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Winemaker Location: Italy Day 22’s wine is Strut King, an Italian vino rosso or a red wine blend. This a semi-dry, lush with bright red berry, currant and plum flavors, and a tannin structure that is more silky than astringent. It’s a palate pleaser in my view, and very versatile. It pairs great with tomatoContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 22: Strut King Vino Rosso”

Winery Location: PortugalVarietals: Fernão Pires (70%) Branco Arinto (30%) Three days left on the Advent Calendar. Today’s featured wine is El Campeón from Portugal. Portugal has one of the highest numbers of indigenous wine grapes in the world with at least 250 local varietals recorded. El Campeón is a wine blend of two varietals nativeContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 21: El Campeón”

(I absent-mindedly removed the foil before taking this picture) Winery Location: France (Pays d’Oc) For Day 20 we return to the Southern French region of Pays d’Oc to try the Syrah called “Flew the Coup”. When I think of Syrah I think of a bold, uncompromising wine, and this opaque purple beauty with a richContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 20: Flew the Coup Syrah (Pays d’Oc IGP)”

Winery Location: Northern Italy Once again, we have an Italian vino rosato. This one is called “Ring Ring” and unlike the previous vino rosato “Pinky Truce”, it hails from Northern Italy. This wine has aromas of strawberry and cherry which are common in many rose’s and rosatos, the palate is a little heavier than PinkyContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 19: Ring Ring Vino Rosato”

Winery location: La Mancha region, Spain It’s a week before Christmas, and Day 18’s wine, Nightfall is a Spanish Monastrell (aka Mourvedre) that is nice for celebrating the evening with friends. Nightfall is a full-bodied red wine with aromas of black cherry, spice and leather. With such potent aromas you may expect the wine toContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 18: Nightfall Monastrell”

Winery location: Emilia-Romagna region, Italy (DOC) Cat and wine lovers unite! From the Emilia-Romagna region is Day 17’s wine, a Trebbiano from Here Kitty Kitty. This pale greenish-lemon colored wine struck me as light, yet complex in aromas and flavors. The nose buzzes with green apple, melon and damp stone. The liveliness continues on toContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 17: Here Kitty Kitty Trebbiano (DOC)”

Winery location: Western Cape, South Africa For Day 16 we go back to South Africa for this Shiraz from Point Taken. Due to shipping issues, Costco actually shipped two different wines from Point Taken – Bordeaux and Shiraz. We wound up getting the Shiraz, which is good seeing as I haven’t had Shiraz in aContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 16: Point Taken Shiraz”

Winery Location: SpainVarietal: Macabeo Day 15’s wine is a Macabeo from Spain. The Macabeo grape (also known as Viura in Rioja) is usually blended with other grapes to make Cava, so a still wine like Little Ditty featuring Macabeo like is a bit of a rara avis (no pun intended on the label) which myContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 15: Little Ditty Macabeo”

Winery Location: France (Pays d’Oc IGP) Ah, Merlot… This grape has had a bit of a bad rep over the recent years; some folks blame the movie Sideways (aka the “Sideways effect”) or simply overproduction leading to “forgettable” wines. Either way it is unfortunate, for Merlot is a versatile grape. Merlot is often used inContinue reading “Wine Adven-ture Calendar Day 14: The Perfect Match Merlot (IGP)”

Winery Location: Spain Tempranillo is a classic Spanish red grape and it makes a classic wine. If you like a bold, fruity red, Classic Cruise is a solid choice. In the realm of Tempranillos it doesn’t quite stand out from others, but this is an enjoyable red. The deep ruby wine swirls with aromas ofContinue reading “Wine Advent-ure Calendar Day 13: Classic Cruise Tempranillo”