Naked Vine One-Hitter: Conundrum

In my review of Franciscan Estates' Equilibrium, I referenced an old fave of mine called Conundrum -- one of my first gold standards for white wines when I was starting down the slippery slope of wine fandom. I received several emails from readers asking, in effect, "Well, what the heck is this Conundrum stuff?"

Good question. I hadn't had a bottle of Conundrum in years. When the Sweet Partner in Crime and I were courting, this was one of our "special occasion" wines. We would save the corks and write the occasion on each. When Conundrum made the environmentally positive decision to switch from corks to Stelvin screwtops, a bit of that romance was lost -- and we were broadening the scope of our wine knowledge anyway, so we often looked at other options.

Still, after I wrote that review, I was largely going from my memory of Conundrum's flavor. For the sake of full disclosure, I thought it would be a good idea to return to the scene of the....crime.

Conundrum started in 1989 at Caymus Winery. It bills itself as "The Original California White Blend," which wouldn't surprise me -- since at the time, most California wine was more or less single varietal. In the 2000's, the Wagner family, who owns Caymus, decided to split Conundrum off as its own brand. "Caymus Conundrum" simply became "Conundrum," but the wine remained the same, retailing for around $20. (Meanwhile, the Caymus brand became exclusively a high-end label. Those wines go for $60-70 and up.)

The wine is a proprietary blend of up to eleven different grapes -- but it always includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscat Canelli, and Viognier. The blend changes each year, depending on climate and harvest conditions. Conundrum also produces a red wine which is another "nontraditional" blend of red grapes. (My guess, however, knowing Caymus and reading the tasting notes -- would be that it's largely Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon, perhaps with some Pinot Noir thrown in.)

I was relieved that my memory was still pretty good regarding the flavor. The Conundrum 2011 White Wine is still a hefty white. The nose is very floral and the body substantial from the Viognier. The Chardonnay gives it a green apple-dominant flavor, along with some citrus and a honey-like sweetness. It's a fairly complex wine. There's enough acidity to keep it from being too sweet, although the honey and apple hang around on the finish. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd slipped some Riesling into the mix -- because it really reminded me of some of those flavors. For a food pairing, rich fish or chicken dishes or Asian spicy flavors work well.

If you're looking for a crowd-pleasing wine that's a little higher end, it's a solid choice. The Conundrum did illustrate how much my palate has changed over the years. Before I'd explored much wine, I really liked how full flavored this wine was. Trying it now, it's actually a little heavy for my palate. I usually prefer my whites a little bit crisper.  My vote for these similar white California blends would still be for the Equilibrium.

Naked Vine One Hitter – Franciscan Estates “Equilibrium”

“This is a really good wine if you want to impress people. It would be great if you’re serving a nice brunch -- or if you’re opening it up for the first bottle of girls’ night.” 
    – The Sweet Partner in Crime

I remember a conversation I had at a conference in the days well before I knew much of anything about wine. The woman I was speaking with (whose name and face are long-lost in my dusty, ethanol-laden synapses) was waxing rhapsodic about her favorite white wine – a white wine from California called “Conundrum.” The wine’s name was a reflection of its several-grape blend. I filed that nugget away.

A couple of years later, I met a very attractive professor at the University of Kentucky who agreed, in a stunning lapse of judgment, to let me cook dinner for her. I made a shrimp and scallop curry that night, and I’d splurged on a bottle of this Conundrum stuff. This wine tasted like nothing my unpracticed palate had run into before – very fruity, a little sweet without being heavy, and super-easy to drink. I also remember it as a great pairing with the curry. The attractive professor is better known to all of you as the Sweet Partner in Crime, and during the early days of our relationship, Conundrum was our “special occasion” wine. Conundrum became wildly possible (and more expensive) as the years went on.

What does all that have to do with the sample of Franciscan Estates 2012 “Equilibrium” Napa Valley White Wine from Folsom & Associates that showed up on my doorstep?

While white wines sourced from a number of different grapes certainly aren't a new thing, they were reasonably rare in American winemaking. These "field blends" tended to be inexpensive wines made from whatever was left over after making the "premiums." Conundrum was one of the first mainstream California wines to marry the tart acidity of sauvignon blanc, the body of chardonnay, and the sweet fruit of sauvignon blanc (and a few other grapes) in one bottle in a manner that suggested high quality.

Equilibrium, to me, represents a step forward with these sorts of wines. As my palate became more experienced, I found myself liking wines like Conundrum less. It seemed a bit overly heavy. Similar wines started appearing -- many of which simply weren't very good. (They were usually much too sweet or tasted like they were artificially "thickened.") Equilibrium, on the contrary, is quite nice.

It's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Muscat. The nose is grapefruity, like a sauvignon, but with an light undertone of flowers. The first taste gave me more grapefruit, melon, and nectarine. It's medium-bodied and fresh. The finish is very fruity. I expected a sweetness like honey or sugar at the end, but there's none of that. Instead, there's a lingering peachy flavor that's extremely pleasant. Very nice to sip on its own.

For dinner that night, in a lucky coincidence, I was making shrimp curry. (Seriously, I didn't plan it that way.) I was very impressed. The label recommends “BBQ and Asian cuisines” – so I thought, "Hey, close enough!" It went delightfully. The very prominent fruit flavors of the wine were strong enough to shine through the curry spices, both cooling the heat a bit and complementing the meal well.

A really nice effort. Equilibrium retails for around $23. Good first-bottle-of-the-night wine, especially if you're following the SPinC's advice above.

Back to the Biltmore

I’ve written about wines from Biltmore Estate Winery once before. Back in July, I went to a conference in Asheville, North Carolina – home of the aforementioned Biltmore Estate. When I returned from the trip, I found samples of their “Century Red” and “Century White” waiting on my doorstep. While I didn’t have a similar crossing of paths this time around, I recently snagged some samples of their “sweet sipping” collection.

One of these samples was my second go-round with the Century White. The others were a Riesling and a sparkling wine. I’ve not had much of a wine-related sweet tooth these days, but I was bound and determined to give them a fair shake. So, let’s take a little trip to Carolina in our minds. (Perhaps we can swing by the Dean E. Smith Center, where the wailings of demoralized UNC-CH fans still echo through the rafters a after their basketball teams’ twin weekend demolitions by the Devils from Durham…)

Biltmore Estate (NV) American Riesling – My favorite Rieslings are typically those from the French region of Alsace. Alsace Riesling typically has lots of minerality, light body, lean fruit, and a slight alkaline flavor in its dry finish. American and German Rieslings tend not to have those particular qualities, as they’re generally made in a “heavier” style. This offering from Biltmore is a pleasant exception. I found that this wine had plenty of those Alsatian characterics, except they’ve left a little residual sugar to make it more…interesting to the American palate.

The result is a very quaffable, yet still complex white. It’s got some nice floral aromas and a little sweetness on the palate that gets calmed down by an interesting minerality. Melon and peach flavors abound, followed by and a semi-sweet finish. It’s OK on its own, but I tried it with both a spicy Thai chicken soup and a flavorful turkey chili. Both pairings were quite nice. I’d think it would be a nice choice to go with almost anything spicy. ($11)

Biltmore Estate (NV) Century White Wine – My reaction to this one was a bit different the second time around. The last time I tried this blend, I thought it made a pretty decent glass. This time, it wasn’t nearly as friendly with the ol’ palate. I discovered that they’d changed the grape blend. Last time, Gewurztraminer was the primary grape. This time around, it’s Muscat Canelli, which often creates a heavier, sweeter still wine. I thought it was cloyingly sweet and very heavy on my tongue. There’s fruit, fruit, fruit and sugar, sugar, sugar. As our neighbor Minnesota Marlene put it, smacking her lips, “This has got lots of apricot,” and that’s it. (If Marlane ain’t talkin’, it ain’t workin’.) It’s a substantial wine that works with spicy cuisine well enough, but is too heavy to be enjoyed on its own. If you like really sweet wines, perhaps give it a try. Otherwise, give it a pass. ($16)

Biltmore Estate (NV) Pas de Deux Sparkling Wine – Pink is the dominant color of the packaging and there’s a pair of ballet slippers on the label. The back label promised a wine that’s “slightly sweet,” and I saw that it was made from 100% Muscat Canelli. I mentally braced myself for “tooth aching levels of sugar” as I prepared to pop the cork. Sweeter sparkling wine usually says “brunch” to me. As a result, The Sweet Partner in Crime and I decided on “breakfast for dinner” to go alongside: a scrumptious “trout benedict” concoction.  We plated it up, poured, let the bubbles settle – and the Pas de Deux caught me completely off guard. It’s downright tasty. Yes, it’s a little bit sweet, but not overly so. I thought it exhibited some really nice tropical fruit flavors with a surprisingly crisp finish. It reminded me of a more highly carbonated Moscato, and this is not a bad thing in the slightest. I thought it was a fun wine and I’d consider giving it another run for brunch sometime. Nice work. ($19)