Reviews by bzac

bzac says "insipid limp commercial beer " about Anheuser-Busch Budweiser

bzac — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:43:34 GMT

it is boring lifeless bulk wharehouse beer like this that has spawned an entir industry of craft beers and home brewers

If you want to taste the beer Bud Should have been , try a bottle of the original Czech Budvar Budweiser , AB stole the name 80 years ago , and reversed the slogan Beer of Kings (Czech Budweiser was the official beer of European Kings for 300 years)
Too bad they did not steal the taste or craftsmanship.

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bzac says "Solid mid level well balanced Cabernet" about Beaulieu Vineyard , 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon

bzac — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:40:47 GMT

This is one of my favorites year after year .
just the right balance of tannins and the oak is subtle unlike alot of california cabs which hit you over the head with gobs of fruit and wood.
nice acid backbone and lingering finnish , goes great with food .

highly reccomended
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bzac says " Best thing I can say is it drained the wine lake " about Charles Shaw (2 Buck Chuck) , 2006

bzac — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:38:24 GMT

2 buck chuck , cheap but drinkable.

They buy wine in bulk on the open market from whole salers , sometimes it is pretty good wine , sometimes not. So you never know what you are getting in a 2 buck chuck bottle.

I have bought two bottles two months apart , and put them in a blind tasteing we were having just for fun. wow same lable and varietal , couldn't have been two more differnt wines.

I suspect they hand select the ones entered in competitions and submitted to WS etc. from the better runs.

it is however consistantly drinkable. better than the night train of old.

and this wine has intorduced alot of peope to wine as a regular part of meals.

It has also drained the "wine lake" in California , and a rise in grape prices followed so now Central Valley grape growers can make a living again.

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bzac says "Sweet , overly manipulated , artificialy flavoured critter wine" about Yellowtail Shiraz

bzac — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:15:01 GMT

This is probably the biggest selling wine in America and typifies the "Talk dry but drink sweet" winedrinker.

Yellowtail has about 1% residual sugar and noticable additives such as Tannin Plus and other artificialy added vanillian character . These are added to many budget wines to give them oak aged character with out the expense of barrel ageing . Only Yellow tail takes it too far.

So the varietal character of their red wines are lost behind the mask of sweetness and vanillia.
If you are a dry wine drinker who spluges from time to time on a nice Napa Cabernet or Oregon Pinot Noir you will not like yellowtail.

If you want a friendly label "critter wine" that will be a hit at your next BBQ with your friends with a less developed pallet , this is probably the best wine out there for that.

Zac...

bzac says "Good value for money aged Tawny port" about Yalumba Galway Pipe Port ,

bzac — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:10:50 GMT

Australia has always made good "sticky" wines, the Australian wine industry was founded on fortified wines . This port a beldn of 12-15 year old small cask aged ports is excellent in quality and value. If it was made in The Duoro in Portugal , tawny port of this quality would be twice the price.

Try Hardy's Wiskers Blake as a contarst in character of Australian Tawny ports in the same price range.

Both are great value for money, without sacraficeing quality.

Z

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bzac says "This wine should be your introduction to New Zealand Wines" about Kim Crawford

bzac — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:59:00 GMT

Excellent value for money , Sauvignon Blanc in what has become the signature Kiwi style.
Crisp , fruit dominated , great nose.

A nice contrast to the California Malolacticaly femented oaky Fume' Blanc style of sauvignon blanc.

Goes great with Sushi , grilled fish and pork dishes.

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bzac says "Sweet , overly manipulated , artificialy flavoured critter wine" about Yellow tail shiraz , 2006

bzac — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:50:19 GMT

This is probably the biggest selling wine in America and typifies the "Talk dry but drink sweet" winedrinker.

Yellowtail has about 1% resdidual sugar and noticable additives such as Tannin Plus and other artificialy added vanillian character . These are added to many budget wines to give them oak aged character with out the expence of barrel ageing . Only Yellow tail takes it too far.

So the varietal character of their red wines are lost behind the mask of sweetness and vanillia.
If you are a dry wine drinker who spluges from time to time on a nice Napa Cabernet or Oregon Pinot Noir you will not like yellowtail.

If you want a freindly label "critter wine" that will be a hit at your next BBQ with your friends with a less developed pallet , this is probably the best wine out there for that.

Zac...