Tasting - Palos Verdejo

Name: Palos

Variety: Verdejo
Region: Castilla, Leon
Country: Spain
Year: 2009
Price: $4.95 (originally $15)

Castellana’s 2009 Palos Verdejo is medium straw-colored with a nose of fennel, spring flowers, citrus, and apple. Crisp and vibrant on the palate, this tasty offering is a good value that will deliver pleasure over the next 12–18 months.


This wine had clean fresh citrusy aromas. It had a warm feeling that transitioned to something chillier. It was smooth, but lacked any really strong flavors. 








The Vintage Cellar

Tasting - Cellar 8 Pino Grigio

Name: Cellar 8

Variety: Pino Grigio
Region: Napa
Country: California, USA
Year: 2009
Price: $4.95 (originally $13)

Cellar No. 8 wines are crafted at the historic Asti Winery in California. Cellar No. 8 Pinot Grigio displays notes of pineapple and jasmine on the nose. Crisp and light, this wine has grapefruit and lime flavors that open to a refreshing finish with balanced acidity. Cellar No. 8 Pinot Grigio is perfect on its own, anytime. Cellar No. 8 wines honor and reflect the rich winemaking tradition at Asti. Whether relaxing in your favorite leather chair or celebrating with friends, Cellar No. 8 is a great discovery which might just become your next tradition.


This wine had aromas of pineapple. It had a sweet citrusy taste with some heat in the end. 


The Vintage Cellar

Tasting - Faraway Farms Chenin Blanc

Name: Faraway Farms

Variety: Chenin Blanc
Region: Western Cape Town
Country: South Africa
Year: 2009
Price: $5.95 (originally $15)

In the New World, South Africa is the top destination for reasonably priced, quality Chenin Blanc. Here, the grape represented 34 percent of land under vine up to 1990, but plantings have declined in favor of grapes with greater international appeal. Still, consider the consistently strong bottlings from Ken Forrester and Mulderbosch, both grown in the spectacularly beautiful Stellenbosch region. 


This wine smelt of tart, green apples. It was smooth and light to drink. Tart on the back of my tongue, but a good kind of tart that was very enjoyable.

The Vintage Cellar

Tasting - Spanish Vines Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Spanish Vines

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Sevilla

Country: Spain

Year: 2009

Price: $4.95 (originally $10)

The 2010 Spanish Vines Sauvignon Blanc blends aromas of kiwi, tangerine, and honeydew melon with mouthwatering acidity. An ideal combination of Old World structure and New World fruit. This is a medium bodied wine bears a remarkably focused finish. Drink now.

This wine smelled fresh and crisp. It tasted clean, like spring fresh. It was not very dynamic, but still enjoyable. It had a bitter ending that stayed on my tongue. 

The Vintage Cellar

Tasting - Morro Bay White Oak Chardonnay

Name: Morro Bay White Oak

Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Sur Lie
Country: California, USA
Year: 2009
Price: $5.95 (originally $14)

Toasted oak, butter and crisp apple/pear fruit aromas. The texture in the mouth is like a knife cutting a green apple. Together these disparate areas and flavors create a symbiosis that fills the tongue and echoes down the palate.


This wine smelt of lighter, wet wood. It initially tasted good, however finished very bitter and hot. 








The Vintage Cellar

Tasting - Hardys Nottage Hill Chardonnay

Name: Hardys Nottage Hill

Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Southern
Country: Australia
Year: 2007
Price: $4.95 (originally $15)

The fruit for this Chardonnay has been sourced from a variety of regions to create a full flavoured wine with rich tropical fruit, complemented by vanillin oak characters. While drinking beautifully now, it can be successfully cellared for 2-3 years.


This wine smelt strongly of wet, damp wood. It tasted earthy and mossy. I did not enjoy this wine at all. 






The Vintage Cellar

Tasting - Los Alisos Chardonnay

Name: Los Alisos

Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Santa Barbara
Country: California, USA
Year: 2007
Price: $7.95 (originally $20)

With a ripe, rich, tropical and creamy texture, our Chardonnay displays characteristics that are the hallmark of the Los Alamos Valley winegrowing region. Produced from grapes that come from cool-climate, sandy hillside and benchland sites, our Chardonnay is vinified using traditional Burgundian techniques including barrel fermentation, full malolactic fermentation and regular lees stirring.

This wine smelt and tasted of petrol with hints of wood.

The Vintage Cellar

Tasting - Crane Lake Moscato

Name: Crane Lake

Variety: Moscato

Region: Napa, Sonoma

Country: California, USA

Year: 2010

Price: $6.95 (originally $12)

A unique Moscato nose with hints of pine nuts, petrol, apple and honeysuckle. The sweetness gives notes of honey and green apple, but it is well-balanced and finishes with a hint of oak. 

This white wine had aromas of herbs such as mint, basil, and rosemary. It tasted very sweet with an herby aftertaste. I really enjoyed and purchased this wine. 

The Vintage Cellar

Tasting - Dona Sol White Zinfandel

Name: Dona Sol

Variety: White Zinfandel
Region: Sonoma
Country: California, USA
Year: 2008
Price: $4.95 (originally $8)

Doña Sol White Zinfandel is a voluptuous blush wine that has hints of strawberry and fresh fruit in its wide range of aromas. As the wine flows into the palate, fresh fruit and sweet cherries are evident. The wine ends with a smooth sweet finish.

This wine had aromas of roses, oak, and a bit of chocolate. It had a flowery, sweet taste.




The Vintage Cellar