Francis Coppola - 2013 Black Label Claret Cabernet Sauvignon

I'm not going to lie, I bought this wine because I liked the bottle. What is with the weird net? I didn't know, but I was entranced.

I went into Cork and Barrel to try their Wine of the Week and wasn't impressed, so I moved on and selected this one instead. It had a note on the shelf with one of those wine ratings that it had a smooth finish, so I let that sway my purchase.

The Scotch Man was also excited because it was wine from the director's vineyard. I hadn't ever heard of him, but the Scotch Man explained the whole thing. I was more focused on getting the wine open than listening to him, though.

Sadly, this wine was not what I was hoping for. The Wine of the Week, a 2010 Tolaini Al Passo, was much better as far as scent and finish. The price difference was only five bucks, since the Tolaini was on sale, so I should have just gone with it.

That being said, this wine wasn't terrible. The Scotch Man and I got into a discussion about aerating wine. Since there was a noticeable difference after we let it breathe for a little while, we tried a before and after aeration to see if there was a difference. Surprisingly enough to both of us, there was a noticeable difference! The Scotch Man said it best when he said the aerated wine tasted "softer" somehow. So I am sold on aerating my wines before I drink them now.

Even though the taste of the wine was enhanced by aeration, it sadly did not enhance our spaghetti and meatball dinner at all.

Long Time No Wine

I'm sure what readers I had at one point are long gone, but I wanted to make an attempt to start this blog back up again. I've been drinking wine still, but nothing that inspired me to write. I regret not making notes for some of the bottles, because every bottle comes with a story, even if it's not a profound one, but life is what it is sometimes.

But tonight, the Scotch Man and I were child-less, so we went out to dinner (Italian) and then explored one of our newer wine spots, the City Wine Market. Their selection of wines are always very top shelf and also very interesting. We've bough titles called Book Mark and Fiction in the past, and Lunatic and The Crusher on our outing this evening. It's a little more expensive than my favorite liquor store, Cork and Barrel, but it's fun to branch out a bit. And it's on his side of town.

Soon to be my side. I'm officially moving in with him this summer. A lot has happened since my last blog.

At any rate, we ended up with six bottles at around $120, so not too bad. All the Scotch Man had left on his rack was the bottle of Scotch, so we filled it all up tonight.

When we got home tonight, we decided to try the Orin Swift Palermo Cabernet Sauvignon. The Scotch Man bought it because of the bottle. We tend to buy wine based on name and label design. The wine seller said it was a fantastic choice, and that all of the designs for Orin Swift are like that. It was a little more than I usually spend - $35 - but the Scotch Man purchased it, not me.

We drank it while we watched Seven Psychopaths. Good movie, and good wine. Very full-bodied, dark, with a strong nose and kind of a bitter finish. It was very aromatic when we opened the bottle.

The bottle itself is definitely a keeper, although I'm not sure I'd personally buy this one again. A bit too much for the flavors inside.

Castle Rock - 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

This was one of the bottles that the Scotch Man purchased the night of our exploration of Mass Beverage.

I didn't find this bottle nearly as good as the Zinfandel Luigi gave me for Christmas. It wasn't as mellow, and was really acidic. Of course, I still drank two glasses of it the night we opened it, none the less. 

It was another chill evening, all of us on the couch doing our own thing. The Scotch Man has his son that night, and after he put him to bed, he disappeared into the kitchen. I was engrossed in my book, but then I heard the resounding pop of the cork being removed from the bottle, and looked up with glee. Which he teased me about. We hadn’t had wine in awhile, and we didn’t traditionally drink with the munchkin around, so it was a pleasant surprise. 

Overall this seems to reaffirm that the cab sauv grape is too dry for my taste. I am curious to try some other grapes from Castle Rock, however.

William Hill Estate - 2006 Bench Blend Cabernet Sauvignon

Looks like the bottle is either bleeding or crying

I was so excited about this bottle of wine. It's a really expensive bottle, normally. I got a special deal on it since I'm a member of Cork and Barrel's VIP Wine Club. Normally retailing for $40, I got it for $20. I wanted to save it for a special occasion, but instead I brought it over to share with the Scotch Man after he had a really rough day. I brought him his favorite kind of wine - the Cab Sauv - and dark chocolate, the two things that usually cheer me up when I'm feeling depressed.

However, it turned out to be bitter wine for bitter news.  Neither of my decadent treats managed to cheer The Scotch Man up, although he did manage to drink two glasses to my one before I spilled it.

All over books and his tie. His son's books, and his new, not cheap tie, I might add.

It was not a good day for either of us.

It's really too bad since it was expensive, but it was too dry for my liking, anyway.

As a side note, his dog ended up eating my chocolate. I apparently suck at cheering people up.

Falesco Vitiano 2009 - Umbrian Blend

There's nothing quite like the anticipation of a first date.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I met someone. As a wordsmith, I can usually find the perfect words (or nearly perfect) to describe anything. Words elude me now. This man is amazing. Passionate, patient, kind, funny, creative, and for some reason, he loves me, my strange quirks and all. I feel like the luckiest woman alive, having found him.

But that was over a month ago. In order for us to get to where we are now, happy and in love, we had to survive our first date first.


"What is your favorite kind of wine?" I asked him. Our first date was to be dinner at his house. He would cook, and I would bring the bottle of wine.

"Cabernet Sauvignon," he replied. I had to laugh. The cab sauv had already become my own favorite, only after a couple of months of wine tasting.

"Mine, too."

"Now I know you're just making stuff up so I'll like you."

I ran into my "wine cellar" (which is really just my second bedroom where I keep the door and heating vent closed), took a quick picture of the Vitiano - a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Merlot - and sent it to him.

The day of our first date finally arrived, and we did, in fact, drink the Falesco Vitiano 2009 Umbrian Blend.

It wasn't, however, the best date wine.

I now understand the concept of wine and food pairings better. It didn't go very well with stirfry, and it was too dry to stand on its own. Maybe next time I will have to do as the back label suggested and drink it with pasta or pizza.

It was dark red enough in color, however, that I worried we'd knock it over onto his white carpet every time we adjusted positions on the couch. His coffee table was precariously placed, and towards the end of the night we weren't exactly being mindful of it.

I finished up the Vitiano the same night I polished off the Falernia, and it was slightly more drinkable after half a bottle of the Syrah.

I think I will either stick with straight cabernet sauvignon after that, or possibly research food pairings a little before trying something like this one again.

At least the wine was the only less-than-perfect part of that first date.

He and I have shared some other more delicious bottles of wine since then - wines he picked out based on their funny names. Educated Guess and Sinister Hand, to name a couple. And I am sure we will share many more.

Although if I am completely honest, I think he actually prefers scotch. But I won't hold that against him. Maybe he'll teach me a thing or two about it.