Tag Archives: mystery case

Paying for your (S)(Z)ins

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If you go back one generation, they’re probably the ones that made the Zin on your mis spent youth. Notice I said Zin not sin. … well maybe that too.


Established in 1895, Seghesio Family Vineyards produces benchmark Zinfandels that honour five generations of wine growing, and share the heart of Sonoma County and their Italian heritage. 


“Loaded with rich, jammy fruit, this plump Zin is a pleasure to drink, with bold accents of wild berry, spicy cinnamon and licorice that glide dynamically toward plush tannins.


Petite Sirah is added to honor century old traditions and to provide color and structure. The result is a wine that offers tantalizing raspberry, blueberry, classic briary and spicy flavours with a balance of components for which Seghesio wines are known.

Blend: 83% Zinfandel, 12% Petite Sirah, 1% Syrah, 1% Carignane, 1% Barbera, 2% Mixed Red

Pair with anything Italian.


In the glass the wine pours pretty light, see through, and in the mouth it’s medium to medium plus in body. Great aromatics, but where this one shines is once it hits the palate.

ZINFANDEL – SEGHESIO SONOMA 2016

$33.99 regularly $36.99

14.8% alcohol

UPC:00088254758724

Most dangerous white wine yet

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This is the most dangerous wine the Goddess of Wine has recommended.  It’s so subtle – lovely and dry.   You just keep taking sips, and soon, the bottle is gone.


Intensely floral, fruity flavours. Great structure and a long mineral finish. 


Grecanico and Pinot Grigio…. and from Sicily and Organic.  What more could you ask for?  


I’m wondering if it gets better if you speak Sicilian to it.


Definitely worth a trip to the north eastern regions of the Island.


Serve it nicely chilled.  


You have been warned .. 

TAVERNELLO GRECANICO PINOT GRIGIO – TERRE SICILIANE ORGANIC

$11.99 regularly $12.99

12% alcohol

UPC: 08008530055585

4 Thumbs Up

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For the region the wine and the vintner.  Emilia-Romagna – the home of parmigiano and prosciutto and Chiara Condello.  She crafts organic Sangiovese.


7 hectares of land, 4.8 of which are planted to Sangiovese; the rest are split between woods and olive trees.  

She works in her own way, with her own vineyards and own cellar.  Her first vintage was 2015, and in a short time she’s combined her bright-eyed enthusiasm with a clear vision of what her Sangiovese should be.


Annual production is just 12,000 bottles.  Hand harvested and 100% organically cultivated.


It has a  complex bouquet, lively acidity and a lovely long finish.


ROMAGNA SANGIOVESE PREDAPPIO – CHIARA CONDELLO 2018

14% Alcohol

$24.99 regularly $27.99

UPC: 08056737212898

Twas a dark and stormy night

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We started out with a traditional Pinot from Chile.  Then moved up the mountains in Argentina for a Malbec, and then hopped over to Portugal for a blend.


What a Week!


There was no pushing the food around on the plate. It was all inhaled. The meals were hearty fare that were built to fend off the damp Fall and bring out the moody mysteries of the wine.  I’m going to have to turn back the scales 5 kilos as well as the clocks.


The medium-bodied Pinot was silky with fresh red berries there to pick up the earthiness, Flashes of spice to perk up the acidity. 


PINOT NOIR – UNDURRAGA GRAN RESERVA SIBARIS LEYDA VALLEY

$15.99

14.0 % Alcohol

UPC:07804315304722

A rich, solid blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz, Syrah and Alicante Bouschet.  It is bold, smooth, dry, and soft – spicy and toasty It has a fine balance between cool tannins and bold black fruits. 

ALENTEJANO – CASA SANTOS LIMA QUID PRO QUO

14.2% Alcohol

$15.99

UPC: 05604424433014

Today, Argentina is a world leader in high-altitude grape-growing and Malbec is thriving at 1,000 to 1,500 metres in elevation. The benefit of altitude is cooler nights and large temperature swings between day and night of the kind most winegrowers never experience. Grapes do much developing in the final four to six weeks of ripening where the temperature is the determinant of any single component of flavour or aroma.

Since varying flavours and aromas are produced at different temperatures, the best wines need a vineyard with a range of favourable temperatures to capture all the desirable flavours and aromas. A good start is a nighttime temperature in the low teens followed by daytime highs in the mid to high 20s.


MALBEC – LA LINDA PRIVATE SELECTION OLD VINES 2018

$17.49 regularly $19.99 

14.2 % alcohol

UPC:07791203001675

Think Berries and Cream

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A light, aromatic crémant made in the traditional method from Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Crunchy berry flavours, fine bubbles, balanced acidity and a rounded finish. Great as an aperitif.

Calvet, one of the oldest French wine brands in the world, was founded in 1818 by Jean-Marie Calvet. He was born in 1789 in Anse, a small village north of Lyon. From his mother, whose family owned vineyards in Tain-l’Hermitage in the Rhône Valley, he inherited a passion for wine, founding Calvet in 1818 to commercialise the family’s wines. As Bordeaux was one of their biggest markets, Jean-Marie and his son Octave built warehouses in Bordeaux, opened an office in 1849, and expanded to Burgundy in 1870, to become the largest wine company in France in the 19th and most of the 20th century. 


All grapes are harvested manually, secondary fermentations (Prise de mousse) occurs in the bottle and there’s a minimum of 12 months of aging on the lees before it’s bottled. The vintage is declared every year, which emphasizes the quality and the typicity of the vintage.

Calvet Brut Rose Cremant

$15.49

12.5% alcohol

Ground to a halt

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Dinner prep was stopped by the Grinder.  

Our usual sip whist doing prep got extended because it really caught us off guard.  

Lovely and dry, Pinotage is a cross between Cinsault and Pinot Noir.  This one, from the Coast Region of the Cape South Africa, is rich and intense.


So we carried on sipping and enjoying and then slowed down dinner (long slow stew the first night and a little left over for the chilli the next night) with extended sips over conversation.


Don’t let the silly label make you pass this one by.  It’s most worthy.


the Grinder Pinotage

$13.99

14.5% Alcohol

UPC: 06009806160486

Enjoyable Repeat

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We have no complaints that it came around again…. Each time the Goddess adds to the sale discount.


Wine has been planted in the Bergerac region since Roman times making it one of  France’s first appellations.


This Grand Cuvee is a classic blend of Cabernet and Merlot. It is a savoury red with long lasting flavour.

BERGERAC – CHATEAU LA BESAGE GRANDE CUVEE 2017

$19.99 regularly $21.99

13.5 % alcohol

UPC: 03700898210594

Basking in Slimness

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Me thinks the Goddess of Wine has put us on a diet.


The first offering in Mystery Case #12 actually has a Nutritional Label on the back!


Zero % Fat, Zero % Carbs, 0.4% Protein, and only 140 calories per ¾ cup. And 0 grams of  sugar.

Full Flavour.  crisp and refreshing. 

OK so you’re supposed to act like a verb:  and lie or relax in pleasant warmth or atmosphere; and revel in, and take pleasure and enjoyment. I can work with this.


Bask worked very well with grilled chicken thighs and roasted yam wedges and a cool coleslaw.


We will remind you to come back to this one next summer. 

Signed: “His Svelteness”


Bask Crisp Rose

$11.99

12% Alcohol

UPC: 00063657042052

Delicious by another name

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The warm South of Spain, Jumilla Region, produces this delicious 100% organic Monastrell (if you were next door in France you’d call the grape Mourvedre).


Our award winner has no added sulphurs.


Crisp but not intense, and very full bodied. The tannins are smooth and well integrated, giving a very more-ish finish – as in … give me more.


Delicious with game. Served room temperature (warm). Excellent choice.

Carta Roja Selection Reservada  Monastrell

$19.99

Fond memories

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Located in the north east, in Tokaji, one of the oldest wine regions in the world and capable of making world-class wines.

They’ve been around for a while (since 1406) so have figured out how to make great wines. The history of the winery can be traced back to 1406 to the first written record mentioning the Bodrogkeresztúr cellar. By 1691, having passed through various hands, the estate became the Bodrogkeresztúr winery and in 1944, during the war years, the winery came under the ownership of the Tokaj Wine Company. In 2000, the family behind Champagne D’Aulan took it upon themselves to restore the winery. It operates today under Hungarian ownership once more.

It’s been a while (probably 35 years) since we’ve had a Tokaji. It won’t be that long before the next bottle gets to our table.


A dry and fragrant white, this wine is made from Furmint, the same variety that yields Dereszla’s Tokaji Aszu. The nose is very aromatic with a refreshing and structured palate of juicy pear, spicy apricot and lovely minerality.


Dry and fragrant. Predominantly Furmint (85%) blend with Harslevelu (10%) kand Kabar (5%).  This white is delicious with a gentle  spicy backbone, a pronounced texture, as well as high acidity and a notably long finish.
It’s great for any all occasions … our’s just happened to be home made pizza night.

TOKAJI FURMINT DRY – CHATEAU DERESZLA 2019

$16.99

12.5% Alcohol

UPC: 05997409500918