The Gourmez

Desert Pear Martini Firebirds North Hills, Raleigh $9 This lovely drink gets a considerable boost in appearance from that slice of pear dominating the top of the glass. The liquid beneath it is a mix of Belvedere citrus vodka, Firebirds’ sweet and sour mix, desert pear juice, and apple juice. Now, the term desert pear [...]

Bin 90 Lindeman’s Moscato 2010 Australia I purchased this wine mainly because I was curious how the Australian moscato differed from other muscat wines I’ve tried. The answer would be not much. It’s very sweet, and I definitely consider it a dessert wine. There is a lot of pear and vanilla with lesser notes of [...]

Trader Joe’s Coastal Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Central Coast, CA This is another in Trader Joe’s line of affordable, and somewhat mysterious in origin, wines bottled out of San Miguel, CA. I like an air of mystery to my wine—it just makes drinking it more fun! The color is neon gold, if that makes sense. I [...]

Lambrusco Dell ‘Emilia Bianco Le Grotte Emilia-Romagne, Italy This sparkling white wine, with a very pretty label if I do so say myself, smells of kiwi, guava, and ume fruit. That nose promises more fruit than it delivers on. What it does have in plenty is sugar; I would call it a dessert wine though [...]

Screw Kappa Napa (S/K/N) Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Napa Valley, CA First, I just have to say that I love the brand name Screw Kappa Napa. It’s so much fun to say and seems wittier than it is, really, kind of like my nom de plume. Plus, the label has a pretty raised pattern that you [...]