2014 Goisot Les Mazelots

I tasted this at Les Marchands and it reminded me of my favorite Αγιωργίτικο, Λαλούδι, so much that I had to buy what they said was their last bottle (@ $45). Having it now with home made fresh pasta and heritage pork ragout. Life does not suck.

2012 Refugio Ranch SGPS

SGPS being Syrah-Grenache-Petit Sirah. We just uncorked this and we're having it with deviled eggs, and it's blowing my mind.

2012 Force of Nature Cab

Municipal Winemakers spring shipment -- Bright Red takes it!

Our Club Awesome shipment from Muni was the '12 Bright Red, '13 Bright White and '13 Pale Pink. We loved them all, but the Bright Red actually had us sorta mumbling with happiness. My last shipment was wasted on folks who didn't appreciate it, and, actually, travelled in a very cold truck bed to get there, so it may have been ruined even before then. So it was nice to get back into a Muni wine that we really loved. This may be the first red we'll buy more of and bank for the next few years. The label says it should be good in the next ~7. We shall see...

Piemonte Barbera Castelvero 2011

An inexpensive Italian red from Lazy Acres, and a win in Dan's book.

2010 Taz Pinot Noir

"For Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara, this is one of my favorites", says Dan. I have to agree.

2009 Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon

On special at Lazy Acres. One of the nicer cabs I've had recently. Smiles all around, and paired with pasta & meat sauce :)

2007 Guigal Cotes du Rhone

I know very very little about French wine, so I normally would not have the guts to walk into the store and pick out a bottle. But my best friend is a Frenchie (or English, depending on the day, I need to get the story straight at some point) and she brought this to dinner recently: the 2007 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone. We loved it!

2005 Laloudi Red Wine

I don't get to drink a lot of Greek wine unless I'm at home, but I made a run and provisioned some from Metropoulos foods this week. One of the reds has blown me away. It's a regional dry red wine from the Peloponese, specifically from Monemvasia, which I visited as a tiny kid and fell in love with. The grape is the Agiorgitiko, i.e. St. George's grape. It set me back $17.50, and I would pay more if it cost more. It's very dry and has tons of soil and new oak flavors in it. Both Dan and I thought Chateuneuf du Pape, though we're not really up on our wines, so the association could be off. In any case, a phenomenal red!

Holus Bolus 2008 Syrah

Dan picked up this syrah, which is a bit more expensive than I would dare buy at $35, for Thanksgiving dinner this year. It was fan-friggin-tastic! This is probably the nicest syrah I've had this week. Highly recommended, if it's within your budget. Bonus points for the fantastic label!

Blind Dog Midnight Run Cuvee

This Paso Robles red nearly didn't make it home with me (from Lazy Acres) because I don't like gimmicky labels (e.g. the "jarhead" wine also at Lazy -- leave your politics out of my wine!). However I was really really glad I took it home, as it turned out to be one of my favorite ~$15 wines I've tasted. It's the kind of sunshiny, jammy red that I like and Dan doesn't. I have to agree that such a wine has its place, and that it lacks the gravitas that one sometimes chooses a drier or more tannic wine for. But this one was fun and simple and easy to drink, a bit like fruit juice, so it gets high marks from me.

Dinner at Epiphany

Epiphany is a restaurant in the same block as another couple of SB's best restaurants (none of which have I been to). One of Dan's colleagues is a foodie, so when it came time to schedule the company Christmas dinner, he picked Epiphany. I had a white bean and duck confit soup, tried the Dan's foie gras, had a roast duck entree and tried Dan's scallops. Dinner was paired with the Ghost Tree Cabernet Sauvignon, which was a great choice but a little inconsistent from bottle to bottle. Everything was off the charts good, except for the martini I had before dinner which was nothing to write home about. I highly recommend the place.

Villa Antinori 2004 Toscana

Dan picked this up last weekend for dinner for just over $20. He really likes dry Italian wines, whereas I go for the sunny, fruity California wines. But I have to admit that when you start spending decent money on wine, it doesn't matter so much where it's from and what it's like, because it's likely to be an excellent specimen. So it was with this one. I fully admit I know jack about this type of wine. It was dry, and a little metalic/earthy, and it needed to breathe for about 10 minutes, and it was astonishingly good.

Well Re(a)d Organic Red Table Wine

Picked up from TJ's for $6. Very impressed by this organic, sulfite-free wine. Left it alone for 4 days and it uncorked with force. I wonder what sort of secondary fermentation was going on there... Either way, delicious with food or without!

Frère Delas' Côtes du Ventoux 2006

Typical Rhone Valley offering. Light red so you should serve it slightly cooler than regular reds.

Quite delicious. Will stand up to salads, or even ginger which is not what most reds can do.

Most quaffable. At $9, it won't break the bank either.