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Price: $8.98 @ Gary's Liquors (W. Roxbury)
Recommended by: our curiosity and cheesy advertising at the store
Comments: This wine (pronounced bozo!) is a fun, new California blend of 68% Zinfandel, 21% Syrah, 3% Petite Sirah, 3% Charbono, 2% Lagrein, 1% Valdiguie, 1% Grenache, 1% Tempranillo. (Takes a deep breath.) It had bold cherry and raspberry flavor, with a hint of cranberry and a smooth finish. It is quite comparable to several Spanish reds that we've tried recently. For the price, it is very nice. And it would be great for pizza night!
Rating: 6.5/10
We're back down to Planet Earth after enjoying a few really nice, expensive
wines over the past few weeks. First
of all, Karie had an article published,
so we celebrated with our favorite wine
from our trip to Napa Valley -- Artesa
Reserve Merlot. Then, we traveled to
Philly for the Thanksgiving holiday, where
we enjoyed three great Napa Cabernets --
Franciscan, Robert Mondavi, and Hess
Collection. Yummy! We loved all of the
Cabs, but Hess is still our favorite. Then
we returned to Boston and celebrated
our 5-year anniversary with a bottle of
Mount Veeder Cabernet. Since the
winery is near Hess on Mount Veeder
Road, we were curious to taste the
difference between the two. The Mount
Veeder was amazing, with an interesting
chocolatey, earthy, tobaccoey
flavor, with hints of pencil lead. In fact,
we liked it so much that we bought another 
bottle to save for another year or two. Let's see
if it will last that long! We're going to have to
kick our habit of drinking expensive wines or
else head to law school.
Price: $9.98 @ Gary's Liquors (West Roxbury)
Recommended by: hype sign at Gary's
Comments: We were blown away by this wine. Matua and Villa Maria have been our favorite sauvignon blancs for a while, and we didn't think that anything could compete with them at that price range. This might. In fact, this might win. Drylands (Marlborough, NZ) has a wonderful grassy opening, followed by a bold, citrusy flavor. Rob thinks it has a hint of vanilla, but I think he's full of crap. :) However, we both agree that it's fantastic!
Rating: 8/10
Note: The 2005 vintage of this wine is #3 in Wine Spectator's Great Values of 2006.
Price: $6.99 @ Blanchard's Jamaica Plain
Recommended by: wine seller at Blanchard's
Comments: We don't know Jack about champagnes, but we do know that Jack Bauer probably doesn't drink it. Nevertheless, we've been trying champagnes (sparkling wines, whatever) that are mostly Pinot grapes (Chardonnay, blah), but this Spanish one came highly recommended by the wine seller. It is a blend of different grapes, none of them Chardonnay or Pinot, and it is surprisingly tasty. It's a bit citrusy (lemon/lime/orange), and we would definitely get this again. Plus, the price can't be beat. (Rob wants to try it with sushi -- big surprise there!)
Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $14.99 @ Gary's Liquors (West Roxbury)
Recommended by: our curiosity
Comments: This Chilean blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Carmenère is bone dry. The peppery, tobacco flavor is nice, but we don't know if it's worth $15. If you're going to pay this much, you might as well get a Napa Merlot (or J. Lohr). Wine Spectator gave the 2002 Primus an 89 rating, so we might be full of crap.
Rating: 6/10
Price: $8.49 @ Blanchard's
Recommended by: the price (plus, we want to try more sauvignon blancs from this region)
Comments: We were worried that this Chilean sauvignon blanc would be as unimpressive as Casa Lapostolle's, but we were pleasantly surprised. This wine has a bold grassy and citrusy flavor, with a nice acidity. We had it with Indian food, and it was a perfect match. Considering the price, this is a wine worth trying!
Rating: 6.75/10
Price: $13.99 @ Gary's Liquors, West Roxbury
Recommended by: Artesa's reputation
Comments: We have been big fans of Artesa since our trip to the winery a few months ago. Their merlot is something to worship, and their merlot reserve may be the best red wine we've ever tasted. Artesa's affordable Elements -- a blend of Bordeaux varietals (cabernet sauvignon 51%, merlot 29%, syrah 15%, others 5%) -- does not disappoint. It starts out tasting like a bright, fruity cab but finishes like a smooth merlot. And it only got better as we drank it. (We recommend decanting it for an hour or so before enjoying.) We're not certain that it's as good as Artesa's merlot, but for the price, this one is a real winner. (And if you make a sojourn to Napa Valley, make sure to visit their amazing winery!)
Rating: 7.75/10
Price: $9.99 @ Blanchard's JP
Recommended by: no one -- we just wanted to try a different Merlot.
Comments: This South African merlot is nothing spectacular. It has a fairly mellow flavor, with your expected berry taste. It's smooth with a decent finish. I don't know if we will be running out to get this again, but it was enjoyable.
Ratings: 6/10
Price: $9.99 @ Luke's Liquors
Recommended by: no one -- we've been wanting to try more tempranillos and grenaches, and this one looked good (and had a pretty label!).
Comments: This Spanish old vine tempranillo/grenache has a really deep taste with smoky, berry flavors. It is smooth with a very dry finish. We drank it by itself, but we suspect it would taste better with a nice food pairing. We have enjoyed some Spanish reds a bit better, namely Vina Alarba, Rojo Mojo, and Panarroz Jumilla, but this one is tasty.
Rating: 6.25/10
Price: $11.99 on sale at Luke's Liquors
Recommended by: How much we enjoy Sterling's Merlot.
Comments: Among the Napa Valley sauvignon blancs that we've tried, this one does not rate very highly. It has flavors of tangerine and lemon along with a nice oaky finish. However, it is not very rich in flavor and it has a bit too much acidity to it. We enjoyed this wine, but comparably priced Marlborough sauvignon blancs (like Nobilo, Matua, and Villa Maria) are superior.
Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $8.99 @ Luke's Liquors
Recommended by: reputation of the winery
Comments: This Chilean Cabernet was a bit young, but we let it decant for a few hours; it certainly got better as we drank it. It is a tasty wine, with strong cherry and plum flavors and a nice, oak finish. We did not enjoy it as much as the Casa Lapostolle Cabernet, but we look forward to trying some other Concha y Toro wines!
Rating: 6.75/10
Price: $6.99 at Blanchard's
Recommended by: On sale!
Comments: For the price, this wine is pretty good. It is a bit sweet, but not cloying, with flavors dominated by green apple, lemon, and lime. It is not a complex wine, but its flavors last longer than we expected at this price. Also, it finishes with a steely cleaness that is quite nice.
Rating: 6/10
Price: $8.99 @ Trader Joe's
Recommended by: Loosen's reputation
Comments: This riesling is a really nice everyday German wine. We were surprised by the fruitiness, with hints of pear, lime, and lemon, and a really nice, zippy, sweet finish. For the price, you cannot go wrong; plus, it's really easy to find since it's one of the more popular affordable rieslings.
Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $15.99
Recommended by: Food and Wine magazine?
Comments: This is a special Sauvignon Blanc. From Groth and Hess, we've learned how good Napa Sauvignon Blancs can be, but this may be our favorite so far. The wine has strong flavors of grapefruit and lime with hints of kiwi. The taste is long and delicious, and we look forward to having it again. Right now, it is our favorite Sauvignon Blanc. Its flavor reminds us a bit of Matua, and it may be better (although it also costs a few dollars more).
Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $13.00 @ Blanchard's
Recommended by: Abe, the wine guy
Comments: We were about to pick up another bottle of the Santi Solane ripasso, when Abe, the wine guy recommended that we try this one instead. Thanks, Abe! You da man! This Italian red is delicious in every way that the Santi is, and it might be even better. The black cherry flavor is big, and the taste lingers. We will definitely be getting this one again!
Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $10.99 @ Blanchard's
Recommended by: wine dude at store
Comments: We enjoyed this South African wine, but found ourselves hard pressed to adequately describe it here. So, we went online to see what other people said about it. We quickly found a few reviews, but it turned out that they all said the same thing. EXACTLY the same thing. What a bunch of plagiarists! To show our disgust, we're going to reproduce exactly what they say. This wine is "a delightfully elegant and restrained wine with long flavors of citrus and pear, a bit of mineral and a slightly herbal lemon-butter finish." Well, not exactly. We tasted a bit of pear and it certainly had a mineral element and some butter and spiciness in the finish. But there was little lemon and just a hint of citrus. We also tasted some grassiness. It was a light, enjoyable wine, but we lean toward those in-yer-face New Zealand and Napa Sauvignon Blancs. This wine was different and we enjoyed it. If you find the Matua or Villa Maria overpowering, this one might be just the summer wine for you! (Oh, and some of the profits go towards saving the whales -- just another reason to buy it!)
Rating: 6.5/10
Price: ~$15.00
Recommended by: wine seller at Wine & Spirits in Hingham
Comments: We had this wine a few years ago, and we liked it so much that we bought another bottle and saved it. Tonight, after another chapter of Rob's book has been written, we opened it, wondering whether we would like it as much as we did when we first tried it. We were not disappointed. The wine opens with a burst of cherry and raspberry flavors, along with hints of cinnamon, and the yummy flavor lingers long after you take your initial sip. This is a fantastic, complex wine and our favorite pinot noir to date. It is a bit hard to find, unfortunately. (The photo says syrah -- we could not find a photo of the pinot.)
Rating: 8.5/10
Price: $9.99 @ Trader Joe's
Recommended by: don't remember
Comments: We've had this Marlborough wine several times. We haven't rated it because we like it so much and know we won't forget it. But we'd like to share it with others. Here's the scoop -- buy this wine! It's just as good as Villa Maria (maybe better), but instead of a fierce grassy, lemon flavor it's more of a grapefruit taste. It's particularly great with ... sushi!
Rating: 7.75/10
Price: $13.99 (Downeast Beverage Co., Portland, Maine)
Recommended by: wine chick at Downeast Beverage
Comments: This wine came highly recommended for a California pinot, even though the wine chick preferred Oregon/Washington pinots. It has a nice cherry and cranberry flavor with a tart, peppery finish. We found it decent but not exceptional. We haven't had many pinots, so we don't have much with which to compare it. One site recommended to pair it with an appetizer of pate & smoked salmon, with broiled portobello mushrooms with garlic. Maybe we should try that next time!
Rating: 6.25/10
Price: $7.99 (in Portland, Maine)
Recommended by: wine shop owner who specialized in Spanish wines
Comments: To the crazy, overly friendly wine shop dude in Portland (he even gave us a free bottle), thank you for introducing us to this wine! We don't know anything about grenaches, and very little about Spanish wines in general, but after this one, we want to try more! This is a tasty, tasty wine. Bursting with flavors of black cherry and raspberry, followed by a peppery finish, this wine is a mouthful of happiness. With the price under $10, we want to go out and buy a few more bottles. Now. (But we'll wait till the effects of this 14% alcohol wine wear off a bit.)
Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $8.98 @ Gary's Liquors (W. Roxbury) 
