Vino Keeno, The Grapevine for the Recreational Wino

Elyse Nero Misto 2005
$24.99

Wine label said:
Nero Misto (mixed black) is reminiscent of the old California-Italian field blends. This wine is a blend of a unique selection of wonderful lesser known black grapes. Call for details.

Rabbi Tuchman says:
Gotta say that I am intrigued by a label that makes you call for the names of the grapes used in the blend!

We’ve had other Elyse wines and they have been very good. As blend lovers, this one looked interesting. We were not disappointed.

The wine started with a fruity nose. It was smooth, full bodied and had a hint of blackberry overtones. It finished nicely and was deemed “yummy.” It’s a shame we only bought one bottle, however that is a problem we intend to fix. Two thumbs up!

Gnarly Head Vintage 2005 Old Vine Zin Lodi Zinfandel
$10-ish

Wine label said:
Far too much to type here. It details the look of the grapevines, (”head trained” vines that resemble wild bushes with twisted old trunks) and the flavors of the wine including licorice, plum, pepper and vanilla, spicy finish and gnarly gnarly gnarly.

WebWino says:
I’m pretty sure this is a good Zinfandel. It is heavy and dense and chock full of intense flavors. However for me, this wine comes with a back story that will forever color how I view it.

We met a lovely couple (Hi Lloyd and Pat!) at a Christmas party last year, and made plans to get together for an evening of food, wine and getting to know eachother. Recently we went to their home and had marvelous food, wine and cigars(!) and more fun sharing stories then should be allowed by law.

After dinner, Lloyd brought out a dessert wine that he insisted we try. I do not know the name, but I do know it was a raisin flavored. Since this was only our second meeting, Lloyd had no way of knowing that I was the kid who used to pick the raisins out of my Raisin Bran. So I tasted the wine, icked my way through it and promptly handed it back to him. More for Lloyd!

A couple weekends ago we returned the favor and had Lloyd and Pat over for dinner at our house. Again with the good food, wine and company. They showed up with a bottle of the Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin and claimed it was quite good. We opened it and the first thing I smelled was… you guessed it… RAISINS. The nose was so overpowering, that the only flavor I got out of this wine was raisins. Less alcohol-y than the dessert wine, however still it was nothing but gnarly-headed raisins.

While I’ve read other reviews saying this is a great, spicy, complex wine that just so happens to be a really good buy, I must add that it in my case it was all about those blasted raisins.

Thanks Lloyd and Pat for the friendship and the wine. And no hard feelings, Lloyd… if you wouldn’t have brought this bottle over, I would’ve probably tried it sooner or later on my own. It has the clever name and cool label design that always suck me in. But enough with the raisin flavors, ya hear?

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