Once I decided there were white wines I like, I decided I should definitely find cheap whites I like. Trader Joe's is always good for cheap wine. By cheap I mean under $8. Once you hit $10, that's starting to get pricey.
Today I got a bottle of Dancing Bull Sauvignon Blanc. It was $6.99 It was light and a little sweet. According to the winemaker, it is "crisp and clean with bright grapefruit notes balanced by tropical fruit and a hint of herbaceousness. The nose is filled with aromas of green apple, kiwi, lime, and peach highlighted by notes of green bell pepper. The mouth is very juicy... " I never come up with all those comparisons but I know it went pretty well with my yummy smoked salmon rollup.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Cheap Wine
Monday, May 26, 2008
My Search For White Wine
For white wine that I like, that is.
About 10 years ago, I rediscovered my aunt. I should say, my daughter discovered her but I benefited because my aunt and I renewed our friendship at the same time. Somewhere along the line, I informed Mary that I enjoyed a glass of red wine now and then but I wasn't a big fan of white wine. She thought I just hadn't found the right wine and decided to help me find my favorite white. She took me on a two day wine trip through Napa-Sonoma, determined to locate a white wine I liked.
I can't tell you how many wineries we visited and I can't even name many of them. I tasted a lot of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that day. I didn't like any of the Sauvignon Blanc and I only liked a few of the chards. One Chardonnay I liked was the Rombauer Chard. To my taste it was 'softer' than others. I also didn't enjoy the Reisling or the Pinot Grigio.
I don't remember the winery we were at where they served me a Viognier. It was love at first taste. From then on, we asked for Viognier at every winery we went to. There weren't many, but I liked them all.
As it turns out, there just weren't a lot of Viogniers in the Sonoma-Napa area. The Viognier varietal is difficult and has only become really popular in California in the past decade or so. There are currently more wineries with Viogniers in Central California and, as I discovered lately, in the Santa Barbara region. But I'm seeing it more often in Northern California as well.
Since that trip 10 years ago, I've learned to like other whites besides my Viognier. More on that later.
"The distinctive aroma of peaches, apricots, and violets is a hallmark of Viognier. Its highly aromatic nose is complemented by moderate acidity and flavors of peaches and minerals in the mouth." via
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Robert Mondavi
"The son of Italian immigrants, Mondavi founded a winery bearing his name in Napa Valley in 1966 and went on to become one of the most prominent figures of the US wine industry, making famed Cabernets and Chardonnays"
Jenny mentioned Mondavi in the comments and I did see the news about his death. I'm not a big Mondavi fan or detractor. I don't think I've ever been to a Mondavi winery. He was obviously very respected. There is a tribute album for him here. You can read about his life here. Reading it, I learned Mondavi was responsible for creating the term Fume Blanc which is just another name for Savignon Blanc. My favorite Fume Blanc is not Mondavi, however, it is Ferraro-Cerrano.
Maybe this weekend, I'll pick up a couple Mondavi wines and make a toast to Robert.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Put A Cork In It
On my latest wine trip in Santa Barbara, we bought several bottles of 'fine' wine with screw caps. I encountered a screw cap wine at a restaurant about 4 years ago and we joked with the server about how funny it is to get wine in a nice restaurant and then have the server unscrew the cap. Some people miss the cork. I do not. I like being able to easily cap the bottle after pouring. I like not having to battle with the corkscrew to open wine. And I like not struggling to get the cork back in the bottle. I don't think I have ever been seduced by the romance of cork removal and cork smelling. So screw caps don't bother me at all. I won't even miss saving the corks since I already have my bulletin board made from my corks.
So, will you miss the cork?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wine Spectator
There's at least one thing I can say about the Wine Spectator magazine; it is certainly BIG. At 10"x13", it qualifies for the biggest magazine on my coffee table. Of course if the Whole Earth Catalog were still around, it would give WS a run for its money in the size department.
I started receiving the Wine Spectator when my aunt signed me up for a free subscription. I haven't had a lot of time to peruse it, but I don't mind that she signed me up; I'm hoping it will give me some lessons in talking about wine. Then I will be able to use sentences like "Polished and focused, with a core of currant, fig, cedar and coffee notes that stays streamlined through the full-bodied finish" instead of "I like it!"
Glancing through this month's magazine, I see that of the California wineries mentioned, I've been to one. Since I've been to many California wineries over the past 6 years, I'm not sure it that says more about me or more about the magazine. Maybe more about how well the magazine and I are matched - or not. I also noticed that it's hard to find wine priced under $20 a bottle in their lists of recommendations.
So we'll see. One of these days, I'll sit down and browse through the other 4 or 5 issues I have and see it we'll become good friends or not.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Wine Racks Are Expensive
I have about 3 or 4 cases of wine here at the house and many bottles sit in the cases I brought them home in. I have a couple small wine racks that I've picked up over the years that don't hold enough bottles and so I've decided to buy a wine rack that will hold my wine and grow to accommodate more wine.
But wine racks are expensive! See here at Pottery Barn I can get one 12 bottle unit for $70. Sure, they look nice stacked to hold 72 bottles but that will cost $420 if I've done the math correctly. If I already have 36 bottles I might as well invest in a rack to hold at least twice that much.
Target has a $40 rack that hold 20 bottles, so that certainly is cheaper but I'm not in love with the look. The Shoetree store has converted shoe racks to wine racks, I think, and are offering 2 racks that hold 6 bottles each for the price of $25. I'll pass. This one only holds 16 bottles but includes a drawer for your cork screw, holders for your glasses and a table top to set the open bottle on.
I know I do need a wine rack. As I collect more bottles that I'll want to save for awhile, I need a place to keep them. And I'll probably end up with a wine cooler too one of these days. But if you think wine racks are expensive, wait until I shop for the cooler!
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