Estancia - 2008 - Zinfandel - Paso Robles - Keyes Canyon Ranches

See! I told you I had other Estancia bottles with different junk in the title.

So, right from the go with this one, I knew I'd have a winner. Let's discuss why. First, I'd had other Estancia reds, including a cabernet recently at my fave St. Louis restaurant, Bristol's, which was fabulous. (the cabernet. well, and the restaurant) Anyway, I felt good about it already. Plus, I love Zinfandels. LOVE. (Note -- hang with me on this one. Zinfandels are BIG reds. Not WHITE and NOT pink. K?) And, reason numero tres why I knew I'd have a winner -- the label says Paso Robles. I KNOW I love reds coming from that area. One day, dear reader, I'll know why. Or, I will never know. Who cares? The point is - I love reds from Paso Robles.

So the Estancia winery itself is in Sonoma. But, they have several "ranches" in California where they grow different kinds of grapes. Obviously, these grapes were grown down south in their Keyes Canyon Ranch . The bottle tells me this is a mere 20 miles from the ocean. Important? I guess so. Let's remember that the sauvignon blanc I just reviewed was from their Pinnacles Ranch -- which is also near the same darn ocean, but farther up the coast.

Back to the Zin...I enjoyed this wine. It was full bodied and intense with a satisfyingly long finish. That said, not my favorite Zin. (note to self - review the AMAZING Zin you just tried in Suisun Valley) But, it is darn solid and delivers what you are looking for when you go lookin' for Zin. Get some and try it out. If you disagree, post a note and let me know your thoughts. I'm starting to wonder if I have strange taste or if others find the same things when they try the same wines. I know we all have our own preferences, of course.

By the way, those of you who care about points...this wine got 89 points from the people who seem to know what they are talking about. Pretty good stuff!

Bought locally, on sale, for $9.99.

Estancia 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Monterey County, Pinnacles Ranches

Wow! What a long title for this wine. I wouldn't normally include all that junk but I bought another bottle of Estancia and it has different stuff. Therefore, somehow, I bet it is significant. Ah, look at me...so smart!

Where to begin with this one...? Oh, I know. Have you ever been to the dentist? You know when they clean your teeth and they splash them with the little water gun and then use the mini vac thing to suck all the water out of your mouth? Even sometimes have you close your lips around the mini vac to get every single last molecule of liquid? Perfect! Now you know how this wine makes your mouth feel.

I am a fan of dry wines. Really. Hate the sweet stuff. But, Lord have mercy I thought I might need a tongue transplant after drinking this stuff. I literally even stuck my tongue out at my guests and asked them if it looked "withered and all dried up and crooked." They said, "yes."

I decided to slap the bottle back in the fridge for the night and try again the next day. Perhaps I was dehydrated. Or senile. Or otherwise incapable of seeing the real beauty in this bottle.

Night 2. First sip. No dice. Or saliva.

I can't even comment on flavor because my tongue was unable to detect anything but its need for moisture.

I'll say this. I like this winery a lot. I would try another year, because I also like Sauv Blancs a lot. But, I will not try this exact one again. And neither should you. Unless you love that part at the dentist. Then, this one's for you!!

Bought on sale at $8.99.

Castello di Amorosa Pinot Nero 2008

There is a splendid castle in northern Napa - way up near Calistoga - called Castello di Amorosa. It is beautiful and you can take a tour through it - which is worth the $31 bucks. There is a 30+ minute wine tasting at the end included in that price. My husband and I did this tour while here over the summer (before we moved here) and we sent my parents there last week. They came home with a bottle of this Pinot, which we happily drank last night.

Pinot Nero is the Italian Pinot Noir. The Castle produces Italian style wines, so they follow the naming rules as well. As you may recall, I've been known to like a Pinot Noir and this Nero was no exception.

We opened this bottle after finishing a bottle of cabernet -- which produced some interesting initial tastings by comparison. For example, it tasted a bit sweet. It certainly isn't a sweet wine, but the contrast to the cab made it seem so the first couple of sips.

The wine was delicious -- hearty and smooth. Complimented our grilled steak, sauteed veggies and baked potatoes quite well. Didn't overpower anything. The wine has a hint of smokiness to it. We sampled a wine on our visit which was intensely smoky and I was hoping this was it because we loved it, but it was not. At any rate, it was quite good.

I can't find the pricing list for this particular wine on their website, so I'm not sure what they paid for it but I imagine in the high 20s. The castle doesn't sell their wine outside of the castle, so while I recommend you try this and a couple of others, you have to come here to do so! (FYI- should you visit, I LOVE their Gioia, which is a DRY rose. Fantastic summer wine. They also have a couple of amazing, though very pricey, reserve wines, in particular their Chardonnay and Cabernet)

Five Rivers Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Five Rivers is one of my old standbys. This winery is in Paso Robles, CA - an area I've come to know for producing consistently good cabernets. For the price, this one is hard to beat. It's a pretty good sized cab with lots of vibrant fruit and mouth feel. And velvety smooth, too! You can get a better cab, for sure, but you'd need to punch up into the $20 range most likely.

My family and I drank this as a prelude to our hearty steak dinner last night and all really enjoyed it. We'd finished the bottle before the meal but it would have held up well with the steak.

So, to sum up - this is a low cost winner! Worth a try if you've never had it. I can usually buy it for $10 or a bit less on sale, which is what I got it for this time $7.99.