner. She was really cute and smelled really nice but talked about her boyfriend constantly. You could tolerate her for one quarter but not two.
3 Corks: This is the girl you took to the prom and she didn’t have to wear a padded bra.

Bells Oberon
My In-laws like me. On their annual spring break trip to visit the grandson and hopefully see some famous golfers the first full week in April, I was given four, not one, but four 6-packs of Bell’s Oberon. I discovered this wonderful wheat beer on a trip to Mackinac Island to celebrate Dave’s escape from 35 years of teaching 6th graders. He knew how much I liked it. Being a seasonal beer, he said it wasn’t available until March 31st. He was there on the first day and secured my treasure. I felt honored that these 24 bottles were displacing space that could be used to bring more toys for Mr. Ben.
So, imagine my excitement that Bell’s, including Oberon, was coming to Wine World on May 13th ….. this just in, they won’t be there until Friday the 15th. I hope to be the first in line to purchase Oberon on Friday. I might even get around to trying some of the other Bells. But it’s nice to know that I can have my Oberon until the supply is cut off again in October.

UPDATE: I was one of the lucky ones to get by on Friday and get my 6-pack of Oberon. According to Melissa more than half the first stocking of the Bell’s brews are already gone. I was extremely lucky to get my Oberon, which was pretty much gone by the end of the day. I also glad to hear they will be stocking the mini-kegs.

From: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Brewery: Bell’s Brewery