While I was on holiday for part of August, I had my co-workers at the Toronto office do my wine-tasting job for me. A group of Captivate employees sat down and sampled two bottles of wine from Beringer’s California Collection, which I had left for them in the fridge. When I returned from my vacation, I found a little stack of tasting notes in my mailbox. Everyone said they had a lot of fun doing the tasting, and I think the wines I chose were perfect options for hanging around and socializing. Beringer says these California Collection wines “offer consistent quality for casual drinkers.” I visited the Beringer winery about 10 years ago while traveling through California with my wife. It’s a beautiful spot, and the wines I tasted there were spectacular, but pricey. This sampling is on the extreme value end, at about $7 a bottle each. So here we go with the results of the first-ever Captivate Toronto wine tasting (which, it should be noted, was not held during work hours). The following is a compilation of all the tasting notes from the six people who tried the two wines:

Beringer California Collection White Zinfandel ($7 US)

Color: Soft, misty, pink, rosé, velvety, clear

Aroma: Earthy, alcohol, chilled fruit, peach, strawberry, wine cooler, deceptively sweet aroma, white chocolate, candy, soft, light

Taste: Sweet candy, fruit, soft finish, tangy in the mouth but smooth going down, with a syrupy finish, smooth slow spice, citrus on a palette with a syrupy finish, tastes like icewine, too sweet, refreshing, charming

Beringer California Collection Pinot Grigio 2007 ($7 US)

Color: brilliant, sparkling, clear, sharp, bright, lemony, pale, like sunshine, glowing, shiny

Aroma: light, crisp, tart, tangy, refreshing, sweet, fruity, sharp

Taste: smooth, light, refreshing, fruity, tart, sharp, apple, citrus, smooth finish, earthy, bitter finish, flinty, pungent, long finish, clean

There you have it. Next time I’ll have to ask the group for some more explicit opinions about the wine, but when I asked everyone after the fact, they all said they enjoyed both bottles.