Two words on this one: wow!  Alright, disclosure time: 1. “wow” is not two words.  2.  This isn’t really a grocery wine (unless your local grocery store is in an extremely well heeled area of Australia).  We managed to obtain a babysitter awhile back and while sniffing around for a new restaurant to try out I came across a reference to a members only club in downtown San Diego.  On a whim, I picked up the phone and asked if I could come in for dinner.  After bouncing around to a few people on the phone the director of member services agreed to leave some guest passes for us with the hostess.  Sweet!  When we arrived, I was surprised to discover a jacket was required.  Huh?  Listen, you might think this makes sense what with the members only thing but this is San Diego.  Dressing up here means Read the rest of this entry »

In our house the 4th of July means burgers will be hitting the grill.  With that decided we can devote all of our energy to determining what wines to have with dinner.  Usually, I’d stay up late for months trying to come up with the perfect pairing for our burgers (not really), tasting thousands of wines (I wish), eating hundreds of burgers (no comment).  This year though my fine friends over at Wine Spectator agreed to my request to write a couple of articles on the subject (I actually never spoke with them but I was thinking about it and then the articles were there so I still say it was my idea).  Included on their list of wines for the 4th are a few grocery store staples which you should have no trouble finding at the local Safeway, Kroger, Vons, Ralphs, etc.  Best of all there are a number of relatively cheap wines on the list with reds ranging in price from $11-$16 and whites from $9-$12.  Listed below are our picks from the Wine Spectator articles.  Enjoy and happy 4th! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll just start this off by saying, I’m known for my child like innocence, and I wouldn’t dare use the name of this wine to attempt to lure Amy into a conversation which might throw her off balance.  With that disclaimer here’s how a recent phone call went (totally innocent! I swear!): Read the rest of this entry »

Firefly Ridge wines have become fairly popular over the course of the last six months and so when it went on sale at Vons I was eager to try it and write up a review.  As it turns out the most interesting aspect of this California Cabernet Sauvignon is that it is named “Firefly Ridge” and as far as I know there are no fireflies in California (although virtually every kid growing up here wishes there were).  The Firefly Cabernet is just “okay”.  It’s drinkable – don’t throw it out if you already have a bottle – but seeing how it isn’t particularly cheap there are quite a few other cabs out there that warrant more attention than this one.

Interested in a better option?  Take a look at some of the other wines we’ve reviewed from Safeway/Vons by clicking here.

It’s Friday and what better way to celebrate than by swinging by the grocery store on your way home and picking up a bottle or five of wine.  Listed below are our picks for the week.

1. Champagne – Gloria Ferrer (on sale $15.98 at Safeway / Vons until 6/10)
2. Chardonnay – Bogle (on sale $8.98 at Safeway / Vons until 6/24)
3. Sauvignon Blanc – Dry Creek Vineyard (available at Safeway / Vons)
4. Cabernet Sauvignon – BV (on sale $7.76 at Safeway / Vons until 6/10)
5. Zinfandel – Edmeades (Costco)

Like an old friend you can count on in a pinch, we turned to the Edmeades Zinfandel after the Rijckaert Chardonnay debacle.  This California wine has become our favorite zin of late, the one which all other zins are being judged by.  Very tasty and goes with any meal we’ve throw at it (confession: Read the rest of this entry »