Our Plonk

Martin’s Safeway 6 for October 2011

Martin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 03:19:44 +0000

Okay – Well overdue – So time to get back on this:

Redemption Zin – 2007 dry Creek Valley – Well, you have to have a Zin and this one works well. A little less in yer face than the 7 deadly zins but a couple of bucks more – From Alexander Valley Vineyards who also produce Sin Zin

3 x cabs (because I am not predictable at all)

2008 Robert Hall – Paso Robles

2009 Ghost Pines – Sooma / Napa / Lake county A Louis M. Martini blended cab. – the do label other varietals and the brand has its own Ghost Pines website

2009 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Springs Cab. Sauv. - I always like to WA and OR a chance and Chateau Ste. Michelle produce a large variety of wines.

Now we get to the last 2 – A Cotes du Rhone, for when you get tired of the heavy handedness and a cheap reliable blend to stop your safeway 6 from crawling too far past $80

2007 E. Guigal - Cotes du Rhone - When you want to be reminded that French wine tastes different and the exchange rate is in our favor

2009 California Red Wine – Menage a Trois A guzzler from Folie a Deux – Open as second bottle of the evening (Or first if you are in alone). A good price wine that is widely available – Turned up as a 2 pack in CostCo the other week.

Anyone have any suggestions for Halloween Wine?

Jade Mountain Cabarnet Sauvignon 2007

Martin — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:04:18 +0000

This is a blended cab featuring grapes from Napa, Sonoma and Lake county

The combined effect is quite a nice cab. Leans toward the old go to Rodney Strong Sonoma County.

Anyway, something worth a try.

Website http://jademountainvineyards.com

I got mine from the canyon market.

Saintsbury, Pinot Noir Carneros 2007

Martin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:53:04 +0000

Thought I would try a more up market pinot. I have had some of the saintsbury wines before and have enjoyed them (they are one of the wineries in the Press Club in San Francisco).

Now I am not the biggest Pinot fan, but this was disappointing. It wasn’t bad in anyway I was just hoping for something a little more exciting.

Anyway, will try another Saintsbury another day.

http://www.saintsbury.com/

Brian’s Safeway 6 for March

Brian — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:39:59 +0000

Right then here it is..the long awaited Safeway 6.

Now i’ve confused myself with whether this is a “6 different ones to buy” ie favourites or “what to put in your 10% 6-Pack this week”. Which will be the same as any other week ‘cos I’m not one for changing my mind. Anyway, as its my section I will comply to making the rules up as I go along. (I also thought I might have got some fancy league table and wine scoring mechanism for each entry but as I obviously didn’t ask Martin for it, I didn’t get it.) Note: There is no particular reason or logic behind the order of the list.

So 6 Different Ones to Buy:
1) Rodney Strong – Cab. (Price varies but generally in the 11-13 bucks range in your 6 pack) Best value in Safeways is my call.

2) Cameron Hughes – Zin. (Excellent value at the moment due to some strange “we’ve got too much stock” pricing. Only $9.98). This is smooth but still has a bit of bite. Good Zin for me; none of this too pepper/spicy/fruity gunge. Buy this now while its still cheap (as of 2/28/10).

3) Sebastiani – Pinot Noir. Fresh in this week (well, fresh into my trolley) and very nice and smooth. Price $10..get it now.

4) Enda Valley – Chardonnay. A nice little white wine for the girls. Actually from my Aussie days i’m partial to a bit of white now and then and this passes the test. Price currently (as I got one this week for my sister) $11. Good price.

5) Alexander Valley – Cab. (Again price varies but is in line with the above at $11-13). Prefer the Rodney Strong but this is certainly a nice one for a change.

6) Ghost Pines – Cab. Yes I know, another Cab but for the sake of putting my 6 choices in and given that I need to go through all my saved “Liquor” receipts from Safeway to see what rubbish i’ve bought over the past, i’m bunging this one in as it is a very nice wine and is also appreciated by Martin .. hence second mortgage price of $15.39

Thats the 6 as of 17-Jan-10, more changes to arrive later when I need to remove all the text as it buggers the web page up.

Happy Supping.
Brian

Dropped from the initial list:
7 Deadly Zins – Zin (obviously). This is mainly for Martin as he his the Zin man but I need to look into these cos i’m not sure I can trust his judgement – and it means me drinking more in the name of science and reviews etc. Must be Martin’s fav as it comes in at the $15 range. He knows how to live it up.

Seghesio – Zinfandel Sonoma County 2007

Brian — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:14:06 +0000

Had this one at Thanksgiving and fine it was – This came in at 93 points on the Wine Spectator scale and this month made number 10 on their Top 100 for 2008.

This is remarkable value at less than 20 bucks – $18.99 at BevMo and is flying out the door like hot cakes.

Described as “…a complex, seductive, pepper- and berry-laced Zinfandel” it was well worth it.

Seghesio

Chateau St. Jean, Merlot, Cal/Napa, 2004

Brian — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:02:10 +0000

What do you get when you cross a stingy git from Stockport and a wine shopping experience. Answer: Who knows! As it happens I have to give Glyn the benefit of this one as he found it and i’ve had a few bottles since. He did claim/hope that it was a $5 wine but in fact its selling at $8.99. Nevertheless its quite a good, drinkable wine and certainly good value..and thus a good buy. It is smooth and lightish which is better than some merlots which come over as a cross between sangria meets Vimto. ie, fruity. This is none of that rubbish and certainly doesn’t overpower your food… or crisps in Glyn’s case.

Kendall-Jackson, Zin, Cal, 2006-Vintners Reserve

Brian — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:54:17 +0000

Not usually a fan of the larger/commercial wineries but hey it was a bargain-ish. $11 with the usual safeway 6 pack but $16 with real money (which I wouldn’t buy it for). Anyway, to the wine..it was OK actually. Quite smooth and gentle, as opposed to harsh and bitey. Very drinkable. Would put it into the “would drink it again” category but there are better wines out there for the same bish-bosh.

Pezzi King Zinfandel 2005 Sonoma County

Brian — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:26:29 +0000

This is a great Zin. Like the 7 Deadly Zins only more so. It’s available at BevMo(Follow the link to check the availability at your local one)

It’s moderately priced at $15.99 (That’s with the BevMo $2 off)

I first had this at Two for T’s birthday (She was drinking the A-Z Pinot Noir from Washington which was also good but that’s only available via BevMo on Geary, so little chance of me getting over there.) I liked the wine list and pastries at Two so probably good for dessert.

Anyway, I did an around the world shop at BevMo the other day, so the ones I lied I’ll try again and hopefully have some others for the site soon.

Que syrah syrah…

Kathryn — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:57:18 +0000

Just found Jepson on sale in TJ’s over the weekend, $7.99 for their 2005 Syrah! I highly recommend it, a nice fruity (berry) and robust red, perfect for just sitting around with friends, which is what we used it for on … Continue reading →

McManis – Petite Sirah – California 2006

Martin — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:39:56 +0000

This got the GOLD award in the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition – It actually got a “double gold” whatever that means

I have drank several bottles of this and it does vary a little. The first I had was perfect, the last was a little sharp but all had a good boquet (smelt nice) and a pleasant finish (Nice after taste).

Anyway, I only see this at BevMo and it is currently running at $11.99

Wesite is at : http://mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com/