Spellbound Petite Sirah 2014

I picked this one on the theory that I would drink it while reading this week's book, A Discovery of Witches. Then the virus happened, and work was insane, and no reading has been done this week -- not even out of January, already behind on my Goodreads goal.

Oh well. At least the wine is good? This is a dark wine, and the first word that came to mind on tasting it was "jammy." It's not sweet, but definitely fruit-forward and pretty strong stuff. I like it, but it really needs something to go with it. 

Firesteed Pinot Noir 2013

One of the (many) things I want to do this year is try some new wines, rather than automatically buying the same thing all the time. I started off with this one for the best possible reason: I liked the label design.

Unfortunately, the contents were thin and harsh-tasting. It was drinkable, and better with food than by itself, but not a pleasure. Will not repeat this one.