Nigl 2003 Kremser Freiheit Gruner Veltliner

Very pale color, petillance forms on the glass.

Smell of apple, melon, and grapefruit.

Big dry flavor of apple and grapefruit, some petillance evident on the tongue. Rich mineral finish among citrus.

Very good full-bodied bottle for $14.99.

Calera 2009 Central Coast Viognier

My first experience with the glass Vino-Seal closure.

Rich golden color.

Peach and apricot smell.

Dry peach and apricot flavors.

Very good medium-to-full-bodied bottle for $19.99. While complete malolactic fermentation makes this a soft commercial alternative to a buttery Chardonnay, the use of neutral, rather than new, oak, makes it one that tastes more of the originating grape than of the aging cask.

Schild Estate 2006 Barossa Shiraz Premium

Quite thoroughly opaque, purple at the rim.

Smells of black cherries and black plums, vanilla and licorice.

Black plum flavor, oak, big wine that gets warm at the end.

Good full-bodied bottle for $27.99.

Bastianich 2008 Venezia Giulia IGT Vespa Bianco

45% Chardonnay, 45& Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Picolit.

Medium golden color.

Fruity applesauce smell, dry, lime.

Fresh home-made applesauce flavor, spicy, lemon-lime.

Very good medium-bodied bottle for $39.99, citrus fun, emphatic long ending.

Santa Rita 2007 Colchagua Valley Carmenere Medalla Real Special Reserve Single Vineyard

Opaque, quite thoroughly opaque.

Full prune, plum, and oak smells.

Big fruit flavor, plum, prune, oak builds.

Very good full-flavored bottle for $17.99. Something this oak-forward would be a bit distasteful in a less fruity wine, but it works well here.

Rolly Gassman 2001 Auxerrois Moechreben de Rorschwihr

Auxerrois may be a grape with the same parents as Chardonnay: Gouais blanc and Pinot noir.

Golden color, rich.

Musky melon smell, like unoaked chardonnay.

Fruity off-dry apple and melon flavor, some petillance at the beginning, some off-dry thin-ness at the end.

Interesting medium-bodied bottle for $22.87.

Ferraton Pere et Fils 2008 Condrieu Les Mandouls

Rich golden color, clean and clear.

Smell of ripe peach, apricot, and melon.

Apricot flavor, peach, long finish that ends with some alcoholic warmth.

Very good medium-to-full-bodied bottle for $59.99.

Villalta 2007 Valpolicella Ripasso

Medium-dark red color.

Warm smell of cherry, plum, leather, prune, chocolate.

Warm flavors of cherry, semi-sweet chocolate, walnut, long finish.

Very good medium-to-full-bodied bottle for $14.99. A fine bargain.

Arnaldo Caprai 2007 Umbria IGT Anima Umbra (Rosso)

(80% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo.)

Medium dark-cherry color.

Smell of big bowl of cherries and peaches, underneath that some leather.

Fruity explosion of dry cherry flavor, accompanied with a good earthy/leather taste.

Reading the cepage on the label, you might assume this to be an Umbrian Chianti wannabe. While it can easily serve as an earthy robust accompaniment for pizza or spaghetti, it's not limited to that sort of thing, it is, in fact, a very good medium-bodied match for medium-to-full-flavored food at $16.99/bottle.