Zull 2009 Niederoserreich Blauer Portugieser Lust & Laune

Served chilled.

Medium-dark purple color.

Strawberry, cherry, concord grape smells, some oak.

Berry/cherry flavors, light tannins, smooth and refreshing. Worked well to accompany roast turkey (with some of the trimmings) leftovers.

Very good light-to-medium-bodied wine, $16.98 / bottle.

Quattro Mani / Movia 2009 Goriska Brda Tocai (Exto) Gredic Vineyard (Slovenia)

Movia is the winery. Goriska Brda is the place the grapes were grown. Slovenia was once part of Yugoslavia. Quattro Mani (Four Hands) is the Italian Negociant. Tocai is the familiar grape of what was once labelled Tocai Friulano but now the European Union forbids labeling Italian Tocai "Tocai". The EU, though, does permit Slovenian Tocai to be Tocai. While Aleš Kristancic, the winemaker, does so label this wine, he also uses "Exto," (presumably Ex-Tokai) creating branding useful in the inevitable event of EU mind-changing in case Slovenian wine becomes more fashionable.

Pale straw color, greenish tint.

Smell of ripe melon, spearmint.

Dry melon flavor, fresh lime, green apple.

Long tart (very tart, in fact) finish. Very good full-bodied white, unusual, $12/bottle.

Johanneshof Reinisch 2007 Rotgipfler Tradition

There are only about 300 acres of Rotgipfler in Austria's Thermenregion and, as far as I know, nearly none elsewhere. Will this be the next Viognier?

Pale yellow/straw color, petillance both visible and audible.

Peach smell, black pepper, wet clean stones.

Peach and apricot flavor, petillant on the tongue, apple sauce, long tart finish.

Excellent medium-to-full-bodied, $17.99/bottle.

Casa das Mouras 2004 Douro Reserva

Opaque dark red.

Dark stone-fruit smells, tobacco, oak.

Fruity flavor, prunes, black plums, black cherries, oak.

Excellent full-bodied wine. $22.99 / bottle.

Romano Clelia 2009 Fiano di Avellino Colli di Lapio

A little over two years ago I first tasted Fiano, in the 2006 vintage of this wine. I've been conducting a little aging project and now a new vintage.

Extremely pale straw color.

Generous fruity peach and pear smell.

Fruity ripe peach flavor, I can hear the yellow jackets buzzing around the windfalls.

Excellent full-bodied white, $20.93/bottle.

Aragone 2006 Tuscany IGT La Mozza Maremma Toscana

40% Sangiovese, 25% Alicante, 25% Syrah, 10% Carignan.

Opaque ruby color.

Smell of plum, prune, oak.

Taste of ripe black cherry.

Excellent red, ready to drink, not an awesome super-Tuscan blend but a damn fine one! 36.99 / bottle and a reasonable bargain even at that. I question its ability to further improve with age, but that's not an area in which I claim great expertise.

Valserrano 2008 Rioja Blanco Fermentado en Barrica

Pale straw color.

Smell of oak, splintery, sawdusty, entmoot in green glass.

Oaky flavor, tart acid, oak and acid in an odd balance.

Good wine if fairly simple, medium-bodied, $19.99/bottle.

Alois Lageder 2009 Alto Adige IGT Pinot Bianco 'Dolomiti'

Bright straw color.

Full rich smell, melon and apple and pear.

Fruity fresh ripe apple and pear flavor, peach, some pettilance on the tongue.

Very good medium-bodied wine, $16.99/bottle. Simple fun. Very good bargain.