I know, I know.  It’s been way too long since I’ve posted a review.  Not to fear, I have been drinking wine steadily.  I have just been unable to post about them.  So this post will be a bit different.  I am going to briefly highlight a few wines that were good enough and/or memorable enough to remember over the last couple of weeks.  So here they are, in no particular order:

JC van Staden 2012 Malbec

This came from www.nakedwines.com.  This was a smooth, not overly complex Malbec that was exceptionally easy to drink.  I was expecting a more intense flavor profile from this wine, but was pleasantly surprised by the subtle tones that would come through with every sip.  I drank this over two evenings while catching up on tv shows that I had DVR’d.  At 13.5% I’d say a great buy!

DLC Ciderworks Scrumpy – Hard Cider Estate Bottled

This is a fabulously smooth, non-carbonated hard cider from a local cidery in Jefferson, MD.  For horror film fans, the orchard and cidery are footsteps away from Burkittsville, MD of Blair Witch Project fame.  And yes, the little town of Burkittsville is creepy as fuck.  Go ahead, drive through and tell me you don’t get a weird feeling.  Anyway…this light, refreshing hard cider is reminiscent of an exceptionally well-made unfiltered apple juice, but with a healthy kick to it.  I polished this off in one night while doing research for my final project for my documentary photography class on photography of abandoned mental hospitals.  And yes, by “doing research” I mean “accidentally getting drunk while watching DVR’d episodes of Ghost Hunters.”  It was the Peoria, IL episode!  Great episode chronicling an abandoned hospital paired with a great, smooth hard cider.  The whole evening was very fall themed.  So take your pumpkin spice latte and stick it.  This is what fall is all about.  Only 9%, but I love this orchard/cidery, and the cloudy, crisp, clean tasting Scrumpy absolutely made my evening.  It comes in an adorable little glass jug, which just gives it a few more bonus points to make up for the low alcohol content.  I’m pretty sure the jug was meant to be a single serving.  I’ll be visiting and picking up more.

Semilla Moscato – Sierra Foothills 2012 by Jessica Tomei

It’s pink?  What?! Are you sure this is a Moscato?  Ok, typically I find Moscatos to be far too sweet for me.  This one was a bit dryer than the average Moscato making it very refreshing and easy to drink.  This rapidly disappeared one evening while I was putting slides together for a presentation.  This would be a great addition to a warm summer evening sitting out on the back porch and watching the sunset.  12.6% ABV, this offering also came from www.nakedwines.com.  I would definitely add this to my to order again from Naked Wines.