Drink the Bottles

  The Schlatter family has owned Merryvale Vineyards for about three decades and this property is rich in history.  The iconic winery was the first winery built in Napa after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.  The European and Bordeaux-inspired wines are the heart of the brand, resulting in rich and luscious Cabernet Sauvignons.  That is certainly the case here with the  2021 Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley . Smaller yields were the result of a second year of drought in Napa Valley, creating more robust flavors and highly concentrated wines.  Overall, the 2021 vintage is highly rated with exceptional wines.  This wine is raisin colored with eggplant streaks.  Juicy blackberry, dried spices, stewed plum and flower bouquet on the nose.  The full bodied mouthfeel is immediately noticeable with solid tannins and balanced flavors of black cherry, tomato leaf, clove, blackberry and freshly sawn cedar plank.   This wine spent 16 ...

There are bottles you plan to open for a special occasion, and then there are bottles that somehow disappear into the cellar, only to resurface years later at exactly the right moment. The 2021 Fraternity Red Blend from Baldacci Family Vineyards became our “lost bottle” — misplaced after arriving from a collaborative partner, then recently rediscovered and finally poured. As it turns out, some bottles are worth the wait. What makes this one even more personal for us is that Baldacci was one of the very first wineries we visited during our inaugural trip to Napa Valley back in 2009. Long before Drink The Bottles existed, we still remember the warmth of the experience, the beauty of the property, and the feeling that Napa wine country was something truly special. Revisiting Baldacci all these years later through this bottle felt unexpectedly nostalgic. The 2021 Fraternity Red Blend pours a deep garnet with rich ruby undertones, dense in the glass with slow, elegant legs, hinting at s...

  We have tasted a boat load of quality wines over the past year.  There has been everything from a $12.00 grocery store selection to a $250+ limited selection, single vineyard Cab.  So, when we decide on a WOTY (wine of the year) it is every bottle for itsself.  They must all stand on their own merit and each bottle has a fair shot of receiving this honor.  We take into consideration not only what is inside the bottle, but also the overall presentation, availability, price and label. For 2025, the Drink The Bottles  team has bestowed our "Wine of the Year" honor to the 2017 Maxville Winery Sacrashe Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon .  This wine epitomizes Napa Valley fruit, body, complexity and the overall tasting experience.  Eggplant and berry jam color, this wine has lifting aromas of crushed black cherries, cocoa powder, scorched earth and wet cedar plank.  It's absolutely mouth-watering and the delicate tannins coat the mouth with black fruit...

Are you looking for an extra special gift for the drink enthusiasts in your life?  Gift-giving can be difficult but we are making it easier for you with our Holiday Gift Guide.  This year, our guide includes whiskey, wine and cigars, including some very hard-to-find (but still available) bottles while they last.  Every listing has a link where you can shop directly with the brand.  Happy Holidays! Hooten Young & Jack Carr Warrior Proof American Whiskey The team at Hooten Young still has some bottles left of this incredible 16 year  limited bottle of whiskey .  Hooten Young is a proud American company that partnered with #1  New York Times  bestselling author, retired Navy SEAL, and creator of  The Terminal List  series, Jack Carr.  Together they produced a whiskey that is the perfect sipper for both friends, veterans and active military members alike.   At 125 proof and a mashbill of Corn (99%) and Barley (1%), this bo...

The long days of summer are here and that means it is white wine season!  Historically, we have only tasted red wines from Flora Springs Winery, so we were excited to have the opportunity to try something new to us and this one was timed perfectly with the hot weather.  The  Flora Springs Soliloquy White Wine  is a blend of primarily Sauvignon Blanc with Chardonnay and the lesser known Malvasia added for complexity and flavors.  This is one of Flora Springs flagship wines and it is quickly noticeable why it carries that identity. Pale gold in the glass with hints of greenish blue on the rim, this wine is immediately identifiable as primarily Sauvignon Blanc by the familiar meadow grass, floral and stone fruit aromas.  We tasted this slightly chilled to take advantage of the full tasting experience, but there is no doubt this would be a porch sipping or pool party wine served well chilled.  Citrus fruit, vanilla, and apples are dominant with honeycomb a...

  It's not very often that you see a blog post here about a wine promotion.  In fact, this may be the first time!  But that is how excited and passionate that we are about this incredible deal!  Patland Estate Vineyards is once again offering their "Mystery Box" of wine for a limited time.  Keep reading... To tempt you even more, we've been given the green light to share with you what was in last year's Mystery Box.  If you purchased this, you did VERY well (but you already know that!). Last year's box included nearly $1500 worth of wine.  The six amazing bottles of wine were: 2008 Syrah 2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Malbec 2012 Pinot Noir 2014 Port 2016 Sauvignon Blanc What will be in this year's box?  We don't have all of the details but we know WITHOUT A DOUBT that you will receive some incredible wines for a fraction of the price.  Did we mention that the Mystery Box not only includes 6 incredible wines but also free shipping!...

We were very blessed to be able to travel to California recently for a wine trip with great friends.  We had planned the trip in 2020, but we had to postpone for a year due to most of the world shutting down from the Covid pandemic.  We decided that we would take this trip in 2021, come hell or high water. Our "Winos" group as we jokingly and affectionately call ourselves, spent a few evenings and many text messages back and forth to discuss the "must visit" wineries as well as those that had been on various wish lists throughout the years.  After much discussion and many emails back and forth to the wineries on our radar, we finally decided on nine wineries that would complete our adventure.  And, so we begun with Day #1...... Repris Wines. We love Southwest Airlines!  However, a non-stop flight from IND to OAK would be ideal. There were three couples who took part in our journey and each one flew into a different airport.  Kris & Scott flew into Sacra...