Yellow/green in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with Meyer Lemons, slight peach and just a hint of oak.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, crisp acidity with lemon candy notes.  It drinks easy but has some stuffing too.  A bit different from the "typical" Napa Chardonnay.  This is nice on its own and should be very food friendly with lighter foods but even poultry and seafoods.  Drink over the next five years.  

At a recent blind tasting of Napa Chardonnay's, it turned out that there were two identical bottles submitted and served blind.  Always an interesting experiment as such factors as storage and even the tasting order can affect the results.  As it turned out, bottle #1 was the first served while bottle #2 was the last one served.  

Hay/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has lots of gun powder/sulfur with some pineapple and baking spice.  Medium bodied.  Nice texture.  On the palate, peach and lemon cream with nice acidity.  Nice finish.  This is a bigger, rounder Sauvignon Blanc which has a lot of oak showing at this young stage.  It drinks well on its own and will work with some foods.  Pasta Primavera might be one.  The fruit will likely fade before the oak integrates, so drink up in the next few years.  

Frank Family seems to be one of those wines that people like because the owners are such good people and the wines are good as well.  While I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the owners, I do agree, the wines are very good.  A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar and spice.  Full bodied.  Tannins are mostly, not completely, resolved.  On the palate cassis, slight spice and a hint of char.  Nice finish.  An enjoyable, easy to drink wine with some stuffing.  Good finish.  Dri

I get it, many people love these wines while a smaller amount love to bash them.  Personally, I enjoy them for what they are.  I like to open them when I am not looking to sit in the leather char in my imaginary study and contemplate wines place in society over the centuries.  This is a great wine to open with neighbors who may or may not be wine geeks, but do enjoy a big red.  It is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, and 2% Petit Verdot.

This is a nice, relatively inexpensive Barolo.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, cherry juice, slight floral and hot asphalt.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is straight forward with cherries.  Moderate acidity.  Nice finish.  This drinks better with food.  Pasta with a mushroom cream sauce would work well.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

Taurasi DOCG is made from Aglianico grapes and is one of the most underrated grapes anywhere.  The more "serious" ones can age fr thirty years, and the more accessible ones are usually great values.  This is the later.  Purple in color with a ruby rim.  The nose has black cherries, char, and slight spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, black cherries, cherries and black licorice.  Good acidity.  Good finish. This is delicious and drinks easily on its own although it will work great with a nice pizza.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

This excellent white wine from Hungary is 100% Olaszrizling grapes that were barrel fermented.  Light golden yellow in color, clear and bright.  The nose has apples, slight grapefruits and a hint of nuttiness.  Medium bodied.  Creamy texture.  On the palate, this is tasty.  Notes of apples and slight almonds on the finish.  This is very food friendly and would work well with stuffed peppers.  Drink over the next couple of years.  

While 2017 was a "lesser" vintage in Napa, it is still a good vintage and this is a great example.  Perhaps not quite the 16 or 18, it still provides lots of enjoyment.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar, spice and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, there is some depth.  Cassis with underlying char.  Nice finish.  Drinking well now, it should drink well for another ten years.  Nice on its own, this will work great with a burger off the grill.

From a 375ml, this is a desert wine.  Beerenauslese means the grapes are late harvest grapes affected by noble rot and picked individually off the vines.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is pretty with honey and apricots along with a slight wet stone note.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is sweet, not cloying.  Some depth.  A nice way to finish an evening.  Still very young, this wine should go another twenty years.  Nice on its own, this would be nice with soft cheeses.