Presto preservo!

Yes, we know, our title sounds like a Harry Potter spell. Nevertheless, this Preservo Wine Preservation Steward is a pretty cool looking gadget. It doesn't just pump the air out of your wine bottle, it actually blankets the wine with an inert gas to prevent futher oxidation. All for just $100! (Via Gizmodo.)

Torreon de Paredes Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

Torreon de Paredes Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

Margaret Anne particularly liked this Torreon de Paredes Cabernet Sauvignon from Rengo, Chile. It was a good "heavy," or sturdy wine, that stood up to strongly flavored food. Definitely not fruity. Margaret Anne rated it 8/10.

Hardy's Riesling Gewurztraminer 2004

Hardy's Riesling Gewurztraminer 2004

This Hardy's Riesling Gewurztraminer was more Riesling than Gewurztraminer to our taste, complete with a bit of that "diesel" smell that's the distinctive Riesling odor. (We know, we know, German winemakers hate it when you call that smell "diesel," but we don't mean it negatively.) Overall, pleasant, citrusy and crisp; not a particularly complex wine, but a good one for sipping and very food-friendly. Our rating: 7/10.

Davis Bynum Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2000

Davis Bynum Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2000

Beautiful nose, with a hint of strawberries. Fruity, but well-balanced. Margaret Anne thought it had a touch of effervescence. Ed liked this Davis Bynum Pinot Noir more than Margaret Anne, though; Margaret Anne said she wanted to like it more than she did. Both of us rated the bouquet 9/10; Ed's overall rating 8/10, Margaret Anne's 6/10.

This cost us $30 or $35 U.S.; we bought it in Sonoma during our trip there in 2002.

Lamberti Santepietre Bardolino Chiaretto Classico 2003

Lamberti Santepietre Bardolino Chiaretto Classico 2003

Just a nice, dry summer rosé. A nice appetite-whetter, it went particularly well with a proscuitto-based appetizer. Tried again after a glass of Pinot Noir, it tasted sweet, though it didn't on its own up front. Our rating: 7/10.

Water Wheel Bendigo Shiraz 2003

Water Wheel Bendigo Shiraz 2003

Black pepper, spices, definitely not fruit-forward. Lots of tannin, but a nice mouth feel. This cost us $20 (OK, $19.95); we'd give it a solid 7/10.

Gustav Dickenscheid Rheinhessen Ockenheimer Schönhölle Riesling Spätlese 1993

Gustav Dickenscheid Rheinhessen Ockenheimer Schönhölle Riesling Spätlese 1993

We confess we never know when to stop when it comes to transcribing the names of German wines off of the traditional German labels...

In any event, this was quite spectacular, after 12 years in the bottle. It had a gorgeous golden colour, and was a splending example of a high-quality Riesling, with apricot and what some people characterize as petroleum (but in a good way!) flavours. We rate it 9/10. And we may just have another bottle of it tucked away yet...

E&E Barossa Valley Sparkling Shiraz 1999

E&E Barossa Valley Sparkling Shiraz 1999

This is a $65 bottle of wine, when you can find it, which you can't, in Regina. Fortunately, Richmond Hill Wines in Calgary brings it in, and this summer we were in Calgary earlier than usual--which meant they hadn't yet sold out of the limited supply. We stocked up, so we now have a couple of bottles in waiting.

This 1999 bottle of the E&E Barossa Valley Sparkling Shiraz was one we already had on hand from a previous purchase, and we opened it for Ed's birthday. It had a deep, rich flavour. We find that some sparkling wines seem artificially sweet. Not this one: it's simply a full-bodied shiraz that happens to sparkle. Its fruity, but nobody could ever call it jammy. And it's very, very smooth.

It is, in fact, one of our absolute favorites, which is why our rating is 9/10.

Pelee Island Winery Eco Trail 2004

Pelee Island Winery Eco Trail 2004

Clean, crisp and citrusy on both nose and palate, with the first sip strongly reminding us of pineapple and orange juice. We'd never had this Pelee Island Winery Vidal/Pinot Blanc blend before someone brought it to a dinner party as a gift; since then we've bought it ourselves a couple of times. Our rating: 7/10.

(Pelee Island Winery, by the way, is Canada's southernmost winery.)

Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret 2001

Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret 2001

Beautifully balanced, with a light bouquet and a distinct touch of green pepper. The flavour lingers, and that's a good thing. Our rating: 8/10. (We purchased this in Calgary for $27, by the way.)