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Warmth is finally peeking out from underneath the underbelly of winter, escaping to where people wear shorts and sandals. When the mercury rises to this level, it’s difficult to slurp red wine, so I recommend these five inexpensive white and sparkling wines that should quench the thirst tugging at your tongue. Read more: Five refreshing white wines for spring and summer Melissa Stackhouse, a fantastically talented Pinot and Chardonnay winemaker, was recently promoted at Kendall Jackson (who owns La Crema Winery) to Pinot Noir Winemaster for all of Jackson Family Wines. I’m not surprised since her gorgeous creations continue to overdeliver for the price. I’ll be watching to see if they remain as good without her daily oversight. This Pinot is divine. Read more: Wine reviews: La Crema 2009 Monterey Pinot Noir and 09 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast In new world regions like South Africa, Chenin Blanc transforms. They often call this white grape “Steen” in South Africa. And the Mulderbosch Chenin was mistaken for a White Burgundy at a recent blind tasting… embarrassing all the certified sommeliers in attendance. Read more: Wine review: Mulderbosch 2008 Chenin Blanc Stellenbosch (South Africa) Hess Collection is more known for its rich and extracted red wines (especially Cabs), but they a make mean white. The Allomi Vineyard sits at the base of Howell Mountain in a remote area of Napa Valley, spending its days in tourist-free peace. It’s an enviable spot. Can you say secret, trespassing picnic? Read more: Wine review: Hess 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Allomi Vineyard Napa The Clif Family — yes, the same people who make the cand…er… “nutrition” bars — started making wine in 2004 after moving to Napa Valley. Like their bars, they source from sustainably and organically-grown vineyards (link) in northern California. Winemakers Sarah Gott and Bruce Regalia do an outstanding job with all the Clif wines, especially whites like this one. Read more: Wine review: The Climber 2009 Sauvignon Blanc California Of all the French wine regions, Alsace (ALL sass) is the easiest to understand. Unlike other regions, it labels its bottles by varietal name, making the selection — and pronunciation — less problematic. This Pinot Gris from Zind Humbrecht is nearly perfect. Read more: Wine review: Zind Humbrecht 2009 Pinot Gris Human nature dictates that wine writers prefer to write about the happy experiences we’ve had with wine. But rarely does someone come right out and slam a bottle up against harsh words. I mean, a human being made it right? A human with feelings. Sure, the fancy wine magazines may not care about that stuff, but I do. I also realize my taste may not jive with yours. But when an entire room of people tasting a wine blind (brown bagged) declare a wine tastes/smells like urinal cake or cat pee, I feel compelled to say something. Read more: Worst wines I’ve tasted this month Full-bodied and elegant, La Craie Vouvray explodes with fragrant fruit: peaches and apricots drizzled with honey, earthy chamomile. It has a burst of sweetness on the tongue but finishes dry and luscious. The best of both worlds. Read more: Wine review: La Craie 2009 Vouvray This brand has gotten HUGELY popular in the past few years, mainly by releasing sweeter, less complex wines for the masses. Unabashed in their promotion and their choice of tropical-tasting, fragrant grapes, the winemakers at Folie à Deux (the producer) have struck a chord — with seemingly everyone from critics to consumers in this Juicy Fruit Gum-like white wine. Read more: Wine review: Menage a Trois 2008 White Blend It’s probably a smart idea for the producers of these wines not to tout that the grapes hail from Greece. Although this region pretty much invented wine, Greece hasn’t exactly sustained a stellar reputation in recent years. But maybe Elios can break that cycle. Read more: Affordable wine reviews: Elios Mediterranean Red and White |
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