White Report

Every few trips to Total Wine, I seem to agree to a shopping theme in my head. A few weeks ago as I parked the car I decided to try whites, mostly "Euro trash" (I think I succeeded), but from grapes I had little to no knowledge of. I did however, throw the basic Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler Riesling into the mix for no good reason.

It's summer 2012, so enjoy the White Report:

New Zealand moscato

Mallee Point Moscato ($5.99)

Peach, cream soda. Hint of tropical fruit. As it warmed from sitting, reminded me of flat Canada Dry. Not sickening sweet. Good on the patio and with Mexican food. 2 glass commitment, max.

Grade: B-

Dr. Heidemanns DRY Riesling ($14.99)

I guess "dry" is Riesling code word for "sour." Who knew? This was too tart for me. Not sure if I should explore other dry Rieslings based on one unfavorable one or not, but I stick with wetter ones for the time being.


Grade: D-

Mueller Liebfraumilch ($6.99)


Having no idea what type of wine I was drinking, a quick Wikipedia search tells me that the word "Liebfraumilch" is a German word that literally translates to, "Beloved Lady's Milk." Nice.

Wikipedia also told me this about the grape, or should I say, region:

The generic label Liebfraumilch is typically used to market vintages from anywhere in the most of the major wine growing areas of Germany, the notable exception being the Mosel. Wine with very similar characteristics but made from higher quality grapes can be labeled as Spätlese or Auslese.


This further supports my claim that Riesling gives the biggest bang for the buck. Yes, a few bucks might get you a slightly smoother finish and the level of sweetness may vary, but from $7-$15, there's not a huge difference. Most are very enjoyable. 


Grade: B


Beth's Grade: B

Dr. Heidemann's Bergweiler 2010 Riesling ($.8.99)


I'm pretty sure I've had this before, and thought it too pineapple juicy. I still feel it's too pineapple juicy.

Grade: D+

Hans Schiller Liebfraumilch Rheinhessen 

I have no idea what's important on that label, but this was citrusy, crisp, clean and tasty. I liked it. On the sweet side, but very refreshing.

Grade: B
Beth's Grade: B

Urban 2010 Torrontes


This was one of Hi Time's, "Wine of the Months" Ok, not really THE wine of the month, but was mentioned/featured in the monthly newsletter. I was excited to try this because I'm a big fan of the Crios Torrontes.
It was good out of the gate. Much drier (not sour) than my usual Riesling go to's. It had a little melon flavor to it, and seemed refreshing. By glass 2 though, I was over it. I didn't enjoy it after that.

Grade: C

Gruner Veltliner 2010 Ried Sandgrube


An Austrian revisit. I still liked it. Crisp, clean, smooth, yet not too sweet. I'm a fan.

Grade: B

Palma Real Rueda ($6.99)


Beth opened this Spanish white while I was out and about. I got this informative text:

"Subtle notes of honey and green apple. Very light, crisp. Lacking in flavor."

I like flavor. I didn't like this.


Grade: D
Beth's Grade: C


Peace! 

Boy's Night In

As the ladies celebrated a much deserved weekend away in Palm Springs, I took my talents to Carlsbad with Max and Keira occupying the back seat. Tom and I figured if we were going to have our hands full, we'd might as well enjoy each other's company (and indulge in some fine vino).

The combination of making sure the girls didn't have too much more fun than us, we didn't have a skunker wine night like our last trip to C-Bad and we didn't have to share bottles with Beth and Meg, (what? I'm just being honest), had us pulling out some big guns.

First, I finally got around to introducing this to Tom:

Monchhof 2010 Riesling ($14.99)


I firmly believe that if you don't like this wine, you don't like Riesling. It's just sweet enough and super smooth. I might start calling this "Grandpa's Wine." My dad doesn't often drink wine, but when he does, you can bet that it'll be Monchhof Riesling. I just made a special trip to Hi Times for 6 more bottles for him. Of course, I had to get a few more for myself.

Grade: A

What's next:

Loring Wine Company (LWC) 2009 Gary's Vineyard, Pinot Noir ($38.00)
Wine Spectator 93 Points


Tom cracked this bad boy with apps of fine 15 year aged cheddar and shrimp cocktail.  We went Pinot before the main course, thinking the Granache would be bigger and hold up better with our beef. This might have been the first of 4 mistakes I made on the night. As I finished my last few sips with dinner, I realized those were the best sips of the bottle I'd had. It would have paired wonderfully with steaks. Pinot with steaks? Hell yeah.

It was very nice with the apps, not as powerful as the 2009 Belle Glos, and had a little, very slight burn on the way down. But I'm going to base my rating on the end of the bottle and conclude it's a really awesome bottle from some fantastic wine makers.

But I still think their purple spray paint label thing is stupid.

Grade: B+
Tom's Grade: "Solid B"


Man's dinner. Yes, the 3rd steak was for Max and James, which they devoured.

Next:

Villa Creek 2010 Granacha ($50.00)


Now Beth, before you go thinking we're not going to be on speaking terms for a week for drinking this bottle, understand that I made sure Aimee could replace it when she heads up to Paso next weekend. So really, think of it as a taste test, you know, to make sure you'd like it. You will, and you're welcome.

As I said, I think this should have been opened with apps, but here's where I (we) made mistake #2 on the night. We should've decanted it. Oops. The first sips of this felt like I had strawberry Pop Rocks in my mouth. Unbelievably smooth strawberry Pop Rocks, but wow, what an incredibly lively wine.

It absolutely settled down and turned into a fantastic bottle. I enjoyed it most after dinner, on it's own. As I said, lots of strawberries, a little spice, and a long, super smooth finish. Then I made mistake #3.

Tom didn't make the mistake of making s'mores for the boys. They cleaned their plate, they earned it, the timing was right. What I did was take a big bite of Max's s'more. It was heavenly. Not sure if it was the perfectly toasted marshmallow or the chocolate, but I lost that loving feeling from my Granacha. My wine was never the same. Shucks.

Grade: A

This should have concluded the evening's events. But it didn't.

We got the boys to bed with no problems then I made mistake #4. I really should have stopped while I was ahead. The two of us were already 3 bottles into the evening.  But, it was only 9ish, the tunes were solid, why not crack another bottle? And so we did. And we finished it.

It was as great as it was the last time I had it. It didn't taste so good on my morning breath though. I didn't feel so well Sunday morning. Or Sunday afternoon. I didn't even have a glass on Monday. But Saturday night was awesome.