World Wine Reviews - Home

Years ago we were introduced to the fine tasting wines of Van Duzer at Houston’s; a great restaurant down in Orange County that has an amazing beef dip sandwich. Houston’s is a chain restaurant with multiple locations, one in Napa Valley called “Rutherford Grill” and several others in various states and cities. (Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Denver, Etc.)

Anyway, our first experience with Van Duzer was very memorable. Ever since then we’ve been ordering bottles straight from the winery up in Oregon. Several years and many bottles later, we have yet to have a bad or even mediocre wine from Van Duzer. (these wines have made great birthday and anniversary gifts)

For the price, you can’t go wrong with this young, but very tasty bottle of Pinot Noir. It’s bright cherry and plum fruit flavors along with those subtle pinot spices make this a real value. Probably a great one to cellar for awhile too! Thanks Van Duzer!

Sad though, haven’t been able to find this wine locally. Have to pay for shipping. Uck.

From the winemaker:
This is the perfect house wine, a blend of six Pinot Noir clones that capture the grape varietal’s many nuances. Selected from newer vines on the estate following the warm summer of 2006, this full-bodied wine offers up a rich texture and abundant aromas of plum, spice, blackberry and blueberry. Flavors of black cherry, ripe plum and fresh garden herbs predominate.

Over time, Van Duzer has developed a winemaking process that is well suited to our vineyard. The grape clusters are harvested by hand, sorted for quality, then destemmed and placed into cold maceration tanks to extract bright colors and soft tannins. A variety of yeasts are used, each chosen to enhance and preserve the nature or ‘terroir’ of our Pinot Noir. When fermentation is completed, the wine is transferred to a mix of 35% new, 30% once-used and 35% neutral French oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation.

(2 votes, average: 8.5 out of 10)

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We were in our local Target the other day and stumbled upon the wine section. (Not sure if that is just a California thing?) Found this Pinot from New Zealand which was marked down from $15 to $10.50 a bottle, so we decided to pick up a few bottles to try. To our surprise, it was very drinkable. Nothing spectacular, but a pretty good red wine for the buck. Plum, cherry and oak on the nose. Tastes of cherry and a hint of oak on the palate with a pleasant aftertaste.

Also try the Kim Crawford 2006 Sauvignon Blanc

(3 votes, average: 6 out of 10)

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We’ve had several good bottles of Mark West Pinot within the last few years. The ‘05 was good and now the ‘06 vintage is just as good. Well maybe it COULD sit for a year to develop a little more edge…but why? For around $10 a bottle, you should just sit back and enjoy it without any worry about the cost. Nice black cherry flavor with hints of oaky spice. Easy to drink and easy on your budget.

Food pairing ideas:
Try this Pinot with anything. Goes well with beef, fish and chicken. (creamy or spicy)

We’ve seen this bottle of Pinot Noir in several of our local grocery stores as well as in most wine or liquor stores.

A great buy under $10!

(4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10)

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A very fine bottle of Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley! Very smooth and very much worth the $25-$29 price of admission. Very tasty…one of our favorite Pinot Noir’s! Make sure you put Byron on your list of wineries to visit when you’re in the Santa Barbara area. Some of their wines you can only get from the vineyard directly.

From the winemaker:
There are rich aromas of red plum, leather and clove that are highlighted by accents of jasmine and earthiness. The wine displays excellent intensity of flavor, featuring hints of black cherry, plum, brown spice and subtle nuances of French oak. Natural acidity and smooth tannins support the silky mid-palate. The wine culminates in a long, smoky finish.

You can order this Byron 2004 Santa Maria Pinot Noir online!

(4 votes, average: 8.25 out of 10)

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About 8 or 9 years ago I was introduced to the Echelon label at a restaurant in Denver, CO. Ever since, we’ve enjoyed many of their wines. I admit, I have had 1 or 2 not so good bottles, but overall most of the wines from Echelon have been really good.

This $10-$13 bottle of Central Coast Pinot Noir was one of their finer bottles of wine. Clove and cherry on the nose with a slight hint of oak and rose petals. Taste was dark cherry with a very enjoyable smooth oak flavor after each sip! (Oak is one of those flavors we always look for and enjoy in a good bottle of wine.)

Food pairing ideas:
For a VERY enjoyable meal, we paired this bottle of Pinot Noir wine with some cedar planked grilled salmon.

Echelon wine can usually be found at your local wine cellar, liquor store or even in your grocery store. (We find it on sale for around $9.99 at Von’s or Ralph’s)

(3 votes, average: 7.33 out of 10)

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Hearty but smooth! A great tasting $12-$16 bottle of Pinot Noir from Kenwood. Filled with flavors of plum and raspberry with a hint of vanilla and cherry. An exceptional wine for the price that will surely bring us back for more.

Find Kenwood wines here.

(2 votes, average: 8.5 out of 10)

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A medium bodied wine with aromas of cherry and some herbal spice. Nice silky texture, easy to drink and very mild. Really good wine that went great with our pasta!

We’ll for sure pick up another bottle or two of this wine.

(2 votes, average: 7.5 out of 10)

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“Cork Dancer 4.2″ is a must try pinot. Great for the region. Try the restaurant if you are in the neighborhood. Awesome food and amazing wine. Note that this was the place featured in that movie “Sideways.”

(3 votes, average: 8.33 out of 10)

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Super good wine from Blackstone. Black cherry, vanilla, and hints of spice followed by cherry, jammy berry and black tea-infused flavors. Always get a few bottles of this wine when it’s on sale. ($8.99-$9.99)

(2 votes, average: 7.5 out of 10)

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