To those of you who have followed my ramblings -- Last September I had a bad fall (of the vertical, not the seasonal kind) and fractured my back. I've recovered to some extent, but not completely, so that I'm not driving and have to walk with the help of a walker. This is hardly ideal for winkling out new wines, so that, with many regrets, I've concluded that I can no longer keep my wine blog going. As for what I'd hoped to accomplish, it now seems certain that the PLCB will long outlive me. Thank you, one and all, for reading my often disconnected musings, anD God bless you all.

Donna Irene Umbria Rosso 2013

In the manner of all very young Italian reds, this Umbrian requires a very long breathing period (three hours at a minimum) lest it taste harsh, tannin saturated, and bitter. Given that, it softens up nicely. $12.99, a dollar less in N.Y.

Quinta de Gomariz Alvarinho 2009

Alvarinhos are grown in Northern Portugal, just across the border from Spanish Galicia. They tend to be a curious mixture of tart and sweet (think of Chinese sweet and sour food). This one has been reduced in price given its age so that the end result tends to have both opposing qualities exaggerated. If that kind of exotic effect is your thing, you may like it. Very overpriced at $11.99.

Casalone Rosso Toscano 2006

A blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and San Giovese, this rather assertive Tuscan red is all but undrinkably tart upon first opening. Once it's breathed for a couple of hours though, it becomes quite civilized, with plum and red cherry elements, and even a perceptible chocolate note. It's holding up nicely under its age but, at $12.99,is surely overpriced.

Montefiore Moscato d'Asti 2011

The Muscat grape has been grown in the Mediterrenean region for over three thousand years and until relatively recently informed our taste of what a vinified white grape should taste like: it's semi-sweet. This one from Piedmont tastes of white peach and apple, with some slightly bubbly notes and quite a bit of fragrance and underlying caramel. It's unmistakably a dessert wine and drinking it as an accompaniment to main dishes would clearly not correspond to today's taste. $9.99.

Ramon Bilbao Valinas Albarino 2010

This white Rias Baixas from Galicia (Spain, not Poland) is light, fragrant, with nicely blended flavors of melon and citrus. It's certainly at least a year beyond its "drink by" date, but, with its screw top, has hung in there nicely. (While I'm deeply suspicious of any red with a screw top, whites are quite another story). At $11.99 not exactly cheap, but a nice quaff.

Callabriga 2010

This strikes me as a particularly nice year of this Portuguese red blend from the Douro region, also famous for its Ports. A bit on the tart side, with a tannin overload on opening, it will soon soften into appealing plum amd cherry elements, complementing any red meat. $9.99.

Coli Fratale 2010

A red Chianti from Tuscany which manages to be at one and the same time fruit forward ( mostly cherry and blackberry ) and thin at the same time, and in addition has a noticeable tobacco smoke overlay, this turns out to be nothing particularly special, certainly not at $10.99.

Casa Cimbra Pinot Grigio 2012

Had I never tasted a Pinot Grigio from the Venezio before, I should have said "no thank you, never again". This wine has nothing whatever to recommend it, it's completely bland, with just a slight bitter taste at the finish. Overpriced, even at $8.99.

Rutini Trumpeter 2012

A Malbec/Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon blend this young red from Argentina's Mendoza Valley exhibits mainly blackberry elements with a touch of smoke at the finish. Not as much body as I would like. $ 11.99,one can do better.

Bodegas Santalba Jarrero Rioja Blanco 2011

As regular readers of this blog will be aware, it's not often that I come down hard on a Rioja -- they are generally reliable -- but let this be a notable exception This is supposed to have apple and orange elements, but all I detect is a largely undefined, vaguely sweetish taste and, if that weren't enough, an unpleasant, vinegary finish. I have no means of determining if that's built into the wine, or whether the bottle has begun to turn, but by all means avoid it. The price, $11.99, is nothing short of ludicrous.

Over the Edge Pinot Gris 2010

You musn't think Marlborough Valley -- this Martinborough white from New Zealand's North Island is a semi-sweet with predominant elements of peach and ripe apple and no bite to speak of. We were unimpressed, the wine could have been made to illustrate the meaning of the impression "meh". $11.99.

Teliani Valley Tsinandali 2011

There's not much to be said on behalf of this white from Georgia (the country, not the state) other than that it's neither dry nor sweet, and that it tastes vaguely of grapes. There's a cartoon in the January 6, 2014 NEW YORKER magazine that describes it perfectly.$8.99.

Ruffino Orvieto Classico 2012

Ruffino is a huge combine, producing vast quantities of both reds and whites. The entry level whites tend to be cheap but rather aggressively dry. This white however, grown in Umbria (and marketed simply as "white Chianti" on its home ground) is a step or two above that. Not precisely sweet, it nevertheless predominantly reminds me of pear, with just enough citrus to make it into a table rather than a dessert wine. A nice, rounded mouthful and certainly worth the price of $8.99.

Caparzo San Giovese 2011

From the celebrated Montalcino region, this is a very ordinary red, made from the Sangiovese grape, with the expected cherry and chocolate elements, with rather too much acidity in the finish. $8.49.

Ruffino Aziano Chianti Classico 2009

In spite of the fancy designations, this is an ordinary Chianti Classico, with the usual cherry element. considerably overpriced at $12.99.

M.Chapoutirr Belleruche Rouge 2011

A Grenache/Syrah blend Cotes du Rhone, this is a somewhat unripe product, rather smoky in taste, with elements of cherry and licorice. Somewhat overpriced at $10.99.

Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Your typical New Zealand Marlborough Valley Sauvignon Blanc tends to be fresh, flinty, with a mown grass element predominating. This one, however, has a good deal more body, with strong gooseberry and citrus flavors. $12.99.

Peter Weber Brut

One man's brut is another's demi sec, and that is what that Alsatian bubbly struck me as. It's relatively heavy-bodied and particularly unsubtle. Way over priced at $12.99.

Cantina Orazio Rosso Gastone 2010

If I were employed in an Italian vineyard to help with the harvesting, this is what I might expect to be given along with my free lunch at noon. It's from Liguria, and it's red. That's the best that can be said for it; othewise it's raw, more than fleetingly bitter, and in no conceivable manner worth the "sale" price of, hang on to your hats, $11.99. (Which reminds me that it's now been at least a year since the initiative to do away with the PLCB was introduced. In that period ( not that anyone cares) I've tried to be fair, praising the Board for whatever real bargains it was offering, and there were certainly some, but from here on in, I'll just save my breath and, whenever expedient and justified by price, order my wine from out of state. The PLCB succeeded admirably in running rings around the voters, but not around the courts.