Posts Tagged ‘Pinot Grigio’
Varietal: 100% Pinot Grigio
Region: South Eastern Australia
Cost: $7 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Light bodied with ripe peach and tropical fruit flavors. Pairs well with Korean BBQ ribs with spicy tofu soup, Teriyaki chicken with a side of pork or vegetable potstickers. An excellent wine to enjoy with our without food.
My Review: I’m somewhat hit or miss on Pinot Grigio, so when some samples showed up and there was a bottle of Pinot Grigio included I’ll admit that I hesitated. However, when the tasting notes recommended potstickers, my wife pointed out that we had some chicken potstickers that we’d been putting off cooking up and that at the very least we’d have something to pair the wine with, so that’s just what we did.
Varietal: 100% Pinot Grigio
Region: Italy
Cost: $10 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: A reasonably priced white wine with a crisp, clean taste. With its subtle fruit flavors, this wine can be enjoyed with rich holiday meals and allows your guests to enjoy the delicious tastes of the many flavors of the holidays.
My Review: I got this, along with a few other samples, right before the holidays but only just recently got a chance to get into them. It’s been a hectic beginning to 2012. That being said, because of the hectic nature of the start of my year, some wine has been called for and my wife and I recently popped open this bottle to go with some chicken.
When I was first getting into wine a crisp Italian Pinot Grigio was one of my go-to white wines. They tended to be approachable and weren’t overly sweet or overly complex for my developing palate. As my tastes evolved I moved away from how much of it I drank, not because I found them distasteful but because I was A) busy experimenting with other grapes, and B) I found I appreciated a bit more complexity to my wines. With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised by the 2010 Barone Fini Pinot Grigio.
Varietal: 100% Pinot Grigio
Region: California – USA
Cost: $10 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: It was another long and cool year in California and we were forced to wait patiently until these grapes were ready to pick. All this has guaranteed that The Birdman is once again a plump avian, round and full and quite unlike his Italian kin. Its depth shown through a long and full nose of citrus fruits, a round, soft palate replete with grapefruit, honeydew, and melon and a touch of acidity on the finish that leaves one quenched. Pairs well with goat cheese pancetta and arugula pizza, Thai chicken with basil, smoked trout, estoufee, grilled jumbo shrimp, spaghetti and clam sauce, or sunny afternoons.
My Review: It’s unfair to start any review of the current line-up of Big House wines by not pointing out how much I appreciate them having fun with their marketing and labels. With food we eat with our eyes before our mouths, but with wine sometimes an interesting label can make the difference between a purchase and a pass. Enough with the marketing talk, how about that wine?
Varietal: Pinot Grigio
Region: California – USA
Cost: $6
Winemaker’s Notes: Light-bodied, crisp white wine with aromas of pear, lemon, and honey.
My Review: While doing some grocery shopping with my wife recently, we walked down the wine aisle at our local store, as we are wont to do, and the line of Naked Grape wines caught my eye. Priced under $10, I thought I would give it a try if for no other reason than to see what the newest sub $10 wine tasted like
Well, the end of summer isn’t that far away, so when I was recently sent a mixed case of summer white wines, it seemed a shame to sit on them and try to go through them each individually as I would have quickly run out of summer by the time I was able to get to them all. With that in mind I invited some friends over, opened up all the wines, and tasted them all at once, because let’s be honest, that’s what summer’s really all about. Here’s what I thought.
The first one I tasted was the 2010 La Fiera Pinot Grigio (SRP $8). I got mostly apples on both the nose and the palate with a nice lingering finish with just the right amount of acid. There was a slight hint of sweetness to my palate, but for being the first one I tried, it was a good start and it’s a good value for these kinds of parties.
Next up were two from Tiamo. First was the Tiamo Prosecco (SRP $15) which had a hint of citrus on the nose with medium sized bubbles and a slight bit of yeast on the palate and a mix of crisp fruit. This was definitely not a super-dry Prosecco and it was quickly consumed by my friends.
Varietal: 100% Pinot Grigio
Region: Argentina – San Juan
Cost: $13 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Pale straw in color with silver hues. Aromas of white flowers and citrus with a palate that is refreshing and balanced, with citrus notes and a crisp finish. Pairs well with white fish, assorted seafood dishes, Asian cuisine, and is a great apertif.
My Review: I was intrigued when I was offered this sample as, at least as far as I can remember, I’ve never had a Pinot Grigio from Argentina. One a Sunday relaxing with my wife we decided to open it up to go with our lunch.
In the glass the wine was a light yellow color and on the nose I got light citrus notes, though they were subtle. On the palate is where I found this wine to be really interesting. The front of the wine was more full bodied than I was expecting from a Pinot Grigio, and in fact reminded my wife of a Chardonnay. The middle ofthe wine had the citrus notes I was expecting, but around the finish I got some floral notes and a hint of sweetness that made me thing of a Virginia Viognier as much as anything.
