Wines I need to try, Part 1

Oh good lord, there are so many wines I need to try. And I really should do this methodically, though I don't think that's going to happen.

On that note, let's begin.

2001 Punk Dog Wines "Sophie's Riddle" Red Wine, Sonoma - I love the name of this, and it was received well at the San Francisco wine festival in September. Beyond which, I have an affinity for 2001 California wines, though more specifically Napa than Sonoma. In general, I find Sonoma wines to be overblown and far too hot for my tastes. Napa's tend to be a bit more balanced and have enough fruit to balance a 14 or 15% alcohol content.

2006 Thomas Fogarty Winery Gewurztraminer, Monterey - I'm incredibly curious as to how California does Gewurtz. I love it as a grape, am particularly obsessed with the German (vs the Alsatian), and thoroughly fascinated as to how cooler-weather grapes would do in California, especially such a warm area as Monterey.

2003 York Creek Cellars Cabernet Franc, Spring Mountain District, Napa - I adore the Spring Mountain appellation in Napa, and I adore Cab Franc, so this is a match made in heaven.

2005 Orin Swift Cellars "The Prisoner" Red Blend - Although I've tasted this before, served at Telepan in the Lincoln Center neighbourhood, I've never really sat down and evaluated it before. However, it seems to be a wonderful wine, and one I'd like to get to know better.

2002 Dr. Deinhard Riesling Kabinett, Pfaltz, Germany - I have a bottle of this at home, waiting for the weekend. The colour is a beautiful autumn gold, and I expect it to be fully mature and ready to drink. Since the store just received two cases, I'm looking forward to selling it.

2003 Graves Syrah, Paso Robles - I've had the 2002 of this wine, and am very intrigued by what I read about the 03. In general, this seems to be a region overlooked for Syrah, although the Merlots and Cabs are fairly boring.

So there's part one. I'm sure there will be a part 2, 3, 4, etc, and I'll try to link them all up through a common tag.