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About TasteVine

Thanks for taking the time to visit us and learn a little more about TasteVine. While normally we would shy away from the tech-speak when talking about our site, it is such an integral part of what makes TasteVine so powerful, that it is hard to avoid.

The truth is, most "recommendation" engines are terrible. They give you generic recommendations based on democratic voting systems that are just not accurate. Some try to use complicated algorithms based on a history of ratings, while others ask you bland questions like "do you like sweet" or "do you like merlot". The problem with these recommendations engines is that they ask the wrong questions about the wrong things.

To make good recommendations, we need to know two things: what you like and how you understand it. Two people may like a movie, but one thought it was "funny" and the other thought it was "moving". One may like and another may hate a movie because they both thought it was exceptionally graphic.

To figure these two things out accurately, two people must try the same thing, describe it, and rate it. Which is exactly what we do. We have selected 12 wines from the most popular varietals for you to try, describe, and rate. We use these to create your "tasteID", our unique identifier that helps us find people across the web who think about wine exactly the same way you do. Not just what you like, but why you like.

Below I have listed off the 12 wines. Of course, you can choose to try no wines, some wines, all the wines. Many of them you have probably tasted already, or might have in your fridge. We selected the most popular, inexpensive, readily available wines, so that you can easily get your hands on one and set up a tasteID.

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The TasteID Wines: Reviewed by Ruarri Rogan

Yellowtail Shiraz

Red wine has long been the drink of choice for poets, playwrights, musicians and eccentrics - and in the wildfire spread of Yellowtail, the revelation of Red Wine's magic is fast catching on as the younger market seeks a product that is price equivalent to beer - and not as fattening, and potentially even healthy. Yellowtail Shiraz is quite simply delicious to most beginner's palates, and its no surprise that this style of wine won the title of 'fruit bomb' quite a while back. However, amongst many college students, who may never use the term 'fruit bomb', another name is catching on in popularity: crazy juice. Indeed it's because of Yellowtail's high-sugar and warming sensation that it appeals to both the male and female market. Combine men and women in a confined space and dose them up with lots of fruit sugar and alcohol in the form of cheap and delicious Yellowtail Shiraz magnums, and as each person sees their way to the end of another bottle, sooner or later you'll realize that the nickname 'crazy juice' not only make sense, but it's the truth.

Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc

Now we're talking' this is real tasty wine. I'm big on flavour and mouth sensation and that's what NZ/ SB is all about - sensation. It hooks you by the nose with sometimes pungent and other times tropical aromas which range in description from pink grapefruit, to green pepper and even - cat's pee. On the mouth they race around like a live wire on the palate, and on the finish they leave your mouth refreshed and almost 'cleansed.'. Guys don't often go for white wine - but Sauvignon Blanc could really change that. Chard's can be a bit too rich and dessert like for men, while Pinot Grigio is perhaps a little too thin. New World Sauvignon Blanc, and New Zealand especially, is a firecracker - completely different from region to region and always satisfying. It's a really great varietal for someone who is just starting to drink wine as a hobby, because it's affordable, usually high in quality and is prone to drastic change from place to place. Nobilo usually comes in at about $8.00, and it's a mystery how they bring it in from so far, at such great quality and sell it so cheap. Nobilo boasts the best Marlborough characteristics like wild lemon grass with light whiffs of pink grapefruit, and has a brilliant fruity yet crisp palate. As it comes with a screwtop this wine is great as an impulse buy for an impromptu picnic or drink with a friend.

Schmitt and Sohne Riesling

Riesling is another white wine more agreeable to the male palate (and that's not because it can sometimes be described to smell of kerosene or petroleum.) Schmitt and Sohne is consistent from year to year, and on a superficial note, the packaging's pretty good too. The aroma on Riesling can be anywhere from floral to chemical - but in this case its quite tropical, and is fresh with a bouquet of tinned peaches combined with fragrant over ripe apples. Riesling's are usually medium-bodied, and quite dry on the finish - which makes them great as a cocktail beverage and an excellent start to an evening.

Ravenswood Zinfandel

Ravenswood is a staple of many a bar and restaurant - which is good news, because in places with an underdeveloped wine list, it's a good 'safety wine' and never fails. It has the signature tongue-warming white pepper zeitgeist often found in Zon's, which are spectacularly lively wines. Ravenswood is really a tribute to Zin's multiple flavour notes as it provides lush red fruit aromas, as well as notes of pure cocoa and vanilla pods. On the palate there's a red berry burst, which finishes with a faint and pleasing cinnamon burn at the back of your throat. Zin's are great wines to sip silently by yourself at the end of an evening, because you don't have to work too hard to discover them - and they rarely fail to leap out the glass and pull you in.

Leonardo Da Vinci Chianti

Simply articulating the name 'Sangiovese' presents your mouth with creating a completely different sound than if you were to speak the name of any French varietal. So too, as the sound from your mouth is completely different, the sensation of Sangiovese in the glass and on the palate is as unique. Chianti is a red that can quite easily be enjoyed in the afternoon on a sunny day, as they usually aren't too tannic and tend to be medium bodied, light and not too high in alcohol. Leonardo da Vinci is an everyday drinking wine that can be opened at any time and enjoyed immediately. It's a little shy in the glass to start, but after about ten minutes it opens out with an aroma of freshly picked, ripe strawberries coupled with the smell of damp earth. It's a succulent wine with rounded tannins that don't saturate the palate, and one could quite easily share a bottle or two over a long afternoon and into the evening.

Kendall Jackson Chardonnay

Kendall Jackson is to wine as Jack Daniels is to whisky. The name implies 'tried and tested, tough and reliable', and although one doesn't generally drink Kendall Jackson with Coke in pool halls, the comparison fits quite well. In true negociant fashion, the best quality grapes are sought from California's multiple and fecund regions, providing an excellent cross-sectional flavor profile comparable in quality to the Louis Jadot selection. California Chard's get a bad rap from the hoy-palloy who complain of acrid cloying oak-chipped profiles obvious even to the most seasoned of Marlboro smokers. KJ however, escapes the cliche and provides a fine balance by providing delicious peaches and cream full-bodiedness whilst giving the dual aspect lemon zest chutzpah so often lacking in other mass-market chards. KJ's winemakers have an uncanny knack of bringing together profiles from both ends of the spectrum - and in this way, in the absence of terroir, are able to produce a wine that is true to the varietal and affordable to the consumer.

Cavit Pinot Grigio

Growers and producers of Pinot Grigio have a lot to thank producers of bad chardonnay for, purely because the wine drinking crowd are still in the throws of an ABC stage (anything but chardonnay), where people made an about turn from full-bodied buttery whites and turned to the petit and elegant profile of honey-suckled Pinot Grigio. Pinot Grigio conjures thoughts of Miami beach or street-cafe's in San Francisco, as it's a varietal that is approachable and likeable from every perspective. At $6.99 you can't really afford not to drink Cavit from time to time, it's light, clean and seamless on the finish which makes it an excellent companion for leafy green salads or light pasta dishes at Sidewalk cafes.

Blackstone Merlot

Although a Merlot, this wine portrays immense depth for the price-point it represents - and Pinot Noir exempt, it is a medley of the predominant California red vines. If new world red wines were a boy-band, Blackstone would at least be a dancer in the music video - because it has all the poster-vine characteristics of a merlot: medium bodied and seamless, coupled with the full-fledged berry bursting fruit forward sunshine-in-a-glass components that are very difficult not to like. This is a great wine for Chinese takeout, and would go really well with Sweet and Sour pork and egg rice.

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi - Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a real girl-next-door wine. It's a safe bet that you could serve it at a barbecue or take it to a dinner party, and it would be enjoyable to everyone present. California cabs can become too big, and it would seem at times to have flavour profiles more tailored to single-malt whisky aficionados than wine lovers. However, Woodbridge at 13.5% won't blow your head off, and though it is a hefty dose of Cab, the tannins are supple unlike many of the big tooth-staining reds of this sort. On the nose it gives cigar-box characteristics as well as a sweet and meaty component - like marinated pork ribs roasting on a barbecue.

Mirassou Pinot Noir

Jay Youmans jokes that the end result of the movie Sideways was that the market was suddenly flooded with a lot of bad pinot noir, whilst the merlot that remained was transcendent. Mirassou's quality and affordability is the exception to that pithy claim, because though you'd be ill advised to spend under twenty bucks on red burgundy, when it comes to California, and Monterey, Napa and Carneros especially, there are some exceptional Pinot Noirs for under $20. Mirassou has a subtle yet complex combination of fruit and wild mushroom on the nose whilst the palate finishes with oak and has faint, lingering earthy components. Remarkably this wine hits the market at $11.00, and as the more expensive Pinot Noirs can disappoint first time buyers, as an introduction to Pinot Noir, Mirassou is an excellent place to start.

Beringer White Zinfandel

Beringer White Zin remarkably holds down the full blooded Red Zin characteristics of nutmeg and sweet spice, whilst keeping a fresh overlay of maraschino cherry and fresh cut watermelon. This wine is a great cocktail beverage for a sweet tooth.

Dry Creek Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc is South Africa's work horse grape in that its versatile, easy to grow and resilient – and for that reason had been very much over looked by serious wine drinkers. However, its fast becoming known that well made Chenin is more than just affordable but is delicious as well. California Dry Creek is plump with bright acidity and light breezy floral character, and it leaves an exceptionally pleasant wild honey essence on the palate. Chenin Blanc is a perfect lifestyle wine, and any wine lover would do well to keep a bottle of Dry Creek handy in their fridge as it's a wine for all occasions.