Santa Rita 2007 Colchagua Valley Carmenere Single Estate

Extremely dark near-opaque purplish red.

Blackberry and oak smells.

Blackberry flavor, blueberry, oak and tannins at the end.

Very good medium-to-full bodied bottle. $19.99

Carpene Malvolti nv Sparkling Kerner Brut

Very pale yellow, many streams of small bubbles.

Smell of honeysuckle and of ripe peaches.

Off-dry to slightly sweet flavor of ripe apples, ripe peaches. Occasionally it seems thin and tastes of nothing so much as club soda.

Good-to-very good light-bodied bottle of fizz. My first experience with Kerner. $23.36.

Sigalas 2008 Santorini "Barrel"

As Krakatoa was to the late 19th Century AD/CE, so Santorini was to the 17th century BC.

Rich golden straw color.

Smell of peaches, oak, lemon pledge(!), alcohol.

Dry flavors of apple, butter, oak, minerals.

Excellent medium-bodied bottle, $26.50. Word has it that this greatly rewards aging, but I can't testify to that.

A.Diehl 2009 Pfalz Dornfelder

Medium-dark cherry red, a bit petillant.

Smell of sweet blackberry soda.

Taste of strawberry, red cherry, not a smitch of oak. Slightly petillant on the tongue, but only slightly.

Good light-weight bottle, I think it'd work well with the Indian food (Example: Potato Samosas. Yum. Saag Paneer. Bet that'd work just fine too.) that I've found to be a good match with unoaked cru Beaujolais. $14.50 / 1 liter

Carpene Malvolti nv Viognier

Pale straw color long-lasting streams of medium-sized bubbles.

Smell of peach and pear,

Off-dry to dry apple flavor, peach, toast, long-lasting crisp tart finish. Yummy peach jam.

Very good light-bodied bottle, $19.47.

Porzia 2009 Gavi

Pale straw color, very slightly petillant.

Mild peach smell, fruity.

Off-dry apple / peach taste, floral flavors, minerals, slight petillance, pleasant tart acid finish.

Very good light-bodied bottle, $18.99.

Colleluce 2005 Vernaccia di Serrapetrona dolce

Cherry red wine, vigorous bubbles raise a short=lived purple head.

Prune smell, more distinct red-wine smell than any other sparkling red I've tasted.

Sweet plum and prune taste, oak, bitter tannic end.

Interesting and unusual medium-to-full-bodied bottle, $19.47.