YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SPEND ON A BOTTLE - SO WHY SHOULDN'T YOU BE ABLE TO SEE RATINGS WITHIN PRICE RANGES? YOU CAN HERE. WINE FOCUS IS WEST COAST USA, ARGENTINA, CHILE, AND SOON BRAZIL. ALSO: INTERESTING BEERS, SPIRITS, MUSINGS, MY BOOZE AND LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE ARTICLES, DINING AND LODGING RECOMMENDATIONS IN WINE COUNTRY, TRAVEL ADVENTURES, COFFEE, SUSHI, CIGARS, ETC.

Note: There are hundreds of wines rated here… most between $10-20, but that “category” only has 20+ of 100's of wines linked so-far. The rest of the categories are fine. Please use full drop-down (above) or search button (left) to find what you like.

I’m working on it…thanks.

Please also check out my magazine articles, linked below.

Cheers and thanks for visiting!

1) I love wine and beer, 2) I have been blessed/cursed, with some sort of industrial-accident-breeds-turbo-sniffer nose, and 3) I have a bad memory for tasting notes.

Accordingly….

I take detailed notes so that when I’m shopping I can pull up my own site on my iPhone to guide my purchases.

In short, these are notes I basically write for myself.

I also very much enjoy having people try wines I recommend, and the interactions I have with winemakers and other wine business folks.

I try to rate wines with a view to how we normal folks consume them. If you try some of these wines I’ve rated, see if my notes ring true for you. I truly hope they do.

Also, wines are rated within price category - because I, and I assume many people, go to a wine outlet with a per-bottle budget in mind.

As we all know, wines can change dramatically over time in your glass. I see that as an elemental part of wine rating, one often missed by the time demands placed on professional tasters. Therefore, I analyze over hours - not just the minutes many wine sages usual have.

When I don't finish a given bottle, I will take notes again the next day to gauge how well the wine survived overnight slumber in the fridge.

Cheers and happy ethanol!

I list the country of origin first, then the name of the grape varietal, the maker, wine name, and finally the year.

C/ = Color. Rarely noted unless unique for that varietal.

N/ = Nose, aroma - how it smells.

T/ = Taste, mouthfeel, finish.

95-100 Astounding. Total quality on all fronts. Seriously memorable. The starting material must have been near perfect, and the makers clearly took pride in their art.

90-94 Brilliant. Special stuff indeed. Do what you can to try it, you will not be disappointed.

85-89 Very Good. Above average quality. Worth a try.

80-84 Good. Average.

75-79 Fair.

50-74 Yuck. Avoid. Don't even think about trying. A disaster.

Notes:

Almost all wines are accompanied by a label picture. Those that are not are usually not of enough interest to warrant your attentions.

I decant red wines at least 20 minutes before tasting begins, usually an hour.

My ratings reflect my perceptions from, typically, multiple hours of smelling and sipping.

I try to taste at the same time of day, in the same glass, and without food to be as objective as possible.

Many wines I will vaccu-vin, refrigerate, and rate the next day to see how they hold up.

Wine, as a liquid, is an incredibly complex symphony of chemistry.

Enjoying wine, however, does not need to be complicated at all.

Many wine drinkers are perplexed by fancy labels, crazy price ranges, and the pervasive legend that one needs to be an "expert" to really enjoy wine.

Hogwash.

You know EXACTLY how you like your: steak, cocktails, toast, vegetables, salad dressings, and fish to be served. Why?

Well, even though you don't know everything about how, where, why, and under what exact climatic conditions your meat, produce, and boozes are made - you know how you want them to smell and taste.

The same can, and should, be true for your wine preferences.

Yes, what I get out of drinking wine is enhanced by how much I know about it, but that does not mean I will enjoy a given glass any more than a non "expert" can.

Well, the pricing of wine is sadly dominated by marketing and fads. In short, a wine's price is not a highly reliable indicator of its quality.

Accordingly, many fantastic bargains exist.

The goal of this site is to help bring those gems to your glass!

Another way in which this site is different is that we only rate wines against other wines in their same price category.

In other words, you can use this site to find affordable gems, but you also can pick a price point and then look for the highest ratings within that monetary range.

Red Wine, White Wine, Beer, Scotch, Whisky, Whiskey, Bourbon, Rum, Rhum, Tequila, Mescal, Mezcal, Cachaca, Champagne, Sake, Grappa, Vodka, Cigars, Tobacco, Chocolate, Coffee, Cheese, Sushi, Travel, FlyFishing.

The majority of rated wines are usually between $10-20 retail, unless noted.

Favorite Wine Styles = Red Blends, Bordeaux (Claret), Meritage, Crisp Whites, Botrytis Infected, Late Harvest.

South American Focus = Red Blends, Carmenere, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Bonarda, and Torrontes.

Red Varietal Focus = Red Blends, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Malbec, Tannat, Pinot Noir, Charbono, Pinotage, Syrah, Shiraz, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Maréchal Foch, Grenache, Merlot.

White Varietal Focus = White Blends, Late Harvest, Riesling, Gewurtzraminer, Muller-Thurgau, Torrontes, Semillon, Viognier, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.

Wine Region Focus = Argentina, Bordeaux, Brasil, Brazil, Casablanca Valley, California, Chile, Colchagua Valley, France, Germany, Lujan de Cuyo, Maipo, Maule Valley, Mendoza, Mexico, Napa, Oregon, Paso Robles, Patagonia, Rapel Valley, Rio Grande Do Sul, Sonoma, South Africa, Spain, Tupungato, Valle de Colchagua, Valle de Maule, Valle de Rapel, Vietnam, and Willamette Valley.