AnJoe Lite:Web Designers’ log

We found this wine from our vacation to the wine country past week. Bray Vineyards is one of many wineries closely located to eachother in Sacramento, about 75 miles northeast of San Francisco.  They have great wines under $20 which was a surprise to me. While Napa Valley was charging $20 just to go through the tasting, these guys were offering free wine tasting and great tasting wine under $20.

Their 2004 Sangiovese has become our newest favorite. Sangiovese is the grape that brings Chianti to life. It is the red-wine grape of Tuscany. A bit acidic but when combined with great cheese, the wine takes the taste buds to the next level. The bottle should be fused with air for atleast 20 min or so. Use decanter if you have it but if not, let it get happy a bit after opening the bottle.

This award winning wine from Shenandoah Valley CA takes our pick as wine of the week. We’ve enjoyed it so much that we ordered two additional bottles to be shipped to our hotel to take back home. Unfortunately, they do not ship to Virginia.

If you like this wine, I’d also recommend 2005 Brayzin Hussy Red, blend of Zinfandel and Saniovese. I asked how they came up with the name and they said “A Lot of drinking!”.

Annie and I recently took a trip out to our new neighborhood Harris Teater grocery store in search of wine under $15.  We may agree on most things in life but when it comes to wine, have distinct taste and preferences. During our search, we came across Cellar No 8, 2005 Merlot. It is from Asti Winery in Sonoma Country, named after Asti region in northern Italy.  This winery is unique in a sense that they only produce Red Wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel. 

My First Impression:
The initial scent was strong. Like most Merlot I’ve tasted so far, it had bold acidic scent in the beginning. Deep and rich color.  The taste was entirely different experience for me.  It was very mild and smooth.  Mixing it with oxygen released more flavor and allowed smoother drinking experience.

I’d definately recommend this wine for any one. 

I’ve just started tasting wine about a year ago. It was great change from college mindset of drinking light beers, hard liquors and occasional soju mindlessly. Wine offered culture, artistry and flavor.

 Bogle vineyard wine is one of the first wines we bought and tasted.   I was drawn to mild and smooth taste of Bogle Merlot and it has been my favorite ever since.  I found it complimenting with smoked Gouda cheese.
2005 & 2006 wasn’t as good as 2004.  I found 2005 merlot to be a bit bitter for some reason.  Give it a try and let me know what you think about it. I’d love to hear more readers’ favorite.