Fiat Vino

A great zin. Bought the Grandmere (French for Grandma) for $13 from The Wine House in LA. Decanted for about 2 hours, perhaps a mistake–the wine was open but lacked the strong fruit I expect from a cali zin. Nevertheless, the wine was well balanced with some fruit flavors, pepper, spicy, nice finish with a bit of heat but not overpowering. Paired well with pulled pork and BBQ fixins. How can you not love Grandma! Renwood has a cool history. Chek it out HERE .

Nice fruit driven Pinot. Won't offend anyone but won't WOW anyone either. It was paired perfectly with that relaxing moment after putting the kids to bed. Available everywhere. Not a steal at $18, but you could do much worse.

A 2003 Cali Cab rated at 93pts for $18 sounded to good to be true...and it was. A very good wine but no steal for for the price and rated too high IMO. Time has mellowed this wine: not a lot of fruit but a well-integrated full-bodied Cab with mellow tannins and a relatively short finish. Had it with bacon-wrapped beef filet, baked sweet potatoes, and a side salad. Meat & potatoes need a Cab, right?

I'm really digging Beaujolais. This is from Louis Jadot which is a mega Burgundy producer. The Moulin-A-Vent cru wines supposedly have more body and substance than other Beaujolais crus. This has bright, fresh cherry, strawberry. Sweet flavors but a dry wine. Ruby color. Medium bodied. Subtle chalky, earth tones. Pinot-esqe (but 100% Gamey grapes). 2009 is supposed to be a great Beaujolais vintage. I haven't had other vintages that I remember but I've had several from 2009 and they are all awesome, this one included. At $16, this is serious bang for your buck.