Sparkling wine is often a popular choice to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but let’s face it, Champagne can be quite pricy and not a good pick for the frugal. Don’t let that stop you from enjoying a good sparkling wine though, as there are plenty of enjoyable sparklers other than Champagne. You can check out many Champagne-style wines from California, or look for something unique like this one.
Punkt, from producer Weingut Ewald Gruber, is a sparkling Grüner Veltliner, which is something you probably don’t come across every day. In fact, you might not even be familiar with Grüner Veltliner, much less a sparkling one. Grüner Veltliner is the most widely planted grape variety in Austria. It produces a dry, minerally, full-bodied, food-friendly wine that is usually best consumed young. Sometimes it can have a peppery quality to it. It’s usually produced as a still wine, but sometimes it’s produced as a sparkler.
One of the things I like about this wine is its uniqueness. It makes a good conversation starter as most people I know have never had a sparkling Grüner Veltliner. You won’t get the ceremonial popping of the cork that you’re used to from other sparkling wine as this one has a screw cap. But don’t let that stop you from giving it a try. One nice thing about the screw cap is that it’s easy to recap the bottle if you’re not consuming it all in one evening.
Everything about this wine is soft—the nose, the palate and the bubbles. You’ll find that it’s not quite as bubbly as Champagne-style wines you’ve had in the past. But, it’s light and refreshing. On the nose it has a combination of floral, mineral, apple and faint citrus aromas. It’s light and mildly bubbly on the palate with a good amount of apple and pear flavor. The finish brings a hint of citrus acidity, but it’s still fairly soft. It’s an interesting wine and something worth trying.
Not only is this an enjoyable and unique wine, but it’s a great price on a sparkling wine in general.
Wine: Punkt
Variety: Sparkling Grüner Veltliner
Vintage: N/V
Alcohol: 11%
Rating: 87
Price: $15.99
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The next wine I want you to consider to spice up your Valentine’s Day is a Zinfandel. Spicy is a word often used to describe Zinfandel—as well as some foods that go well with it. Although it can be a spicy wine at times, it’s really a fairly dynamic wine that can be produced in a number of styles. I find many California Zinfandels to be too jammy and overbearing for my personal tastes, but this particular Zinfandel was quite approachable.
The producer of this wine, X Winery, is a fairly young company, just established in 2000. I don’t know the history of how the company was named, but to me it seems like an appropriate name as everything I’ve seen from them gives me the impression that they are producing wine for Generation X. They seem to be fairly progressive in their approach to producing and marketing their wine. In addition to a focus on environmental sustainability and experimental winemaking, they use innovative technologies like Slide on their website. And you can connect with them on Twitter. I’m always pleased to see wine producers open their doors online and really communicate with (not just at) consumers.
This Zinfandel comes from Lake County, California—slightly north of the better known Napa and Sonoma regions. It’s a little bit lighter in opacity than many Zins you may have had in the past, but it’s still loaded with great aromas and flavors.
This is a fairly fruity Zinfandel, but not sweet or jammy. On the nose there is a good bit of cedar aroma, with raspberry, strawberry, tar and pepper to bring an interesting complexity. The palate is fruity and spicy. There’s more strawberry flavor here than I think I’ve ever found in a Zinfandel. It’s really quite delightful. There is also plenty of raspberry and a peppery finish. It’s much more approachable than some of the jammy California Zinfandels I’ve had in the past.
This isn’t a wine that you’re going to find in every store, as only 327 cases were produced. But if you do find it, I’d suggest giving it a try.
Wine: X Winery
Variety: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $19.99
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This week I’m looking at some good wines to spice up your Valentine’s Day and to me Viognier is one of the sexiest white wines you can find. It’s known for having very perfumed aromas, like a bouquet of flowers. It’s also fairly delicate on the palate—not an overpowering wine—and sometimes has a slightly oily quality to the wine. Oh… and it’s pronounced vee-ohn-yay.
Viognier goes great with spicy foods, like Thai curries. So, if you’re date wants some spicy Asian food, this may be the wine to pick. It also goes well with fish, shellfish, light cheeses and vegetables. I enjoyed it with tilapia and spinach with a little lemon, wine and garlic.
Those from my generation or older may recognize the name on this particular Viognier, Fess Parker, as the actor who played both Danial Boon and Davey Crockett. This caused a lot of confusion for me as a child, as for years I thought Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett were one in the same. By now I’ve gotten over that confusion and gained an appreciation for the wines he has gone on to produce. Parker started producing wine in 1989, with just a few acres, but now has nearly 700 acres of vineyards in Santa Barbara County, California. He does give a nod to his coon-skin-capped heritage with a small cap icon on the label.
This wine has everything I expect from a Viognier and it’s put together quite well. The nose is exceptionally floral, with a bit of oiliness, honey and alcohol. On the palate it has outstanding apricot flavors, subtle pineapple and a malolactic butteriness. All told, this I found this to be a very enjoyable Viognier.
At $18.00, this wine may be a little bit more than you typically spend, but it’s a very good wine. And for a special occasion, like Valentine’s Day, I’d say it’s worth the trade up.
Wine: Fess Parker
Varietal: Viognier
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.9%
Rating: 90
Price: $18.00
A couple months ago I hosted a Wine Blogging Wednesday about red wines from Chile and wine bloggers all over the world wrote about different Chilean wines. One that caught my eye was an organic Pinot Noir from Cono Sur (Kevin, at Under the Grape Tree wrote that review). Cono Sur made a number of reviews that day, and with good reason since they are one of the best producers from Chile when it comes to quality to price ratio. And they are an innovative winery, producing a huge portfolio of different wines.
Cono Sur was established in 1993 and is part of the Concha y Toro wine group—a giant in Chilean wine. Cono Sur is based in Colchagua Valley, but produces wine from all regions in Chile.
Occasionally when I mention Chilean wine to those who aren’t very familiar with it they say that they avoid it because of all the chemicals used in producing grapes in Chile. I’m not sure where this perception comes from. I’m not aware of any excessive use of agricultural chemicals in Chilean winemaking. Regardless, I’m glad to see producers like Cono Sur bringing organically produced wines to the market as it helps change that perception of Chilean wine. I’m sure that the fact that Wine Spectator gave a Chilean wine its top honors in 2008 also helps elevate the perception of Chilean wine.
Although this wine is part of the Cono Sur organic line, it’s not technically 100% organic—yet. It is made from grapes in “conversion to organic” agriculture, as certified by BCS Oeko Garantie GmBH. This is a designation given for a period of time when organic practices are first employed on land that was previously farmed with non-organic techniques.
I should note that if you go looking for this wine, look closely. Cono Sur has at least five different Pinot Noir labels that they sell. I haven’t tried the others yet, but I can tell you that this one is good.
Earth and fruit blend together to provide a dynamic nose to this wine. On the earthy side there are notes of barnyard, moss and leather. The fruit brings cherry, strawberry and raspberry. There’s a rather floral aroma as well. Obviously, there’s quite a bit going on here. The palate is slightly off balance to the acid side, but I’d rather have too much acid than not enough… and it’s not excessively over acidic. Flavor-wise it has lots of cherry, plus some cranberry and raspberry. There’s quite a bit of heat on the finish. This wine could use some refinement, but it’s not bad at all for the price.
Wine: Cono Sur – Organic
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 87
Price: $9.49
At first glance you might think that Jargon Pinot Noir is a small winery just entering the market, but actually Jargon Wines is part of the Trinchero Family Estates—a company that produces several labels of wine, including the ever-present-in-the-supermarket Sutter Home brand.
This wine was recommended to me by a friend as a “flying under the radar” Pinot Noir. I was a little bit suspicious when I learned who produces it, but it’s actually not that bad… especially for the price.
From a marketing perspective, it seems like they are trying to take a play from the Mark West “Pinot for the People” playbook. The name Jargon is a dig on all the high-brow lingo used by wine snobs, and they are trying to position this as “just good wine.” It makes sense at the price. Most people buying wines at this price point aren’t into the fancy wine lingo.
The label is a little goofy, in my opinion… but hey, maybe it’s working for them.
As I was saying, this is actually a decent Pinot Noir for the price. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s good. The nose is a little tight, but has some cherry, strawberry, leather and herbs. The palate is soft and well balanced. It has good fruit, with blackberry, cherry and subtle strawberry. There’s a hint of cocoa too. The finish is rather short, but it’s an enjoyable wine.
Wine: Jargon
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $9.99
The Alredo Roca winery resides in San Rafael, in the Mendoza province of Argentina. Their vineyards span 114 hectares and their winery was originally built in 1905. And my exceptional math skills tell me that they’ve been producing wine for over 100 years.
This is another Pinot Noir for which I was given a glowing recommendation—the catch was that the recommendation came from someone trying to sell it to me. It sounded great, “an outstanding Pinot Noir for under $10!” However, after trying it, I was disappointed and won’t be buying it again—nor will I be taking recommendations from the same person.
The nose is simple but fragrant. Leather, cherry and cedar is how I would describe it. The aromas are rather pleasant. The palate is where it lost me and I found it rather thin, acidic and bitter. The fruit is definitely lacking. There is a bit of cherry and raspberry, but it is quite underwhelming. It also has a slightly metallic aftertaste. It’s drinkable, but rather disappointing.
Wine: Alfredo Roca
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 82
Price: $8.99
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We head to the Monterey region in California for the next installment of this Pinot Noir mini-series to try a wine from Hahn Estates. Nicolaus Hahn released his first wine from this winery in 1980 under the Smith & Hook Winery name, and didn’t start producing wine under the Hahn name until 1991. They still produce wine with the Smith & Hook name today—as well as a couple other labels—but the majority of wines from this producer are released under the Hahn label.
The Monterey wine region is south of the better known Napa and Sonoma regions in California. Yet it still has exceptional wine growing conditions and produces many wonderful wines. And this Pinot Noir is a great example of the wines that can come from this region.
I found a lot of complexity in the nose on this wine, with blackberry, vanilla, licorice, plum, spice and subtle earthy notes all blending together to create an interesting and enjoyable bouquet. The palate is fairly fruity, with blackberry, raspberry and strawberry flavors. It’s well balanced and delivers silky smooth tannins. The finish is lingering and has a little spice too it. One interesting observation is that the 14.5% alcohol level is the highest of any Pinot Noir that’s been reviewed here.
Overall, this is a great wine for the price. And I’m not the only one to find this to be a great wine. It won a double-gold award at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, and was named the best Pinot Noir and Best of Class at Jerry Mead’s New World International Wine Competition.
Wine: Hahn – Monterey
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 89
Price: $15.00
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Several months ago we did a series on inexpensive Pinot Noir and since then I’ve gotten a number of recommendations for some “I need to try.” I decided to revisit the theme with a few of those recommendations. I’m not going to do another full series right now, just a handful over the next few posts.
The first one is a Burgundy, obviously from France. This one comes from Maison L Tramier & Fils, a family run winery started by Louis Tramier in 1842. They produce several different labels and started the Roncier label in the 1960’s. If you go looking for Roncier, you probably won’t find it in the Pinot Noir section, but may find it in the French section. And although you won’t see the words “Pinot Noir” anywhere on the label, that’s what this is.
The other thing you won’t see on the label is a year. This is a non-vintage wine. They claim that the wine is consistent from one year to the next, but I’ve stated before that I prefer to have vintages disclosed. Of course this is labeled as a “Vin de Table,” the lowest designation for a French wine, so the argument could be made that vintages are irrelevant as you should only expect an average, drinkable wine—which is exactly what I found with this one.
Despite getting a glowing recommendation from a friend for this wine, I found it to be average. It was decent, but not extraordinary. The aromas were nice, but it seemed to fall off on the palate.
A beautiful, earthy bouquet with lots of heat introduces you to the wine. Much more heat than I would expect from a wine with a 12.5% alcohol level. Oak, raspberry, cherry, straw and soy sauce aromas waft with superb intensity. The palate is nice and well balanced, but is a little disappointing compared to the nose. There is some fruit with cherries and berries. On my first taste I sensed a slight metallic thing going on, but it didn’t return on subsequent tastings. There’s a touch of black pepper on the finish. It’s a drinkable Pinot Noir, not outstanding but decent and good for the price.
Wine: Roncier
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: N/A
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $10.99
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Why would I be having wine for breakfast?
A. Because I can
B. Because it’s the best beverage to pair with the dish I had for breakfast
C. Because it’s Wine Blogging Wednesday and that’s the theme
D. All of the above
The answer, of course, is D. All of the above. OK… so I did this over the weekend, so answer A only applied then. But, today is Wine Blogging Wednesday, a monthly event when wine bloggers around the world all write about a common theme and one lucky blogger (the host) get’s to summarize all the contributions. The host today is El Jefe at El Bloggo Torcido, and the theme he has chosen is Wine For Breakfast.
When I first read about the theme I thought it would be a challenge, but then I got thinking… I tend to have some fairly savory dishes for breakfast that would pair well with wine. I could try to pair a wine with pancakes, french toast or some other sweet breakfast food, but while that would be a challenge it’s not really what I like to eat. And so the first part of this challenge for me was to figure out what dish I wanted to have for breakfast. I decided to make an Italian Strata with Arugula Walnut Pesto. This is a baked egg and cheese dish with caramelized onions and mushrooms inside it and it’s topped with the pesto—the recipe is below. It’s a delicious dish and screams to be paired with wine.
My choice of a wine to pair with this dish was the 2007 Santi Sortesele Pinot Grigio. Yes, it’s an Italian white wine for an Italian breakfast dish.
The acidity in the wine was perfect to cut through the fat in the cheese, egg yolks and olive oil. The onion in the strata and the garlic in the pesto also have a tendency to hang on your palate, but the combination of the acidity, the floral aromas and the soft fruit of the Pinot Grigio leave you with a nice clean and bright palate.
There is a lot of rose / floral aroma on the nose of the Sortesele Pinot Grigio, along with a bit of apricot and some nutty aromas. On the palate it’s green apple, apricot and lime. It’s bright, clean and acidic. The finish is a little quick, but all told it’s a decent Pinot Grigio.
Wine: Santi Sortesele
Varietal: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $14.99
Italian Strata with Arugula Walnut Pesto
Put the strata together the night before and refrigerate it, then you just have to pop it in the oven in the morning. You can easily make the pesto topping while the strata is baking. It makes a great breakfast or brunch, but really I’d enjoy it at any meal.
Ingredients (strata)
1 medium onion, sliced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (the real stuff)
5 cups Italian bread, in 1 inch cubes
2 cups shredded provolone
6 large eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions (strata)
- Heat the oil and butter in a skillet
- Caramelize the onions over medium-low heat
- Add the mushrooms and saute until tender
- Put half of the bread cubes in the bottom of a lightly greased 2.5 quart casserole dish
- Top with half of the onion/mushroom mixture, then half the provolone; repeat layers
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper
- Pour the egg mixture over the strata
- Cover and refrigerate overnight
- Preheat the oven to 350°
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350° or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean
- Add pesto topping after plating individual servings
Ingredients (pesto)
3 cups (packed) arugula leaves
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions (pesto)
- Toast the walnuts lightly in a dry pan, let cool to room temperature
- Add the arugula, walnuts, Parmesan cheese and garlic to a food processor and chop until fine
- With the food processor running, add olive oil until the pesto reaches the desired texture (it should be thick, but liquid enough to run off a spoon). To be honest, the 1/2 cup is a guess. I never measure, but just pour until it looks right.
Over the past several weeks I’ve been posting reviews of some Sauvignon Blancs that I’ve had the pleasure of tasting and today it’s time to summarize the results. The good news is that there were no total bombs in the bunch. Every SB I tried was enjoyable, but some more so than others.
I tried Sauvignon Blanc from three regions, all of which are known for good SB: New Zealand, California and Chile. And one from each region made the top three.
Top Picks
My favorite pick from all of those that I tasted was the 2008 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca Valley in Chile, which scored a 91 and I have found for a very reasonable $10.99. This continues a recent trend of discovering a number of great value wines from Chile. And it’s not the first time that Veramonte has been a top pick for me—in 2007, Veramonte was my top pick for Chardonnay.
Two other wines round out the top three picks, both with scores of 90 points. The better value of the two comes from New Zealand with the 2008 Nobilo Regional Collection, which sells for about $11.99. California Sauvignon Blanc also earned a 90 point score with the 2007 Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home for about $15.00.
More Good Sauvignon Blanc
As I said, none of the wines I tried in this lineup were duds. Here’s how the scores stacked up for the rest of them.
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