Slowly but surely, I’m trying this and that, these and those, and figuring out what I really like.
Rex-Goliath Free Range Red ($8) – They have this at BOTH local grocery chains, so it must be really popular. But as far as red blends go, I found it to be a little bit too bitter for my tastes. Which is a shame, because the bottle has an awesome crazy story about a 47-pound rooster. (Though it wasn’t as awesome crazy as the label on anything made by Dr. Bronner.)
The Little Penguin Pinot Noir ($7) – Another sad disappointment. Not very fruity or juicy, just kind of bitter and harsh.
Yellow Tail Sweet Red Roo ($7) – This wasn’t a bad cheap sweet red, but for the same price I can get the Barefoot Sweet Red, which remains one of my top cheap sweet reds. This wine was like Disney’s California Adventure theme park — anywhere else, it’d be really awesome. But next to Disneyland, it just can’t compare.
Yosemite Road Red Blend ($4.99) – This is the house wine of 7-Eleven, people. They made it to compete with Trader Joe’s Three-Buck Chuck. I guess this stuff is $3.99 in every state except Florida, where we pay an extra dollar. Because reasons. Anyhoo, it was shockingly decent for being a five dollar bottle of wine. Not too sharp, plenty tasty with the fruit notes. I’ll be getting another bottle of this stuff (and I’ll be paying peanuts).
La Di Da Sweet Red Wine ($9) – I got both of the bottles on the right side at the same time, and I felt like a real froo-froo girl, what with all of the flowers and pretty colors on the labels. This was a pretty good red blend, and I just might get it again. After I get more of that 7-Eleven wine.
Petals Sweet Red Dornfelder ($10) – I was given the recommendation of German wines made from Dornfelder grapes, because I clearly lean toward the sweet and fruity wines. And holy balls, y’all, this stuff is good. It probably helps that it only has 9.5% alcohol (as opposed to the 11%-14% of a lot of table wines out there. There’s practically no bitterness, no dryness from tannins — it’s smooth as a baby’s bottom and soft as velvet. Really mild, really fruity, and really tasty. I’ll definitely be checking out more Dornfelders.