So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 08 Banfi Brunello di Montalcino (Brunello di Montalcino): Now *that's* a spicy meatball; & a lively, pretty, refined one, too. $65 A- >>find this wine<<
• NV Vallformosa Origen Brut Rosado (Cava): Not really a graceful host, but certainly a really gracious – and really generous – host. $20 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Dierberg Chardonnay (Santa Maria Valley): A spa where the specialty is rubbing ripe mango & flowers all over you to soothing tunes $32 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Dierberg Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley): Spicy, bold, earthy &amp; sporting juuuust a touch too much of that white boy style funk $34 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Dierberg Syrah (Santa Ynez Valley): Running rough shod at the end, but you'll start smooth, & land in brambly sage when it's done. $34 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Dierberg Drum Canyon Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills): Close to the vest, nuanced intrigue starring pepper, tea & spices. $44 A- >>find this wine<<
• 09 Star Lane Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Ynez Valley): Generous with the mint & figs, & that structured finish sure ain't messin around $44 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc (Happy Canyon): Tropical fruits, leaping about in an energetic jig on a short-cut lemon grass carpet. $22 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Donnafugata Ben Rye Passito di Pantelleria (Sicilia): 100 yr old vines, 203g residual sugar, and about 1000 pounds of awesome $40 A- >>find this wine<<
• 11 Franciscan Cuvee Sauvage Chardonnay (Carneros): More nuanced vitality – & penchant for lemon verbena – than you were expecting. $40 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 09 Franciscan Mangificat Meritage Red (Napa Valley): Prefers cedar utensils, a good cigar, & kicking dust off its boots at day's end. $50 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 09 Artadi El Seque Monastrell (Alicante): Getting a little soft in the middle, otherwise it's all chalky anise-filled plummy goodness $40 B+ >>find this wine<<
• NV Luc Belaire Rare Rose (France): Everything's coming up roses; whether you like roses or not, that's what you're getting, dammit. $34 B >>find this wine<<

So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 08 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino (Brunello di Montalcino): Enough characters at the feast to push the funk into the background. $65 A- >>find this wine<<
• 12 Tasca d'Almerita Regaleali Bianco (Sicilia): Lively pears with bitter skins that will make for fine company once the snow melts. $15 B >>find this wine<<
• 11 Sandeman Vintage Porto (Porto): Really ought to come with Xmas gift tag attached reading "Do not open until about 2031; go away!" $75 A- >>find this wine<<
• 10 Amici Cellars Olema Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County): Lighting up one very, very looooooooong and very, very gooooood stogie. $23 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Amici Cellars Olema Chardonnay (Sonoma County): Peachy keen, squeaky clean, but not really all that lean, if you know what I mean. $15 B >>find this wine<<
• 10 Amici Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Sexy, plush, and not shy about flaunting it but it most definitely has got "it." $45 A- >>find this wine<<
• 12 Amici Cellars Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley): For those who like 'em regressing but with just a little more meat on the bones. $25 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 05 WineSmith Second Fiddle FiddleStix Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills): In its best Robert Plant voice, "but the Eaaaaaaarth…" $50 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 06 WineSmith Mokelumne River Cabernet Sauvignon (Lodi): Smokin' cigars, eatin' dark cocoa, & occasionally laughing amid the brooding. $40 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 03 WineSmith Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Somebody cue up "You Wear It Well"… the Rod Stewart one, definitely not DeBarge, okay? $30 B+ >>find this wine<<
• NV WineSmith Penny Farthing Dry Rose (California): Sweet raspberries, strawberries & flowers out for a sunny park tandem bike ride. $10 B- >>find this wine<<
• 11 Jordan Chardonnay (Russian River Valley): Fresh apples from the orchard, & the energy of grade schoolers sledding on a snow day. $40 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 09 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley): Sinewy & powerful, like watching a medal-winning sprinter running in slow motion. $53 B+ >>find this wine<<

So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 09 Palacios Remondo La Montesa (Rioja): Sneaks up on you, whispering, low volume but the words are heavy with dense meaning & gravity $19 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Palacios Remondo La Vendimia (Rioja): The Rioja red welcome center has opened its tart, spicy, sweet-oaky front doors, awaiting you $12 B >>find this wine<<
• 07 Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling (Eden Valley): The Never-ending Story, retold with lime, petrol, slate, pith, flowers & toast. $30 A- >>find this wine<<
• 13 Pewsey Vale Eden B Valley Dry Riesling (Eden Valley): Tropical of fruit, vibrant of mind, dry of character, stern of disposition. $19 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Langmeil Valley Floor Shiraz (Barossa): Like a young Michelle Yeoh in a leather jumpsuit; powerful, dangerous, focused & stunning. $29 A- >>find this wine<<
• 11 Langmeil Three Gardens SMG (Barossa): Robust, rustic, peppery & finessed; or, exactly why Barossa can kick ass in the right hands. $19 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 09 Grgich Hills Merlot (Napa Valley): That fleshy sweet talk might fool some, but it's well in touch with its herbal side, too. $42 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Enters with soft flowers, leaves much later with suggestive leather glove butt-slap $60 A- >>find this wine<<
• 09 Cousino Macul Finis Terrae (Maipo Valley): Smooth moves that have sexy-time written all over them; but it's all over so darn fast. $23 B >>find this wine<<
• NV Langlois Brut Rose (Cremant de Loire): Maaaama's lil' baby loves sweet berry-berry, mama's lil' baby loves sweet berry bread. $20 B >>find this wine<<
• 10 Beni di Batasiolo Barbaresco (Barbaresco): Slate-&-spices beauty dates leather-&-earth beast; witness their sleeping love child. $43 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 09 Beni di Batasiolo Barolo (Barolo): Calm & collected, but mess w/ its sister & you'll be getting a face full of hearty earthy first $47 B+ >>find this wine<<

So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 12 Kim Crawford SP Rise and Shine Pinot Noir (Central Otago): It would very much like another cup of that spicy sweet berry tea, dear $30 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Kim Crawford SP Spitfire Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough): Take everything cool about kiwi SB, and add a pinch of peppery awesome. $21 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 13 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough): Long, assertive, about as subtle, but certainly not as dead, as that flik Zombieland. $17 B >>find this wine<<
• 07 Cornerstone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): By Jove, but I do like the spicy, earthy, plummy cut off your jib, old boy! $65 A- >>find this wine<<
• 12 Quinta da Lixa Aromas das Castas Alvarinho Trajadura Blanco (Vinho Verde): Today's sunny tropical respite has arrived, & cheaply. $12 B >>find this wine<<
• 10 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon (Colchagua Valley): Starts in a garden, picks from an orchard then settles back in comfy oak chair $25 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 MacMurray Ranch Reserve Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley): Requires big boy pants, for sure, but it's all jammy deliciousness now. $37 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Clean Slate Riesling (Mosel): The slate is, indeed, clean, a touch cloying, but also about as refreshing as you'll get for the cash$12 B- >>find this wine<<
• 08 Donnafugata Ben Rye Passito di Pantelleria (Sicily): Like having amazing sex without having to fork over for an expensive dinner. $40 A >>find this wine<<
• 07 Vall Llach Idus de Vall Llach (Priorat): Dried everything – licorice, figs & raisins – but everything dried is also damn high-end. $50 A- >>find this wine<<
• 07 Capafons-Osso Sirsell (Priorat): He's beefy, and he clearly has your back if a fight just happens to break out at this saloon. $24 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Reichsrat Von Buhl Riesling Sekt Brut (Pfalz): Sweet biscuits and pithy lemons with a penchant for startling, aggressive behavior. $20 B >>find this wine<<
• 10 Fillaboa Seleccion Finca Monte Alto Albarino (Rias Baixas): It came to refresh and chew wet rocks, & it's almost out of wet rocks. $25 B+ >>find this wine<<