Echelon Wine Review

The Winos were recently given an opportunity to review wines from Echelon. One of the things that makes it difficult for people to enjoy wine is the selection process. Too many choices can make it difficult to decide, but Echelon make the selection process simple with a short list of great wines to choose from. 

Their new California Series, which consists of "a compilation of the finest that California has to offer."  There are five varieties in the series:

1. * Pinot Noir
2. * Cabernet Sauvignon
3. * Red Blend
4. * Pinot  
5. * Chardonnay

The grapes are selected from various regions throughout California, a state which is known to produce some of the best wines in the world (and home to the Winos).

While the Winos love all types of wines, we tend to fancy white wines a tad bit more. So we decided to give the Pinot Grigio a try. 

Photo credit: Echelon

Pinot Grigio

Region: Monterey County, CA

Year: 2010

Color: Pale straw

Aroma: Lemony

Alcohol: 12.5%

This is a wine that must be served chilled, otherwise you'll never be able to appreciate the flavor. It's mild fruity notes pair well with a little spice and a lot of savory. Pairing with anything sweet will completely destroy the flavor of the wine (at least that was Middle Sister's experience after trying it with a sugar cookie... big mistake). 

We give the California Series Pinot Grigio:

Echelon Collection Series is bottled in limited quanties:

1. * Pinot Noir
2. * Cabernet Sauvignon
3. * Chardonnay

The grapes in this series are grown in the California appelations, which "consistently receive acclaim for their stellar portrayal of specific varieties." 

In keeping with our white theme here, we decided to taste the Chardonnay, and we couldn't have made a better choice!

Photo credit: Echelon

Chardonnay

Region: Napa Valley, CA

Year: 2010

Color: Straw

Aroma: Honey 

Alcohol: 13.5%

This wine is fabulous! If you close your eyes you can smell every single note. The notes of vanilla and oak really stand out.  Little Sister thought this would be excellent paired with a strawberry fields salad (or any fresh fruit). This wine cleans the palate and delights the senses. 

We give the Collection Series Chardonnay:

This was our first encounter with Echelon and we were very impressed. Definitely a brand for the cellar!

This is not a paid post. We received two bottles of Echelon wine through Clever Girls Collective to fascilitate this review. All views expressed are the opinion of the Winos.

Chocolate Wine...seriously???

It's no secret that the Winos' love wine and chocolate (well at least two of us love chocolate, the older sister - not so much).  Anyway...wouldn't you know that some genius decided to put both them together, in a bottle!  That's right folks Chocolate Wine is the new sensation, well at least it's new to us.
 
I read an article quite awhile ago about chocolate wine in a local newspaper, but I hadn't seen it in stores (well I really hadn't been looking for it).  So a few weeks back we stumbled upon a bottle of Chocovine at our local market, of course we had to give it a try. The wine is described as "a French Cabernet subtly combined with a rich dark chocolate from Holland."  Rich and chocolaty it is indeed.

Region: Holland
Producer: Team Products (a division of Dekuyper)

Year: N/A 

Color: Milky brown

Aroma: Decadent Chocolate

Alcohol: 14%

This is a wine that's best served chilled.  You can see the richness in the initial pour - oh it's thick ya'll. Those decadent legs cling to the glass like nobody's business! The smell is sinfully delicious and when you take that first heavenly sip...OMG! 

 

Chocovine is versatile you can drink it alone as an after dinner drink/dessert or you can use it to make other chocolaty drink delights: 

We give Chocovine:

If you like diversity you should know there are three different flavors: original, raspberry, and espresso. For more information on Chocovine visit the website and check out their Facebook page.

Now & Zen - Wasabi White Wine

Last week I was having mean craving for Asian cuisine. We'd been talking about making sushi, but were too lazy...so instead we opted for Chinese take out.  When we got back home with the food, I had an aha moment - remembering that we had a bottle of Now & Zen Wasabi White (we'd been saving it for a sushi night actually), but since this opportunity presented itself, we popped the cork.

Region: Alsace 

Producer: Imported by Underdog Wine Merchants
Year: 2006

Color: Golden straw

Aroma: Fruity (pineapple, mango, and lemon)

Alcohol: 13%

The label indicates that Now & Zen will bring out the flavor of spicy food, this is absolutely, beyond the shadow of a doubt true!  The flavor of the wine is completely enhanced by spicy flavor, we tried it with Spicy Tofu and Red Chili Sauce - delicious!


Just to test the wine's range, we tried it with something sweet. Yuck! The taste becomes bitter when paired with sugar, so this is a no-no. Definitely an umami type of wine, which is interesting because Now & Zen is a white blend, consisting of: 40% Sylvaner, 30% Pinot Blanc, 15% Riesling and 15% Gewurztraminer. Obviously the combined 30% of Riesling and the Gewurztraminer do not influence the wine enough to accommodate a sweet pairing.

We give it:

We will be making sushi in the coming weeks and drinking a little Now & Zen, we have to see if it can actually stand up next to Wasabi...white???  (pun intended) LOL

Cupcake Vinyards - Moscato d'Asti

The Winos' are in for the night...but we're not alone.  We have been joined by an intriguing character.  Our visitor is sweet as honey and very flirtatious - tickling our noses with devlish delight!  This mystery guest is a refreshingly, pleasant surprise....Cupcake Vineyard's Moscato d'Asti!

Region: Italy

Producer: Cupcake Vineyard's

Color: Golden Pale Yellow

Aroma: Fresh, floral, and fruity

Alcohol: 5.5%


We happened upon this intriguing visitor at our local Albertsons store. Had we not started chatting it up with a Wino Virgin, we may have never discovered this sweetheart of libation. While we were running our mouths, our eyes were diverted by the whimsical label...CUPCAKE! We knew immediately that it was a match arranged in the celestial sphere. Enough drooling already...


We give Cupcake Vineyards Moscato d'Asti:

For a chance to win an iPad 2 enter Cupcake Vineyards "Live Deliciously" Photo Contest here.


After we finished swooning over our "suitor," we had a drunken photo shoot, maybe not drunk....but pretty tipsy!

2009 Tintero Moscato D’Asti

Region: Italy

Producer: Elvio Tintero

Color: Straw Yellow

Aroma: Fresh and floral

Alcohol: 7%

This wine is so good it makes you wanna slap somebody (preferably the person next to you)!  A little bubbly, fruity aroma, and a little bit sweet.  If you are a moscato lover, this wine should definitely be in your cellar (or cabinet for winos like us who don’t own a cellar). 

Little sister purchased this wine at The Wine Country in Signal Hill, CA, for $10 bucks! Just goes to show that you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy good wine. 

Tintero Moscato D’Asti can be paired with just about anything sweet (not syrupy sweet, but sweet), but can totally be enjoyed on its own as well. We tried this wine with a slice of lemon cheesecake, yummo! The lemon married with the delicate bubbles of the moscato perfectly, total match made in heaven.  

A great way to unwind after a long day or to finish off a great dinner. 

Moola: $9.99

Date Sipped: 3/17/11

Where to Cop That: The Wine Club online, check your local wine shop
Wino-lushious Rating: