Wine Club Gift Guide

Vanilla Wine Reviews

I drank these 5 wines and tasted black fruit, blackberry, brambly, bright, cherry, fruity, raspberry, red fruit, smooth tannin, vanilla. The wines are my favorites, natural, organic, organically farmed, small production, smooth and came from a variety of sources, including wine clubs, wineries, and wine stores.

Wine reviews by: Jessyca Frederick

California Pinot Noir Lot 179

2022 Ninety Plus Cellars California Pinot Noir Lot 179

The wine was not perfect, but at a quarter of the price of most boutique California Pinot Noir it delivered great fruit and was very smooth.

Tasting notes: red fruit, vanilla

Titus Andronicus

2020 Titus Wines Titus Andronicus

Great crowd-pleasing Bordeaux-style blend. Fruit-forward but balanced with smooth tannins, great acidity, and just a touch of vanilla from the oak.

Tasting notes: red fruit, vanilla, bright, smooth tannin

Babylonstoren Shiraz

2019 Babylonstoren Babylonstoren Shiraz

Well-balanced, rich, deep, beautiful fruit-forward Shiraz — an excellent sipping wine. Brambly black fruit was dominant, with some subtle raspberry fruit in the background. A long slightly vanilla finish was supported by fine-grain tannins.

Tasting notes: black fruit, brambly, raspberry, vanilla, smooth tannin

Sausaler Klassik Zweigelt

2020 Michi Lorenz Sausaler Klassik Zweigelt

This was not my first Zweigelt and I was excited to see it appear in this shipment. I love Pinot Noir and Zweigelt has similar characteristics, but is more acidic. It was as expected. The palate was “fruity with blackberry, cherry,” and a hint of vanilla from the oak.

Tasting notes: fruity, blackberry, cherry, vanilla, bright

Über Chard

2021 Brutocao Cellars Über Chard

A somewhat complex Chardonnay from Northern California, showcasing vanilla and caramel from the oak and stone fruit on the palate.

Tasting notes: vanilla, caramel, apricot, peach

Notice: I hold no formal wine credentials. I am a wine geek who has consumed 1000+ of bottles from 100+ different wine clubs and 1000s more bottles that didn’t come from those wine clubs. I do not accept payment for wine reviews, and I do not accept payments to influence my opinions. I happily accept free wine (and I buy wine).

Why read my wine reviews: Wine taste is subjective. What I like may not be what you like. I try to leave room for you to form your own opinions, so I don’t provide a score or a rating. I do point out wines that are an incredible value or truly not worth the money. I note flaws, wines that don’t have typicity (because this matters if you are buying wine without having tasted it yourself), when wines are out of balance, and when wines lack appropriate body.

I don’t like wasting money (or anything for that matter). I’m careful about where I spend my money and my mindset as a reviewer is to be careful about where you spend yours. I don’t believe a high price tag equals quality and I know for sure there are wines of very good quality that are also a great value.

Learn more about me or get in touch.