2007 Zind-Humbrecht Alsace Gewurztraminer Wine Review

The wine has a golden yellow colour with an very high amount of alcohol (15%). However, you really won't think it's that high when you drink it. This is very tasty with hints of green apple, lemon, pears, and other flowery notes. The best part about this wine was it's crisp acidity and full bodiedness (is that even a word?). Gewurztraminer from Alsace is something you should look out for if you're not a fan of the dryness of Riesling. This is a wine you should concentrate on when you drink it.

4.5 out of 5 Corks

2004 Beaucanon Cabernet Franc Wine Review

I think this is my first wine review of a wine from Napa Valley, which is astounding, but it makes sense because I have a bias when it comes to Californian wine. Cabernet Franc is a grape you'll find in Bordeaux (usually less than 10%). I have yet to find a straight Cab Franc that is really good and this wine tries it's best but ultimately comes up short. There are hints black cherry, blueberries, plums, and a slight hint of vanilla and spice. The structure was lacking a little bit and it really showed the next day when the finish became flat and uninspiring.

3 out of 5 Corks

2007 Pure Love Wines Primitivo Layer Cake Wine Review

This is an above average Zinfandel from Italy. That's right my friends, a Zin from Italy. I didn't even know Italians made Zin. Anyway, at 13.5% alcohol this is a refreshing take on the typical Zin's, which can be above 16%! This is easy to drink with raspberry, blackberry, and other earthiness hints on the tongue. In order to fully appreciate this wine you have to have this with rich chocolate or chocolate cake (duh).

For a really good Zin I suggest you try the 2007 or 2008 Shenandoah Vineyards.

3 out of 5 Corks.

2007 Root:1 Carmenere Wine Review

This is a delightful Chilean wine from the Colchagua Valley, which is comprised of 75% Carmenere , 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Syrah. There are hints of black fruit (plum and blackberries) with a very smooth and spicy/pepper finish. If you like Malbec's from Argentina this is a wine you can drink now without having to wait 3-5 years for the Malbec's top open up. One thing to note, the wine didn't hold up the next day, which makes sense because there wasn't enough tannin for this wine to make it. So if you open this bottle you better finish it that night.

3 out of 5 Corks

Observe and Report Movie Review

I had the grave misfortune of watching this movie last night. I have no problems with dumb comedies if they're done well, but this movie is just plain mean and stupid. Every character is mean towards someone else and/or to themselves. The main character (Seth Rogen) is not likeable and you do not care about the journey he goes on because he gives us no reason to. Now, it's cool to have a unlikeable characters if they're real fleshed out characters. Bad Santa is a great example of this. The script has too many holes, especially in the last third of the movie where the writer probably ran out of ideas and decided to choose the easiest ending possible. This is one top five worst movies I've ever seen.

0 out of 5 Corks.

2008 Jean-Max Roger Sancerre Cuvee Wine Review

This was my first sauvignon blanc from Sancerre, which is from the Loire Valley and I loved it! For me, I've always loved sauvignon blanc's from New Zealand because I loved their fruitiness. But this was a very polished bottle with a great mixture of tropical fruit and minerality. I felt this was a little too dry on the back of my pallete, but my friend said she loved the dryness.

3.5 Corks out of 5

2007 Aliane Beaujolais-Villages Wine Review

Thanksgiving is over and I think we're all still full. But I couldn't neglect the wine I had. I was at my local wine shop looking for the perfect wine pairing for my turkey. Then a came across a beaujolais and I remember my old boss recommended this type of wine, so I gave this a shot (I was going to with a red burgundy or another pinot noir from Germany). I was pleasantly surprised this bottle, especially since it's been aged for two years. All the beaujolais' I've had were no more than a year old. This was a very fruity wine that balanced the aromas of the turkey and mashed potatoes. I'm very interested in trying they're other varietals.

Aliane Wines

4 out of 5 Coks

When Keyword Insertion Goes Wrong

Kudos to the PPC marketers managing these accounts. Both of you should be proud. You should all know to never use keyword insertion in any ad group with keyword misspellings!

2006 Julius Wasem & Sohne Ingelheimer Sonnenhang Spätburgunder Trocken Wine Review

I never got into pinot noir...I think I felt that was all the hype a lot of wine drinkers say how wonderful they can be. But the more and more I try pinot's not from California the more I like them. Anyway, back to my review. I was blown away with this bottle. The tannins were sliky and offered firm structure with strong hints of cherry. There was was also good balance of fruit, alcohol, and minerality. This is a must drink, especially if you have never tried a pinot from Germany before!

4.5 Corks out of 5.

2005 Chumeia Silver Nectar Wine Review

A friend at work gave me this bottle and I thought this was going to be a semi-dry bottle because those are the types of whites she digs. But to my surprise this was a very sweet wine with 75% torrontes and 25% chenin blanc. When I had my first sip I was reminded of this very good Vouvray I had way back when. I narrowly almost called this a dessert wine. The flavors of honey and peaches are very powerful with a clean and refreshing finish. The one downfall with this bottle is the lack of structure and sufficent acidity, but who cares with a fun wine like this? If you're having a picnic, on the patio on a Saturday afternoon, hanging out at the beach (I live in San Diego) or want to impress a woman with your wine knowledge, this is a bottle you must have!

4 out 5 Corks

2006 Querciabella Mongrana Wine Review

This a very affordable ($15) bottle with 50% Sangiovese with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. Before drinking this bottle I highly recommend you decant for at least an hour. This bottle was meant to be cellared for at least five years before drinking, so if you drink this young you have to decant or the tannins will over power the pallete and become austere. At 13% alcohol this is quite low for a wine of this magnitude, which is refreshing to see a winemaker not making a wine for the likes of Robert Parker who love alcoholic wines and fruit. There were intriguing aromas of herbs, lavender, and dried sour cherries. I highly recommend you find this bottle and cellar it. It will be worth it!

4.5 Corks out of 5

2001 Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva Wine Review

This bottle cost about $25 at Costco, which is extremely cheap for a 2001 vintage. With 85% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha Tinta and Graciano this is fairly average right out of the bottle. However, after I poured the next taste through my Vinturi Aerator the tannins dramatically softened and became more manageable, but not great. There are hints of dark fruits such as black cherries and plums with spicy undertones, which probably came from the two years of aging in French oak. This is nice wine to have with buffalo burger.

Back to the aerator before I end this post. I was visiting my local wine guy and he showed me aerators for red and white wine. We opened both boxes and couldn't tell a difference. If you're going to buy one, just buy the one for reds. I use mine for whites and works just the same for the reds.

3 out of 5 Corks

2008 Haut Marin Cuvee Marine Wine Review

From Gascoy, France, which borders Spain, this a delightful blend of 60% Colombard, 20% Ugni Blanc and 20% Gros Manseng. This is a very crisp dry wine with subtle fruity flavors such as green apple, peach, and ripe pears. This is not a fruity wine, there is also a good balance of minerality, which reflects the unique terroir. A glass would go well with a fish or a chicken salad.

4 out of 5 Corks

2000 Jean Luc Colombo Cote Bleue Review

This was a great find! How often do you aged French wine or any wine for $18? Hardly ever! So when you find gems like this you have to swoop on it. That's one of the first things I learned from my old boss (in terms of wine). A lot of wine drinkers always drink wine that is no more than four years old and that's a shame because there's nothing better on this earth than a nicely aged good bottle of wine.

I digress, this bottle is from Coteaux d'Aix en Provence France, near the Mediterranean Sea. Usually this zone is home to grapes such as grenache, and cinsault, but this bottle is 50
% syrah and 50% mourvedre. The finish goes down ultra smooth with hints of spicy fruits. The aromas are rich with dark fruits; maybe blackberry or black cherry. For the price at this vintage, this is a total steal for any wino or cork dork (cool huh?).

5 out of 5 Corks!!!

2007 Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandra Carmenere Review

Situated in the Colchagua Valley in Chile, the wine makes at Casa Lapostolle have made a fantastic wine. Like in my early post, this is my first introduction to a brand new grape; carmenere. It's very important as a wine to broaden your knowledge beyond the sterotypical grapes such as pinot, chardonay, cabernet sauvgion, merlot, syrah, and riesling. There is so much more out there if you're willing to try. I know it can be difficult to drop $20 on a bottle you have no idea what you expect. In my experience you're happy that you tried something new. On to the wine! This a multi-dimensional with a earthy layered structure of a variety of intense dark and spicy fruits. Before you drink, I recommend you decant for at least an hour so you can taste how good this wine can be. Totally seek this out!

4.5 Corks out of 5

2005 Chateau D'Orschwihr Pinot Blanc Bollenberg Review

This is a pinot blanc from Alsace, France. I can't remember the last time I reviewed a white wine. I admit it, I have a bias towards white wines, but I've started drinking more whites lately and I was wrong to have a prejudice. This is an average off dry wine with hints of peach and apricot with a lemon nose. The acidity was average, alcohol level was average, the structure was average. Very light and easy to enjoy, this wine will not blow you away, but it's a good introduction to Alsace wines or for the novice wine drinker who likes dry whites. For about $15 you can do a lot better and a lot worse.

3 out 5 Corks.

2005 Paternoster Synthesi Aglianico Del Vulture Review

The grape used for this Italian wine is aglianico. I'm sure I'm like a lot of you who shook their head when you heard that too. This is a very old grape; some say this grape was cultivated before the foundation of Rome. Also, these grapes ripen very late so these are usually the last grapes picked off the vines. The wine was has a dark ruby colour with a fruity bouquet on the noise. The soft tannins and good structure (aged in oak for about 8 months) make it very approachable for people who like softer reds such as pinot noirs. When I tried this wine initally thought it was very similar to the malbec and nebbiolo grapes.

4 out of 5 Corks.

2007 The Rhone Gang Hold Up

This a very unusual blend (70% pinot noir and 30% grenache) from the Rhone Villages. There are hints of black cherry and other earth tones with a very spicy/tobacco finish. It's as if the wine makers took the spicy meaty qualities of a Southern Rhone and blended them with the incredible flavor a Burgundy. This is a wine you should totally try to seek out.

4 out of 5 Corks

2007 Montes Alpha Syrah Review

If you look at this post and the previous two posts, all the wines come from outside of the USA (Israel, Italy, and Chile). I highly recommend you explore your local wine shop and try wines from places you've tried before, you'll be surprised the differences you'll notice between the different styles of winemaking.

The bottle says it's a straight syrah, but in fact is only about 90% syrah with the remainder being cabernet and viognier. This is a superb spicy wine, which tastes a lot like a Rhone style syrah. There are hints of spicy fruits (duh) of strawberries and maybe raspberries. Also, the wine was very concentrated and a smooth finish. This is a bottle you should be on the lookout for.

4 out of 5 Corks

2007 Renzo Castella Enotecnico, Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba, Rivolia Review

This is a very fun and affordable table red wine. I recommend trying this one when you want to kick your feet up and have a good time. I had this with pasta with mushrooms and it tasted pretty good, but that may have been the case for a lot of Italian wines. The color was a dark purple, with moderate tannins full of sweet fruit. Priced at about $13 you're getting good quality for the price.

3 out of 5 Corks.

2004 Galil Mountain Yiron Review

This is my first review in a few weeks; been way to busy with work and other stuff. Anyway, on to the wine. This is an awesome sleeper from the mountainous forests of Yiron Isreal, which is considered by some, as the best winegrowing regions in Isreal. The wine opened up quickly with little aeration needed. The tannins were very soft and had a very long finish. There were hints of dark fruits, maybe wild berries or cherries. With a blend of mostly cabernet and some merlot and syrah, this bottle challenges a lot of good Bordeaux's. This is a great bottle you can have over two nights and it will still hold up.

4 out 5 Corks.

Bing Loves Porn

This is so funny I had to add this to my blog ;0)

2004 Chateau Beauchene Chateauneuf du Pape Review

On Thursday, I was at a lovely wine bar called Splash and I only had one taste. I could’ve gone with something different, but the price of this Chateauneuf was too good to pass up. This Chateauneuf du Pape was average, flabby, and lacking of structure. There was too much alcohol, which may have been from being opened for more than two days. There were subtle hints of wild cherries or rasberries. At $28 this is an inexpensive Chateauneuf, so this could be a nice introduction for new Chateauneuf drinkers. However, if spend $10 to $20 more you can get a totally awesome Chateauneuf that will knock your socks off.

1.5 out of 5 Corks

LeapFish Review

LeapFish Review

This is a review of LeapFish, a new search engine that’s trying to break into the market. I’ve been an online marketer, search engine marketing specifically for over three years now. So by day I’m a SEM Dork and at night I’m the Cork Dork. Anyway, I digress.

The engine allows you to easily see different search engine results pages from Google, Yahoo, and MSN. I first learned about this engine from reading today’s post in PPC Hero (this is most informative blog out there in regards to Paid Search). What I found very interesting was the engines PPC pricing model; buy keywords at a specific ad position for life; no CPCs (cost per click) or CPMs (cost per impressions); it's yours forever. So basically you’re banking on the engine becoming popular and the value of your keywords increasing.

The search results are accurate and populated very quickly. After playing around on the site I was interested in maybe buying a few keywords. That all changed when I read a posting from Tech Crunch illustrating someone’s poor experience with one of LeapFish’s sales representatives. Basically, the advertiser did not want to advertise with LeapFish and the sales representative clicked on the advertiser’s Google ad 50 times in an effort to make the advertiser pay for each of those clicks. And how did the advertiser know it was 50 times? The sales representative told him in an email. The CEO of LeapFish confirmed the actions of the sales representative and is no longer working with the company.

The moral of this post is, I was interested, but now, I’m not at all because I would be upset if someone clicked my ads that many times because now you’re taking money away from me. Now I admit only 1-3 clicks I would be charged for, but it’s the principal of the representative’s action. I’ve received many calls and sat through presentations from other start up search engines, but none of the sales representatives we’re nearly as bad as was described.

2007 Bodegas Alto Almanzora Este Review

Ah, it's been awhile since my last post. Anyway, let's get to it like Pruit. My first impression of this table wine was this was a blend of mourvedre and tempranillo because it has soft fruity flavors with good structure. However, I was only partly right. This wine is a blend of mostly monastrell and tempranillo with the rest being syrah, grenache, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon. WOW. I knew there was a lot going on in this wine but I didn't know it was this complex. For only $10 this wine is a steal and is bottle you should be on the lookout for. I think almost all of my wine reviews end with that line, but it's true. I think it's true because I buy most of wine at wine stores rather than the supermarket. I guess what I'm trying to say is visit your local wine store. There's always knowledgeable people who will point you in the right direction within your budget. The Bodegas Alto Almanzora is basically the same price of a bottle you're paying for at the supermarket.

4 out of 5 Corks

Leffe Blonde Belgian Pale Ale Beer Review

This is an awesome beer. I'll admit I'm biased toward Belgian beer and specifically their pale ales. I tried this after a bottle of Hoegarden and it was night and day. The Leffe was easier to drink with a lot of subtle flavors such as lemon and bananna. This is a perfect beer for anyone going to the beach on a Saturday afternoon. Actually, that's a great idea; I'll bring some to the beach this weekend. That was a mental note I decided share with you all and I'm proud of it.

You have to watch out for this one because it will jump on you (6.6% ABV). I wish I had this on draft instead of a bottle.

4.5 out of 5 Corks

2007 Reverdy Sancerre Terre de Maimbray Review

This is succulent pinot noir light bodied pinot noir from the Sancerre region in the Loire Valley. Sancerre is predominately known for their production of sauvignon blanc, which accounts for 80% of the production. The aromas are extraordinary; with smells of a fruity smells of a sauvignon blanc as well as minerality. There are fruity hints of cherry, raspberry, and gooseberry. When it came to pinot noir, I used to love Red Burgundy's, but this bottle is completely different from any other pinot I've had from France. That's a good thing. If you ever want to impress someone this is a bottle you must buy. Everyone should try to find this bottle!

5 out of 5 corks.

2007 Goat Roti Syrah Viognier Review

This is a very interesting blend with dark fruit and very spicy firm tannins, which are too rough for me. The wine maker is going for a Cotes du Rhone style, but this bottle tastes more like Shiraz from Australia, which I'm not a fan of. On the bright side it has a very lovely fragrance. This is not a bottle I would recommend if you're in the mood for something spicy. However, you should give this bottle a shot just to try a unique blend.

1.5 out of 5 corks

Firestone Union Jack IPA Beer Review

I'll be the first to say my favorite beers are Belgian Strong Dark Ales such as Rochefort and Chimay, but the Firestone Indian Pale Ale (IPA) was a well balanced easy to drink IPA. The hops were crisp with a fruity (maybe melon or orange ) undertones. This is a great beer to bring to any BBQ or afternoon at the park. This is a beer you should look out for as this is now one of my favorite IPAs and I'm sure will be for you too.

4 out of 5 corks

2005 Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Review

I couldn't help myself, but I opened myChâteauneuf-du-Pape way early. This is a splendid wine with that really softened after two hours of decanting. There hints of herbs, spices, raspberry and other black fruits. This isn't the best Châteauneuf-du-Pape I've had, but for only $33 this something worth having in your cellar especially if you're new to these types of wine.

3.67 out of 5 corks (that's right, I used decimals)

10 Best Directors of All Time

It appears I still have the "best of all time" bug. As I went on a fun run today I was thinking of my favorite movies and the directors who made them. So I started thinking and came up with my own top 10 directors of all time and their best three movies. A lot of the famous directors such as Howard Hawks, Jean-Luc Godard, and John Ford have been left out because I haven't seen enough of their films to put them on the list. So of course this list is always subject to change.

1. Stanley Kubrick- Hands down the best I've ever seen in any genre. But again, he was never was 100% working in a genre. I wish he made more movies, but for every one of his movies is like ten movies for another director.

• A Clockwork Orange
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Paths of Glory

2. Quentin Tarantino

• Pulp Fiction
• Death Proof
• Reservoir Dogs

3. Martin Scorsese

• Taxi Driver
• Goodfellas
• Raging Bull

4. Wes Anderson

• Rushmore
• The Royal Tenenbaums
• Bottle Rocket

5. Clint Eastwood

• Unforgiven
• Million Dollar Baby
• Gran Torino

6. Steven Spielberg

• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Saving Private Ryan
• Schindler’s List

7. Michel Gondry

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Human Nature
• The Science of Sleep

8. Sidney Lumet

• 12 Angry Men
• Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
• Serpico

9. David Fincher

• Se7en
• Fight Club
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

10. Danny Boyle

• 28 Days Later
• Trainspotting
• Slumdog Millionaire

MLB All Time Team

I was listening to Mike and Mike and they talked about who would be on your all time MLB team by position. It got me thinking who would be on my all time team. So without further ado here is my all time team and yes I included the DH and the 8th inning set up man:

Catcher- Yogi Berra

DH- Pete Rose

1B- Lou Gehrig

2B- Joe Morgan

SS- Honus Wagner

3B- Mike Schmidt

LF- Ted Williams

CF- Willie Mays

RF- Babe Ruth

R SP- Walter Johnson

L SP- Warren Spahn

Setup- Bruce Sutter

CL- Rich Gossage

2007 Santa Julia Organica Chardonnay Review

I was never fond of chardonnay when I first started drinking wine. That all changed when I tried a bottle from Chablis. What made this bottle so different was this wine was fermented without oak. This allowed the subtle flavor and aromas of this noble grape to finally shine. I don't always drink chardonnay, but when I do, I prefer it to be unoaked. I had to steal the line from the Dos Equis guy.

The 2007 Santa Julia Chardonnay is a refreshing and crisp unoaked chardonnay with hints of lemon, green apple, and tropical fruits. Priced under $10, this is perfect for anyone on a wine budget.

4 out of 5 corks.

About Me (The Cork Dork)

Hello family, friends, and soon to be new friends. My name is Matt Commins. My full name is Matthew Commins, but I don't like being called by my full name. I'm actually the only one in my family who does that. Weird.

This is a blog about wine and anything else interesting. So how did I get int wine? I caught the bug about three years ago when I would go wine tasting after work with my fellow colleauges on Thursday's at K&L (the best online store for wine). I'm not going to romanticize about my inital excursions into wine as an attempt to try the beauty and complexity of wine. I went to get a buzz before I took the train home.

I'm not an expert and I'm not trying to be. I'm expressing my opinions and I hope you have a laugh and/or learn something too.