Italy Week

Good afternoon, stay-at-home w(h)iners!

This week, we took on a couple of Italian wines, and here's how it went:



And now that you've laughed at with us, here's the full evaluation!


Valpolicella Ripasso; Solane Santi; 2010

We started the night off with a dry red wine that, despite the $17 price tag, I was honestly not too sure about.

Starting off with the aromas of the wine, a grape scent first overwhelmed us. After a little persistence, oak soon became the dominant aroma, with a dash of pepper, and maybe a little almond. Our two sweet-lovers found an acetone, alcoholic smell, while the two dry girls discovered a hint of plum.

 Upon first taste, oak was the dominating flavor, hinting at notes of pepper in the beginning, and trailing off to a subtle sweetness at the finish. The taste was bold, strong, and very dry. To us dry-lovers, it was perfect.

We found the aromas and tastes to have a balance and a lovely harmony, with the very barest hint of complexity, and completeness, rounding out to finish nicely. With an appealing label design, and a $17 price tag, we ended up with two "Mehs" (from our sweet girls), and two claiming it to be the "Best [wine] ever!"

Bottom Line: Would we recommend this wine? YES! Even our not-so-dry ladies agreed that this would be a good wine for a dry person.


Gavi; Principessa Gavia; 2012

Valpolicella Ripasso is a tough act to follow, but the dry, white wine we found in Gavi certainly didn't have too tough a time winning us over. Well, half of us. Again.

As we first stuck our noses in our glasses, we were overpowered by the scent of concord grapes. After much sniffing, and a lot of talking, we came to find a slight honey aroma mixing itself into the bouquet. But, after a few more minutes of deliberation, there was nothing left to be found.

And so we moved on to taste, where we found again grapes and honey. Despite the best work of the tannins (the dry feeling in your mouth), there was a slight sweetness to the wine that, surprisingly, balanced quite well with the overall dryness of the wine. We labeled the taste, ultimately, as "clean." A perfect descriptor for what was happening in our mouths throughout the tasting.

We found a balance and harmony, again, with the Gavi, but couldn't really classify it as either complex or complete. Ultimately, we ended with two, "Yums" and two "Mehs" (again, from our sweet-lovers). With a nice-looking label, and a $15 price tag, we then asked the big question.

Bottom Line: Would we recommend this wine? Yes. It's a very nice, dry wine, with a fair price tag, and a good quality. What's not to like?


And so ends Italy Week with the W(h)ining Army Wives. We hope you discovered some new wines to try out, and that you had fun laughing with us! Until next time!

Australia Week

Hello, everyone! It's Australia Week with The W(h)ining Army Wives!

We tried out two of Australia's most-produced wines this week: Shiraz and Chardonnay. Keep reading after the video summary for the in-depth evaluation of the wines!




Shiraz; Jacob's Creek; 2011

We started the night off with a dry red wine. The first thing we noticed when we sniffed our glasses was a cherry smell. A dark, oaky aroma accompanied the cherry, setting off an earthy, soil smell. After sniffing a good bit more, we uncovered a hint of spice--with guesses ranging from pepper to cinnamon to nutmeg, and one w(h)iner even caught a little vanilla.

Once we put our wine where our mouths were, the fruity smell had completely disappeared. All that was left was spice--and boy, was it spicy! We tasted pepper and one w(h)iner swore it was cayenne--and tannins (that dry feeling in your mouth). The texture, nonetheless, was smooth, and warmth spread through us as the wine worked its way down. After an adjustment period--a few, good minutes--we finally were able to start tasting some fruit again. It was a dark fruit, and we figured on black currant as the flavor. A sweet grape flavor made it way out at the very end, just to justify that we were, in fact, drinking fermented grape juice.

We thought the wine had a good balance and harmony in its flavors and bouquet, and at least one w(h)iner thought it a complete wine--though the other two just weren't sure.

The label design is appealing--though nothing to write home about, it does look nice and simple, and with a price tag of $7, there wasn't much more to sell us on this wine as a keeper. Final decisions on this wine? We called it two "Yums" and a "Yuck," courtesy of our sweet-wine-drinker.

Bottom line: Would we recommend this wine? Yes. It's inexpensive, and surprisingly yummy!


Chardonnay; Jacob's Creek; 2013

After finishing up with our gossip and Shiraz, we moved on to what we'd call a semi-dry white wine. This one surprised us with a very light, grape-apple aroma. There was just the barest hint of some oak, a little vanilla, a small bit of nuttiness, and maybe a light floral scent, but it was an otherwise light-fruit aroma.

As soon as we tasted the wine, we were getting slightly mixed signals. The main contenders included apple, peach, and honeydew, and we could not really pinpoint what we were exactly tasting with this one. One w(h)iner thought she detected a hint of spice in the taste, but we were unanimous in finding this chardonnay to be a light, crisp, cool wine. But overall, a little unimpressive.

We did almost agree that the flavors and aromas were in harmony with one another, but could not agree on another descriptor for the chardonnay. Our final decisions on this wine? A resounding "Meh."

So, bottom line: Would we recommend this wine? Probably not. But, honestly, at a cool $7, this wine is not one we would necessarily advise against.


So there you have it, this week's evaluations. We hope to see you again next week for some new wines, and some new friends!

Spain Week!

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the W(h)ining Army Wives! We've got another great wine evaluation for you guys to watch/read! I hope you're ready for some Spanish wines.

I even made a vegetable paella (a Spanish rice dish, with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and peas in our version) for our w(h)iners this week, and enjoyed some Manchego cheese (also Spanish), which turned out to be delicious--we recommend them both! [If you want the recipe for the paella, just ask! It was super easy to make, and really yummy!]

Anyway, we actually tried four different wines this week, since we missed out on last week's meeting--and I love Spain, so I couldn't help myself.

We tried out a Rioja, a dry sherry, a cream sherry, and a cava.

Watch the video below for a recap of our best tasting moments, and read even below-er for a breakdown of our thoughts on the wines!




And now that you've watched, and laughed with us, here's an explanation in more depth of each wine, and what we'd recommend for you to try on your own!

Rioja; Marqués de Riscal; Reserva 2007

We started the night off with a dry red. Rioja comes from the Rioja region of Spain, is the most famous Spanish red wine--and it's delicious!

As soon as we stuck our noses in glasses, the scent of oak was apparent. A dark chocolate scent soon followed, and a couple of our w(h)iners found a hint of pepper, as well. Only one w(h)iner thought she smelled some kind of dark berry underneath it all.

Though oak was the most prominent scent in the Rioja, it did not carry into the taste. Instead, we were greeted once again with chocolate and some kind of spice--perhaps pepper. We were also surprised to find an earthy taste--which one w(h)iner described as "liquid dirt," while another qualified it as "dry leaves." Which is not as gross as it sounds...The tannins (that dry feeling in your mouth) certainly made an appearance--though not overwhelmingly--and we all experienced a delightful warming experience, without an unpleasant burn.

In the end, we nearly unanimously believed the Rioja has balance, harmony, and is complete. We just didn't see much of a complexity in this one. We loved the label design--let's face it, we all judge wine by its label--thought the cost was fair (at a delicious $15), and unanimously agreed on a "Yum!" classification for the overall taste.

Bottom line: Would we recommend this 2007 vintage Rioja? Absolutely.


Manzanilla Sherry; Savory & James

We continued the tasting with a dry, white sherry. Sherry is a Spanish invention, in which grape spirit is added to wine after the fermentation process is complete, bringing the final alcohol content up. We were all very interested to try this fortified wine, since none of us had had sherry before.

The initial scent was off-putting, to say the least, receiving descriptions ranging from "nail polish remover" to "rubbing alcohol" to "rotten or overripe fruit." As we put our noses to the test, attempting to get past the clear alcohol content (at a hefty 17%), we were able to discern a slight apple--still overripe--and maybe even a honey scent.

The taste was no better, sadly. The initial alcohol smell pretty well continued into the taste, leaving us with terms like "bitter"--a serious w(h)iner-favorite description--"anise" (which goes into black licorice), and, once again, "nail polish remover." Though the wine did start out with a watery taste, nearly undetectable, it soon developed into a taste that had all of us cringing, and struggling through the rest of the tasting.

Oddly enough, we actually did qualify the sherry as a complex wine, and found the label to be fairly appealing. The price itself was good--at about $10 a bottle--but our final decision on the overall taste was unanimously, "YUCK." (I'm using capital letters because it is seriously gross. I know--I'm risking professional writing for a more accurate description. I am serious here, people.)

Bottom line: Would we recommend this Manzanilla Sherry? Not to our foulest enemies.

(Side note: there are three other types of sherry, and I'm still holding out hope that one of them will appeal to me. Come on, Spain! Help me out here!)


Bristol Cream Sherry; Harvey's

We continued our tasting with a sweet, cream sherry--a popular export from Spain, though they tend to prefer the dry stuff (hopefully not Manzanilla) within country. Cream sherry is made by adding a sweeter grape variety at the end of the fermentation process.

Starting with the scents of the wine, we delved right in a caramel, honey smell. Though the alcohol scent was still lingering a little, we were able to discern a kind of apricot or apple, as well as a slight nutty smell mixing into the bouquet.

Moving into tasting the sherry, we found a creamy texture--though one w(h)iner thought of it as more of a watery texture. The cream led us to an instant caramel and honey flavor. In general, it tasted vey sugary and sweet--and was even off-putting to some w(h)iners who go for that sort of wine. Again, we found a warming sensation with the wine--not quite as long and lingering as with the Rioja, but it was certainly present.

We found a harmony in the tastes, if not any other general balance, complexity, or completeness. The label was sort a "meh" for us--with an uncertain "appealing" classification across the board--but the cost was low (again at about $10). Our final decisions on the taste, however, were not harmonized. We came in with two with a "Yuck," two with "Meh," and one with a "Yum."

Bottom Line: Would we recommend this Bristol Cream Sherry? If you like your wines very sweet, and pretty strong, yes. If you don't particularly like sweet wines (or even if you do), I would probably avoid this one.


Cava; Poema

We ended the night, though I hadn't planned on drinking it, with a sparking wine. The Spanish version of Champagne (which can technically only be labelled so if it comes from Champagne, France), cava has a similar name restriction--it can only be called a cava if it is made in the traditional Champagne method (in Spain, of course).

When we started off with the aromas of the cava, we found, of course, a bubbly smell--though a couple of our w(h)iners detected a strong, sort of "perm solution" chemical smell. A little apple or pear scent was hidden among the bubbles, as well.

As far as the taste went, the w(h)iners pretty unanimously agreed that the cava tends to taste light, airy, and oddly smooth, despite the bubbles. The taste lingers well, and actually lends itself to an interesting feeling of salivation afterwards--or, as one w(h)iner so gracefully put it, "My mouth is spitty."

We did not find the label to be terribly appealing, but the price was right--at a nice $11. We ended up, again, though, with differing opinions of the overall quality of the cava, with two "Yums," one "Meh," and one "Yuck."

Bottom Line: Would we recommend the Poema Cava? Maybe. I know, it's not too conclusive, but I think we generally agreed that it was a wine we would drink, but not one we would necessarily seek out.


Overall, we had a great time tasting a lot of different wines, but I think we will go back to two wines per week from now on--much simpler, and not so overwhelming. Sorry to have such a long post this time, but we had a lot to say about these wines!

We hope you'll join us next time to try some wines, and enjoy some laughter with friends. Until next time, friends!