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Red blends appear to be all the rage these days, and I’m all for it. Many times, single varietal wines can be one dimensional and flat, lacking in personality or interest. But mix in some other grapes and beautiful things happen. The Europeans, of course, have known this non-secret for eons, especially in Bordeaux, France and most parts of Spain and Italy. And Trentadue has known this for 30 years. Read more: Wine review: Trentadue 2009 Old Patch Red Alexander Valley Even generic, corporate-owned wineries like Estancia can make good wine if they have great fruit from Monterey, specifically their Pinnacles Ranch vineyard. And another thing corporate wineries have to offer is lower prices. Like under $15 for a pretty decent Pinot. Read more: Wine review: Estancia 2009 Pinot Noir Monterey Pinnacles Ranch The tasty Climber Chardonnay is part jumbo juicebox, part boxed wine. The pouch houses 2 bottles of wine with 90% less waste than glass. And… it’s quite drinkable. Even tasty. What’s more… it’s affordable and 1% of sales go towards Trees for the Future organization. Read more: Wine review: The Climber Unoaked California Chardonnay in a pouch When I explored the limitless wines of Italy’s Tuscany wine region during a trip last year, I became enamored of the high quality “Toscana IGT” labeled reds. These simple table wines helped salve my weary wallet, already weathered by the leather purse and jacket shops of Florence. But they weren’t just inexpensive — they were high quality sangiovese-based reds, reminiscent of the more expensive Chianti which normally cost a lot more money but often aren’t worth it. Read more: Wine review: Banfi 2008 Centine Toscana Not sure why but Vinho Verde doesn’t get much respect from the sophisticates out there. The wine snobs, the “connoisseurs” or the collectors don’t rave about the summer utility of this Portuguese white. Perhaps they prefer to limit their consumption of Portuguese choices to the venerated Port wine sector which overshadows Portugal’s VVs. But this light, slightly spritzy and refreshing yet refreshingly affordable wine is just what the 90-100 degree weather and crappy economy demand right now. Read more: The best, inexpensive summer sippin’ wine: Vinho Verde from Portugal Bravo to this deliciously affordable Italian red wine, made from two grapes few have heard of — Negroamaro and Primitivo (the Italian equivalent to Zinfandel) — and the ubiquitous Cabernet Sauvignon. Neprica also hails from an obscure region in Italy, Puglia — the heel of the boot — where vineyard land doesn’t fall into the ranks of the absurdly expensive. Puglia (also called Apulia) is an up-and-coming wine region, having shod their former lowly, bulk wine rep, and now competes successfully in the international red blend market. Read more: Wine review: Tormaresca 2008 Neprica Puglia (Italy) There’s a bit of a backlash with oaky/buttery California Chardonnays now. A newfound love of the unadorned version — labeled “Unoaked”, “Virgin”, “Naked” or “Stainless Steel” — can be witnessed on retail shelves and on restaurant wine lists. The taste difference between oak-aged and/or fermented Chardonnay and those that don’t see wood can normally be summed up in one word: minerality. Washington State’s Buried Cane is on to something. Read more: Wine review: Buried Cane 2009 Whiteline Chardonnay (No Oak) I wished I lived on Carmel Road, ’cause maybe I could stop by any random Tuesday night and swap some tomatoes for wine. Yes, I would gladly give up homegrown tomatoes — perhaps my favorite thing on earth besides wine — for their wine. Based in cool climate Monterey, Carmel Road winery excels at everything that excels in cooler weather – Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. And for under $20 per bottle. Perhaps it helps to have a successful parent company — Kendall Jackson Wine Estates – looking out for them, but winemaker Ivan Giotenov has his eye on the ever moving vinous ball. And consumer tastes. Read more: Wine review: Carmel Road 2009 Riesling Monterey and Carmel Road 2009 Pinot Gris Monterey Although I drink dry rosé wines all year long, most people unfortunately lump them into the summer grog category. So by even releasing this blog post towards the end of May, I’m evidently crying uncle to the masses who lump. Dry rosés — and I’m not referring to the tooth-aching, sweet, pink-tinted swill that maligned the elegant reputation of fabulously dry rosés — are simply the best food pairing wines, the most refreshing and most crowd pleasing to those who are man or woman enough to drink them in public. Read more: Why rose wine should be in your fridge all summer |
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