Turkey Day Wine List

Since thousands have asked about which wines will be on the table to accompany the Eldridge/Smith Family bird, here goes...

In the white department we've got a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc favorite from Hi-Times. I think Aimee will dig it, plus it should make a nice pregame beverage:

Also in the white department, two of my favorite German Rieslings:

The Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiller goes for 8-10 bucks. I've picked it up at the Tustin Total Wine and I was able to direct my dad to it at the Tucson location. If I recall correctly, it scored a 92 points from Spectator. A very nice, green appley Riesling, again, if I recall correctly.

The Monchhof is a 2010 Turkey Day find from Hi-Times. I've had it a few times since and loved it every time. A very smooth bottle.

As for the reds, we're going with:

The Beaujolais-Villages is the Hi-Times November Wine of the Month. It goes for $8.99 (I think) and I also saw it yesterday at the grocery store here in Arizona.

The Inman Family 2007 Pinot was a WTSO purchase that Tom thinks I won't enjoy. We shall see.

I've never really found a wine to go with the Thanksgiving Day meal. Perhaps, Matt Money Smith of the "Petros and Money Show" is right when he said there's too many flavors on a traditional Thanksgiving Day plate that if you think about it, don't really go together, so it makes pairing wine nearly impossible. He suggests a nice, rich Brown Ale.

I'd love to hear what you're cracking Thursday. I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers!

White Out

Perhaps this would have been a better choice?

Saturday night Beth made her Uncle Pete's famous pesto sauce with shrimp and cavatellis, so I followed the book and paired it with a Sauvignon Blanc from, you guessed it, Marlborough, New Zealand. 

Cottesbrook 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($10.99)

I opened it while Beth was cooking and knew I wasn't going to dig it. I then broke out some cheese and crackers and still no dice. I thought it was really tinny, metallicish. Beth thought it was very grassy. Either way, I didn't like it. I didn't dump it (yet) because I wanted to try it with the Pesto, but I decided if wine was going to play a role in an enjoyable Saturday evening, I'd need to execute Plan B. 

Plan B:

Colome 2010 Torrontes ($12.95)


I grabbed this at Hi Times a while back for two reasons. One, Colome makes one of the better Malbecs around, and B, I'd only had Torrontes (that's a grape) one other time, which happened to be the Summer School, "Kermit" award winner from Crios.

It was very different. I thought it had a light, yet sort of floral taste, with pineapple. Beth tasted a lot of peach. We both wished it were crisper and thought it was bland, but an improvement over the Blanc.

The Verdict:
Neither bottle was very impressive, but I didn't want to open a third bottle with dinner out of principal. Should I have? I say no, and here's why I'm glad I didn't. Having been cheated of a good wine buzz after an awesome Saturday night meal, I decided to crack open another bottle after the kids were in bed.  I went with Clancy's, winner of the Summer School "The Seals" award.  I thought it tasted really tart. Not at all what I remember it tasting like.

I corked everything and over the past 2 nights revisited each bottle, cashing 2 and dumping 1. Turns out, I think, the garlic of pesto was too overpowering for anything I had to throw at it.

Numbered grading scale lives here

Grades: 
Sauvignon Blanc: D- / 1 (The dumper)
         Beth's Grade: D


Torrontes: C / 2 (Much better tonight with shrimp tacos)
Beth's Grade: C


FWIW, Clancy's went back to usual delicious self the next night.

Weekend Roundup

As you can see, we kept the recycling man in business this weekend. From Joe needing a wine for his "meatballs and sawce" Saturday night, to Keira's baptism Sunday, and washing down tonight's grilled chicken dinner, we've been crushing some grapes.

I hit up Hi-Times Saturday morning, and had a little help from the lady who had steered me towards Purple Tooth Summer School award winner, Papa Luna. She went 2/3 with a check-swing foul ball of my own. 

Here's the breakdown, and a reminder of my new numbered grading scale:

1- Dump it. Regardless of price.
2- Just alright. Maybe save it for tomorrow but have no intentions of polishing off the bottle.
3- Pretty good. Pour it out evenly and enjoy.
4- Great. Hope you get more than your fair share, especially if drinking with someone who may not appreciate it.

Blah:

Il Bastardo 2010 Sangiovese ($7.98)

-The Il Bastardo was pretty bad. As Joe said, "Jason...it didn't get any better from the time you tried it." Good wines shouldn't get worse after they open up. It did last 3 days and we gave it 3 attempts hoping to fall in love with it, but no dice. Joe had the quote of the night last night when I broke my glass, spilling the remains of the bottle, "well, finally, the end of the Bastardo." 

Grade: D / 1.5

Yum:

Mohua 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($9.98)

-The Mohua was the Hi-Times #12 rated "Down Under" wine. I really liked it and it seemed everyone else did too. Everything I enjoy about Sauv Blanc. Just sweet enough. Smooth. Really good.

Grade: A- / 3.5

Joe's Grade: A

What the...?

Tres Picos 2009 Garnacha ($13.99)

-Tres Picos was a wine I loved a few weeks back. I was disappointed this time around. It had a great nose, but lacked the flavorful punch I remembered and finished a bit dry. Could be that it didn't fit with the Sunday afternoon setting? Either way, not nearly as impressed.

Grade: C+ /  3

Eh, yeah, I guess:

Ridge 2007 Lytton Springs 71% Zin / 22% Petite Sirah / 7% Carignane ($41.99)

-We had Ridge Lytton Springs side-by-side with the Tres Picos, which is a strange midday matchup, but nobody was complaining. I thought it had nice flavor. My only gripe with it was the finish. Too dry for my palate. Pretty sure that's from the 22% Petite Sirah. Quality wine, just not my favorite style.

Grade: B- / 3

Yeah, yum:

14 Hands 2008 Hot to Trot Red Blend ($8.98)

-Tonight, Hot to Trot pranced onto the patio for dinner (buh-dum-CH!) I was really close to putting this bottle back on the shelf due to a somewhat cheesy label and very cheesy name. It was really good in a Folie a Deux, safe play sort of way. I think it would be hard to not like this. Very easy drinker.

Grade: B- / 3

Beth's Grade: B

Joe's Grade: B

Inspired, But Not Really Impressed

Kim Crawford 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($12.97)


We opened the popular Marlborough, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc the other night. It was somewhere between ok and good. It smelled like a bag of Skittles, very tropical fruity as the bottle said it would be. The bottle also said I'd smell grass, but I didn't sneeze when I took a whiff. It had a little too much grapefruit tart for my taste. Beth said she tasted grass and swears she didn't hear me talking about the back label with my mother-in-law. Grass? Really?

Anyway, this bottle gave me an idea for a new rating scale. A 1-4 scale to coincide with the letter grade that I use now. Let me run it by you:

1- Dump it. Regardless of price.
2- Just alright. Maybe save it for tomorrow but have no intentions of polishing off the bottle.
3- Pretty good. Pour it out evenly and enjoy.
4- Great. Hope you get more than your fair share, especially if drinking with someone who may not appreciate it.

Grade: B- / 2.5
Beth's Grade: C+

Tour de Trader Joe's

Nobilo 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($9.99) New Zealand

A few weeks back we shopped at TJ's and I decided to pick up a few Sauvignon Blanc's while I was at it. The best of the bunch, easily, was this from where else? Marlborough New Zealand. I'm pretty convinced that New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc should roll off the tongue like Chilean Sea Bass. It's a pretty safe bet.

Everything one would like in a Sauvignon Blanc, this had. Just enough zip, citrus, pineapple, green apple goodness. Well worth it.

Grade: B+

Sauvignon Republic 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($6.99) New Zealand


Ok, I should add to the above post that Sauvignon Blanc's from Marlborough New Zealand are a pretty safe bet unless they're priced under $7 and have a cheesy label. Even as I was grabbing this, I thought the label reminded me of Fish Eye or Yellowtail. Damn. I hate falling for cheesy labels.

This wasn't so good. I'm going to pretend it didn't happen.

Grade: D

Fetzer 2009 Sauvignon Blanc ($5.99)


Let me start by saying I've been a fan of Fetzer Reisling and Gerurztaminer. I'll stick with Fetzer's sweeter stuff from here on out.

This bottle fell into the "wine flavored water" category at first, then finished with a tanniny, both sides of the tongue bite that wasn't so pleasant. Not a good combo. We corked it, came back to it a night later, then dumped it.

Grade: D-

UFR "Crossings"

My first revisit post. Sort of: Crossings 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($10.99)

A few weeks ago, one of my first posts, I gave my 2 cents on the 09 Crossing. A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Today, I cracked the 2010 bottle. Love screw tops!

The back of the bottle said a lot of what I was thinking:
 "Our Sauvignon Blanc is racy and bright." Check. Very racy. A lot going on. Bright? Didn't see too much bright, but what do I know?
"Pink grapefruit and passionfruit flavors layer with lemon-lime acidity and minerality signature of the Awatere Valley." Holy hell, yes grapefruit. That's the first thing I thought of. Check for me there. Passionfruit? Not sure what that is, but I tasted some green apple with my pink grapefruit. There was plenty of acidity and it was minerally.

Overall, very flavorful. I mean, tons going on. It went really well just prior to dinner and with dinner (grilled veggie salad with chicken). After dinner though, I found it to be too much. On a night where I wouldn't mind finishing the bottle, I switched to a Cab to end the evening.

So, not as smooth as the 09 for me, but still worth $11. For me though, it's a must pair with food. Not the everyday summer drinker that I found the Crios to be, which I'll revisit soon.

Grade: B+ (Beth gave it an A-, FWIW)

Meh, not Blah

Gordon Brothers 2008 Sauvignon Blanc ($9.99)


This was one of those, "Hum, they make a good Cab, maybe they make a good Blanc too" purchases. This is why I don't join many wine clubs. I'm always under the assumption that if I were to join, my shipment would be full of bottles like this and short on the bottles that I really wanted. I have no clue how Gordon Bros. wine club works, just trying to make a point.

On to the wine. I've had worse. It did seem to get a little better the more I drank, but overall, not a whole lot of flavor. I did seem to taste some pineapple, but I didn't get that crispness or grapefruit flavor that I want. There's definitely better Sauvignon Blanc's in this price range, and those seem to usually be from New Zealand.

Grade: C-

Spain - The New Frontier

After the home run of Spanish, Papa Luna, Uncle Tom and I made a conscious effort to explore the Spain section of Total Wine in search of other gems.

Valserrano Rioja Crianza 2007 ($9.99) 
90% Tempranillo and 10% Mazuelo


Ever go to a brewery for a meal and order one of their beers just to feel a little more adventurous than the guy at the next table drinking an Amstel Light? You like your micro-brew, glad you tried something new, also glad you didn't commit to a 12 pack, and perhaps, maybe, you'd order it again. That was this.

The nose reminded me of a Paso Cab. Paso's not known for Cabs, so that's not necessarily a great thing. But I smelled an Earthy, cherry, tobacco smell. Took me right there.

This wine had a lot going on. Very zingy, spicy and flavorful. It was dry on the finish. Not dull, flat-black, but felt some dryness there. Beth and I enjoyed its uniqueness as we paired it with BBQ'd chicken and some asparagus.

Here's where things got interesting. Some wine expert would either offer a simple explanation, or be disgusted with my actions, but as dessert rolled around for Max, I too grabbed a Skinny Cow. Expecting the worst when I followed up a bite of ice cream sandwich with wine. I found to go really well. The wine had less of an edgyness, wasn't so dry and finished well. I actually liked it a bit better this way.

Overall, I'm glad I branched out. It was different from what I've been buying/drinking. I wouldn't rush back to this bottle, but wouldn't shy away from trying other Spanish wines because of this.

Grade: B 

Booo-Hess!

Hess Select 2009 Sauvignon Blanc ($13.99 on sale)


I grabbed this in a pinch at the grocery store. We were having some friends over for dinner, knew we'd be in the backyard, and thought I'd better have a solid, refreshing white for our guests, who happen to drink their share of quality wine. I see this Hess on sale, regularly $15.99. I've heard of Hess, it's normally a $16 bottle, I save a few bucks, score for me, right? Hell no. The only reason this wine gets a passing grade is because I still ended up drinking it. Something about dumping a $16 bottle didn't sit well with me.

It did have a lot of flavor, I'll give it that. But when I drink a Sauvignon Blanc, one flavor I'd rather not taste is pineapple juice. Not really pineapple, but pineapple juice, like when you pull the rings or chunks out of a can then drink the puddle of syrup. That's what I tasted. Very confident of that.

Overall, not impressed. In fact, I'm a little angry. I could Google the size of Hess's vineyard, but I don't want to. They seem like a big wine maker that can throw their label around at the grocery store, and I'm mad I fell for it. Lessons learned: don't over pay for wines at a grocery store, and don't be a sucker for a "bonus buy" tag.

Grade: D-

Summer Time, Let's Crack Some White!

We had a break from "June Gloom," and got a beautiful Southern California Saturday afternoon. Time for some refreshing whites! With a friend over, chatting under the umbrella in the back yard, I end up opening these 3 bottles. Let's discuss (or, allow me to discuss)...

My sister said she'd found her summertime wine, so following her recommendation, I grabbed the bottle on the right, Vine Yard 2009 Pinot Gris from Fresh & Easy ($8.99). 

Ever been to a fancy spa that's got a fancy glass water jar filled with ice water and fancy lemons or cucumbers or some other fancy addition floating at the top? This wine reminded me of sitting in my loaner robe and filling up my plastic cup with that flavored water. The first sip I think, "Yum, why don't I ever think of marinating my water with fancy fruit." Then sip 2 realize that I like my water to taste like water, that's why! This wine tasted like wine flavored water. That's not good. 

It was cold. It was refreshing. It was smooth. But taste? Nah, not my thing. I haven't come up with a ranking system yet, so I stick to a report card style grading.

Grade: D

The bottle on the left, OFV 2009 Pinot Gris ($16.99) from Willamette Valley is the 2nd time I've grabbed it from Total Wine. I first found it looking for a bottle to pair with Sea Bass. It was phenomenal. So the second visit, without food, I still really liked it. I tasted a bit more mineral flavor, which is fine with me. But also had a lot citrus flavor, very smooth. Not to sound too snooty, but definitely pear and grapefruit going on. I would recommend it with food, but it stood up just fine flying solo. Considering Pinot Gris is far from my favorite white, and I still loved it...

Grade: A-

Finally, The Crossings 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (around $10?). This was still in the refrigerator from Thanksgiving. My in-laws are into New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc's and I'm really glad they bought it and I found it. This bottle was the perfect compliment to a beautiful Saturday afternoon. It was light, zesty, citrusy, but definitely not too sweet. Great stuff.

Grade: B+