Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel, 2007

White or Red: Red

Grape(s): Zinfandel

Origin: Sonoma, CA

Vintage: 2007
Price: $14.00

Overall:
Maybe it's the old vines but regardless, this is one of the best I've tasted in this price range.  Soft like a pillow, velvety and smooth with raspberry as the main fruit that gently cuts through.  The finish yields a yummy chocolaty spice.  Outstanding balance and a sense of maturity that usually only presents itself in higher priced bottles.  Smells wonderful and if I were given one word, I'd go with "delicious".

To reveal a personal bias, Ravenswood, for some reason, has always come across to me as a second-rate wine.  Perhaps it just seems to be well marketed and widely available so I lumped it in with "Carlo Rossi" and the boys.  The guy in the wine store had to twist my arm to try it and promised it was great.  Maybe he should write the blog 'cause he done did me good.

As always, DO NOT pour and slug- there is a reason why the fancy folk let wine breathe.  Take a cue from them, let it sit in your glass for 10 minutes and then get after it.

Universo De Los Andes (Reserva) - Malbec 2008

White or Red: Red

Grapes: Malbec

Origin: Argentina (Mendoza)

Vintage: 2008

Price: $11.99

Overall: Wow. Another Malbec. Super tasty. I held my hands up and started moving them like the conductor of the New York Philharmonic after finishing my second glass. I don’t know why I did that, but for your purposes, that means it’s good.

Deeper: Why does one prefer bed sheets with a high thread count? Why does one prefer Lindt chocolate over a Krackel? Smoothness, softness, and uniformity of texture my friends. This wine has all of those traits to the 10^th power! Should be more than 12 bucks. Go get it. Be careful though, this red could turn any normal working professional into your everyday corner wino bum.

Sexy Wine Bomb, Blend 2007

White or Red: Red
Grape(s): Blend (Merlot: 38%, Zinfandel:38%, Syrah:23%, Petite Syrah:1%)
Origin: Sonoma, CA
Vintage: 2007
Price: $12.50

Thanks to everyone who has subscribed- the response has been awesome!  Tweet it, facebook it- we want to help everyone out.  On to the Special Valentine's Day edition...

Thought you should know... 
Yup, I thought the same thing- how good could it be with that "get my attention label"?  I did it due diligence and found their mission statement... "Sexy Wine Bomb is a labor of love on behalf of a small but hardcore gang of winery renegades in and around Sonoma County, hell-bent on a mission to wrestle wine away from the hands of the way-too-serious."  Vindicated.

Overall:
"Blends have more fun!" Sexy Wine Bomb is simple; it's dry with a vibrant fruit-forward start and leaves you with a subtle-but-noticeable complimenting spice on the back end.  Drinkable in volume, smooth, refined flavors that will go well with almost any meal.  My honest assessment is I could really picture this being the house wine somewhere (you'd dig it enough to ask what it was).

In my humbled opinion this wine works perfectly for Valentine's Day.  You got the label that makes for great innuendo and the wine itself is solid- It really is the total package.  Look, Valentine's Day is on a Monday this year.  That really sucks but the wine doesn't have to.  So set the mood, ride the cliche of the hokey label and know you picked a winner.

Remember, let it air out for a few minutes.  It's been in the bottle for like 4 years!