RED WINE TASTING - A GREAT EXPERIENCE

Hello,

Well, the WineSaver Red Wine Tasting on Sunday was a great success.

The eight of us shared some very interesting wines and had a very convivial time. Dorianne cooked up a storm (I did the grilling), and everyone left well-sated.

I want to thank our guests, Steven & Diane, Rob and Leila, and Tom and Kim for participating and giving their opinions and bringing their wines to share.

Here are the wines that we tasted in order:

1. Castle Rock Reserve Pinot Noir 2005 ($15)

2. Penfold's Koonunga Hills Shiraz/Cabernet 2003 ($12)

3. Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($12)

4. Cedar Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 ($20)

5. Solis Merlot Ciello 1998 ($18)

6. Tikal Patriota 2005 ($24)

7. Stonehenge Petit Syrah 2003 ($11)

8. Rancho Sisquoc Cellar Select Meritage 2001 ($23) - winery price

I will pass on the comments and evaluations of the wines during the upcoming week. Note that the tasting notes tend to get a little thin as the evening wears on. Also note that yours truly made a rookie mistake of doing more drinking than dumping, leading to the inevitable state of "wine-induced blurriness" and the diminishing returns that come with such a state. Note that I was at home and did not drive.

To that, I will add my apologies for not being in condition to help much with the evening's end

clean-up, although to my credit, I did assist in the morning with the remainders of the dishes, pots & pans, etc..

Here is the scene the morning after . . .

So I will be going through the tasting notes of the eight of us and bringing you two of the wines each day (or so) for the next four days (or so). It was a very fun and educational evening, as each of us, no matter how well founded in our knowledge of wine met some new wines and discovered more about each other - which is what it is all about.

'Till Next Time,

The WineSaver