Michael David Winery sure has an interesting sense of humor. Many of their wines are named for sins, intuition and other things of higher power. But what strikes me is that while they are attempting to be cute while injecting humor into their winemaking and marketing process, to me it just seems a little odd. Fortunately for them, a lot of their wines, which hail from Lodi, Calif., are pretty damn tasty.

Last night, we popped open a bottle of the 7 Heavenly Chards, which I liked, but didn't love. Its nose had a slight eucalyptus scent and the palate had balanced acid with some pineapple. But something about it reminded me of the chicklet I'd get from the dry cleaner when I'd go with my mom when I was about six years old. I don't know why but as soon as I smelled and tasted it, that random sensory memory came flying out at me. We drank it with some spicy seafood stir fry (the wild caught shrimp were super crisp and the sea scallops had a nice sweet essence) and the wine worked fine. Like I said, I wasn't bowled over by it.

Tonight, however, the 6th Sense Syrah really impressed me. At first, for about 30 seconds, the nose didn't tell a good story. But then it opened up quickly and some really nice blackberry, cherry and spice came up from the glass. The dark and inky wine shows the richness of the Lodi Appellation. It's silky and velvety with nice earth, smoke and jam on the palate that intermingles with deep, dark berries—and for about $17, it's a great buy. But again, going back to the oddness that Michael David uses to separate themselves from the pack, there's a poem on the bottle recounting the six senses with this being the last line: "I sense with my mind, a thought so unkind, I’m trapped six feet under in a bottle of wine." What? Are there dead people buried under the vines? I really hope the grapes aren't being fertilized with old family members who used to farm the land ... but I'm sure I'm reading too deeply into this. Like I said, good thing their wines have some spunk!

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