Price: $8.99
Aroma: floral, lavender, earth, lemon.
Flavors: grapefruit, mineral, floral.
After a day of visiting one of John's clients, visiting a museum and doing some people watching we decided wine was in order. If nothing else, to help ward off all the germs from the children running around with fall colds. We ended up back at our neighborhood Whole Foods, because although we can't afford to buy groceries there, they actually have a very decent and nicely priced wine selection. We settled on this Bianco Venice from Tentua del Giaj. This is a blend of Chardonnay and Tai grapes, and since we had no idea what Tai grapes were, we had to try it.
Upon some investigation, we discovered Tai is the new name for Toccai Rosso, the Italian varietal. Characteristically sweet and a distant cousin of Grenache, the Tai grape added a citrusy bite to a creamy Chardonnay base. There are nice but faint aromas of lavender and herbs. It has a round mouth feel from the Chardonnay but a distinctly acidic taste. It's kind of limey... Both in the fruit and mineral sense.
For a light but complex white under $10, this is pretty good. Pair it with garlicky pasta, veggies and hummus or wood fired salmon with dill sauce.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Leese-Fitch 2009 California Zinfandel
Price: $11.99
Aroma: leather, hint of cherry
Flavors: plum, pepper, red fruit
We picked this one up for superficial reasons - the Blue Wing Inn in Sonoma (where we met and enjoyed many outstanding wines) is on the label! We miss living in Sonoma so much, and any time we can get a reminder of being on the square for a Tuesday Farmer's Market, we'll take it. Luckily, upon opening the bottle - sealed with a zork - we had a nice suprise of soapy leather and dark cherries. There is not a huge nose, but enough to compliment the smooth, creamy texture of this Zin. After exclaiming we both enjoyed the first two tastes, we were bummed to see Leese-Fitch is another Sebastiani label. No offense to the Sebastiani family, but I have a hard time with hugely mass-produced wine. I know most wine in retail outlets is, and this blog is really about finding the best wines in the readily available market. I guess I have the same problem with Sebastiani that I do with Starbucks, if you know what I mean. That, and the fact that every time I went to the Sebastiani tasting room I never had a wine I enjoyed.
But I digress. This is a good wine. It has a nice long creamy finish, peppered with spice and rich dark red fruit. The color is a deep ruby red-purple and has a really smooth texture all the way through. It is mellow and drinkable, but has enough backbone to stand up to a hearty pasta with red sauce, a well seasoned steak and of course, some dark chocolate with raspberries. Mmmmmm, time for dessert.
Aroma: leather, hint of cherry
Flavors: plum, pepper, red fruit
We picked this one up for superficial reasons - the Blue Wing Inn in Sonoma (where we met and enjoyed many outstanding wines) is on the label! We miss living in Sonoma so much, and any time we can get a reminder of being on the square for a Tuesday Farmer's Market, we'll take it. Luckily, upon opening the bottle - sealed with a zork - we had a nice suprise of soapy leather and dark cherries. There is not a huge nose, but enough to compliment the smooth, creamy texture of this Zin. After exclaiming we both enjoyed the first two tastes, we were bummed to see Leese-Fitch is another Sebastiani label. No offense to the Sebastiani family, but I have a hard time with hugely mass-produced wine. I know most wine in retail outlets is, and this blog is really about finding the best wines in the readily available market. I guess I have the same problem with Sebastiani that I do with Starbucks, if you know what I mean. That, and the fact that every time I went to the Sebastiani tasting room I never had a wine I enjoyed.
But I digress. This is a good wine. It has a nice long creamy finish, peppered with spice and rich dark red fruit. The color is a deep ruby red-purple and has a really smooth texture all the way through. It is mellow and drinkable, but has enough backbone to stand up to a hearty pasta with red sauce, a well seasoned steak and of course, some dark chocolate with raspberries. Mmmmmm, time for dessert.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Borsao 2010 Garnacha
Price: $8.99
Aroma: Blackberry, licorice
Flavors: Jammy berries, mineral quality
At first taste, this wine was very... Meh. High acidity on top of too much jam. John threw in the towel, but being the dedicated researcher I am, I decided to let it rest 20 mins and give it another go. It has mellowed nicely and the flavors are starting to come through. Its lush in the mouth but still has maybe a tad too much bite. Being a 2010, I am not expecting much different. It tastes young, but it is grocery store wine so it's not like we are honestly going to let it rest for another two years. It did not compliment my pumpkin and butternut squash soup like I had hoped. My soup had a spicy element to it, and I had hoped the spice of the Garnacha would bring that out. The acidity of the wine kind of overtook the dish. For under $10, it's OK but I don't think I'll buy again.
Aroma: Blackberry, licorice
Flavors: Jammy berries, mineral quality
At first taste, this wine was very... Meh. High acidity on top of too much jam. John threw in the towel, but being the dedicated researcher I am, I decided to let it rest 20 mins and give it another go. It has mellowed nicely and the flavors are starting to come through. Its lush in the mouth but still has maybe a tad too much bite. Being a 2010, I am not expecting much different. It tastes young, but it is grocery store wine so it's not like we are honestly going to let it rest for another two years. It did not compliment my pumpkin and butternut squash soup like I had hoped. My soup had a spicy element to it, and I had hoped the spice of the Garnacha would bring that out. The acidity of the wine kind of overtook the dish. For under $10, it's OK but I don't think I'll buy again.
LampLighter Vineyards California Chardonnay
Price: $6.99
Aroma: burnt toast, green apple, grapefruit
Flavors: apples, honeysuckle, citrus
Not bad for a Chard at this price. We got it at Whole Foods for our Sunday wine run, and finding it pairs nicely with the sweet potato/apple/banana blend we are whipping up for our daughter's baby food. It's got a nice acidity, not too much but enough to notice and a decent creaminess that is hard to find in white wine this cheap. John adores a buttery Chardonnay, and we honestly got it because it said "buttered toast" in the description. It opens up nicely through the Vin-o-air, but just leaving the bottle open for a while should do the trick too. there is a flavor in there we are having a hard time putting our finger on, but as John said, "this is what Chardonnay should taste like... Well, at this price anyway." we like.
We are in the process of making a spicy pumpkin and butternut squash soup, and this is going nicely with all the stages of roasting the veggies, sautéing and so forth. I deglazed the onions and jalepeno with this wine and they are delish. I don't know if this bottle will take us all the way through dinner, so you might get yourself two posts in one night. The longer we drink this, the more we like. A definite go-to Chardonnay.
Aroma: burnt toast, green apple, grapefruit
Flavors: apples, honeysuckle, citrus
Not bad for a Chard at this price. We got it at Whole Foods for our Sunday wine run, and finding it pairs nicely with the sweet potato/apple/banana blend we are whipping up for our daughter's baby food. It's got a nice acidity, not too much but enough to notice and a decent creaminess that is hard to find in white wine this cheap. John adores a buttery Chardonnay, and we honestly got it because it said "buttered toast" in the description. It opens up nicely through the Vin-o-air, but just leaving the bottle open for a while should do the trick too. there is a flavor in there we are having a hard time putting our finger on, but as John said, "this is what Chardonnay should taste like... Well, at this price anyway." we like.
We are in the process of making a spicy pumpkin and butternut squash soup, and this is going nicely with all the stages of roasting the veggies, sautéing and so forth. I deglazed the onions and jalepeno with this wine and they are delish. I don't know if this bottle will take us all the way through dinner, so you might get yourself two posts in one night. The longer we drink this, the more we like. A definite go-to Chardonnay.
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