Drew's Wine List

  NV Dark Horse Big Red Blend Vintage:  NV Region:  California, USA Winery:  Dark Horse (owned by E&J Gallo) Varietal:  Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon Price:  $6.99 (you can find this everywhere) Rating:  88 Points My Rating:  88 Points The Review:  I knew that sooner or later, this day would come. Dark Horse has crept its way onto the shelves of every store ever over the past few years, and its been a wine that's continually found its way into my research. I've finally caved and bought it. And for the first time in this blog's brief history, I am writing a blog about a wine that I opened and am drinking right now. So, let that be a foreshadowing. Dark Horse is a winery that has popped on the scene in a major way over the past few years. They're owned by the world's largest wine conglomerate, good ole' E&J Gallo, and have been putting out a multitude of wines that all retail for $7. They source grapes m...

  2014 Castellani Sangiovese Vintage:  2014 Region:  Tuscany, Italy (Toscana IGT) Winery:  Famiglia Castellani Varietal:  Sangiovese Price:  $14 (found at Wegmans) Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: After a brief week off and a trip home, I'm back again with another delicious wine! For this week's wine, we'll be venturing to our summer homes in the Tuscan countryside to taste a wine from a legendary producer. The Castellani family has been putting out renowned Tuscan wines for around 150 years now. Around 25 years ago, however, the current owner decided to start focusing on his winery's environmental impact. The vineyard switched to organic (and from what I could read, biodynamic) farming processes and implemented a new focus on maintaining the land itself. This quality has shown itself in the wines, and even one of their low-end wines is receiving quite the acclaim. This 2014 Sangiovese receives the European Union quality certif...

  2018 Dr. Loosen "Dr. L" Dry Riesling Vintage:  2018 Region:  Mosel, Germany Winery:  Dr. Loosen Varietal:  Riesling Price:  $10 Rating:  88 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review:  Since I've already written about Riesling from the Alsace region, I figure I should cover the other region that's really renowned for Riesling- the Mosel in Germany. Whereas Alsatian wines are always dry, Riesling from the Mosel will occasionally have a touch of residual sugar to balance the extreme acidity of these wines. This will add a little body and results in a brilliant wine that is amped up to level 100 in all facets. This wine also serves as a great introduction to one of the most recognized producers in Europe- Dr. Loosen.  The acid levels are so high in Mosel Riesling for two main reasons- the Mosel is one of the northernmost wine regions in the world, so the grapes struggle to ripen fully; and these are some of the steepest vineyards in the worl...