Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: Chile
Cost: $9

Golden yellow in color with aromas of pineapple and papaya with hints of vanilla.  Pineapple, citrus, and a subtle acid on the palate.  Pairs well with roasted chicken and shellfish in a light cream sauce.

Recommendations: There was a distinct lack of white wine in my house recently, and so during a tasting at my local wine shop I picked up a couple of bottles of white to have around.  My wife doesn’t like Chardonnay with a heavy oak flavor, so when I saw the Terra Andina (of which I’ve had other varietals and enjoyed), I grabbed it.

Taking the advice of the tasting notes on the back of the bottle, and because we had both available in the house for an easy dinner, we paired the wine with a dinner of shrimp in a garlic alfredo sauce with some farfalle pasta.  The acid of the Terra Andina did a nice job of cutting through the cream sauce, and the citrus flavors, particularly pineapple, were a nice compliment to the taste of the shrimp.

While this is by no means a life altering Chardonnay, it’s a great one to keep around the house.  For the price, you’d be hard pressed to find a quality Chardonnay that will pair well with food and be enjoyable just by itself.  If you’re looking for a white wine on a budget, the Terra Andina Chardonnay is definitely one worth looking at.

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 cutting through the heat of the meal and the effervescence was incredibly refreshing.  While I don’t know that I’d drink this wine every day, for a hot day on the deck or for pairing with spicy food, it’s definitely one I’ll keep on my radar when I want to change it up from my usual spicy food pairing of Viognier.

One worth checking out if you eat a lot of spicy food or if you’re looking for a deck wine as we finish up the summer.

Varietal: Chianti
Region: Italy
Cost: $9

Ruby red in color with aromas of spice, cherry, and hazelnut.  Flavors of fruit and berry in a medium-bodied wine.  Pairs well with pasta, pizza, and most traditional Italian dishes.

Recommendations: I picked up this bottle last night after a long day of work.  I’d had other Ruffino wines before and enjoyed them and was just in the mood for Chianti and thought this would be a safe bet.  I should have grabbed another one.  While the color and the aromas of the wine were nice – ruby red and cherry – I felt the wine was lighter than I was expecting in the mouth.  The flavors were all there, berry, some cherry, and a noticeable tannic finish, but while Ruffino claims it’s medium-bodied, I felt it leaned more towards the lighter side.

While this bottle hasn’t turned me off of Ruffino wines, I definitely won’t be getting this one again, especially as there are other Chiantis out there for about the same price that have delivered for me in the past.  Kinda disappointing.

Varietal: Pinot Noir
Region: California – Sonoma County – USA
Cost: $21

Lighter red in color with aromas of cherry and flavors of rose petal, pomegranate, and cherry.  Time in French Oak barrels adds a hint of toasted spice on the finish.  Pairs well with lamb, pork, chicken, steak, mild cheese…pretty much anything.

Recommendations: Ah Pinot Noir…my one true love (of wine – I love my wife very much).  I’m always in the market for a good Pinot, and back in July, during a tasting at my local wine shop, I had the opportunity to try, and then buy, this Rodney Strong pinot noir.  To be honest, I had almost forgotten it was on my wine rack until the other day when grilling some pork chops and I kicked myself for forgetting about it.

Nice and light in the glass, aromas and flavors of cherry were the most noticeable to me, with just a hint spice on the end.  When paired with the grilled pork chops, the wine held up well, adding a counter note of cherry to the grilled flavor and marinade that I had added.  In short, it was a good pairing.

Most importantly, after the meal was done, the wine continued to be excellent on its own.  Pinot Noir is easily one of my favorite varietals because of how well it pairs with food or with nothing at all, and the Rodney Strong pinot did just that.  My only complaint with this bottle was that it was only 750 ml and not a larger bottle because I was definitely craving another glass after the last drop had been poured, and in the end, that’s the true mark of a good wine.

Definitely one worth picking up, especially for fans of pinot noir.

Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: California – Sonoma County – USA
Cost: $11

Light in the glass with aromas of tropical fruit.  Flavors of pear, apple, and pineapple with a creamy finish that pairs well with cream-sauced chicken, salmon, and mild cheeses.

Recommendations: While at Costco this weekend doing our monthly shopping trip, my wife and I picked up a bottle of the Simi Chardonnay to pair with the salmon we had already grabbed earlier in the shopping trip.  The back label of the wine claimed it would pair well with salmon, and I’ve always liked Chardonnay to cut through the fat of a good piece of salmon so it sounded like a good idea.

When we cooked the salmon, we put it under the broiler with a mustard herb crust that was, at least in my opinion, quite tasty.  My wife really outdid herself on that one.  As for the wine itself – meh.  The color was nice – a light golden color, and the flavors weren’t bad, pineapple, pear, and apple with just a hint of the creamy, buttery finish that I expect from Chardonnay, and while it did a good job of cutting through the richness of the salmon, I can’t honestly say that I would buy it again.

It’s a lowest common denominator wine.  What I mean by that is that if I was having a wedding, and I had to select a red and a white to offer, this is the kind of white I would choose.  It will satisfy the largest number of people, won’t cost a lot, and will go with chicken, fish, or cream pasta.  It’s a generic wine.  It reminded me a lot of a Yellowtail Chardonnay, which is another lowest common denomination wine.

So while the wine was ok with dinner, in the end, I know I could have done better for the price point, or at least the same for a few dollars less.  Not worth picking up.

Varietal: Petite Sirah (97% Petite Sirah; 3% Petit Verdot)
Region: California – Livermore Valley – USA
Cost: $15 (SRP)

Deep red in color with aromas of fresh berry fruit and flavors of blackberries, chocolate, mocha, and plums with notes of molasses, cedarwood, and ripe mulberries complementing creak oak tones on the smooth finish.  Pairs well with barbecued chicken or lamb.

Recommendations: I don’t have a lot of experience with Petite Sirah by itself, seeing it more blended in with other wines as a small piece instead of the main attraction.  I had been sitting on this wine for a while, looking forward to it as I enjoyed the 2008 Concannon Conservancy Chardonnay a couple of months earlier, but regularly putting it off to have this or that wine with this or that meal.  Last night I finally stopped putting it off.

I specifically threw some chicken on the grill, basting it in barbecue sauce to pair with this wine, and it was a good pairing.  The flavors of plum and molasses were most noticeable to me, though I suspect that the sauce brought those flavors out more on my palate than anything and pairing the wine with something like lamb would pull out more of the other notes.

I did appreciate the smooth finish, which I’m sure the small amount of Petit Verdot had a hand in, but I do have to say that I enjoyed the wine more with food than without.  That’s not so say that I didn’t enjoy the wine after the meal was gone, but I did find that the flavors I was getting were better with food than without, but that may just be my mixed feelings on molasses to be honest.

For somebody that cooks a lot of barbecue chicken or lamb, this is a good value wine that’s worth trying out.  If you’re like me and you’ve had plenty of wine blended with Petite Sirah but not featuring Petite Sirah, I would definitely recommend giving this a try as I think it’ll give you a better idea of what the Petite Sirah is bringing to your other wines.

Varietal: Blended Red Wine (40% Prugnolo Gentile; 30% Cabernet Sauvignon; 30% Merlot)
Region: Italy
Cost: $21

Deep ruby red color with aromas of spring flowers, red fruits, minerals, and subtle earth tones.  Fruit flavors are continued on the palate.  Pairs well with lentil soup, minestrone soup, rotisserie chickens, or a bread and cheese platter.

Recommendations: This past weekend I was in Charleston, South Carolina visiting my brother-in-law and his wife and I took this bottle with me to share with family – something about Italian wine has always beckoned me to share it with others. While in the space between preparing dinner (hamburgers on the grill) and actually eating dinner, we opened up the bottle to help us relax after a long day.

I was instantly impressed by the color, being a sucker for dark red wines.  Aromas of mineral and earth were very noticeable to me, with hints of fruit on the nose as well.  The fruit on the palate was subtle, but I did a nice earthiness at the finish that I found very enjoyable.  While we didn’t pair this with any actual food, I could definitely see pairing this with a range of foods, from a nice minestone soup to a more robust meal of either pasta or grilled meats.

When asked my opinion on it by the others drinking the wine, I simply said that it was Italian.  It’s hard for me to really put into words what that really means, but the second I sipped the wine, I instantly got the image of sitting in Tuscany, sipping wine and munching on fresh baked pizza from a stone oven.  My father-in-laws reaction to the wine was more along the lines of “mmm…I like it!”  I like to think he means the same thing I do.

Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for supplying the wine for this review.

Varietal: Malbec
Region: Argentina
Cost: $20.99 (SRP)

Deep ruby red color with aromas of ripe red berries, spice, and black pepper.  Berry on the palate with soft tannins  that pairs well with roasted or grilled meats and hard cheeses.

Recommendations: I had been sitting on this wine until I decided to cook a couple of more steaks, having paired the 2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva D.O.C Malbec with some grilled meat as well, and wanting to compare the two.  Similar but different is the best way to put it.  Both the D.O.C. and the Reserva featured bold flavors of berry, with the Reserva offering pepper where the D.O.C offered mocha and spice.

The seasoning I added to my steak featured some smoke flavors, and the wine did a great job of complimenting both what the seasoning and the grill added, the berry and pepper working with the food instead as a compliment instead of as a counter note.  After the meal the wine was nice and easy to drink, with smooth tannins that weren’t overwhelmed by a steak, but weren’t too in-your-face to be enjoyed without food.

As I’ve said before, Malbec is quickly becoming my go-to wine for steaks.  If I was forced to choose between the D.O.C and the Reserva I think I would go with the D.O.C to pair with a steak again, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the Reserva, only that it wasn’t as big and bold, a trait I found enjoyable in the D.O.C.  Were I looking to pair one of them with roasted meat I would probably go with the Reserva, as the smoother tannins and slightly lighter flavors would pair better.

Varietal: 95% Grenache; 5% Mourvedre
Region: Rhone – France
Cost: $20

Deep purple in color with aromas of leather, licorice, berry, and cassis.  Earthy flavors with dark berries and a hint of licorice and pepper.  Pairs well with pasta bolognese and beef.

Recommendations: French wine is one area where I have a serious weakness in making selections.  It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed French wine when drinking it, but only that it wasn’t a region I indulged in when I first got into wine, and as I’ve gotten older and expanded my wine horizons, it’s still been missed in favor of other regions.  I’ve decided it’s time to rectify this situation.

During a trip to my local Richmond wine shop for a tasting, I confronted the owner about my problem and asked him to help me.  He helped me pick out a couple of bottles, one of which, the 2005 Maison du Midi, was actually on the employee recommended list.  Two people recommending a wine to me is usually enough to make me buy it.

My wife and I paired the Maison du Midi with a simple dinner of pasta bolognese, and we both said the same thing about it.  Earthy.  Aromas of licorice, creme de cassis, and leather blended well with earthy flavors of dark fruit and a hint of cassis and pepper.  I very much enjoyed the wine partly because it paired quite well with the meal, and also because I’m a fan of earthy wines.

This is the second Rhone I’ve had in recent months, and it’s quickly becoming a region I’m intrigued by.  While I’m still learning about French wine, I suspect it’s going to be an education that I enjoy.  I very much enjoyed the 2005 Maison du Midi and will have to keep it in mind for future purchases.

Varietal: Viognier
Region: Virginia – USA
Cost: $19

A nose of smoky papaya gives way to concentrated apple and white pepper tones with a lingering lemon finish.  Pairs well with seafood, grilled chicken, and spiced food.

Recommendations: The deeper we’ve gotten into summer, the more I’ve been drinking wines like Viognier.  Fortunately, living in Virginia, it’s easy to come by as we grow it quite well.  Back in February, at the Virginia Wine Expo, I was first introduced to Blenheim Vineyards, and instantly fell in love with both their Cabernet Franc and their Viognier.  In March when my wife and I spent a weekend traipsing around Virginia wine country, we made a point of stopping in at Blenheim as we had not bought nearly enough of their wine, specifically their Viognier, to last us through the summer.

This past weekend while enjoying a dinner of grilled scallops and rockfish flounder, my wife and I opened a bottle of the Blenheim Viognier we had chilling in our fridge.  I had forgotten that the Blenheim Viognier is a bit heavier than some other Viognier that I’ve had, but that’s not a bad thing.  Blenheim’s Vigonier is a bit more robust, holding up well to the seasoning that my wife and I applied to our dinner, while still showing the floral aromas that I associate with Viognier.

The lemon on the finish was definitely a nice compliment to our dinner, and overall the wine paired well with the meal.  What I like about Viognier is that even by itself it’s enjoyable, which for a lighter wine I’m sometimes hit or miss on.  The Blenheim Viognier is no exception to this rule.

The only downside to the Blenheim Viognier is that you can’t get it in your local store.  Fortunately, Blenheim does have an only store, featured here.  While we’re still in summer I definitely recommend giving their Viognier a try, and if you’re ever in the Charlottesville, Virginia region they’re one worth stopping in to visit.