2007 The Show Cabernet Sauvignon $13

A California Cab by the Three Thieves and Rebel Wine. They don’t own vineyards, they source the grapes from wherever they can get the most bang for the buck. In this case, the Central Coast, Mendocino, Lodi, Napa Valley, Lake County and Sonoma. The 2005 Vintage got huge buzz as the best low price Cab around. Since they are at the mercy of the market to get the best grapes at the right price, this wine can fluctuate in taste from year to year.  85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petite Sirah, with the other 4% split between Merlot and Cab Franc. Aged in French and American Oak.

Well, they got the color right, deep dark cherry red with strawberry highlights. Not a lot going on with the nose, some red fruit, some vanilla and not a whole lot more. Nice mouth feel, almost oily, it really brings the flavor to all points in your mouth. The taste is intense cherry softened by vanilla, not super complex, but good tasting. Good cherry cola finish.  The tannins are very light, I don’t think you want to age The Show, definitely a drink it now wine.

A lighter style Cab, this won’t turn the heads of the Silver Oak crowd, but a good alternative to Shiraz or Malbec. A tasty sipper, drink this while playing Xbox360, it will make any game a little more interesting.

2007 Spellbound Petite Sirah – $15

Spellbound means a lot of different things to me – there’s the Siouxsie & the Banshees song, the AC/DC song (both from ‘81), the Hitchcock movie, the Paula Abdul album. For you geeks there’s the spellchecker for Firefox and the video game. But last night, it meant nothing but this rich approachable Petite Sirah from Lodi. That’s in California, folks.

But get this – because of its simple but effective black label with a moon on it (pictured) – to the chick next to me at the bar, it meant she should enjoy some too, because it made her think of the movie “New Moon” in theaters Friday as they say (yes, she was younger, thanks for asking).

It’s murky crimson like a Romanian lake and on the nose reminds you of, well same said lake. Actually, she said it reminded her of her home aquarium when she opens the lid to feed the fish.

Up front, this wine has  some nice structure – decent backbone and supple tannins. The mid-palate is “floaty” and hovers at the top of your mouth, but then the finish disappears like a vampire in a Polaroid.

Mondavi’s grandson Rob is the vampire behind this line. Drink it with pizza, steak (stake, get it?) or turkey chili. And drink it with your vampire or werewolf friends.