Archive for the ‘Pinot Gris’ Category
Varietal: 22.7% Malvasia Bianca; 15.9% Gruner Veltliner; 15.7% Sauvignon Blanc; 9.2% Gewurztraminer; 7.9% Riesling; 7.3% Chenin Blanc; 6.1% Muscat Canelli; 5.2% Viognier; 4.5% Verdelho; 4.4% Albarino; 1.1% Pinot Gris
Region: California – USA
Cost: $10 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Big House wines are a rebellious mix of non-traditional grape varieties destined to give the imbiber a new experience. To wit this year’s prisoner is a captivating blend of aromatic whites that span the distance of the Alps themselves. With a nose that carries the vibrancy of spring and white flowers and lychee fruit that surround the senses. The palate opens up to tropical fruits, dried apricot, and white peaches. This wine finishes strong with a cleansing citrus zest that lingers. Pairs with fresh fish, Asian cuisine, or even Sunday morning fruit salads.
My Review: I’m a big proponent of tables wines, and I feel as though that’s a niche that Big House wines has embraced and possibly even tried to make their own. Looking at the list of wines that are put into the bottle it’s almost disappointing to not see one labeled “kitchen sink”. There are times when a wine can try and do too much and end up falling flat, and while I’m not going to go so far as to proclaim the 2010 Big House White an amazing wine, for a $10 table wine, you can do a lot worse.
I hope everybody had a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend filled with friends, family, cookouts, and good wine. On Saturday my wife and I decided to jump on the Virginia Wine Trail and hit a few vineyards – some we had been to before and others we hadn’t visited yet. Four vineyards, several bottles, and a wine club membership later and we lived to tell the tale, and now I get to share it with you.
- A shot from outside White Hall Vineyards
We started out our tasting at White Hall, partly because of the area we were looking to go tasting in, they were the first one open, but also because I we hadn’t actually been out to the tasting room in many years. On the Saturday morning we stopped in they were pouring 9 different wines and my wife and I were happy to sample them all.
We started out with two Chardonnays, the 2008 Chardonnay ($15) and the 2008 Chardonnay Reserve ($24). The stainless steel Chardonnay featured all the usual citrus and pear notes I would have expected, but had a smoother finish than I anticipated, though certainly not “oaky”. The 2008 Reserve featured a bit of oaky nuttiness on the nose and while it had the “oaked” finish I would expect, it was subtle and even my wife, who doesn’t usually care for oaked Chardonnay, preferred it to the stainless steel.
Varietal: 100% Pinot Gris
Region: Oregon – USA
Cost: $15
My Review: I don’t drink too much Pinot Gris, so when the Good Works Wine Club included a bottle in a recent sample pack they sent to me I was certainly interested to try it. If you don’t remember my previous mention of the Good Works Wine Club you can check out the details of their organization here, but the long and short of it is that they make charitable donations when you buy wine from them.
With Cinco de Mayo upon us, my wife and I decided to forgo the typical “Mexican” food that is prepared on this “holiday” and went with some tequila/lime chicken and homemade fried rice with bell peppers. Wanting something crisp and acidic to go with that, and not feeling like blending up some margaritas, I decided to open up the bottle of 2009 Winfield Estate Pinot Gris, wanting to see just how “bone dry” it really was. It was plenty dry.
Varietal: Pinot Gris
Region: France
Cost: $16
Light in the glass with aromas and flavors of pear and baked apple. Pairs well with smoked salmon, Peking duck, or mushroom risotto.
Recommendations: Looking to try something new, and having a distinct lack of white wine in the house, my wife and I picked up this bottle after a Friday night tasting at one of our favorite Richmond wine shops. The following day we had the opportunity to open it when we made some shrimp kabobs for dinner. It was a good pairing.
The pear and apple were quite evident on the palate, along with just a hint of sweetness and effervescence on the finish. Normally I would be hit or miss on the sweetness, but the shrimp we grilled was well seasoned and the kabobs also had peppers and onions, so there was a bit of heat to the dish – not to mention some roasted red pepper risotto as a side.
The sweetness of the wine did an excellent job of Read the rest of this entry »
