N/V R.L. Buller & Son Premium Fine Muscat Victoria

This was served at Thanksgiving and the rest of the bottle – about half - was given to me to take home as no one else liked it. I'm told it was about $14 for the half bottle.

Alcohol, wood, walnut, and maple syrup on the nose.

Thick, syrupy, sweet, but a bit of acid. Orange rind, maple syrup, raisin, toffee, caramel, nuts – it's sort of like a thicker, sweeter, 10 year Tawny Port.

This has a syrupy raisin finish that lingers for quite some time.

This is very much a dessert wine that I think requires the outside temperature to be below freezing to really be enjoyable. Thick, sweet, viscous, it coats your insides – I'd love this with a bit of ice cream or pie. Fantastic QPR – solid.

2001 Hemannhof Vineyard Chambourcin

I am somewhat sure we visited this winery a few years back and were impressed by their offerings. so I grabbed this on our last trip to St. Louis and paid about $12.

Funky, earthy berries on the nose.

Good ol' weird Chambourcin – almost Italianlike in its funkiness – acidic, spicy, very soft tannins, a bit of chocolate, cherry, and oak.

Earth, chocolate, and funk on the finish.

Not bad stuff, heavy and definitely has some age on it...I wouldn't hesitate grabbing a newer vintage if I saw one.

N/V Domaine Chandon Brut Classic

We've had Chandon's Blanc de Noir – which basically struck me as tasting like not much more than a lighter bodied Fufu Berry Jones Soda. This bottle ran me about $12.

A yeasty and somewhat metallic nose.

I'm not sure I'd call this Brut – it's somewhat sweet. Yeast, green apple, and some citrus notes.

Citron on the finish.

Not bad, but also somewhat forgettable....for a few bucks more get some Gloria Ferrer and you'll be much happier.

2006 Stone Hill Winery Vignoles

Vignoles is one of these strange hybrid grapes that you'll see a lot of in the Midwest and East Coast and that's about it. I don't recall what we paid for this but it's the $10 neighborhood.

Pineapple and sugar on the nose.

Quite sweet – pineapple for the most part with some miscellaneous tropical notes. Viscous, cloying in its sweetness, and while there's acid the sugar overwhelms everything.

The finish is all pineapple.

Do you like pineapple? If so, grab it...if not, stay away. I can't imagine drinking this with an entree, but it wouldn't be bad with dessert. Definitely serve it with vanilla ice cream and fruit pie.

2005 Frenchhouse Pinot Noir Vin de Pays

This was about $8 at the grocery store. I was optimistic about finding another decent, cheap French Pinot Noir.

Earth and rotten strawberry on the nose.

Until well into hour three, I would've called this tart to a fault – but as it opened up, it became bearable. Strawberry, cherry, funk, and chocolate notes mostly.

Earthy and chocolaty notes come through on the finish.

Good cheap Pinot isn't the easiest to find and this certainly isn't one of them.

2005 A to Z Pinot Gris

A to Z has been a solid producer in my eyes so I grabbed this bottle at the local wine shop.

I seem to be getting olives on the nose of this one.

The palate brings orange and lemon zest, nicely acidic, some mineral notes, apple, and perhaps some unripe honeydew melon.

The finish brings some peach and slate.

This was about $12 on sale and it's certainly not bad...I have yet to try a Pinot Gris that wows me - this is fine for the varietal and recommendable.

N/V Piper Sonoma Select Cuvee Brut

I've been looking at this bottle in the grocery store for years and realized I never tried it. It ran me about $10.

Bread on the nose – not white, maybe rye? Fran thinks it smells off – I wouldn't say that but there's something odd.

A bit of strawberry, green apple, orange, and lime – a sparkling fruit salad you say? I'm tempted to call it dry, but it's probably better described as acidic. The slightest suggestion of toast seems to be hiding in the background but I'm not sure – something borderline strange is happening.

The finish seems to bring lemon and lime.

Not bad for $10 at all. That being said, there's definitely something strange here – maybe Fran saying it seems “off” is distorting my view, but I'm going to have to try this one again before I can give it a` definitive yay or nay.

N/V Domaine Chandon Riche

This was $12 – I remember trying this one a while back but didn't remember anything so I figured I'd grab a bottle and take some notes.

Spicy stone fruit on the nose – almost like a Gewurz.

Stone fruit – peaches – a bit of spice, some honey and a balancing amount of citric acid suggestive of tangerine. I'd almost think this was a sparkling Gewurz, but the bottle says it's a blend of .....

There's a somewhat spicy finish and a somewhat unpleasant chemical sweetness.

I suppose that I may understand why this out there, but it's just not my style. If you're into the sparkling moscato this may work - though for the price you may as well just getting something from Italy.

2005 Francis Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Series Ivory Label

We've had a few Coppola wines before and basically – they're not bad, but they're not exactly exceptional either. This seems to be a new line replacing the Black Label Claret, so I figured I'd grab a bottle which ran around $12.

A bold nose with cherry, cinnamon, and oak on the nose.

A solid burst of fresh strawberry as soon as this hits the palate. Medium tannins – cherry, oak, tobacco

Cedar and anise show up on the finish as well as some other spice notes and a touch of cigar.

The best of the Coppola Diamond Series wine we've had this far – this is fantastic, a great QPR, and one I'd gladly buy again.

N/V G. H. Mumm & Cie Champagne Carte Classique

I encountered this for $25 at the grocery store and figured I'd give it a shot having a vague positive memory of the Cordon Rouge we had in January 2007.

A little bit of nuttiness on the nose.

Yeast, a bit of toast, some nuttiness – though I couldn't say which - and red apple – somewhat sweet actually. Not much else really. This went flat unusually quickly – the glass died in less than an hour and the bottle's bubbles faded within two.

Some yeast lingers I suppose but there's virtually no finish.

Disappointing. I know this is a low end Champagne, but $25 is still a lot for the average person to drop on a bottle. I won't be rushing back. There's nothing wrong with this – it's just sort of like George Bush's memoirs – good....good, not great.

N/V Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Sparkling Wine

We paid $18.99 for this one at our local wine shop, I know we've had this at a tasting some time ago and figured we'd try a bottle.

Yeast and dough on the nose.

This is great – green and red apple with some yeasty notes and a solid amount of toast that gives this very nice structure. On the one hand, I can't detect a bunch of nuances, on the other, this is just a strong wine, nice layers, and all around you can just taste this is quality.

Sour green apple on the finish.

In the “under $20” category this one is easily one of, if not the best we've had. I'd easily recommend it – there's plenty of depth and the quality easily suggests that of an official Champagne. I'll be buying more of this and I suggest giving it a shot.

N/V Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne

I left it for Fran to decide – go out to eat or cook at home but grab a couple bottles of Champagne. This won and it was on sale for $24.

A doughy and yeasty nose.

Good stuff – toasty, yeasty, crisp acid, and pretty much the only thing I'm getting is lemon and maybe, just maybe, green apple.

The finish brings some lime and slate.

Not bad, but I'm not about to rant and rave about it – it's solid and about right for the price.

2005 Columbia Winery Gewurztraminer

We got this one for $8 at Costco.

Pineapple on the nose.

Spicy stone fruit on the palate – spiced peach pie filling. A bit sweet but quite acidic to it all balances together nicely. Some pineapple notes as well.

A bit of honey lingers on the finish and some vanilla notes start to come through.

For $8 this one is easily recommendable.

2003 St. James Winery Norton

Another Missouri wine we picked up on our St. Louis trip. I don't recall what I paid for this sells for $10 from the winery.

This is a fairly big, dark, fruity, and fairly dry wine. Not too much tannin, but a lot of black fruit – plum, blackberry – and some Italian style funk. A lot of strange earthy qualities – leather, dirt, tobacco. Norton produces a strange, earthy wine and it's one of these things where you may love it or hate it, but for $10, this is a very complex and interesting wine.

The finish brings out a bit of oak and some plum lingers.

I like this wine and am astounded that I paid $10 for it. One of the better Nortons out there and for the price, you can't go wrong.

2005 Stone Hill Winery Vidal Blanc

A lot of white wine (and red, for that matter) from the Midwest is sweet – even those described as “off dry” still tend to border on cloying. I grabbed this one for looking for something a bit more dry – while I don't remember the price, I'm sure it was under $10.

A bit of pineapple on the nose.

Pineapple on the palate, as well as a buttery mouthfeel – this must've seen some oak.

That oily butter residue for some people like lingers on the finish.

Sort of like a not terribly obnoxious Chardonnay. If you're into Chardonnay and want something somewhat lighter this could fit the bill. I certainly don't hate this bottle but it's just not my style.

N/V Mionetto il Prosecco

We've had this producer's moscato and enjoyed so I grabbed this for about $9. This is a unique looking bottle because it has the crown cap (like the old soda bottle caps).

At first I didn't think this had much of a nose, but when I stuck my nose deep in the glass I picked some very interesting tropical fruit notes – papaya and pineapple mainly.

The tropical notes on the nose come through on the palate as well....fruity but not exactly sweet.

Some honey comes through on the finish...this leaves a film in your mouth almost which is telling me sugar but I'm still not tasting it.

It's alright but I'd never buy it again quite frankly. I appreciate the interesting tropical flavors but it's just not working for me – if that sort of thing works for you then you can do worse.

2001 Cullen Diana Madeline Margaret River

Another bargain for us – this one is typically $50, but we were at a wine shop's 10^th anniversary tasting and they had this one deeply discounted to a mere $25 – we tried it, we loved it, we bought the last bottle and sat on it for over a year. We drank this one with a grilled steak.

Tobacco, cherry, and blueberry on the nose.

So smooth – the tannins are mellow, cherry, tobacco, oak, a bit of licorice, a touch of dirt – everything is in perfect balance, no taste overwhelms. As it opens, some black fruit comes through – blackberry, plum, perhaps even some prune.

The finish lingers for some time, tannins come through, oak and just a slightest bit of pine creeps in, along with tobacco and a bit of blackberry.

Outstanding for $25 and certainly good enough for the $50 the shop normally charges. If this weren't the last bottle they had, I would've cheerfully grabbed a few more.

2005 Di Majo Norante Sangiovesse

No idea about this wine – I was poking around the wine fridge looking for a red and grabbed this one. Not sure where I bought it, why, or for how much. I looked it up online and it seems to sell for about $8, so we'll say that.

The first thing that hit me on the nose is hardwood, an interesting smell – woody but not really oak. There's a bit of dirt and cinnamon, and dare I say cabbage? Suggestions of green either way, and no necessarily in a bad way.

Not much in terms of tannin, and not over the top acidic - dirty, black fruit – plum mostly, and a bit of spice and earth.

Cinnamon and oak on the finish.

For under $10, this one is fine. I'm not crazy about it, but for the price there are few flaws and there's some nice complexity there to make it worth checking out. I'm glad I don't do stars because this one I'd be torn on.

N/V Heidsieck & Company Monopole Blue Top Brut Champagne

This was another bottle I snagged on sale for $24 – I believe making it tied for the cheapest Champagne in the store.

Slate on the nose.

Citrusy – grapefruit, lemon, and lime. Nicely balanced – acidic but not overwhelmingly so and just the slightest bit sweet. As it lingers on the palate, I get some nutty – perhaps walnut – flavors.

Doughy notes on the finish as well as some suggestions of walnut or even peanut.

A fine Champagne for the price – nothing groundbreaking, but a good QPR.

2005 Château de Fontenille Bordeaux

This cheap Bordeaux came recommended as being a good QPR (quality price ratio – a term I don't use much, but will probably start doing so). For $8 many people would be afraid it couldn't possibly be good, but it's a highly rated vintage and I was up for a gamble.

Plum and cigar on the nose.

Very nice – medium tannin, black fruit, smoky tobacco – cigar box? - and a nice balance of oak. Some somewhat astringent qualities came through after several hours of this wine being open. Nothing that can't be looked past, but this is one of those goofy wines where it's at it's best in the first hour or two .

Earth and a bit of smoke on the finish.

This is absurdly good for the price. If you want loads of deep complexity, stop being a cheap ass and reading a $8 bottle review – but if you want a great bottle to open any night of the week, this one is the way to go.