Chris Tries to Review Wine
By Chris Barlow
Chris Tries to Review WineMay 06, 2020
Bright Cellars Triple Threat
Bright Cellars: Mojave Rain Cabernet Sauvignon
Bright Cellars: Notes On Notes (Chardonnay)
Bright Cellars: Box 2 Commeth (Feat. Cardella Sangiovese)
Bright Cellars: Petite Sirah Showdown
Bright Cellars: Folk & Fable Bourbon Barrel Aged Red Blend
My adventures in trying to review DELIVERY WINE continue with this Bourbon Barrel Aged Red Blend (say that five times fast) that begs the question: Wouldn’t I rather be drinking bourbon right now?
Bright Cellars: Whistling Arrow Zinfandel
Season 3 Premier: Otto’s Constant Dream
LIVE! Real Fake Pokémon (and wine) at Dixon Place!
We're coming to you LIVE from the Lounge at Dixon Place in this week's special LIVE episode featuring LIVE human guests Lani Harms (UCB) and Gabe Templin (Just Press Playhouse). Together they tackle a trio of original drinking games, learn a thing or two about the history of cans from our friends at the New York Times, and taste a pair of wines poured fresh at the Dixon Place bar.
Listen in, play along, and try not to cry when you realize there are over 800 Pokémon!
Links:
- The New York Times investigates the canned wine phenomenon.
- Lani Harms (.com)
- Just Press Playhouse on Apple Podcasts
Golden Showers with Jon Esquivel and The Prospector 49er Blend
Last week's tasting champ Jon Esquivel returns to get showered in historical knowledge (and red wine) as we play a drinking game all about the California Gold Rush in honor of The Prospector 49er Blend. It's a big, brash, red blend, but does it have what it takes to battle a bear (or kangaroo)?
Grab a glass of whatever you're drinking and play along at home!
(And don't forget to join us this Friday at Dixon Place!)
Bodega Cat Rosé! (Feat. Jon Esquivel)
It's the return of The Least Terrible Wine of the Month Club (for the very first time!) and longtime wine fan Jon Esquivel is here to help inaugurate the summer weather with an affordable favorite: Bodega Piedra Negra Pinot Gris Rosado (2018). It's just under $10 at Trader Joe's and is perfect everywhere from the porch to a picnic (#TwistOff Life).
Come for the wine and stay for the superhero epic of your dreams as we learn all about the world's most popular story (ENDGAME) in a brand new Drinking Game with a totally catchy title. (And don't forget about Chris Tries to Review Wine LIVE! on May 10th!)
Yes, all that and more. On Chris Tries to Review Wine.
Parragon Cabernet: An Inexpensive All Star (with Allison Frasca)
All star guest Allison Frasca returns to compare last week's fancy Cabernet with Parragon Cabernet, an affordable new selection in the Trader Joe's canon. Plus: Allison tells us all about All Star: The Best Broadway Musical (yes, that's a real musical!) and we dig deep into the only superhero movie more exciting than The Avengers (that's right, we're talking about Mystery Men).
Drinking games!
Cheap wine tips!
Smash Mouth!
Yes, this episode truly has it all.
Old Juice All Stars with Allison Frasca and Café Zoetrope Cabernet Sauvignon
The new season of Chris Tries to Review Wine continues with an ALL STAR contestant-slash-guest: Allison Frasca, the creator of All Star: The Best Broadway Musical. Join us as we relive the highs and lows of 1999, play a drinking game, and find the secret wine-tasting savant in all of us (with a little help from Café Zoetrope Cabernet Sauvignon).
Read more tasting notes at christriestoreview.wine and don't miss our live show at Dixon Place on May 10th!
Chris Tries to Review Wild Child Chardonnay
Chris is BACK with a wine so refreshing it can only be described as the melted runoff that pools together in the bottom of that ancient cooler your dad gave you for that camping trip that was what? Five years ago? (And God knows how long he had it before that.)
Oh, but I didn't pay for it so it's pretty good all things considered.
BYOB News: If You Brexit You Bought It
The U.K. is barreling towards Brexit and that's bad news for British Bordeaux lovers, so this week we're double fisting an American Red Wine and a French Champagne as we play a brand new drinking game (Brexi-snatch!) and learn all about Theresa May's no good very bad day(s) in Parliament! All that and more in the latest episode of BYOB News!
BYOB News: White Men Say The Darnedest Things
My guest Kate Fisher joins me to talk about the New Yorker's mind-bending profile of an author gaslighting an entire industry, then we bend our own minds around Elizabeth Warren's proposal to break up big tech, play a drinking game, and face off in the Lightning Round (with explosions)! Subscribe to the BYOB Newsletter at byobnews.wtf for links to all these stories and more!
BYOB News: Getting Drunk on the Roots of American Rage with Anna O’Donoghue’s Rosé
The BYOB News miniseries continues as Chris and Anna O’Donoghue dig into the roots of American (and British) rage with the help of a very large bottle of Rosé. Get all the links by subscribing to the BYOB Newsletter at byobnews.wtf.
BYOB News: Sarah Harburg-Petrich, Sparkling Wine, and a Seriously Depressing Story from Guatemala
It’s the first episode of our miniseries: BYOB News! Join me as I discover what our country’s highly problematic history of intervention in Latin America has in common with a refreshing knockoff Champagne! Plus I dive into the Amazon/Queens debacle with a Seattle native, play a drinking game, and more! Subscribe to the BYOB Newsletter for links to all these stories and more.
31. Perfection in Paso (Feat. Tobin James Wines)
Big changes are coming to Chris Tries to Review Wine, but first Gary Brintz stops by for my favorite tasting yet: A pair of true 5-star red wines from Tobin James. Cheers!
Chris Tries to Review Wine Bonus Tasting: Sparkling Wine Flavoured Potato Chips
Travel blogger Lizzy Mavrogenes (The Road Liz Traveled) returns for a BONUS TASTING!
Join us as we wash our Sauvignon Blanc down with Torres Selecta Sparkling Wine Flavoured Potato Chips and this week's episode of Chris Tries to Review Wine!
29. The Road Liz Traveled (Feat. Oyster Bay & Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc)
Take a trip around the world with travel blogger Lizzy Mavrogenes (The Road Liz Traveled) as we do a blind taste test of two “kiwi” wines–– that’s wine from New Zealand, not wine made of kiwis (although to be clear, we’d drink that too).
Can the cheap and cheerful Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc beat the $20+ Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc? Will either of us be able to tell the difference? And just where are all these bays anyway? Get the answers to all those questions and play a brand new game this week on Chris Tries to Review Wine!
26. Steve Trolinger Drinks Trump Cabernet
25. Ian Brodsky Drinks Kosher Wine for Hanukkah
- Barkan Classic
- Cabernet Sauvignon (It’s Kosher!)
- Red Wine
- Israel
Encore: Adam Toback Drinks Pinot Grigio From a Can (And Doesn’t Get a Headache!)
Get tickets to see “Adam Adamson: Licensed Realtor” at the L.A. Comedy Festival on 12/1.
23. Jonathan Horvath Brings Cabernet to Thanksgiving Dinner
Jonathan Horvath joins me to pick the perfect Thanksgiving Cabernet. And by perfect I mean “cheapest you can get away with.”
Can you bring a bottle of Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve or do you need to upgrade to Belle Roche? Will anyone even be able to tell the difference? You’ll be thankful you know the answers to these questions (and more) after listening to this very special holiday episode.
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(Spoilers ahead!)
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Cab-testant #1: Belle Roche- Belle Roche
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2016 red wine from France.
- Price: $14 (average).
- Tasting note: “It keeps developing, unlike the political opinions of your uncle.”
- Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2015 red wine from Paso Robles California.
- Price: $7 (only at Trader Joe’s).
- Tasting note: “It’ll wake you up!”
22. Zach Hodges Compares Cabernets
Zach Hodges stops by to help me recover from last week’s big live show and I show my gratitude by forcing him to do a blind taste test: One Cabernet costs twice as much as the other!
Will he be able to tell the difference? Find out in this week’s new episode!
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(Spoilers ahead!)
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Cab-testant #1: Robert Mondavi Private Selection- Robert Mondavi Private Selection
- Cabernet Sauvignon (aged in bourbon barrels)
- 2016 red wine from Monterey County, California.
- Price: $14 (average).
- Tasting note: Smells like rubbing alcohol but tastes subtle and complex.
- Rating: 4/5
- Trader Moon Moon X
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2016 red wine from California.
- Price: $7 (only at Trader Joe’s).
- Tasting note: Fruity and fun–– with a hint of banana!
- Rating: At least a 2!
LIVE! Mary Cella Drinks Rosé and Cabernet at Dixon Place
Comedian Mary Cella joins Chris for our first live taping at the Lounge at Dixon Place! They laughed, they cried, but mostly they got drunk as they revealed the secrets to being an amateur internet wine expert. Plus a live tasting of Mezzacorona Rosé and 120 Reserva Especial Cabernet Sauvignon!
Wine #1:- Mezzacronora
- Rosé
- Australian White Wine served with frozen white grapes and an option dash of balsamic vinegar.
- Price: $9 a glass at the Lounge at Dixon Place
- Tasting note: “It tastes like The Supremes sound,” with harmonizing notes and the faint memory of bedbugs.
- 120 Reserva Especial
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Price: $7 a glass at the Lounge at Dixon Place
- Tasting note: Numbing! In a good way!
20. The Cantober Can-clusion Cantacular with Anna Canna O’Donoghue
Anna Canna O’Donoghue returns to celebrate the can-clusion of everyone’s favorite alcohol-based October festivity, Cantober Fest, with a canstravaganza of canned wines.
From Sauvigno Blanc to Spritzers, from Oregon’s Union Wine Co. to Arthur Roose (who may or may not be a moose), we’ve got all the canned-sized wine you need to make any party a “Yes we CAN!” party (PS–– Remember to vote this Tuesday!).
Can-testant #1: Bert’s Spritzer- Bert’s Aesthetically Pleasing Spritzer
- Feat. Simpler Wines Chardonnay (in a can!)
- Also Passionfruit La Croix (in a can!)
- Australian White Wine served with frozen white grapes and an option dash of balsamic vinegar.
- Price: Approx. $5 but also the cost of your reputation when you show up to the party with frozen grapes.
- Tasting note: “There’s a hint of something funky and booze-flavored but just like a can of La Croix you can’t be 100% sure what you’re tasting.”
- Archer Roose (the one with the moose)
- Sauvignon Blanc (in a can!)
- White Wine from some wine store in midtown
- Price: Either $5.99 or $6.99 but either way that’s too much, man.
- Tasting note: It smells like a musty room in a boarding school— but also papaya. Dirty socks and papaya.
- Union Wine Co.
- Underwood Rosé Bubbles (in a can!)
- Rosé Wine from Oregon
- Price: $5.49 at Trader Joe’s
- Tasting note: With “notes of cherry and sea breeze” it’ll make you feel like you’re smack in the middle of a crab shack (but in a good way).
Who will be crowned Can Champion? Listen to find out!
The Extras:19. Becky Kalman and the Battle of the Canned Rosés
- The Pinot Project
- Pinot Grigio Rosé (in a can!)
- Rosé Wine
- Italy
- Union Wine Co.
- Underwood Rosé (in a can!)
- Rosé Wine
- Oregon
18. Adam Toback Drinks Pinot Grigio From a Can (And Doesn’t Get a Headache!)
- Dark Horse
- Pinot Grigio (in a can!)
- White Wine
- California
17. Bert James Drinks Chardonnay From a Can
- Simpler Wines
- Chardonnay (in a can!)
- White Wine
- Australia
16. Ginny Hogan Drinks Pinot Noir From a Can
- Union Wine Co.
- Underwood Pinot Noir (in a can!)
- Red Wine
- Oregon, USA
Rate and review Chris Tries to Review Wine on Apple Podcasts!