Meet the Whites: Riesling

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Lucky Duck Riesling
Now we’re into the fun wines!

Okay, they’re all fun (when applied liberally) but the sweet wines are lovely in their own right: they go well with desserts!

And dessert is often my favorite meal of the day.

There’s more to Riesling than just a dessert wine, though, the varietal can be used in everything from the driest of dries to the sweetest of sweets–this grape’s got range!

The later the harvest, the sweeter the Riesling, and you wouldn’t think so at first but the super-sweet dessert variety is helped by a virus! Botrytis Cinerea (aka “noble rot”) is a type of mold that collects on the outside of grapes exposed to warmth and humidity in Fall. While this would normally be horrific, the mold doesn’t actually rot the grapes (well, in the good cases) but it causes them to shrivel on the vine a bit, concentrating the sugar-power inside!

Think about how much sweeter a raisin is compared to a grape an you’re on the right track.

Fruity and flowery, the nose of a Riesling should be pleasant and Spring-y. They are an excellent choice for a picnic lunch–light and fruity–and a great dessert on their own as the lower alcohol means fewer calories without sacrificing your sweet tooth (90 calories for a 4 oz serving). It’s a great pairing for salads, fruits, cheeses, or even a decadent creme brulee.

This week’s wine was one of those why-the-heck-not purchases. I didn’t have a Riesling on the shelf at home and I didn’t feel like making another stop that day (I might have been a lot tired and a little cranky), so I swung into the wine aisle at Wal-Mart while picking up the rest of the week’s groceries.

Lucky Duck Riesling has 2 strikes against it if you listen to the “experts”:

  • The price: It’s a whopping $3.47 or some such
  • The animal on the label: The pro’s have something against animal-wines.

That said, one of my favorite Pinot Noirs has monkeys on the label and is 6.99 at World Market, so I take that advice with a grain of salt.

Reviews of Lucky Duck were mixed. I got none of the “metallic” taste (but, then, I gave it some time to come out of the fridge and waiting a moment or three before sipping it) that others have noted and I liked that it was sweet without being syrupy-sweet. This is a little on the drier side, but not in a bad way if you ask me.

And, well, you might not have asked me, but you are reading this, so it’s sorta the same thing.

Meet the Whites: Chardonnay

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Chardonnay from Waggy Tail Winery

Another shout out to Waggy Tail Winery!

Some would consider my not covering Chardonnay first heresy–I say it made just plain good sense. Chardonnay is something a lot of people drink because they recognize the name, not because they necessarily like it. It’s on every wine list and every hotel and restaurant has their house white which is probably 9 times out of 10 a Chardonnay.

That said, there’s a reason it’s so popular to begin with. Chardonnay has a lot going for it in a fresh, crisp way with a strong combination of flavors from lemon and apple to melon and pineapple. It’s often described as having a buttery texture from the malolactic fermentation.

And then there’s the oak.

I usually steer clear of Chardonnay because I dislike tasting the barrel it was aged in. Of course, not all Chardonnay’s are heavy on the oak, but so many run of the mill ones are (despite the rise in oak barrel costs–some use oak chips, instead) that it’sturned me off in general. That said, Chardonnay’s bossier flavors do work well in many menu situations.

Chardonnay is still suited towards fish, chicken and vegetables (which is why, so I’ve read, it became so ubiquitous in California during the health-crazed 80s), but not being a shy violet it can stand up to richer, spicier foods and buttery sauces. You could even pair it with a nice veal and be perfectly content.

Unlike the last two whites (Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc) which were best enjoyed within a year of purchase, a Chardonnay from a reputable winery can be aged 3 to 8 years and still be wonderful to drink. Of course, this doesn’t mean sitting it on the rack in your kitchen where the temperature fluctuates wildly. Not that you have to build your own cellar (though I suppose you could), but investing in a good wine cooler would be a sure-fired way to keep your investment from turning into vinegar.

Meet the Whites: Sauvignon Blanc

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Savvy Savignon Bark from Waggy Tails Whinery

Last week we talked light-and-crisp Pinot Grigio and this week we’re only taking a half-step up, really, with Sauvignon Blanc.

One of the major white wine grapes, Sauvignon Blanc can be found bottled as the stand-alone varietal (sometimes labeled Pouilly-Fumé from the Loire Valley of France, or Fumé Blanc from certain California bottlers) or blended into other wines, such as the sweet dessert wine, Sauterne.

I say it’s only a half-step up because, depending on the bottle, it can fall into the light-bodied category or medium. It’s still a super-safe wine for folks who aren’t sure what to drink, mostly because it’s not oak-aged but in rare cases so doesn’t have that woodsy quality that so many folks (including myself) dislike about Chardonnay.

While France is it’s native home, California produces fine Sauvignon Blancs, and I’ve heard that New Zealand does fabulous things with them, too.

What you’re looking for in a Sauvignon Blanc is a pale color and a fresh green grass or grapefruit aroma. Some will have a buttery or creamy flavor to them, maybe vanilla, but overall pleasing to most palates and with most foods.

Any sort of poultry or seafood pairs well with Sauvignon Blanc and it’s great with goat cheese, smoked cheeses, fruits and vegetables. In doubt about what to serve at your next cocktail hour? Pick up some bottles of Sauvignon Blanc and worry no more.

Now, you might notice the label on this week’s picture features a Basset Hound. That bottle isn’t Sauvignon Blanc–it’s Savvy Savignon Bark, from “Waggy Tail Whinery”. This Sauvignon Blanc comes from Chile by way of the Gainesville-based Suncoast Basset Rescue, and a portion of the proceeds go to help fund the fostering and placement of hounds waiting on their forever home.

Meet the Whites: Pinot Grigio

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Bottle of Pinot Grigio

We’re going to kick off this trip down the white wine aisle with a look at the easy-to-drink, easy-on-the pocket book Pinot Grigio.

In Northern Italy, as this bottle shows, it’s called Pinot Grigio but in Alsace, France, where it grows especially well, it’s known as Pinot Gris (pronounce GREE). And, yes, it is a cousin to my favorite Pinot Noir. This grape also grows well in California and Oregon.

What you’re looking for in a bottle of Pinot Grigio is a light color (sometimes it can go to golden yellow, but usually you want pale) and a recent year. This is not a wine that’s meant to be aged in the bottle more than 5 years, tops, and most of them should be served much sooner than that! Give it a good chill and then take it out of the fridge or cooler about 20 minutes before you’re ready to drink it.

Wine that’s too cold will taste like nothing–your taste-buds will be too busy being cold to find anything decent about the wine–you have to give it a chance to wake up a little bit.

You probably won’t smell a whole lot from this wine, even after swirling it around in your glass a few times, the nose tends to be subtle-to-nonexistent, though the French Pinot Gris will give a little bit more, as I understand it (the Alsace wines tend to be richer, even for light-bodied wines). The flavor, along with the aforementioned “light” and “crisp”, may contain hints of fruit, like pear or even melon.

Pinot Grigio falls under the heading of a light-bodied white. It pairs well with fish, such as sole or flounder, as well as clams and oysters.

Now, if you’ve ever had really good oysters on the half-shell–ice-cold, firm and clean-tasting–you know you want something light and crisp to go with them. Pinot Grigio is your wine!

In fact, most seafood, as long as it’s not covered in a super-heavy sauce (cream or tomato) will mesh quite well with the humble Pinot Grigio. You might want to steer clear of acidic (tomato, again, and citrus) foods with the Grigio as the levels of acid in both might clash.

So, you know, don’t use a Pinot Grigio in your next Mimosa, but it might make a great white-wine spritzer.

Really, though, it’s a great wine for general drinking when the weather starts to warm up and you want something refreshing. Having a cocktail party? Stock up–it tends to whet the appetite.

Cheers!

Best for Less: Sparkling Wines for New Years

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Have you ever heard of Cheapism.com? I hadn’t until a few weeks ago when I was contacted by one of their representatives about their findings for the best cheap champagnes. Of course, a true Champagne (from the right grape and region of France) is seldom if ever to be found “cheap,” but you can find plenty of lovely sparkling wines (the larger category that Champagne belongs to) in any price range.

Their suggestions?

Experts note that not all sparkling wines pass as a substitute Champagne, and champagne reviews discuss factors such as bubbles, sweetness, and taste. Topping Cheapism’s list of best champagne buys are Roederer Estate NV Brut, Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut NV, and Freixenet Cordon Negro Extra Dry — all priced at less than $20.

And if you try any of them to ring in the New Year, please let me know.

our sparkling wine choices for 2011Todd and I prefer our sparkling wines on the sweeter side, so those Brut recommendations just don’t do much for us. We rang in 2011 with a couple of inexpensive Italian sparkling wines on the sweeter side: one white and one red.

Wait, red sparkling wine? Oh yes, my friends, it’s out there and it’s fabulous!

The red is Costarosa Sangue di Giuda Oltrepo Pavese and is, as best I can tell as the label is 100% in Italian, a blended red wine with just enough bubbles to keep things interesting. It was recommended by the guy in the liquor store when I said I wanted anything but Brut. Good call.

The white is Ca’D’Gal Lumine Moscato d’Asti. Moscato is very popular these days as more are discovering this sweet wine in both still and sparkling styles. I think Moscato is doing quite a lot to dispel the negative opinions many people have of champagne. And we just a bottle of Cupcake M0scato d’Asti with Thanksgiving dinner that was pretty fabulous, too.

And sweet champagne is nothing new–in Europe it’s always been available but not a lot made it to the United States as our palates were, somehow, not interested in sweet wines.

Thank goodness times have changed!

We haven’t decided, yet, what we’ll be sipping when ’11 turns to ’12, what about you?