Natura Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

This organic (does any serious wine drinker really care, I don't) Chilean red has red cherry and cassis flavors and a lot of tannins at the finish. It's by no means unpleasant. $8.99, available fo a dollar less in N.Y.

Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Someone wrote on the net that he liked keeping a few bottles of cheaper wine in his cellar for his less important guests but that this woouldn't serve the purpose, it tasted like grape juice gone bad. If that is a fair representation of his taste I wouldn't care to be one of his more important guests either. This New Zealand white, while not in a class with our favorite Giesen, is a pleasant enough blend of citrus flavors with a hint of mown grass. It should be drunk cold as it tends to be somewhat on the sweet side when warm. $8.99, can be bought for a dollar less elsewhere.

HD Wine Tasting

We recently attended a wine tasting dinner to benefit the Huntington's Disease Society. Five French wines were served.

Chateau Latour Brut. This bubbly from the Saumur region does not live up to its appelation, being vaguely sweet, which no brut should ever be. It's not currently listed in PA and I could locate only the red version elsewhere, which sells for $17.99, way too much.

Jaboulet-Verchere Pouilly Fuisse. Not a particularly distinguished representative of the variety. The color is good and the nose is ok, but the wine lacks the depth which, along with the lemony element, distinguishes a good Pouilly Fuisse. $19.99.

Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rose. Medium bodied with a good color, too much raspberry, some cherry, more than a hint of sweetness. Seriously overpriced at $13.99 ($.9.99 in NJ, which wins this one by a mile).

Arrogant Frog Lilly Pad Pinot Noir. I don't profess to know if this wines's name is a bit of French self mockery but what wew have here is a nice, unassertive country red from the Herault in Languedoc. Relatively full bodied, it mixes cherry elements with ripe tannins. I would certainly pick it up at the present sale price of $8.99.

Chateau de Paillet-Quancard. I reviewed this Bordeaux red previously and was somewhat disappointed. The price has now been reduced to $10.29 and if you are a lover of Merlot, which I'm not, you might want to try it.

Our State Liquor Board

My son in CO tells me that he much enjoyed the Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec from Argentina's Mendoza Valley, for which he paid $8.99. The wine is offered in PA for $13.99. Way to go, PSLB, just shows you what the power of mass purchasing can achieve.

Quinto de Gomariz Vinho Verde 2008

This white from Northern Portugal is a nice, crisp summer wine. It's fruity elements (peach and gooseberry) are well balanced by citrus and there is just enough of the bubly element characteristic of the variety to make it interesting. $9.99.

Diseno Malbec 2007

This red from Argentina has a good blend of cherry and dark berry flavors with the usual touch of chocolate. The finish is short, the tannins still have a little edge to them. $7.99, is priced higher in a lot of other states but can also be had for a dollar less.

Genesis Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

This Washington State red is a very nice wine indeed. The nose is pungent and it combines subdued raspberry and cherry flavors with a finish of anise and cinnamon which stops well short of being too assertively spicy. Attractively priced at $8.99. Get it!