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Hello, friends!

Yes, the Naked Vine is still alive and well -- just transplanted! There's been a lot going on in VineLand over the last several months. The Sweet Partner in Crime traded in her UC Bearcat red and black for the navy and white of the Penn State Nittany Lions. We've been spending a great deal of recent time getting ourselves set up in our new place here in State College.

As any of you who have ever uprooted and headed for a new town know -- moving can be insanely stressful, and moving in the summer means dealing with many days in the warmth. Not to be overly predictable -- but summer means rosé, and a bottle of pink Italian goodness showed up at the homestead recently.

Except, to my surprise, what I had in my hand wasn't technically rosé. Instead, I found myself with a wine style called Ramato -- the Attems 2018 Pinot Grigio Fruili DOC Ramato, to be precise.

What is it? Ramato is a specific term for a rosé-style wine made from Pinot Grigio grapes. The name "Ramato" is from the Italian word for "copper." Pinot Grigio grapes, when ripe, are a greyish-purple, hence their name (and a major differentiation from their cousin Pinot Noir). When pinot grigio pressings are macerated on the grape skins -- which is the process that turns rosé pink -- the resulting juice can turn anywhere from a pale pink to a deep orange, depending on how long the skin contact goes on.

The resulting wine has a different profile than most rosé. There are typically more spice and floral notes on the nose -- and the flavor tends to have more of a stone fruit character.

We popped the Attems while flopping on our deck chairs after a long day of home setup logistics. The bouquet of this wine hit me right out of the box. Many rosé have noses that are so light and delicate as to be almost unnoticeable, but that's certainly not the case here in this glass smelling of peach, grapefruit, and baking spice. The flavor is where the delicacy lies with this wine -- the strawberry and cherry flavors are bounded by minerals. I thought it was incredibly well-balanced and pleasant to drink. The finish had a bit of a peppery note that I found really interesting.

The tech notes on this said it was a "perfect partner" to sweeter cured meats and prosciutto, both of which we happened to have in the fridge, along with some Manchego cheese and marcona almonds. We assembled a little charcuterie tray and went to town. They weren't lying -- this was a great aperitif/appetizer wine.

While most Ramato is Italian in origin, many domestic winemakers who grow Pinot Grigio have been trying the style -- which is certainly worth looking out for as you're wandering down the pink aisle of your local wine shop. (Side note: Central PA can't hold a candle to the wine stores we had in the 859...)

The Attems retails for around $16. A very decent bottle if you're looking for something refreshing.

Naked Vine One-Hitter: Voga Italia, at Home Amidst the Product

I took a look at wines that try to win your heart with interesting bottle designs before. A new entry to this category is the Voga Italia 2015 Pinot Grigio Della Venezie.

Rather than the slenderly-tapered container into which most Pinot Grigio goes, the Voga comes to you in a clear cylindrical bottle topped with a black screw cap that would look at home amidst the Sweet Partner in Crime’s collection of Aveda products. (As a male, I am genetically incapable of understanding what many of those products do, but that’s another story.) The screw top actually hides a cork underneath, so if you bring this wine on a picnic, make sure you pack an opener.

Italian PG has a reputation for being ultra-light, acidic, and largely forgettable. The Voga has a little more meat on its bones. Pale straw yellow in color, the nose is more fragrant than many of its Italian brethren. The weight to the body was, to me, more along the lines of many Sauvignon Blanc. The pear and apple-driven sensation of both the nose and body is pleasant enough, and there’s a little zippy acidity towards the finish -- longer lasting than many PG’s.

All in all, it’s a pretty solid summertime wine at $11. I’d have this either on its own, or with some sort of light fish preparation. We had some of it with some uncomplicated grocery store sushi, and it worked well enough.

Freshly Independent -- The Wine of Moldova

Let’s play “Name that country:”

A)    Approximately 25% of the population works in the wine industry.

B)    Its citizens consume the most alcohol per capita in the world.

C)    Is preparing to send much more of its wine to the United States.

Your answer? Moldova – the Eastern European nation of three million people wedged between Romania and the Ukraine, currently preparing to make a much bigger splash in the American wine scene.

Moldovan wine, needless to say, is hardly a household bottle. Moldova does sit on some of the best agricultural land in Europe, and they’ve made wine there since the 1400’s. Vineyards cover more land in Moldova than in any country in the world. About 7% of Moldova’s surface area is under vine. (To put that in perspective, imagine removing all freeways, cities, and In-and-Out Burgers from California and Oregon and planting grapes as far as the eye can see.)

While some indigenous Moldovan grapes are still raised, the bulk of their wine production is of grapes brought in from France, Italy, and Romania after WWII – cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, et al.

In the early 1900’s, Moldova had the largest grape-growing area in the Russian Empire – but the vineyards suffered during the two World Wars. The Soviet Union restored the wine-growing regions during the 40’s and 50’s. By the 1960’s, wine production had returned to pre-WWII levels.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, wine production became one of Moldova’s major economic drivers, accounting for 7.5% of the value of all exports. In 2013, however, Moldova declared that it was planning to join the European Union. Almost immediately, Vladmir Putin declared a ban on imports of Moldovan wine, of which it was the largest importer in the world.

Moldova clearly needs somewhere to sell its existing and future stocks of wine, and it has turned its sights to the West. With a handy assist from Secretary of State John Kerry, the Moldovan state publicity arm is launching its first campaign to promote their wines in the United States.

I was able to dip my toe into the Moldovan wine pool when Tiffany at Colangelo sent me a couple of bottles of Moldova’s big export. I received one bottle of red and one bottle of white. How were they?

We started with the white – the Albastrele 2013 Pinot Grigio. This 100% pinot grigio started off with peach blossoms and a little apple on the nose. I thought it had solid weight for a pinot grigio, and it was well-balanced enough that it doesn’t feel artificially heavy. The palate had some nicely rounded flavors of pear, apple, and a little bit of baking spice. The finish was quite nice – lasting and gentle, starting a tad tart but never developing into anything overly acidic. I thought this was a very nicely designed white with much more complexity than I’d expect from most wines that say “pinot grigio” on the label. A quick spin around the Internet yields some listed prices from $11-13, which is an absolute steal for a wine of this quality. High marks for this bottle.

The bottle of red – the Lion-Gri 2011 Saperavi Dry Red Wine – surprised me a couple of times. Saperavi is the grape varietal, native to Moldova’s sister country across the Black Sea, Georgia. When I saw the wine was only 12% alcohol, I expected to decant something that resembled Beaujolais. Turns out, “Saperavi” translates from Georgian as “paint” or “dye,” and I was a bit shocked when from the bottle poured squid ink! This is one of the “heaviest light wines” I’ve tried. The nose is heavy with dark fruit. The mouthfeel of this wine is fascinating. Everything hits at once: big cherry and plum fruits, strong upfront tannins, and plenty of acidity. It comes in strong like a young tannic cabernet, but then eases down into a gentle finish that isn’t overly strong. The second surprise was the price point. It retails for around $10, which is a ridiculously good price. Plus, I dig "Style & Quality" as a tagline. 

One of Moldova’s best known food items is called mămăligă, (meh-MEHL-eg-uh) a cornmeal porridge also well-known in Romania. Mămăligă is similar to a large polenta cake. On our recent trip to Sonoma, I enjoyed a roasted vegetable ragout on polenta at the Willow Wood Market Café. The Sweet Partner in Crime and I hoped to emulate this meal, which was as close as we were going to get to making mămăligă. We did our best copy job, using roasted eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, onion, and a green pepper for our ragout and cracked the Lion-Gri alongside. The big initial tannin meshed really well with the roasted eggplant and the acidity coupled well with the tomatoes. I’d also suggest giving the bottle a little bit of a chill before serving.

In the interest of improving international relations with a country very interested in aligning itself with our allies in the E.U., I think we all have a responsibility to support their economy. Based on the quality of these two inexpensive bottles, I think your diplomatic efforts will be well worth it.

Naked Vine Triple Italian -- Three for September's Start

Pinot grigio usually isn’t my speed.

While I’ve come to enjoy Italian whites more and more (I feel pretty safe with almost any varietal starting with “V”) – the light white workhorse grape of Italy doesn’t usually catch my fancy. Simply put, most of the Italian versions I try lean towards the flavor of lemon water. It’s not that these are bad wines, they’re usually just uninteresting, especially at the inexpensive end of the wine pool. That said, if you’re going to be sitting by a pool or relaxing outside on a warm day, they’re usually thirst-quenching critters.

When I got the offer from Dana at Wagstaff of three Italian “whites to beat the heat,” I accepted, of course, but I went into this tasting experience wine with, shall we say, no delusions of grandeur. I had three bottles in the shipment – two pinot grigio and one white blend. Here’s how they stacked up.

Stemmari (NV) Pinot Grigio – This Sicilian offering turned out not to be half-bad. It’s not a complex wine by any stretch, mind you. It’s not going to make you think much, but you’ll be pretty comfortable while you’re thinking of other things. It’s certainly light, but some depth develops there after a couple of sips. Happily, there wasn’t the typical watery finish here – I found it to be rather crisp and tart. The flavors run to the lime and peach. It’s also a pretty good food wine. I made seared scallops and didn’t feel like making a Chablis run that day, so I popped this instead. It worked better than I expected. For around $10 in the summertime, it’s a solid sipper.

Cliffhanger Vineyards 2013 Trentino Pinot Grigio – Traveling back to the Italian mainland, Trentino is the province in the Dolomite mountains where this wine hails from. The wine’s name is drawn because, well, the grapes are largely grown on the faces of the steep granite hills of the region. The bouquet reminded me of lemon cake. It tastes initially like it has some residual sugar, although there’s nothing about that in the wine notes. The body is fuller than I expected, almost chardonnay-ish in weight. The flavor is largely citrus fruit, more of that lemon-cakey flavor, and peaches. The finish, at least at the first few sips, tasted more astringent than crisp. It doesn’t really have that pinot grigio “snap” and almost tastes like there’s a little oak there. It wasn’t at the top of my list for this sort of sipper. Retails for about $13.

Stemmari 2012 “Dalila” White Wine – Back to Sicily for the execution of an interesting idea. The backbone of this wine is 80% Grillo, an autochthonal grape from Sicily. Grillo is a white grape that thrives in the Sicilian heat. It yields a high-alcohol white that is rarely used as a single varietal, since the wines tend to be even less flavorful than pinot grigio. Most Grillo actually ends up in the production of Marsala, the Italian fortified wine. So, someone at Stemmari got the idea to blend in about 20% Viognier for bulk and bouquet. At first try, the added Viognier contributes its characteristic peach blossom scent, but the body is much more reminiscent in style to a pinot grigio. The flavor is primarily citrus, with some honey and vanilla adding a little bit of interest. The finish is quite crisp and fairly abrupt, with just a little flavor of orange peel at the very end. It’s refreshing enough for a hot day, and I liked it more than a generic pinot grigio. Still, at $14, I could probably find an adequate summer sipper for a few dollars less, like the initial pinot grigio from this set.

The Deal with O'Neill

“Just in time for the holidays,” started the release that accompanied the latest set of samples from O’Neill Vintners – California-based makers of Tin Roof, Camelot, Martin & Weyrich, and Pepi wines, all of which have crossed the Naked Vine’s tasting table at one time or another because of the good folks at Balzac Communications. (Thanks, Stacey!)

The set contained wines from three of these labels – all relatively inexpensive bottles squarely in the “take to a party” or “crack at a casual dinner gathering” category.

How were they?

Camelot (NV) Pinot Grigio – A set of Camelot samples came to our rescue during our recent kitchen remodel, but this pinot grigio was not among that set. “It’s peachy,” were the first words out of my mouth at my first taste of this inexpensive white. I’ll say this for it – it’s certainly got more body and fruit than many wines at this price point. Most cheap pinot grigio tends to be fairly mild and almost watery. Not so much here. The nose and flavors, as I said, lean peachy. The finish is a bit odd. There’s a little bit of a bitter undertone that seems to be covered by the addition of a little residual sugar. We are talking about a $7 wine here, so nitpicking the finish is a bit much. It’s drinkable enough if you’re not thinking too much.

Martin & Weyrich 2012 Riesling Allegro – This Riesling is from the same label as Moscato Allegro, which I reviewed about a year and a half ago. This wine is more for fans of slightly sweeter whites. I will say that it’s got some interesting characteristics, especially
on the finish. I thought it started much like a typical demi-sweet Riesling, with flavors like honeycrisp apples and some solid weight on the palate. However, rather than simply having a smooth, sweet finish, this one finishes with a little bit of a lemony zing as well, which was an improvement. The usual Riesling pairings go here – fruit, cheeses, and spicy Asian dishes. We had this alongside a spicy beef and rice noodle salad and it worked just fine. I think it’s a decent value at $12.




Tin Roof Cellars 2010 Merlot
Tin Roof Cellars 2012 Sauvignon Blanc

I sampled Tin Roof’s previous vintage last December. Their sauvignon blanc appears to be a model of consistency. I wrote this review for the 2011: “At first sample, some slightly herbal overtones led to a green apple scented nose. This wine’s mouthfeel has pretty reasonable weight with tart apple and lime as the major flavors. The finish has a bit of an acidic bite, but that’s what you’d expect in a sauvignon blanc. I found it flavorful and drinkable…” My notes (and no, I didn’t cheat) were almost word for word for this year’s entry. Sauvignon blancs run the gamut – so if you really like an acidic style, this might work fine for you. For $10, you’re getting a pretty good deal on a straightforward, food-friendly sauvignon blanc.

The 2009 Merlot wasn’t one of my favorites. I thought it was a pretty good food wine, but it left me cold on its own. Whether my review had anything to do with it or not, I tip my hat to the Tin Roof winemakers. The 2010 is a clear upgrade. They’ve added a little bit of cabernet sauvignon and syrah to the petit sirah already in the blend. The result was a merlot with considerable structure and a much better fruit/tannin balance than last year’s. You get some coffee and cocoa flavors to take the edge off what had been a fairly “fruit-bomby” offering. From a value perspective, it’s drinking well beyond its $10 price point. With food, it’s flexible enough to serve as a worthy table red for almost any occasion. We had it with a beer-braised chicken with lime beans and peas in a creamy sauce. Reds are good chicken accompaniments in certain circumstances, and this turned out to be a very nice pairing.

Naked Vine Double Barrel -- Geyser Peak

Here’s another pair of California summer whites, this time from Geyser Peak. The winery dates back to some of the original Sonoma growers in the 1880’s. The name refers to a mountain overlooking the Geyserville vineyards where the morning clouds would crash against the summit and plume towards the sky.

The winery produces a Chardonnay, a Merlot, and a Cabernet Sauvignon in addition to the pair of lighter whites I was sent to sample for consumption as the mercury rises. (And if the mercury's going to stay where it is right now, I'm not going to complain!)

Geyser Peak 2012 California Pinot Grigio – This wine is instructive on the American laws on wine naming. For a wine to be labeled as a particular varietal – meaning it says “chardonnay” or “zinfandel” – the wine must be comprised of at least 75% of a particular grape. The remaining 25% can be used at a winemaker’s discretion. Thus, a “Pinot Grigio” might have up to a quarter of its total volume made up of other grapes. Lest you think that’s some sort of cheating, adding a touch of a secondary grape variety or two can markedly improve a wine’s complexity and flavor. In some areas of France and Italy, one can be hard-pressed to find a wine that isn’t a blend.

In this case, Geyser Peak blends some gewürztraminer into their Pinot Grigio to produce a more aromatic character. I thought it brought out some interesting scents in the bouquet, which to me  smelled of sliced apples and apple blossoms. The body has initial flavors of apple and melon alongside a mineral character which I expect comes from the gewürztraminer. The finish quickly went from melon to a lingering flavor of tart grapefruit. I picked up a bitterness at the end which the Sweet Partner in Crime did not. She liked this wine quite a bit, while I was somewhat lukewarm on it. $14.

Geyser Peak 2012 Sauvignon Blanc – No need for varietal-based discussion here. This white is 100% sauvignon blanc. The nose is heavy with flowers and tropical fruit. I thought it was fairly light bodied for a California sauvignon blanc, which can sometimes trend towards the sticky. There’s also a minerality here reminiscent of some white Bordeaux that is usually lacking in many domestic sauvignon blancs. The ripe, tropical flavors on the nose are in full effect on the body along with some melon, which fades gradually into a lingering fruity finish. I appreciated that this wine had a very good balance. We ended up pleasantly polishing the bottle off on its own, but I’d think this would be good with Thai food or a salad that had a dressing with a little zing. It retails for $10-12.

Still Naked, Still Peppy -- The Return of Pepi Wines

Summertime sippers. Got to have them.

A pair of samples from Pepi Wines showed up not long ago. Astute readers of the Vine may remember that I wrote a review on Pepi’s 2011 vintage last year. I’m certainly not one to shy away from repeat performances. You know…for...um…quality control purposes.

Pepi, taglined as “A True California Original,” makes whites only. They do a chardonnay, a pinot grigio, a sauvignon blanc, and a blend of chenin blanc & viognier. The grapes for these wines are sourced from all over California – largely from cool-climate areas in the state. According to their trade info, Pepi was one of the first wines in California to be bottled with a Stelvin closure, better known as a quality screwcap. (I am a long-time unabashed fan of Stelvined-up wines, as many of you know.) 

Pepi wines generally retail for right around $10. I had a bottle each of the pinot grigio and the sauvignon blanc. How'd they fare?

Pepi 2012 Pinot Grigio – As with many California pinot grigios, this bottle makes a very pleasant summertime picnic selection. I found the Pepi to have a more pronounced bouquet than many inexpensive pinot grigios. The nose is full of apple blossoms and lemons. On the palate, it was more full-bodied than I expected. It’s almost a little “glyceriney” on the tongue, but I didn’t find that necessarily to be a bad thing. The flavor is crisp and lemony, although the tartness does turn slightly sour towards the lingering finish. It’s easy to sip on its own, but I would prefer it with food. It would be good with almost any light meal, especially if were seeking a wine pairing for a vinaigrette-dressed salad that has a little bit of fruit in it. Pepi recommends a Cajun-flavored shrimp, fish, corn and sausage skillet, which I could certainly see working.

Pepi 2012 Sauvignon Blanc – The Sweet Partner in Crime and I were putting together a dinner of steamed mussels with chorizo and white beans. The recipe we were pulling from suggested a “fruity, California sauvignon blanc.” How convenient that we had the second bottle of Pepi for pairing purposes. This is a much more balanced wine than the price point implies. The nose is full of pineapple and green apple. The body is fruity and citrusy, and the acidity never really becomes sharp – even through the lingering, citrusy finish. Alongside the mussels, the wine was a champ. I thought it handled the savory, spicy, and herbal flavors without getting rolled. We agreed this is a nice, flexible “keep around for your summertime needs” bottle.

Bottom line – after peeking back at my review from last year, Pepi has done a good job keeping these wines consistent from vintage to vintage. If you’ve tried them in the past and liked them, you won’t find any surprises. If you haven’t tried them, I’d recommend the sauvignon blanc for a tenner. 

(Thanks to Stacey at Balzac for the samples.)

Not a Pedicure, But Not Bad: Barefoot Refresh

A little dizzy, a little fizzy.

Sometimes you have to appreciate a wine for what it is instead of what it isn’t.

Lauren at Hunter PR asked if I’d like the chance to preview a new line of wines – Barefoot Refresh. I said that I’d be happy to try them, albeit with a little bit of trepidation. Most of you out there are probably familiar with Barefoot – the value-priced, easily available line of California wines, both still and sparkling.

Barefoot is clearly taking the “moscato boom” to heart. In addition to white, red, and “pink” versions of moscato as both sparkling and still wines; the Refresh “Sweet White” is moscato blended with pinot grigio and the “Summer Red” is a pinot noir rosé and moscato mix. The “Crisp White” is a Chenin Blanc/Riesling concoction.

Over the years, I’ve tried a number of their wines and realized that I probably wasn’t their target demographic. “Pink moscato” is not usually my first choice. Still, a new series of wines deserves an open-minded view, so I popped them all in the fridge. All of their labels state “Best Served Chilled,” which usually makes me dubious. Chilling wine to fridge temperature usually kills the flavor. So, I braced myself, cracked the screwtops, and poured.

I was pleasantly surprised. For what these wines are – they’re not bad. All are light bodied and have a slight effervescence. The effervescence makes these wines go. All of them are blends. They’re all low in alcohol – right around 9% -- marketed as “a lively and light style of wine made with a unique process that enhances the wine’s flavor, lifts the fruit intensity, and gives it a signature fizz.” All of these non-vintage wines will retail for about $7. My thoughts about each:

Barefoot Refresh (NV) Crisp White –A simple, easy to drink, made-for-summer wine. I found a nose of grapefruit and melon, flavors echoed on the palate, along with some zippy citrus towards the finish. The slight effervescence makes the finish live up to its name. I imagine this would be a reasonable choice for a meat-and-cheese-plate picnic. Bubbles and acidity will cut through fatty and creamy flavors, especially on a warm day.

Barefoot Refresh (NV) Sweet White – I hadn’t looked up the aforementioned blends before I tried the wines, and my note says, “Reminds me a lot of Moscato, but in a good way.” It’s not as tooth-numbingly sweet as many of the American, particularly Californian, versions, and the little bubbliness makes it more reminiscent of Moscato d’Asti. I found lots of peach on the nose, which also shows up on the palate along with some tangerine flavors. The finish is leaner than many other Moscato, which I think is a good thing. The bubbles prevent it from getting overly cloying. If you’re a Moscato d’Asti fan, this is a nice alternative. I’d imagine the varied flavors of brunch would be a good match.

Barefoot Refresh (NV) Summer Red – I had an odd progression of opinion with this wine. At first taste, I simply didn’t like it. It reminded me a lot of those non-alcoholic sparkling grape juices you’ll see in the supermarket that sometimes get opened as “alternative beverages.” The flavor was similar to a cranberry-and-strawberry spritzer. That said, something about this wine rang my memory bell. It hit me later that evening – it tasted a lot like Lambrusco – the inexpensive, sweet Italian jug wine which I never cared for much – unless it’s with shellfish. I was planning to make some herb-roasted peel-and-eat shrimp for dinner, so I tried it alongside. You know what? Sometimes “Not bad” is good enough. Afternoon shrimp cocktail or some such with this wine would be workable.

Are these the best wines in the world? Nah. But for a brunch with or a summertime pull-and-pour, you might them worth a try when they become available in your area.

(Originally published on 11/20/12)

Naked and Peppy -- Pepi Winery

An apt description.

Another round of thanks to Stacey at Balzac for sending along a set of samples from Pepi Winery, one of the sub-labels of O’Neill Vintners – makers of Moscato Allegro, Camelot, and Tin Roof.

Pepi, taglined as “A True California Original,” makes whites only. They do a chardonnay, a pinot grigio, a sauvignon blanc, and a blend of chenin blanc & viognier. The grapes for these wines are sourced from all over California – largely from cool-climate areas in the state. According to their trade info, Pepi was one of the first wines in California to be bottled with a Stelvin closure, better known as a quality screwcap. (I am a long-time unabashed fan of Stelvined-up wines, as many of you know.)

Pepi wines are all in the $10 price range. I received a sample of each of their offerings from the 2011 vintage. How’d they work out?

Pepi 2011 Sauvignon Blanc – “Very pleasant” was underlined on my notes for this one. It kicks off with a light nose of peach blossoms. There’s a zippy acidity alongside some very friendly peach and pear flavors. The finish is quick and lemony. I’d put this in the fridge the night before and didn’t get to it when I thought I would. Make sure you let it warm up a bit if you’ve got it fridge-cold. Drunk too cold, it loses the fruit and becomes and acid ball. I found it to be nicely food-friendly as well. It held up to a honey-jalapeno glaze on some chicken breasts. Consensus was that this was a good “everything wine” – a bottle that’s stashable for almost any everyday meal or occasion.

Pepi 2011 Chardonnay –I don’t drink a lot of California chardonnay. I’m always a little nervous when I open one. California chards tend to be big oak/big butter, unless they’re marketed as “unoaked,” which means that the acidity has been cranked to the point where you might think you’ve opened lemon juice. Ol’ Pepi surprised me with its balance. The nose is straight-up honey and apples. My first impression was slightly tart apple with just a hint of oak in the background. There’s a wee bit of cream on the finish, but it’s largely more fruit with a good balance of soft oak and lemon peel. I liked this about as well as I have a California chardonnay at this price point. Went nicely with roasted chicken and sautéed veggies, as well. Solid and workable.

Pepi 2011 Pinot Grigio – A light sipper that was the least memorable of the four. It’s by far the lightest of the wines although, to its credit, it’s not as flimsy as many pinot grigios. There’s nothing overly fancy here. Mild acidity, very light nose, and basic citrus flavors. We opened this one next to some fish tacos and a mild salsa. Anything with a stronger flavor would probably run this one over. I figure it for a good picnic wine, too.

Pepi 2011 Chenin Blanc/Viognier – When my notes say a wine tastes like a fuzzy navel, ordinarily that wouldn’t be a good thing. Imagine those basic peach and citrus flavors with the sugar dialed way back, and you’ve got the basic idea of this very drinkable, surprisingly complex wine. The chenin cuts the “oily” texture often found in inexpensive viognier without killing the trademark floral fragrance, and the viognier takes the edge off what can be challenging chenin blanc acidity. All in all, I found this to be a harmonious, bold, fruity white that rattled nicely off a “hobo pack” of cod loin, a bunch of herbs, garlic, and garden tomatoes & peppers. I’d certainly pick this one up again – especially as the weather is cooling a bit.

All in all, I thought this was a solid set of nicely-priced whites well worth trying. Nice work.

Big House Wines

First, let me send another thank you to the good folks at Folsom who sent along a few of the whites from the Big House line of wines for sampling. Big House is a value-priced line of wines from Underdog Wine & Spirits. Underdog also makes Cupcake, Fish Eye, flipflop, and Octavin wines. Big House’s winery is basically across the street from the Soledad State Correctional Facility in Mendocino County, California – thus creating the obvious inspiration for both the name of the wine and the nicknames of many of the individual varietals.

I received three bottles for sampling – their “most popular summer sippers,” according to winemaker “Warden” Georgetta Dane. So, without further adieu:

Big House White 2011 – This white is a “field blend” of 10 primary varietals, plus whatever else they have around at the time. The largest chunk of the wine’s composition is Viognier (about 27%), followed by Malvasia and Gruner Veltliner. With a backbone of Viognier, I wasn’t surprised to find the nose rather perfumey. You can’t miss the floral characteristics unless your sinuses are acting up. Flavorwise, I got melon & tropical fruit flavors with a little bit of sweetness from a little bit of residual sugar. The finish is fruity and a little fat. I thought it tasted like an inexpensive Viognier without the oiliness common to many of those wines. A decent enough summer quaffer if you’re looking for something that’s aromatic.

Big House 2011 “Unchained” Naked (Unoaked) Chardonnay – I’m not a big fan of many California chardonnays because they’re usually heavily oaked and buttery. Some winemakers have tried producing unoaked chardonnay with mixed results. The big drawback to many of these unoaked specimens is a lack of acidity. When I tried the Unchained, I was pleasantly surprised to discover some tartness. (Now, it’s not super-acidic, mind you.) Lemon and green apple were major flavors. The body had a decent amount of weight and the finish was reasonably crisp. I thought it was OK, but I wouldn’t classify it as one of my favorite bottles to just slug on. Steak tacos were on the menu for the evening, and I hoped there’d be enough oomph within to handle them. With the beef, greens, avocado, and onion – everything was fine. As soon as I dolloped some spicy salsa on there, game over. The capsaicin just ran the flavors over. Lesson learned – it’s a flexible enough food wine, as long as you aren’t eating spicy.

Big House “The Birdman” 2011 Pinot Grigio – Again, this pinot grigio wasn’t exactly what I expected. Many pinot grigios are either highly acidic or downright watery. Neither was the case here. I found this to be quite full-bodied for a pinot grigio – and I certainly wasn’t expecting one which had lemon flavors that sat on my tongue for any length of time. That lemon is crossed with a strong dose of tropical fruit, especially pineapple. The finish is much more fruity than crisp. If I weren’t paying much attention and was looking for a wine to slug on, it was decent. However, I like more crispness in my pinot grigio. This one just wasn’t my speed.

Big House also offers Big House Red, “The Usual Suspect” Cabernet Sauvignon, “Cardinal Zin” Zinfandel, “The Slammer” sweet Shiraz, and “Grü-V” Grüner Veltliner. Big House’s wines generally retail for around $10. Three liter “wine casks” are usually around $22.  

Lessons of Pepperwood Grove

On returning from a recent conference, I discovered Wine Fairy had visited. A sample pack of Pepperwood Grove wines, courtesy of our friends at Balzac Communications, had magically appeared.

O Happy Day! Wine Samples!

You’ve undoubtedly seen Pepperwood Grove. It’s an inexpensive wine from Don Sebastiani and Sons. The bottles have a “green wave” pattern on the label, but they’re best known for the “Big Green Box” – a three-liter…well…box of wine. As most of you know, we have no problem with box wine around these parts. As long as you’re not looking for top notch juice, box wine can be a great option for an “I don’t want to think about it” offering. You know, when you’re tired or after a few other bottles you did think about…

According to the release, Pepperwood Grove was the first “established” wine brand to launch a “boxed line extension” -- The Big Green Box. This version of their regular wines first appeared in 2010. Sebastiani and sons sent these samples to announce the launch of Pepperwood Grove’s “Little Green Box” – a 500ml mini-container made from 100% recyclable material. Each container holds about three glasses.  They sent me a Little Green Box of pinot grigio, a Big Green Box of chardonnay, and a “Groovy Green Bottle” of their pinot noir.

I’d not had Pepperwood Grove in quite some time. I see it in most every wine store I walk into. I honestly hadn’t given it much thought, but I’d never tried three wines consecutively from the same producer in different “formats” and the Wine Fairy was being generous…

First up was Pepperwood Grove Pinot Grigio, which turned out to be a very “soft” wine at first sip. By “soft,” I mean that there’s not the acidity I usually expect – especially if something is marketing itself as a “pinot grigio.” Winemakers usually brand their wines either “pinot grigio” or “pinot gris” depending on whether they’re more Italian (more crisp and tart) or French (more mineral and smooth citrus) in style, respectively. Honestly, this California offering was neither. It was lightly peachy on the nose, quite full-bodied for a pinot grigio with plenty of peach. I thought it was inoffensive and flexible enough to be a good picnic wine. This travel-friendly pack would go alongside most food – appetizer to dessert.

We moved on to the Pepperwood Grove Chardonnay – This was the wine they’d sent in the “Big Green Box.” It’s also from California, and is actually a blend of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Viognier. It’s 77% Chardonnay -- anything over 75% and a winemaker can label it Chardonnay. I’ve had the Big Green Boxes before, and I’d found them to be decent, but I hadn’t tried the chardonnay. Honestly, I wish that were still the case. All due respect -- this wine was simply not good. The major flavor is very ripe apple with some creaminess. That’s the nicest thing I can say. On the downside, there’s what tastes like an attempt to do a chemical approximation of oak that doesn’t quite work, and an unfortunate tartness.

Finally, we ended up with the Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir – This Groovy Green Bottle’s grapes are sourced from Chile. Basically, I’d consider it a serviceable sluggable wine – but I wouldn’t call on it if I were looking for a pinot noir. I thought it was plummy, medium bodied, and straightforward – it would be a very solid table wine if one wasn’t picky. We rated it clearly the best of the three.

I usually wait until after I’ve tried sample wines to read the tasting notes to see how close my palate discerned what the winemaker was trying to do. My observations were nowhere close to the company tasting notes for the whites. For instance, the pinot grigio was described as “light” and “mineral driven” with “bracing mouthwatering acidity,” which was far from what I got. The chardonnay was allegedly “crisp flavors of green apple and biscotti contrast with hints of grapefruit, toasted marshmallow, and fresh lime on the finish.” No. Just no. All tasting notes are subjective, but there’s a general neighborhood.

Turns out these wines were shipped during one of our first fairly hot bursts of the season. The flavors I found in the pinot grigio and the chardonnay reminded me of wines that had been blasted by heat and gone over. My hypothesis? My package was left out for a little too long on an unexpectedly hot loading dock somewhere. Since the glass bottle provides better insulation, it wouldn’t have been affected as much.

Upon reflection over my career purchases, I’ve had considerably more box wines be spoiled than bottled wines. While I’m certainly not turning against box wine anytime soon – it might be worth asking the folks in your local wine store about how quickly their box wine aisle turns over and how those wines are stored when they arrive at the store.

As it stands, I can’t say whether the Pepperwood Grove wines were exposed to poor treatment in transit that they’re just not as tasty. If you decide to try one, make s

New Year’s, New Zealand

Welcome to 2012, everyone! May it be an excellent year for us all. This year’s started off with a bang here, thanks to the welcome return of the Naked Vine New Year’s Feast & Festival of Sloth.

For the last couple of years, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I haven’t been able to prepare our usual table. For the uninitiated, we usually pick a theme or region of the world, get a bunch of wine, hunker down, and cook a raft of recipes to pair with them. This year, we decided to do New Zealand. Why?

Well, aside from the whole notion of discovering new cuisine, I’d picked up a couple of relatively high-end New Zealand pinots in my wine-shopping “travels” a year or so ago, and I wanted a good excuse to do a side by side tasting. So, armed with this notion, we took to the reference sources to find foods and to the wine stores to collect other wines. Here they are:

We quickly discovered that New Zealand hasn’t historically been a big contributor to international cuisine. New Zealand is historically known for the “boil-up,” a Maori dish of boiled pork, squash, and whatever else is lying around. Since we both prefer low country style if we’re just going to boil meats and such, we needed to be a little more creative. Thankfully, the invasion of hobbits also brought along some very interesting Asian & Australian fusion cuisine, so we decided to approach it from that angle. (Maybe not completely authentic, but hey…it’ll be tasty…)

New Zealand, of course, is known for sauvignon blanc. They make unique versions. Many of the commonly found ones are from the Marlborough region, although there are more and more available domestically from Hawkes Bay and Wellington. (Together, these latter two are called “East Coast” wines – and they are the “first grapes to see the sun each day” because of their geographic location.)

Another difference this year…the advancing of years first gave us the idea to do our little culinary adventures in the first place and do an all-day feast. The still-advancing years (and our wildly successful “Channiversary” celebration) had us stretch New Year’s Eve into a full weekend’s better-paced gluttony. So, away we go…

Friday – New Year’s Eve Eve

Our first course was a “New Zealand Fish & Chips.” Baked sweet potato fries alongside some mussels, steamed in a red vermouth and garlic sauce. (No real recipes for these. The sweet potatoes were cut into strips, coated with olive oil and tossed with salt, pepper, and garam masala. The mussels were – well – steamed up with the aforementioned sauce.) Next to this little bit of yumminess, we put Cloudy Bay 2011 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. ($20) The Cloudy Bay was a very pleasant, mineral-laden sauvignon blanc with a strong lime-citrus flavor. Just before I served the mussels, I added some parsley to the sauce, and that worked nicely, playing off the traditional New Zealand-y herbal flavors in the wine. We kicked our little adventure off with a bang, to be honest.

Next up was a roasted red pepper soup with seared scallops, paired with Villa Maria 2009 Cellar Selection Marlborough Riesling. ($17) This is the first New Zealand Riesling that I can remember trying. Based on my experiences with the sauvignon blancs, I expected this to be a big, fruity Riesling. I couldn’t have been more off. This is a lean, aromatic wine that really reminded me more of an Alsatian Riesling than anything else – although it had a wee bit of sweetness there. Actually, this became a theme with the non-Sauvignon Blanc wines we tried. Most of them were lean and minerally, regardless of varietal. As for this one, I found lots of lime and lavender on the nose. “Crisp and cool” was my note.

The food pairing note I have was simply “OH MY GOD IS THIS GOOD.” This was easily the best pairing of the whole weekend and was honestly one of the best hand-in-hand food and wine pairings that I’ve had in the last year. I can’t begin to explain why. It just works. Trust me. It’s an easy recipe, too. Try it. Trust me!

Saturday – New Year’s Eve

A lazy New Year’s Eve in front of us, we spent the day relaxing on the couch, watching crappy bowl games, as is our tradition, and we started getting peckish. For Christmas, we’d been given a Hickory Farms-style sampler, and one of the cheeses was something called “Brick Cheese.” Turns out it’s a cross between cheddar and swiss, and one of the recommended pairings is Chardonnay.

I braved the crowds and brought back a bottle of Oyster Bay 2009 Marlborough Chardonnay ($11) from the store to go alongside. This was a really interesting wine. As we were discovering, this wine was full of crisp citrus and mineral flavors, but the oak gave it a little bit of butterscotch. with a little butterscotch from the oak. Again, lime was a major flavor in the mix. We decided that, had it been from anywhere else in the world, we would have thought it to be a sauvignon blanc. It reminded us of Sancerre (a French Sauvignon Blanc) a little. You know, it actually went really nicely with the Brick.

The dinner hour came near, and it was time for what I thought would be the main event, cracking open these two pinot noirs from Pyramid Valley Vineyards. These pinot noirs, called “Earth Smoke” and “Angel Flower” are from adjacent vineyards, one of which faces north – the other facing east. I was curious to see the differences. These were both from the 2008 vintage, so they may have been a little young. Still, I thought it would be tasty. We decided to pair them up with grilled beef medallions with a cauliflower-broccoli hash, but we wanted to try these wines first.

These may have been the two lightest pinot noirs I’ve ever tried. They looked almost watery, but they were fully-formed, although super-delicate wines. I think they were definitely young – probably a couple of years away from full maturity. They were…well, like nothing I’ve ever had. I started with the Angel Flower. My note says, “I have no frame of reference for his wine. Smells like wind blowing across a meadow and pond. Delicate and fascinating. A wine to be drunk rather than paired.” That said, there really wasn’t much else to this wine other than the interesting delicateness. There were some spice and some berry flavors, but nothing overly strong. The SPinC said that the smell reminded her of the “Divinity” dessert from Stuckey’s that she’d long ago sampled on the byways of  the Midwest on the drive to Grandma’s house.

The Earth Smoke had, as implied by the name, a little bit of a smoky, earthy undertone – as well as some strawberry but still, the delicacy of the flavors were hard to catch. The SPinC said that these wines “don’t taste like anything in the world, and I don’t  know if they’d pair with anything in the world.”

Still, we tried. We put together the meal – and, not surprisingly, even something as simple as the grilled beef overwhelmed it. We pulled a random Australian pinot noir from the rack, and it was a better match. I didn’t regret opening the wines at all to assuage my curiosity, but I’m glad I have a couple of other bottles in the cellar to stash for a couple of years.

After that, we had a fire in the backyard, then popped a bottle of bubbly as 2011 came to a close…

Sunday – New Year’s Day

We slowly recovered from our revelries and finally got the energy up to do some exercise. By this point, it was mid-afternoon, so we decided to split our last day’s meals up. We figured we’d be fine with one dish for the day. This time, we went with a Kim Crawford 2008 East Coast Pinot Grigio ($12) to go alongside a spicy ginger ground pork in lettuce wraps. Something a bit lighter, you know. Turned out to be a very nice pairing. The pinot grigio was quite tasty, full of apples and pairs, again with a backbone of that lime and mineral. Cooled down the heat of the pork nicely and just made for a nice little meal.

For that evening, we decided to just have some leftovers and relax. We figured that we’d do the last pairing the next night. Well, you know what they say, “life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”

Monday – Black Ice

I had to go to work on Monday. My office doesn’t have windows, so I didn’t realize that while I worked away that afternoon, the roads were slowly becoming covered with a bizarre black ice event. There was a 30 car pileup on the interstate, which I didn’t hear about until after I almost fell on my ass going to my car. On the way home in bumper to bumper traffic, my car overheated. (The mechanic told me later that my radiator had actually exploded -- a “baseball-sized hole” in the top of the radiator qualifies as an explosion in my book.) I was stuck for three hours in 20 degree weather on the side of I-275, waiting for a tow. Needless to say, I didn’t feel much like cooking when I got home. So, we strung things out for another day.

Tuesday – The Finish

I make a killer risotto. And one of the recipes we’d found during our research on New Zealand cuisine was a Mediterranean-inspired risotto with asparagus and mint. Now, this would have been a more appropriate meal for springtime, but hey…it’s summer in New Zealand, right? Since I had feeling in my extremities, I cooked this up for us to enjoy to close out the feast. We had this with the And Co 2009 Sauvignon Blanc – an SB from Hawkes Bay. It had a fascinating top – it was sealed with a beer cap. (Which, honestly, would be the best way to seal any wine for longevity.) We took one sip and just looked at each other for a second. 

It’s unlike any other EnnZedd sauvignon blanc we’ve ever tried. It bills itself as “old world wine in the new world” and it certainly tastes more like a white Bordeaux than a Marlborough sauvignon. The nose is full of almonds and apples. It’s medium bodied, braced with more apple and pear flavors and just a hint of herb. There’s barely a trace of bitterness. Seriously, I felt like the “bitter” taste buds on the back of my tongue were taking a rest. Then came the meal. The asparagus risotto couldn’t have found a better pairing. Since asparagus makes most wine go bitter, the complete lack of bitterness allowed everything to mesh – the creamy risotto flavors and the milder fruit went hand in hand. This was a strong runner up pairingwide to the soup.

Automotive strangeness aside, I’d chalk this up as a success – and I would definitely recommend trying New Zealand whites other than their famous Sauvignon Blancs – especially if you’re a fan of minerally offerings like you’d find in Oregon or France.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Naked Vine does Simply Naked

On the heels of my review of the Dreaming Tree wines, Megan at Constellation (thanks again!) asked me if I’d like to give the “Simply Naked” line of wines a try. The connection, after all, is reasonably obvious. I said that I’d be happy to give them a run. Any excuse for more of The Naked.

Simply Naked markets itself as the “nation’s first complete line of unoaked wines.” I thought this was an interesting twist. I appreciated when California started easing back on the heavy oak on Chardonnay, but I hadn’t given much thought to what might happen if a winemaker did, say, cabernet sauvignon entirely in stainless steel.

The wines are produced with grapes sourced from vineyards across California. The wines are the brainchild of winemaker Ryan Flock, who is also the winemaker at Talus and Elkhorn Peak wineries.

These wines should be fairly easy to locate. All of them have a suggested retail of around $10. Here’s my thoughts on this lineup:

Simply Naked 2010 Unoaked Chardonnay – This is a fairly straightforward unoaked chardonnay. The nose is floral with a just little bit of citrus. On the palate, the dominant flavor I got was melon with just a tad of earthiness. The finish is slightly alkaline and has a touch of honeylike sweetness from some residual sugar. I thought it was a decent enough wine as an everyday selection, although I wouldn’t call it outstanding. 

Simply Naked 2010 Unoaked Merlot – At first sniff, I was greeting with a big, plummy, “traditional fruity merlot” nose. I completely expected this to be a straight-up fruit bomb. When I got a taste of it, it turned out to be much more subtle than a lot of inexpensive California merlot. I thought it had some nice dark fruit flavors and solid, nicely balanced tannins. The finish is smoky and evenly dry. I really liked this wine, to be perfectly honest. Exceptional with chocolate, too. A keeper.

Simply Naked 2010 Unoaked Pinot Grigio – Dropping the old snoot into the class gave me a nose of lime and peaches. The body is heavier than I expected. There’s certainly a little weight – perhaps more in line with what I’d expect from a sauvignon blanc. There seems to be a bit of residual sugar, which likely adds to the weight. It still comes across as reasonably crisp with flavors of lime and apple juice. The finish is fairly light, fruity, and has an interesting hint of smoke. Interesting to me, but probably not for everyone.

Simply Naked 2010 Unoaked Cabernet Sauvignon – Like the merlot did, the nose made me brace myself for fruit-bomb land because of the big plum and blackberry scents. The body is more tame. The fruit on the palate is somewhat subdued, moving from blackberries into tannin and hanging out there for awhile. It seemed a bit imbalanced, though, so I gave it some air for awhile and came back a couple of hours later. Unfortunately, even with air, there’s much the same flavor – fruit forward, then the tannic tug at the end. Fairly simple and plonkish. Not my favorite.

The Alphabet Soup Project – I is for “Inspiration”

Hope folks didn’t mind bit of a pause while the Sweet Partner in Crime and I were vacationing (well, I was – she had to work for a few days...) in Amsterdam. If you’d like to take a gander at our pictures...

Like my travels, one of my great wine tasting joys is discovery. That’s the kind of experience that made me start writing this crazy thing to begin with. This bolt from the blue can take lots of different forms. I might be impressed by someone’s advice on a wine; I could find a random pairing that works; or I could run into into something unexpected. Let me share a few of those fun times with you…

My newly-certified sommelier buddy James V. turned me on to the Domaine Sautereau Sancerre. This is a French sauvignon blanc from the eastern part of the Loire. He gave it two thumbs up and I trust his palate, so I gave it a run. This is simply a pretty smelling wine. "Flowering cantaloupe" was my first thought. Yes, I know – that’s an odd description, but I like it better than "floral with melon undertones." The flavor was intriguing. Like most Sancerre, this is a light bodied, acidic, minerally wine. This one, however, had a wonderfully balanced creaminess that I had never tasted before in one of these wines. Made me light right up.

When James first tried this wine, he had the good fortune to visit the property. He told me that they served it with chevre (goat cheese) and hard salami on crackers, so I tried to duplicate the experience. I was initially a bit skeptical. With the cheese alone, the wine developed an odd flavor, but adding the crackers and meat -- unearthly good as a pairing. I experimented by replacing the water crackers with a rosemary-flavored Triscuit -- and it turned into one of the best "appetizer pairings” I’ve had. The wine is into the 2010 vintage now. It’s $22 from Bond Street Wines (http://www.bondstreetwines.com), and I highly recommend it.

Another day, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I cooked up a pot of turkey chili, which was an interesting concoction. I ran out of cumin, one of my base spices, so I substituted garam masala, an Indian spice blend, and a little bit of coffee. (Rule of good chili: Just keep throwing things in until it tastes right.)

With this amalgamation. we were at a loss for a wine. After reviewing our on-hand options, I rolled the dice and cracked the Bodegas Salentein Killka Collection 2008 Malbec – a $12 Argentinean number I’d picked up on a whim. I love it when a plan comes together. The Killka turned out to be a fruity, fairly complex wine that went down nicely on its own. It had plenty of blackberry and vanilla to start, and its flavor stays quite smooth throughout. There’s that yummy smoky quality a good malbec has, but it lingers in the background and stays subtle on the finish – a finish with a good, firm fruity flavor and enough tannin to be interesting.

Alongside the chili, the malbec’s tannins worked nicely with the spices, revealing some very interesting complementary flavors. The Indian spices deepened and the chili powder had a “fuller” flavor. Also, since tannin is an acid and capsaicin (the molecule that makes chili hot) is a base, the malbec tamed the fire a bit. I don’t know if I could duplicate it, but we sure liked it.

Trips to the wine store occasionally shoot a bolt of inspiration. K2, one of my wine pals, recommended the Highflyer 2009 Grenache Blanc, saying it was his “favorite white wine of the moment.” The Highflyer is a Napa Valley creation. I don’t think I’d ever tried a white Grenache that didn’t come from the Rhone or Spain, so I was, on one hand, really looking forward to the experience . That said, I was also somewhat wary of a white wine from Napa, since I’m not usually a big fan. I had the heavy oak and heavy butter of Napa chardonnay in my head, but I was trusting. I poured and swirled. Bottom line? It’s a tasty, tasty bottle. My first reaction was, “This is California chardonnay, dialed way back.” Sure, there’s oak and butter, but that’s nicely balanced with some prominent pear and berry flavors. The body is medium with am evenness of oak and pear. The finish is oaky and softly lasting. Very enjoyable. It also turned out to be a killer choice with some spice rubbed, grilled chicken breasts and a green bean salad. The Highflyer will run you around $20, but it’s worth it.

Every once in awhile, I even get a little twinkle of inspiration from something utterly mundane. It’s not always tasting central around Vine HQ. Sometimes, one of us just needs a glass of wine to throw down without thinking. We usually have a box of white wine lingering in the fridge for just such a purpose. I’d snagged Big House Wines “The Birdman” Pinot Grigio at around $18 for 3 liters. I was aware of Big House red & white, but I hadn’t tried one of their “single varietals” before. In past experiences, box pinot grigio is normally one step above flavored water. The Birdman was a very pleasant find. (Somewhere, Chris Anderson is smiling…) Light and pleasant with actual structure in its pear and lime flavors, it’s a simple, easy quaffer that’s certainly not the flabby, watery mess you might expect. For a box wine, that’s pretty much all you can ask for.

 

Technorati Tags: wine tasting,wine reviews,wine

A Tale of Two Tastings

The Naked Vine’s social calendar has been loaded the last couple of weekends. As I posted before, I had the opportunity to lead one tasting and emcee another (and thanks to all of you who showed up and hopefully enjoyed the events!). When the dust cleared, one ended up being extremely educational. The other…well…

The first tasting was at Water Tower Fine Wines. David & Jan Lazarus and I opened a spread of what was originally going to be six wines, but expanded to 11 when all was said and done. My intent was to do a comparison tasting of Pinot gris/grigio and Grenache.

We started with the whites. In case you’re curious about the naming conventions, it’s “pinot grigio” in Italy and “pinot gris” in France. In the U.S., it’s named (as far as I can tell) after whichever style the wine most resembles. With the PG’s, I had these three to offer:

• Ca’ Brigiano Pinot Grigio Bennati Italy 2009 ($9-11)
• Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris Cuvee Romanus Alsace 2008 ($17-20)
• Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris 2009 ($14-17)

I thought the first two were good representations of Italian and French (Alsatian) versions of this grape. The Ca’Brigiano was light and acidic. Pool wine. Lots of crisp lime flavor. The Albrecht was a fuller wine, much richer and almost creamy. Much more tropical fruit. The color was markedly different. The Alsatian version had almost a coppery, honeyed color that matched the flavor. I thought, personally, it was the more interesting of the two.

In this case, if you had a continuum with Italy on one side and France on the other, this one would be about ¾ of the way to Alsace. The wine’s flavors tended towards apple and pear with some of that rich honey flavor coming through as well. I thought it lovely.

I admit…I have a crush on Grenache (Get it? Crush! Grenache! I made a wine funny!) The grape’s exceedingly broad potential for flavor and ability to change markedly based on terroir fascinates me. After tasting the wines, I poured them in a couple of “sets:”

• Espelt Old Vines Garnacha Emporda Spain 2009
• Evodia Old Vines Garnacha Altovinum Calatayud Spain 2009

The first two provided a fascinating contrast at about the same price – $10-12. Both wines are 100% Grenache. Same winery, same winemaker (although not marketed as such). However, the grapes from the first came from vineyards close to sea level, while the other was from vineyards planted around 3,000 feet. The climate at the Evodia’s high altitude tends to vary much more widely (hotter days, cooler nights) while the Espelt enjoys a more stable temperature. The result? The Evodia emerged a bigger, jammier, more in-your-face wine with blackberry and cherry flavors. The Espelt was softer, richer, and more complex. If you want an American parallel, think about the difference between red wines from Napa or Sonoma vs. Oregon. Both were extremely tasty.

Next up: soil vs. soil!

• Las Rocas Garnacha San Alejandro Calatayud Spain 2007
• Dom Mirelle & Vincent Cotes du Rhone 2007

As a point of clarification, Cotes du Rhone are blends -- not straight Grenache. CdR’s from the Southern Rhone are usually Grenache-based (rather than syrah-based). These two wines, also both around $12-15, were a fascinating contrast of “Spanish earthy” vs. “France earthy.” The CdR had the classic “Old World Funk” –a little like a barnyard. The Los Rocas had much more of a “digging in the garden” earth. The CdR had a mushroom flavor undertone, while the Los Rocas had more of a charcoal taste. Neither would have been “crack and drink” wines, but either would be spectacular earthy food pairing wines.

Finally, we poured the Quivira Grenache Wine Creek Ranch Dry Creek Valley California 2008. This was normally around a $30 bottle, but it was on sale that day for $21. This was a California Grenache. The Quivera bore no resemblance to either the French or Spanish Grenaches or to the jug Grenache you may have seen. This is a beautifully constructed wine – balanced and powerful. Plums and strawberries on the nose with a rich fruity flavor that eases into a harmony of tannin, pepper, and interesting acidity. This wine is a foodie’s swiss army knife. I can imagine it going with steak as easily as fish. Try. You’ll like.

So, this other tasting… For the third year in a row, the Madisonville Education and Assistance Center has asked me to lead the wine tasting at their annual fundraiser. When I started giving my spiel, I noted that the tasting had the potential to be one of the most interesting social experiments ever recorded in the wine world.

The tasting, as in previous years, was a blind tasting. Unlike past years, there wasn’t a varietal theme. Last year, for instance, was “Sauvignons of Spring.” We had a collection of sauvignon blancs and a collection of cabernet sauvignon. That straightforward this year? Heck, no.

The theme was: “ABC – Anywhere But California.” A no-holds-barred varietal free-for-all. “Red” or “White” was the only certainty. An unsuspecting taster could get a Riesling next to a Chardonnay, an Aussie Shiraz next to a South African Pinotage. Wine judges would run screaming.

The tasting lasted a couple of hours. Folks sampled, scribbled notes, sampled, swished, pretended to spit, and went back for more. At the end of the evening, people voted on their favorite wines – the top two won a prize. What rose from the carnage of our collective palate?

The most “favorited” white was a Trebbiano/Pinot Grigio blend that tasted (to me) like water. The most “favorited” red? A blueberry wine. I have no idea where it was from, who made it, etc. I was literally too dumbfounded to make a mental note. #3 was an Arbor Mist “Tropical Fruits” Chardonnay, followed by a “soft rosé wine,” again from somewhere I can’t remember.

How did a bunch of low-end, cheap wines end up being favorites? I felt like the slogan on the “Meetings” Demotivational Poster: “None of us is as dumb as all of us.”

The commonality is that they’re all very “easy to drink,” much in the same way that fruit juice is very easy to drink. In this social situation like, people aren’t doing much quiet, careful evaluation. They simply need social lubricant – and cheap wine’s been playing that role for millenia. So, while we didn’t create any new science, we all certainly had ourselves a good ol’ time and raised some cash for a good cause – which was, after all, the point.

Technorati Tags: wine review,wine tasting

The Naked Vine Tries The Naked Grape

The Naked Grape is a new line of wines from Grape Valley Wine Company in Modesto, California. They do four varietals: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

According to the press release from the winemaker, Hillary Stevens, “More and more people are looking for ways to simplify their lives…we’re happy to assist in that venture by providing wines that stay true to the fruit in the bottle and provide an utterly uncomplicated sipping experience.” The wines are also described as “easy to enjoy” and “focusing on what’s important and stripping away the rest.”

What all does this mean? Since I was sent a bottle each of the Pinot Grigio and the Pinot Noir to sample, I hoped to sort out the quote.

One thing to remember: just because a wine has a varietal name on the label, it doesn’t always mean that you’re entirely drinking what you’re thinking. For example, when a wine from California has “pinot noir” on the label, the law requires that it has to contain 75% pinot noir. However, once you get to 75%, any other grape in that 25% is fair game.
There’s nothing new about blending grapes. All French Bordeaux are blends. Wines are usually blended to enhance certain flavors or add complexity. In this case, these wines were blended in such a way to remove complexity and make the wine more straightforwardly fruity. Why would a winemaker do this?

As the press release also states, “When it comes to The Naked Grape, there are no pairing rules – all of the wines taste great alongside any type of food.” Such a statement makes me skeptical, because I can’t imagine cracking a pinot grigio with a flank steak – but uncomplicated wines do tend to make easier pairings. So, what did we think?

The Naked Grape California Pinot Noir (nonvintage) – As I mentioned, this wine is at least 75% pinot noir, but the rest of the blend is composed of Tempranillo, Grenache, and Alicante Bouchet. It’s light bodied and acidic, and there’s a considerable amount of fruit when you first take a sip. However, the flavor slammed its brakes on the back of my tongue. This wine had one of the shortest finishes I’ve ever had. There were cherry flavors along with a “bite” that reminded me a little of a Beaujolais. Uncomplicated certainly was an applicable moniker. Its uncomplicated nature served it well with food. After trying it with a bite of new potatoes with butter, salt, and parsley, the Sweet Partner in Crime stated: “You don’t find many wines that pair well with salt.” As a dinner wine, it was workable.

The Naked Grape California Pinot Grigio (nonvintage) – Once again, a wine that’s flying by the 75% rule. In addition to pinot grigio, you’ve got Gewurztraminer, Viognier, and Riesling. As a pinot grigio, it’s a reasonable wine. Nothing fancy in the slightest. The other grapes were rolled in specifically to cut the acidity, it seems. There was still a little of that pinot grigio sharpness, and there was some nice solid apple and pear flavors. However, much like its pinot noir cousin, it had a solid dose of the “brakes on the back of your tongue” effect, along with a slight bitterness on the aftertaste. We actually drank this down one afternoon without food. We had it open as a “sluggable” wine and it turned out just fine. It was easy to drink and inoffensive. We thought it was the better of the two we were sent.

I understand (I think) what the winery’s trying to do. They want to make a table wine without calling it a table wine to avoid the connotation of “cheap wine.” (And it’s relatively inexpensive – it’s $9 a bottle.) But “uncomplicated table wine” is probably a better moniker. I think if they were up front about it – even putting that on the label instead of a varietal, they’d draw a more “accurate” audience.
For a relatively generic drinking experience, it’s a decent enough quaff. That said, at a $9 price point, I think I could find something a little more interesting for my palate.

[Many thanks to Marieke at Hunter Public Relations for giving me the chance to sample these wines.]

Box Wine II – Electric Boogaloo

You may remember back in the late aughts when my dear neighbor Christine the Pie Queen challenged me to write a column on box wines. After some careful thought and consideration, we ended up throwing the First Annual Box Wine Extravaganza.
Somewhat embarrassingly, a couple of years have passed. A lot of wine has been poured across the alley during that stretch, but we hadn’t managed to re-extravaganzize. This year, though, a solid confluence of events stacked the boxes clearly in our path. We were back in business. We coupled the box wine tasting with a reprise of her hubby Jeff’s ribs and let the good times roll.
A quick refresher on box wines. Yes, you can still get your sugar-water box of Franzia or Vella if you really want to make huge batches of sangria, but box technology has improved greatly over the last several years. Advances in production have allowed winemakers to put wines in these containers that can last weeks if not kept cool and months in the fridge.
For a long time, winemakers used box wine as a way to get rid of some of their inferior juice – and there are still clearly cases of that, like the aforementioned Franzia. A couple, however, latched onto the idea that putting halfway decent table wine in boxes for easy consumption was a winning strategy. Three years ago, you’d struggle to find anything other than cabernet, merlot, chardonnay, Riesling, and white Zinfandel in boxes. Now you’ll find malbec, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, and any number of other varietals. Europe has long “boxed” table wine, and some of those are making their way to American shelves as well. As more wines appear on the shelves, quality tends to rise. (Although we have a cautionary tale below.) Prices range from $15-20 for most boxes.
So, in hopes of finding some decent wine, we cracked open four at the Extravaganza:

• Pinot Evil Winery Pinot Noir
• Folonari Pinot Grigio
• Bota Box Chardonnay
• Red Truck “Mini Barrel Red”

I have different expectations for box wine. I wasn’t looking for any kind of thunderously outstanding vino. When I pour box wine, I want something I can drink pleasantly without thinking too hard. I approached the judging in a very simplified manner. I made a few scoresheets with the following statements:

1. 1) This wine tastes good.
2. 2) This wine tastes good with food.
3. 3) I’d drink this wine at home.
4. 4) I’d recommend this wine.

People simply checked “yes” or “no” for each statement and added comments if they wished. Each “yes” gave a wine one point. The totals were averaged to determine an overall score. The results?
Folonari Pinot Grigio – Score: 4. The winner of the day. Straight yesses on the scoresheet. “Unassuming, but very pleasant” was one comment. Another noted that it went “very well with the potato salad.” This particular potato salad, interestingly, had olives in it. In retrospect, it makes sense why an Italian wine would be particularly good there. I thought that it was exceptionally drinkable, especially on a warm day. For a setting like our little shindig, it was the right wine for the right time. Around $20 for a box. Folonari also makes a Pinot Noir of which I’ve read some positive reviews. It’s on the list for down the line.
Pinot Evil Winery Pinot Noir – Score: 3.75. Personally, this was my favorite of the four. I didn’t know how well pinot noir would translate to this form. Most inexpensive pinots I see are domestic, but this was a French import. Regardless of ancestry, I thought this was a very solid, lightly fruity summertime option. “Very good. Dangerously drinkable.” was one comment (with which I totally agreed). More than one person mentioned that it was peppery. Also works well with a slight chill. A nice choice for either the patio or living room. Around $18.
Bota Box Chardonnay – Score: 3. Bota Box (along with Black Box and Angel Juice) was one of the first “quality” box wine producers that I started seeing regularly. They’ve won awards for their Zin and their Shiraz, and I was curious about their whites. The results were positive, but not overwhelmingly so. “Drinkable, but not that great” was one comment, balanced by “Me like it!” I thought it tasted like someone made a basic, semi-fruity white wine and made “adjustments” to make it taste more like a traditional chardonnay. A hint of butter and oak are certainly in evidence, but they tasted like afterthoughts. There was also some sweetness that I didn’t think belonged there. Still, folks seemed to like it enough to drink it up, so it’s got that going for it. $17.
Red Truck “Mini Barrel Red” – Score: 0. Nope. That’s not a typo. The scoresheet was a universal sea of “no” answers. “Cute packaging. Too bad the content doesn’t measure up.” That sums it up nicely. The packaging was certainly interesting: a small metal “barrel” that’s not obtrusive or unattractive with “feet” that make it stand up. The downside – the wine inside was…well…not good. Somewhat sweet with a vinegary edge. For cooking wine – maybe, but this wine was at least $10 more expensive than the other wines we tried, and the quality was nowhere close. Very disappointing. Box wine is supposed to be economical. Unless there’s a real reason to spend more, why? I think many people saw this wine on the shelf and thought the same. Assuming the wines are of similar quality, why pay $30 for red in a slightly cuter package when you can pay $20 and get something just as serviceable. I suspect that the “cask” I bought had been on the shelf for quite some time and had gone over. If they bring the price point down to a more competitive level, this might be workable. Until that happens, make sure you check the date on the wine and ask your wine store how long those containers have been there. Buyer beware.
And a little something for the kids: