9/30/2016 - North316 Likes this wine:

This wine has aged wonderfully, really hitting it's stride. Still not a lot of fruit, but wonderfully nuanced flavors going on here now. Drink up!

5/18/2015 - North316 Likes this wine:

This stuff is still packing some heat. Little hot on entry and on the finish. Raisin notes definitely still present buy I don't think it is as prevalent as it was a year ago. Giving way to a little bit of smokey tobacco like notes helping to round out the sweetness. Still really enjoying this and it's only going to get better and more complex.

1/2/2014 - North316 wrote:

Nice solid wine, good QPR. Didn't take copious notes, but certainly won't hesitate to open the next bottle.

1/2/2014 - North316 wrote:

This wine if finally coming into it's own.

1/2/2014 - North316 wrote:

This one has unfortunately turned the corner. Almost no fruit left on the palate, which is a huge disappointment as this used to be bold and in your face juicy deliciousness.

1/2/2014 - North316 wrote:

Great QPR on this one. Definitely our go-to quaffing white wine.

1/2/2014 - North316 wrote:

Still going strong. This stuff is definitely more on the raisin side of things, but I tend to like it that way.

1/2/2014 - North316 wrote:

Nice solid sparkler. Dry, crisp, with nice pear and citrus notes

12/9/2013 - North316 wrote:

Drinking better now, but seems much dryer than any other InZin and more spice/pepperiness. Still not my favorite InZin, but it is getting better with time.

11/18/2013 - North316 Likes this wine:

Still a nice solid QPR on this one.

11/11/2013 - North316 wrote:

Really enjoy this wine. Not going to lie, it tastes like sweet sparkly white grape juice, and sometime that is just fine!

11/11/2013 - North316 wrote:

This bottle was somewhat off. Hopefully an anomaly as this is definitely one of my favorite wines. Bottle was pretty tart/sour, but did not taste "turned", just didn't come together.

10/8/2013 - North316 wrote:

86 is a fairly high score for me, for a white wine, so take that as you will. This was a nice, crisp, bone dry wine. Very pale in color and very clean tasting (no bitterness or off-flavors that I always tend to pick-up on in white wines. I got slight more mineral then fruit, but that is probably just my pallet adjusting to the dryness. Little bit of tropical fruit, but I got more of a green apple from it. Good wine, definitely a more enjoyable white, just probably not in the price range that I would spend for a white that doesn't blow me away.

10/4/2013 - North316 Likes this wine:

This wine, as always, has a fantastic QPR. I could drink this every day and not get tired of it. My only comment is that for some reason I really do prefer this without food. It is still great with food, but there is a extra fruitiness that really stands out when sipped by itself that I just love. As Jim Cramer would say...BUY BUY BUY.

9/28/2013 - North316 wrote:

Really opened up and smoothed out after being open for about an hour. nice solid wine.

9/24/2013 - North316 wrote:

Sadly, this one is finally starting to fade from what I loved about it. The fruit is fading, though there is a still enough to hold the wine together, the lack of fruit brought forth a little bit of bitterness on the finish. What used to be a nice perceived sweetness from the fruit is all but gone, leaving only a memory of a great wine had for a steal. Time to drink this one up if you have any left, it is becoming a shadow of what it once was.

9/24/2013 - North316 wrote:

After letting this decant (read - some sitting in glass for a little with swirling, and the rest in bottle corked/shaken/uncorked a couple of times) there was little to sign of the fizz/secondary fermentation. It still took a little bit of extra time for some funk to blow off (likely just remaining CO2), but after that was gone, this was a nice smooth, almost silky wine. Not too complex but there was a bit of spice and good some good dark fruit. Not fabulous but certainly worth the $8 if you have the time to treat it right.

8/26/2013 - North316 wrote:

Delicious as always. On PnP some nice dark fruit, a little spiciness and a little bit of a earth. This got silky smooth after some air and what was left from the first day, didn't last long the second day.

8/13/2013 - North316 wrote:

As others noted, a bit disjointed, overripe to the extend of pruniness. Not undrinkable, but didn't make me beg for more. Glad i didn't pay too much for this.

8/13/2013 - North316 wrote:

Not sure what to make of this wine. My initial sip of it was very good, a fairly smooth wine with berries and a hint of sweetness. It quickly turned into something much different. I got a lot of spiciness to it, some bramble notes. It reminded me very much of a spicy zin, and didn't have many typical cab notes to it. Even on the second day it seemed to retain much of the spice with a little bit of oak and general smokiness. I kept waiting for it to smooth out as others noted, but it just didn't seem to come together for me. It was still a good wine on its own, but was not your typical cab.

6/13/2013 - North316 wrote:

Very nice Zin. A little hot on pnp, but the alcohol took a backburner after a few minutes in the glass. Nice dark, jammy fruits. Spice, pepper and a little oak to help balance out the jamminess. This was very pleasant wine. Paired well with chicken and steak fajitas and as a sipper afterwards.

5/26/2013 - North316 wrote:

Nice port, but a little hot for my tastes.

5/15/2013 - North316 wrote:

I actually quite enjoy it. It is definitely not for everyone though. For having 3% RS i thought it was pretty balanced, definitely not cloying in anyway. The cab franc really compliments the moscato and provides for a good acid backbone. There is lots of fruit there, but not totally decernable, maybe some cranberries, strawberries and some citrus, also it seems like a touch of effervescense but that may just be perceived with the acid. The acid is there, but the lightness and sweetness probably doesn't help this hold up to many food pairings. We had salads and grilled chicken and it worked, but I like it better as an after dinner sipper.

4/21/2013 - North316 wrote:

Not a fan at all. Tastes like beer.

4/13/2013 - North316 wrote:

Didn't take formal notes, but absolutely loved this wine. Nice bright fruit, cherries and cranberries, some spices and good solid acidity to chase it all away. This is definitely a little new world and fruit forward on initial pnp. Gets some complexity with some air (and next day). I really enjoyed it both ways.

3/31/2013 - North316 wrote:

My first tasting notes in November were as follows: "Not really sure what to make of this wine. It is exactly what it is supposed to be. A fruit bomb with some sugar and lot of alcohol. Two years ago I would have absolutely loved this wine, but I find myself wanting more. A little acidity and a little less heat. Still a decent wine, but I would not buy it again for the price (which I thought was high to begin with for a woot cellars)."

I would say it still fairly consistent, though I think the alcohol has mellowed a bit. Definitely still a fruity blast lacking in any significant acid backbone. I did enjoy it a little more than the first time around, but still agrue that the QPR is nothing to brag about at the price point. In the $10-12 range this would be an awesome evening sipper.

2/28/2013 - North316 wrote:

Somewhat muted nose of citrus, lemons, appricots and just a touch of honey.

On pnp straight from the fridge it was quite muted. Nice sweet honey like flavor with definite hints of the classic riesling profile and just a touch of acid.

To be completely honest, that first taste was quite a let-down, as I didn't get any complexity, no finish, and not nearly as much as acidity as I was hoping for.

Thankfully, after about 15 minutes in the glass, as it warmed closer to room temp, this wine really started to show nicely. The acidity really starts to pop as a perfect balance to the sweet riesling. Some additional nuances and more citrus and honey notes started showing on the palate and pulled through to a short to medium finish.

Glad a gave this a few minutes to open up. I usually prefer my dessert wines somewhere between fridge and cellar temp, but this definitely benefits from being closer to room temp. This is also a very young wine, and I may just have to buy some more to see how this will take to some aging.

For those looking for a comparison to the Jana Angel Eis, they are very similar in their basic flavor profiles. I would put this more in the honey apricot range with a slightly more viscous mouthfeel, where as the Angel Eis shows slight more of a cleaner crisp floral spectrum of the rieslings. Both are very good wines that I would recommend to anyone.

2/28/2013 - North316 wrote:

Just as solid as the last bottle I tried. I think I prefer this wine the first night, as it is a little more fruit forward. The second day it opens more into the peppery spectrum, which probably plays better with food then just sipping. Still great on both days, especially for the price.

2/15/2013 - North316 wrote:

Not my favorite to begin with, as my previous notes states, but if you still have some of this, I would suggest drinking it sooner rather than later. Still fairly crisp and acidic, but is definitely losing any 'freshness' that it was remaining.

1/30/2013 - North316 wrote:

This wine is certainly not for everyone. but I for one love it. Nice fruity sweetness, slight effervescense, just a touch of acid. I couple probably polish a bottle of this off myself and never look back. At 5% alcohol this is a drink to enjoy wine with no thought involved.

1/30/2013 - North316 wrote:

This stuff is pretty fantastic. Rich amber color. Wondering honied apricat flavor. A nice blast of rich sweetness, with just enough acid to keep it from being cloying. This stuff screams late harvest and screams well-made.

1/1/2013 - North316 wrote:

This was first taste of an aged sparkler, so I didn't really know what to expect. The bottle was definitely not bad, but I don't think it is my style.

It had a nice apricot and honey color and flavor profile, with plenty of acidity left, but there was a hint of something that just didn't sit right on my palate. Maybe it was the taste of aged yeast? I'm not sure. It wasn't quite a petrol flavor profile, but the acid just didn't lend itself to the fresh/crispness it have come to enjoy in a sparkler, but rather enhanced this aged-yeasty flavor I was not enjoying. My wife and friend rather enjoyed it, but while it was not unpleasant, I would not buy again at this age. Looking forward to getting a newer vintage and comparing.

12/26/2012 - North316 Likes this wine:

I have very limited experience with Grenache, but if you had asked me what the majority of this blend was made of, I would have guessed Cab Franc, not Grenache. To me it seemed to have the body of a grenache or pinot noir, but the flavor profile of a cab franc. Medium to lighter bodied, with peppery, vegital notes (green pepper) on the palate. I think some of the more prominent green notes blew off after being opened for a little while and more fruit started showing through. I didn't get a lot of oak on this, but often-times I taste that more as a peppery note than an oak note, so it could be present here.

I definitely liked this better after some air time, and in the future will decant before drinking. This was a nice easy drinker and solid QPR. I'm sure this will be fine for a few years, but I don't see this evolving much over that time.

12/26/2012 - North316 Likes this wine:

Drank on Christmas day, therefore no notes taken. I think BLAKEEL's notes are pretty accurate, so I copied them!

Bright translucent ruby. Not much of a nose - just a hint of heat and pepper. Nice creamy mouthfeel, medium bodied. Well-integrated plum and vegetal notes on the palate. Warm, medium/long finish. By no means a typical California Pinot, but very tasty. Terrific QPR at $13 from Woot. I've had far less satisfying wines at twice the price.

P.S. The label is very pretty, and glows in the dark!

12/13/2012 - North316 wrote:

Not bad but certainly nothing spectacular. Lots of spice, smoke and tobacco. A little of the fruit comes through. A little hot with a short finish. Still a decent wine for the price, but just nothing remarkable there.

12/13/2012 - North316 wrote:

Definitely needs some air time as it was really muted on pnp. After some time in the decanter it opened up a bit. Definitely not a lot of fruit here but some interesting peppery, leather flavors. Nice medium finish but the tannins were a little more drying than I normally prefer. Not a bad wine, but definitely nothing remarkable

12/2/2012 - North316 wrote:

Nice easy drinking red. Lots of fruit a smooth sweetness. Not very complex but this was pleasant surprise when we just looking for something enjoyable to drink. This would be a great introductory wine for people who don't like dry wines. My notes are showing that this was $11, which is the top dollar I would pay for it. I believe I have seen it locally for 8 or 9, which seems about right to me.

11/25/2012 - North316 wrote:

No formal notes. Nice easy drinker, nothing standing out.

11/21/2012 - North316 wrote:

Decanted for an hour before dinner. Second glass a couple hours afterwards.
Nose of spiced cherries.
Taste: Can't pinpoint the fruit I am tasting but it is a mix of dark cherries and dark berries. Nice peppery spice. Great silky mouthfeel. No real noticable tannins or astringency after lengthly decant. Nice fruit and acid balance.

Not much of a finish, but this went absolutely perfectly with a soy marinated ribeye steak.

11/21/2012 - North316 wrote:

Not really sure what to make of this wine. It is exactly what it is supposed to be. A fruit bomb with some sugar and lot of alcohol. Two years ago I would have absolutely loved this wine, but I find myself wanting more. A little acidity and a little less heat. Still a decent wine, but I would not buy it again for the price (which I thought was high to begin with for a woot cellars).

10/18/2012 - North316 wrote:

PnP I really enjoyed this wine. I don't get any heat that others noted, though there is a little bit of a spice/smokey note, but it is far from overpowering. I don't get much, green pepper, which people usually associate with cab franc. I am not a green pepper fan, so that was biggest fear before trying this wine. This has some nice bold, bright fruit, which shows through the spice and smoke. A nice silky, lush mouthfeel followed but a medium, softer finish.

After sipping a bit more, I get a little more green pepper in the aftertaste, but , but there wasn't much on the mid-palate for me.

Good wine and great QPR.

10/10/2012 - North316 wrote:

Still not quite sure what to make of this wine. Popped and let air in the bottle for 30 minutes and come up more to room temp. Upon first taste it just seemed very disjointed to me tart/bitter overtones. After a little while in the glass it mellowed out a bit into some nice fruit, slightly floral flavors. A little more time in the glass and I was finally getting the butterscotch/banana cream pie flavors that others have noted, though I would lean it more towards a creme brulie with a hint of nutmeg.

This is definitely still an interesting wine. Not amazing, but interesting. It definitely needs some decant time IMHO to open up properly. Still have 2 more bottles to see how this one will evolve.

10/7/2012 - North316 wrote:

No detailed notes, but I would definitely by this again. Not too complex but nice silky mouthfeel and good fruit.

10/3/2012 - North316 wrote:

Isaacjamesbaker notes were spot on, so I just copied them: What a nice way to end the evening. Intoxicating aromas of honey, apricot and golden apple. The palate is plush with butterscotch, almond paste, nougat and honeycomb. Pure and concentrated, showing both the richness of botrytis and the 2003 vintage. Somehow, it maintains enough balance to be not goopy. I love the honey and amaretto flavors on the finish. Wish I had more of this.

9/24/2012 - North316 wrote:

This was still a great Scott Harvey wine, but this is my least favorite of the InZin vintages I have had so far. It seemed a little tight and just not that well integrated. I love the addition of Port in the blend, but I don't this one has fully integrated yet. It definitely got better after being opened 2 or 3 days, but just isn't where it needs to be yet. I'm going to let these sit another year or two and they should be right where I like them. Will just give me some time to drink up the 07 and 08. If you do drink now, I would suggest decanting for at least an hour or two.

9/23/2012 - North316 wrote:

Same notes as last time. This stuff just keeps getting better.

9/23/2012 - North316 wrote:

Same notes as last time. Still drinking wonderfully.

8/30/2012 - North316 wrote:

This was pretty good stuff. Paid well with some grilled brats.

Nose: Nice baking spice, cinnamon, cloves and some nice dark cherries. Slight floral hint.
Taste: This one surprisingly evolved over time. Went well with the food with a little spice, decent body and some fruit. After sitting in the glass for a bit it really opened up and showed lots of delicious red fruits. Starts a little peppery, but finishes fruity with a hint of perceived sweetness (no actual RS here, just nice fruit).

Medium finish

This is a good wine. I had only traded for one bottle but will definitely consider buying if I see it again.

8/28/2012 - North316 wrote:

I have very limited experience with sparkling wines, so keep that in mind when reading these notes.

Color: Nice vibrant pink color, think strawberry starbursts
Nose: I didn't get a lot on the nose here, maybe some strawberries, citrus, a little floral?
Taste: This was a nice dry rose sparkler. Good acidity and crisp citrus stawberry/watermelon flavors. I was hoping a little more sweetness (but didn't necessary expect it).

This had some nice tight, small, bubbles and was light and crisp. Paired very well with a variety of light finger foods (apples, grapes, salami, prosciutto, cheese, olives and french bread). Definitely worthy of a special occasion.

8/28/2012 - North316 wrote:

I didn't take great notes on this one, but here goes. Opened and aired in bottle for about 45 minutes, still a little hot and spicy on initial pour. Nice bouquet and floral earthy notes on the nose. A little hot and spicy and tight on first pour. Really opened up after a little more time in the glass. Still some nice fruit showing, very silky and smooth. Not much in the way of finish, but a very enjoyable bottle. This is drinking well right now after a decant, but should hold up for a little bit longer.