Red Robin, yes, the chain that brought you the a burger called “Burnin Love,” now has a wine milkshake on the menu. The Mango Moscato Wine Shake includes vanilla soft serve ice cream, Skyy Vodka (Moscato flavored, I’ll have to look into that for another post), Moscato by Alice White (the cheap wine you can…
Tag: wine searcher
Interesting Fact
No land, no problem: These guys still started a new Sonoma winery
by wineforthewin •
This is how the story goes: three guys from the Midwest and East Coast all worked in the wine industry, but wanted to start their own new winery in Napa. They didn’t have the land or the money, but they found an opportunity and ran with it. In 2009, when the recession hit, they bought…
Review, Under $15, Zinfandel
Review: 2010 Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel
by wineforthewin •
Crowded around a six-person table at one of our favorite Italian joints in Santa Monica last week, the Zinfandel kept pouring. Partially because that favorite Italian joint, Fritto Misto, only charges $2 a person for corkage, and partially because a friend who loves Zinfandel and brought several bottles to dinner, is also a generous pour. He’s…
Budget Buster, California, Review, Santa Barbara County
Review: 2009 Kunin Roussanne
by wineforthewin •
Kunin Wines is small on production, but big on quality. I stopped by the bungalow that houses the winery on the Urban Wine Trail in Santa Barbara when I was there this summer. The tasting room is fresh and airy, a perfect locale to sip a flight of whites. My favorite Kunin was the 2009…
Cabernet Sauvignon, Non-California, Under $10
Wine bar review: Mignon in downtown Los Angeles
by wineforthewin •
At the edge of downtown Los Angeles, in that nebulous part of 6th Street that borders Skid Row, is the cutest wine bar I ever did see. I’m serious. Not only is Mignon adorable with a very Parisian vibe, think dark wood, dim lighting, mismatched glasses and minimal seating, it has quite the wine list.…
Money Saver, Pinot Noir, Under $10
Review: Beringer Founders’ Estate Pinot Noir and Doritos
by wineforthewin •
I got tongue-tied playing Celebrity at game-night with friends. I pronounced Zach Braff as Jaques Braff and Adolf Hitler as Adolf Hilter. I blame my pronunciation faux-pas on this fruity, easy-drinking, somewhat-nutty Beringer Pinot Noir. A deep red (well, all the wines I had on Sunday night looked deep red in the blue solo cups),…
Blends, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Musing, Non-California, Under $20
Thanksgiving Wine
by wineforthewin •
When Wine Library, a discount wine retailer, asked its followers on Twitter which wines they were picking up for Thanksgiving, it got me thinking: which wines should I pick up for Thanksgiving? One follower said she was eyeing a 2012 Pascal Pibaleau Rouge L’heritage D’aziaum. When I read that I had to shake my head…
Money Saver, Non-California, Under $15, White Blend
Review: 2012 Herdade de Gambia White Wine Blend
by wineforthewin •

I’m telling you, I’m on a Portugal kick. But this white wine blend from Herdade de Gambia was even better than the cryptically-labeled red blend I talked about a few days ago. Cloudy yellow, this wine smells like peach and oranges (yum!) and it has a smooth, drinkable je ne sais quoi quality about it.…
California, Paso Robles, Port
Review: Clautiere Vineyard Port
by wineforthewin •
I had never had Port until I visited Clautiere Vineyards in Paso Robles. The winery’s tasting room is all about transporting you to a magical place of whimsy and they pull it off–especially with the secondary hat room. You’ve got to see these photos of me sporting the classiest of caps: Now that I’ve embarrassed…
Interesting Fact, Non-California, Travel
Doukenie Winery: Wine Science!
by wineforthewin •
Beer, beer, beer. The social life of a geologist is filled with it. It’s glugged after a day studying rocks, after seminars and there was even a beer made specifically for a geological conference. Leanne Wiberg, a geologist and @craterlady on Twitter, was long swirling in this beer vortex until about 10 years ago when some…