Seaching for New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs

I went back to Trader Joes for more of that lovely Kono.

Yep. Gone. The tag was on the shelf but that was it.

I headed to BevMo.

No Kono.

I bought a Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

I’ll let you know…

Beringer: Gateway Wine

Beringer White Zinfandel was my gateway wine. It’s all I drank. For years. I didn’t matter the menu, if the entrée was chicken or beef or elk. If I had a glass of wine, it was Beringer’s White Zin.

I’ve come a little way since then.

   I still prefer light and fruity to musty. But the white zin has gotten too sweet for my palate.

   Someone, I’m not sure if it was me or Wine Snob Hubby, had put a bottle of Beringer Chardonnay in the wine fridge and it migrated to the big girl fridge. I opened it last night.

    I’d been gone all day, driving to the coast and back, to visit a friend. I got home to a house without electricity. The outside temperature was 101. Panic ensued. What if the power didn’t come back? I’d have to take the dog and the cat and find shelter elsewhere.

I poured a glass of wine while I waited and considered my options.

I wasn’t hungry so I had glass number one by itself.

I’m a big chardonnay fan so I have to say I was disappointed with the Beringer Chardonnay. It was harsh, almost astringent along the sides of my tongue.

The power came back on. The A/C clicked on. I had a glass of wine. Life was good once more.

I decided to try the chardonnay with food. I heated up some leftover rice pilaf and tried again.

The food did cut the acidity, but it still felt and tasted too harsh.

I’ll try another glass tonight. We’re having lamb, so stay tuned!

Salmon Eating in the South Land*

 

* as opposed to Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

We were invited to a delightful dinner party last weekend in Southern California.

On the menu:

• Grilled Salmon
• Brown and wild rice pilaf
• Award winning Bleu cheese coleslaw

The foodies and … winies? (that doesn’t sound right, but it’s better than winers and winos, I guess) pronounced the above three bottles the proper pairings. Pinot noir is often excellent with salmon and both the Zinnia and Le Cuvier pinots were very good, but the Le Cuvier was the winner with smooth flavors that enhanced the smoked butteriness of the salmon and the rice. The Thacher blend, Controlled Chaos, was also praised as an excellent blend that paired nicely with the nuttiness of the pilaf.

We’ve visited the Le Cuvier winery in Paso Robles and loved the wines. We were there on a special weekend and they offered several pairings with food from local restaurants. The matings were excellent and we still talk about them, two and a half years later. We didn’t buy any wine though, because, as good as they were, they seemed overpriced. I understand the Le Cuvier tasting room has moved closer to Paso and we’re planning a trip in that direction in about six weeks. I’d like to stop by and see the new place. I don’t expect the prices to have come down but I would like to see if the wines are as good as we remember.

I'm Baaaack!

Bet you thought I'd died. Or at least was passed out under an azalea bush.

Nope.

Just busy with life and writing and kids and grandkids and lots of projects that I've come to realize will never be finished.

So, I'm planning to post here at least once a week.

My husband is getting ready to retire and he plans to pursue his food and wine hobbies more industriously. Which means more tastings for me and more wines to write about and more blog posts. I think it's called a win/win.

We had a very busy weekend. We had dinner with friends both Saturday and Sunday evenings.

When we were buying wine a few weeks ago, I had a hankering for Pacific Rim Dry Riesling. Of course Trader Joes didn't have it. The gal in the wine department was sure I wanted a Riesling and she kept pointing at wines she thought were contenders for a good "dryish" Riesling. I let her persuade me to try an Austrian bottle.

Thumbs Down.

Too sweet. Not a dry Riesling at all. (I didn't save the label or the bottle or anything, so I'm doomed to buy it again, try it, do a palm-to-forehead slap, say, "That's the one I didn't like!" When I do, I'll pass on the name).

Her second recommendation was much better.

She asked if I like New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. I forgot about the Pidgin Bay in one my earlier posts and I mentioned Kim Crawford. She recommended Kono. 

It was delightful. Crisp, refreshing, but not tongue-puckering dry. I would definitely buy it again. I don't remember the price, but it was at TJ's and not expensive. The clerk mentioned that it was cheaper than the Kim Crawford.

I will buy it again, but I will also keep my eyes open for the Pidgin Bay I reviewed a while back. I love to do a comparison between them.

Pinot Noir Tasting

We did another blind tasting with some friends over cheese and crackers.

This time: Pinot Noir

#1-- La Crema 2008 -- Lots of berry flavors. Young. Will be nice in a couple more years. We've never met a La Crema we didn't like. Never. Ever. This one is promising and looks to be up to their usual excellent standards.

#2 -- Coppola 2008 -- Young. No nose. But lots of full berry flavors. This was the favorite and the first emptied.

#3 --Isley Valley 2008 -- Blah. No one thought much of it.

Random Notes

I have not been faithful about posting as often as I should to get these thoughts down while they're still fresh.
So I'm left with some random notes I made.
Here are a few:
Redwood Canyon Chardonnay - I am a Chardonnay lover, so you have to keep that in mind. This had a strong citrus finish and I prefer citrus in my Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. I like my Chardonnays buttery and oaky.
I looked for a link and it appears Redwood Canyon is the unacknowledged half-sibling from Frei Brothers. I'd skip this one and the only other mention I found online agreed with me. Strongly.

Page Hill Cabernet Sauvignon - This must also be some big winery's illegitamate offspring because I can't find any information. I do tend to buy cheap wines and that's probably why. I felt this one was a bit thin on the palate, but it had rich berry flavors. It really came alive when it was paired with red meat. Wine Snob Hubby loved it and he wants to buy more, but since we don't remember where we got it and can't find any info online, I guess we're out of luck.

Villa Sonia Pinot Grigio - I found it crisp and refreshing but again, I can't find where to buy it or where it came from. I buy most of my cheap wine at Trader Joes, so that's a likely place to look for it again.

Sauvignon Blanc Tasting

While having appetizers with friends recently, Wine Snob Friend Tom pulled out three Sauvignon Blancs and we did a tasting. All three were New Zealand wines. The tasting was blind.

The comments are from all of us.

#1 -- Pidgin Bay, 2009. I liked this one a lot. It had a sparkly beginning on the tongue, almost like a sparkling wine or Champagne. Strong citrus notes on the finish. (This is what I wrote down but I can't find a link or any winery in NZ named Pidgin Bay, so either I wrote it down wrong or I'm keeping the buying info to myself).

#2 --King Shag. No one cared much for this one. It had little flavor, little interest, and was met with shrugs.

#3 -- Kim Crawford, Marlborough New Zealand. Very nice. Almost the opposite of the Pidgin Bay. With the Crawford, the citrus flavors were up front and the sparkling texture was saved for the finish.

WSFT (Wine Snob Friend Tom) commented about a really nice New Zealand wine he'd been told about. Cloudy Bay. He did not offer us any. He did not offer to find it for us. He merely teased with it. I'll keep a look out for it and try to get a bottle to taste.