Wine Review: Alice White 2008 Shiraz

Part four of our trip down under takes a bit of a tumble down the rabbit hole. Sure, Alice White is a successful winery. Sure they mass-produce quality grapes in the sun-rich region of South Eastern Australia. Sure they manage to sell buku-bottles in the United States every year at super budget prices.

But it doesn't mean I have to like it.

It doesn't suck. Don't get me wrong. But this $6.99 Shiraz, vinted in 2008, just doesn't get my juices flowing. And, perhaps ironically, this wine does deliver a high flow of juiciness.

In the nose, this shiraz presents a fair amount of fruit. Cherry, plum and strawberry happily co-exist with a mild dose of black pepper.

The sip brings on a fruit-forward, cherry-strawberry duo. It's also very smooth and effortless. Merlot drinkers might approve of this wine. Tannins are light, so drink this wine young! But it isn't all juice and spice and all that's nice. The mid palate just falls apart, which bores me endlessly. Nothing happens there at all. Moments later, the finish returns a moderately obnoxious tangy, tinny, suck on a penny kind of taste. This wine was about to get a solid 3 of 5 glasses until that stupid finish.

Here is a list of some things named Alice that I prefer to Alice White...

• Alice (that girl in Wonderland)
• Alice Cooper (welcome to my nightmare)
• A.L.I.C.E. (the Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity)
• Alice's Restaurant (you can get anything you want...)
• Alice Walker (Pulitizer Prize winning author of The Color Purple)
• Alice (the town in south Texas)

I won't be taking a trip back down Alice White's rabbit hole any time soon. Sometimes bottles labeled "drink me" should be left alone.

2.5 of 5 glasses

Wine Review: Little Penguin 2008 Shiraz

"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

Yep. We're going to Australia this week, that strange and eerie land from south of the Equator. Rockin' some Men at Work... Throwin' another shrimp on the barbie... Keeping our babies safe from dingos. Okay I'm done with the cliches.

Australia is the fourth largest exporter of wine in the world, behind France, Italy and the USA. Each year, Australia produces 25% more Shiraz grapes than it does of it's second largest crop, Cabernet Sauvignon. I chose the Shiraz (known as Syrah to the rest of the world) varietal as my yardstick for this week for that and one other reason - I've never met a Shiraz that made me chunder. In fact, it seems like just about anyone can make a decent bottle of wine from Shiraz grapes.

On top of that, I really want to focus on the kind of bottle you can find in just about ANY store. The wines I'm reviewing this week should be in any Wal-Mart, Kroger, you name it. They are available in drive-thrus... in gas stations. You won't have too much trouble finding them.

And with these wines so readily available, at such low prices - I want to equip you with a bit of knowledge for the next time you're picking up an emergency bottle at the local CVS.

Let's start with the Little Penguin 2008 Shiraz.

This bargain find is available EVERYWHERE for about $5.99. Little Penguin is a great high-production winery and has really grown to challenge Yellow Tail's market share in the past few years. NOTE: I swiped today's picture from someone else. Usually I take my own. Meh...

This Shiraz is a dark rose, almost ruby color. The nose is fairly closed, but does impart a lot of fruit - primarily strawberry. We're not talking Boone's Farm strawberry here people - but it's definitely in there. There's a little oak coming through and a whiff of smoke.

The sip is jammy - bursting with that strawberry flavor. It really feels like drinking a spiked juice box - you know, the kind... stick it in the the crumb crucher's My Little Pony lunch box with a bologna sandwich and a gogurt... send her off to school... receive a call from the principal around 1 to talk about your darling daughter. By 2 you're meeting with someone from the state about your fitness as a parent... worried you'll never see her again.

Nope? Never happened to me either. But this stuff DOES taste pretty much like that. It kinda falls apart on the mid palate and the finish is a little hot.

CONCLUSION:

Though it's too fruity for my palate, this is a very drinkable wine for a very affordable price.

3 of 5 glasses