Review: 2011 Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
A fine, if unremarkable, Cab from Rutherford’s Sequoia Grove. This wine features an indistinct fruit medley at its core, plums and blackberries mostly, dancing with modest oak notes and gentle to moderate tannin structure. The finish is dusty and slightly chalky, the tannins finally building up some body to support the wine through to the…
Review: Angry Orchard Cinnful Apple Hard Cider
Any product that tries to pull off the play on words by subbing “cinn” (meaning cinnamon) for “sin” is already off to a bad start, and Angry Orchard’s cinnamon-infused apple cider doesn’t do much to change directions. The light touch of cinnamon on this cider — evident primarily on midpalate as just a dusting of…
Review: Master of Mixes “Chef Inspired” Bloody Mary Mixers
Brunch season is here (isn’t it?), which means it’s Bloody Mary time for millions. Few of us bother to make our own mix when there are plenty of solid, ready-to-go mixes on the shelf. Master of Mixes is a brand that’s been around forever, producing the usual Pina Colada, Margarita, and Bloody Mary mixes to…
Tasting Report: When Sake Met Cheese, 2014
Sake is traditionally thought of as a pairing for Japanese cuisine… but how about cheese? SakeOne put together a little sampler in conjunction with the Marin French Cheese Company (plus friends) — an amazing producer that’s all of 8 miles from my house here in Northern California. We’ve reviewed most of these sakes before, so today…
Review: Ungava Canadian Premium Gin
When thoughts turn to Canada, the mind immediately thinks of its national spirit: Gin. Wait, what? Ungava isn’t just a Canadian gin — made exclusively with handpicked native Canadian botanicals — it’s a bright yellow Canadian gin. Think electric, Galliano-class yellow. Now that’s a unique gin. Inspired by all things in the Great White North, Ungava is…
Review: 2012 Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah from the San Antonio Valley, Arroyo Seco, and Paso Robles AVAs, this inky black wine is simply overflowing with blackberry jam and liquid chocolate. There’s no structure here to speak of. Instead it’s all juicy berries and a quick, lightly-tart finish that serves to lightly cleanse what quickly becomes…
Review: Solbeso No. 1 Fresh Distilled Cacao
First: Solbeso is not a creme de cacao, and it is not a cocoa-flavored anything. Solbeso is a new type of spirit that is distilled directly from cacao fruit, the first and only spirit of its kind (at least that I’m aware of). How does this work? Cacao pods are picked at various South American farms,…
Review: 2014 Nicolas Feuillatte X’Ploration Brut Reserve Champagne
This limited edition bottling of Nicolas Feuillatte’s Brut Reserve is all set for the holidays, available in two, fancy sleeves (the gold one is shown at right; there’s also a black version). It’s a special edition for 2014 (at least the packaging is), but the wine itself is not vintage dated. I’m a fan of…
