We visited Eola Square favorite Sonoma Draught House to see what wines it had to offer.

Weekly Wine Update No. 2

Week two of the #TO100wines challenge has concluded and, sure, some of the wines are tough to find. But we have quit whining and started wining!

  • As I stated last week, we ran into a bit of a hiccup with our Wine Enthusiast Magazine Top 100 Wines Under $15 challenge. Without a time machine to take us back to when all of the wines were available, it’s humanly impossible to try all 100. If anyone has a time machine, I would love to hear from you, and if it’s a DeLorean time machine you are officially the coolest person in the entire world, but obviously you wouldn’t need me to tell you that. Moving on.

    The #TO100wines challenge is still going strong! We will try 100 wines by Jan. 1, 2014. And here’s this week’s update:

    Wine Enthusiast Magazine Top 100 Wines Under $15

    Diana (me!) tried two:
    Tres Ojos 2011 Garnacha — This was by far my least favorite of all the wines I’ve tried, and one of my least favorite Garnacha ever. Bleh. I gave it an 80.
    HandCraft 2010 Artisan Collection Petite Sirah — This wine, on the other hand, is awesome! I highly recommend it. But drink it all in one night (with friends?), because it went old quickly. Even with the air-sucker-out preserver thing it went old quick. Gave it an 89.

    Kate tried one:
    Evans & Tate 2011 Split River Shiraz — She really like it! She commented that it was a great wine to sip on casually while enjoying a relaxing evening on the back porch watching the setting sun with the one you love. (OK, I totally added everything after “casually.”) She gave it a 94.

    As for the non-WE wines we sampled, well we visited a couple fun places this week!

    Kate stopped by the super cute Iza Tapas Bar in Thornton Park, where she tried the Terrazas de Los Andes' Malbec Reserva 2010 from Mendoza, Argentina. Order this one if you feel like having a Cabernet and there isn’t one on the list. Not your typical Malbec.

    I met up with Kate and we headed to one of my Sunday Funday favorites, Sonoma Draught House in Eola Square. Kate ordered the Thorny Rose Red Blend, which she, and I quote “freakin' loved. Granted, it was my second glass of the night (which I always enjoy a little more than the first), but this was delicious. Slightly sweeter than Pinot Noir or Malbec, but still full-flavored and complex. Love love love.”
    I also loved loved loved the Josh Cellars Pinot Noir that our server recommended. It was super smooth, super clear. Definitely the best “by the glass” Pinot Noir that Sonoma offers and worth the extra couple dollars.

    Jess and I also made another stop at Urban Flats in downtown Winter Garden, mostly to enjoy the gorgeous weather and work on the outdoor patio. To our wonderful surprise, we were visited on the front patio by Jane, the general manager, who insisted we try her favorite bottle under $15. It's the Michael Pozzan Annabella 5 Red Blend 2010, and it is fabulous. I absolutely loved it and will be checking my local wine shop for it! Even Jess finished her entire sample glass, and she never finishes her red wine samples. That's how great it is.

    So our grand total is 17 wines sampled, 83 to go, 6.5 weeks to get it done. Check back next week for update No. 3! Happy wining! #TO100wines

Diana Mainieri's picture

Diana Mainieri

Experiencing Orlando in every way, Diana shares some of the most exciting, delicious, and entertaining things to do in Orlando through the To Do Orlando blog.