Tasting-Fetzer

Name: Fetzer
Variety:Gewurztraminer
Region: California

Country: U.S.A.

Year: 2014

Price: Regular $12; Sale $8.95

Winery Review: 87 – Wine Enthusiast

A rainy minerality on the nose of this sweet wine manages to cut through the sugared oranges, honeysuckle and ripe, tropical white fleshed fruit, from peach to cherimoya. The palate is full of honeyed apples, white peach and pineapple, but the decent acidity and chalky element stops it short of treacly.

My Review: Fetzer has a nose of ripe cantaloupe and other citrus fruits. The palate was light and sweet like that of confection ate sugar, but also a little bit sour- almost starburst like in the back of the palate.

Food?:  did not pair with food

Tasting-Maipe

Name: Maipe
Variety: Malbec
Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2015

Price: Regular $12; Sale $6.95

Winery Review: "The 2015 Maipe Malbec is another 100% Malbec, with a deep purple color and a style similar to the Lexicon, with chocolaty, blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, as well as touches of licorice and earth. It is delicious, soft and round."

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (March 2016), 87 pts - Excellent Wine Values for Under $25

My Review: Maipe is deep plum and offers a sweet honeysuckle as well as a thick warm honey scent with undertones of blackberry. This wine was full of tannins, exploding blackberry and rhubarb pie.

Food?:  did not pair with food. 

Tasting-Manoir du Carra

Name: Manoir du Carra
Variety: Beaujolais Nouveau; Gamay
Region: Beaujolais

Country: France

Year: 2014

Price: Regular $12; Sale $4.95

Winery Review: A pretty, floral wine, with a rose petal note underscoring the rich pomegranate and sweet plum flavors. The fresh acidity is balanced, and a light spice note lingers on the finish.

My Review: Carrying rose to violet, mauve pigments, Manoir du Carra, had an sharp alcohol smell with under tones of dark fruit, rose, and rosemary. This wine did not have much body and was rather flat and watery. There were some hints of overripe strawberry and it was also had a very tannic aftertaste. 

Food?:  did not pair with food. 

Tasting-Mapreco

Name: Mapreco
Variety: Vinho Verde; Rose
Region: Vinho Verde

Country: Portugal

Year: 2015

Price: Regular $10; Sale $7.95

Winery Review: The cherry color reveals a slightly fizzy wine that is a very fruitful rosé made from the traditional vinho verde white grapes. Adding a splash of red to offer flavors with notes of strawberry, cherry and berries. A delightful twist on the original.

My Review: This wine had a  very light, watery look and feel. There was a strong earthy nose with prominent scents of burning wood and cedar. This wine was very fizzy like club soda and reminded me of carbonated strawberry club soda. There was also a slight burnt taste, similar to that in the nose. It left a filmy coat mouth feel. 
Food?:  did not pair with food. 

Tasting-Mars & Venus

Name: Mars & Venus
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: La Mancha

Country: Spain

Year: 2014

Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortably over-delivers vs. its modest price tag. No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with a hint of caramelized pineapple.  Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties or weeknight sipping.    

My Review: This very pale golden yellow to clear wine has a nose of papaya and hot liquid caramel. The palate had a sour fast similar to that of plain greek yogurt as well as a crab apple pucker. It left a coated mouth feel. 
Food?:  did not pair with food.