#175 Aleatico

2008 Rossini Pergola Rosso Aleatico Marche

I swear I have had this wine before but things do get a bit hazy at this point.  The nose suggests that I am in for a sickly sweet experience with loads of blueberry syrup wafting from the glass.  My first sip still has me thinking blueberry... and has me waiting for the sugar...  but no! Instead this bottle hits me with a delightful curveball.  Bone dry with nice acid and just enough of the alcohol "burn".

#174 Colombard

Sweet up front, quick dose of acidity and a fast finish which leaves me thinking I just had a glass of orange juice.  This is a $5 New Jersey white which gets me a step closer...

#173 Lacrima Di Morro D'Alba

Marotti Campi Rubico Lacrima Di Morro D'Alba


This red is explosively aromatic with loads of floral scents.  The wine itself is dry and acidic and requires a food pairing.

There is a great description of the grape found via the link above.

#172 Kadarka

Marika Nemes Kadarka

Sweet dry red.  Very nice.

#171 Alexandrouli

Khvanchkara, 6% alcohol

Sweet red, perhaps with a hint of oak?

#170 Frontenac

Saint Croix Vineyards

This is a University of Minnesota varietal.  Designed to be winter hardy.  Interesting raspberry flavor.

#169 Alfrocheiro

Dao Cabriz 2007

Bone dry, Anise and acid.

#168 Fateasca Regala

Curtea Regala PodargaSarca Niculitel 2006

Romanian sweet white.  Funky butterscotch nose then semi sweet from start to finish.

#167 Catarrato

La Piazza Sicily 2007

Simply this was a Sauvignon Blanc-lite.

#166 Catawba

Ranier Rose Tomasello Winery "American Table Wine"

This is an American original grape.  Syrupy sweet, tastes of Concord grape jelly.  We added some seltzer to create a spritzer which might be an interesting summer surprise.

#165 Bacchus

Peter Brum 2008 Rheinhessen

A white wine in a red bottle.  Very sweet but flavor fades rapidly and finishes perfectly clean with just a wisp of hazelnut.

#164 Baga

Luis Pato Casta Baca

Very dry, high acidity sparkler.  Not a crowd favorite.

#163 Delaware

Saint Croix Vineyards

White wine tasted like Pixie Sticks, sweet yet drinkable.  "Grapey" but with an artificial grape flavor.

Wine Flood!

In an effort to catch up with my backlog of wine posts the following posts will be short and sweet.  If time permits I will back and fill with photos.  For now though this will have to suffice...

#162 Traminer

Well as far as the quest is concerned I have now drunk a wine super-store under the table.  This is the last of my Sam's Wines (RIP) bottles... last but certainly not least.  I was assured that this bottle contained the ancient Traminer (see below and here) but now the website and that salesman are long gone.

With today's grape, Traminer I get a chance to sample one of the great ancestors in the wine world.  The Traminer grape has given us Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Silvaner, Grüner Veltliner, and impressively Pinot Noir (with all of its offspring...Chardonnay anyone?) to name but a few.

Surprisingly, given much of its progeny, the flavor profile here is more Chardonnay than Riesling although elements of both are clearly observable.  Unfortunately in this case of 1+1 does not equal 3.  Our human ancestors must have decided that those flavors would be better apart than together and began working on 2-1=2...

This tasting opened up a world of questions most of which are unanswered as of this posting.  For now I will consider this a new varietal but as I learn more and as my DNA sequencing lab finishes up determining the genetic code for all grapes this might change.

#161 Scheurebe

Link

2008 Weingut Bürgerspital Wuerzburger Steinharfe Scheurebe Kabinett (cannot ship)  SKU #1049937

With a wine-growing area of 110 hectares, Bürgerspital wine-growing estate, located in a fantastically beautiful courtyard right in the middle of Würzburg, is one of the largest wine-growing estates in Germany. This is Scheurebe, folks, a crossbreeding of silvaner and Riesling, and it shows an almost red grape aromatic profile with hints of cassis and a finish that is nicely acidic, making it a great match with sausages, veal or cheese. The 2007 edition of this wine got a Double Gold at the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

OK at first blush this posting may look like a cop-out on my part.  But this is my first post using my brand new computer with 64 bit Windows 7 and the new blog editor.  I cannot believe I got this far...

#160 Arinto

Well the hits keep rolling. Here we have an Arinto from Quinta da Romeira (Portugal) and it becomes yet another in a string of surprises. I started this wine overly chilled (after all it was a sub $10 bottle) and I was a bit disappointed by the singular dimension I experienced. When I returned to the glass 15 minutes later everything had changed. This was an entirely different wine.

Immediately I equated this wine with a simple sauvignon blanc but there is more to it than that. Certainly the citric acidity is evident but it is a fuller wine with more balance than I had expected. As I write this I wish I had been able to leave a little wine in the bottle for the review but it truly was a shame not to drink it. I am more than a little surprised that Arinto has not caught on as a more popular grape. I consider Arinto one of my favorite under the radar white wines and put it on par with the not as obscure Spanish grape Albarino.

I regret that I served this with chicken instead of with crab cakes or a seafood salad of some sort. This wine will definitely be served here again.

I enjoy reading the WSJ wine writers Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher and was surprised that I missed this recent piece which summed up more than a few of my experiences with the quest and with this wine in particular. They closed the piece with "New is fun and often rewarding." Cheers to that!

Quinta Da Romeira Arinto

#159 Malvasia Nera

One of the wonderful things about the late stages of the wine quest is that I never know what to expect when opening a new bottle. The surprises here started with popping the cork and carried through to the finish.

Firstly this wine is under pressure and the surprising POP as the cork was forced out shocked, scared and then interested me. When I noticed that the cork had expanded greatly (think champagne cork) I knew that the carbonation was not a fault. The wine poured a grape juice purple and generated a slight "head" of bubbles which remained around the sides of the glass. The aromatics are enormous but sweet and floral. This wine has a mere 5.5% alcohol which puts it in league with many European beers. This reduced alcohol allows the fruit and sugars to really shine through. The carbonation adds the illusion of acidity so the wine doesn't need it and as you might suspect there is no tannic structure to speak of.

As you may know I am not a huge fan of very sweet wines but somehow this one really hit a soft spot with me. It is very well made, certain to be a crowd pleaser (served chilled on a warm summers day) and would be great served with a variety of the summers best fruits. Not easy to find but for $15 it is a compelling choice.

2008 Cascina Gilli Malvasia Nera di Castelnuovo Don Bosco

#158 Favorita

Getting to 200 wines by years end is feeling increasingly impossible but I will knuckle down and plow ahead. Today is a grape called Favorita. This wine is as green in color as the picture shows. It has the faintest hint of carbonation that passes quickly but does push a lovely floral aroma out of the bottle. The wine itself doesn't hold up to the promise of the nose, instead presenting a surprisingly dry and acidic profile. The finish is a bit hot but I wasn't trying this wine chilled which I suspect would be the best idea... All in all it is quite a nice grape although like many at this stage in the quest increasingly hard to find.

#157 Grillo

Here we have another ancient grape. This Sicilian white apparently has been made into wine for thousands of years. Most often the grapes are made into marsala.

This is another of the Mediterranean style whites (if I may) which is crisp, fresh, served well chilled and perfectly suited alongside a seafood meal in the sun with a salt breeze coming off the sea.

#156 Pineau D'Aunis

Color like a dark rose'.

Nose of raspberry and pepper.

Effervescent feel on the tongue.
(though not carbonated)

Taste: light oak, barnyard and big acidity.

Sadly this one, though unique and ancient is not an inspiration.

#155 Schiava

Speaking of top 5 places I would like to visit the Südtirol makes the list. Not only is it the home of my favorite "discovery" Lagrein but it is located at the foothills of the Dolomites along the Austrian border. The views appear spectacular.

I guess I was expecting another Lagrein type of wine. One that was more burly and fruity and would be suitable for... well roasted boar in the middle of an alpine winter. Instead I found this one to be a much easier drinking wine. It is light bodied but rounded clean and well balanced. This would be suitable for many lighter dishes but would be overpowered by spicier fare. Excellent and enjoyable value at $16.

From K&L (via the distributor) "Made of Schiava (90%) (in German, Vernatsch) with a small amount of Lagrein(10%), this wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel. Notes: pale red color; aroma of strawberries and tomato leaf, very appetising; the palate is bigger and more assertive than the color would suggest but still very drinkable. A faint hint of apple-skin bitterness on the finish adds to its appeal with food. It is delicious paired with most any pork dish, especially ham. I've heard it can be drunk with grilled salmon as well. Very small quantities. This (Schiava) delicious berry-ish red is Italy's answer to Beaujolais, and a foil to his other red, Lagrein Dunkel, which is one of the great Italian red grapes and deserves to be much more well known. The best examples are deep purple in color, with aromas of blackberries and Assam tea."

#154 Poulsard

Poulsard (also Ploussard) is a red wine grape variety from the Jura wine region in France. The name Ploussard is used mainly around the town of Pupillin. Poulsard is also grown in Bugey.

This particular bottle may have been faulty but I will report as best as I can. It looks like a rose' although the appearance is a bit dusty, smells a bit like a rose with acidic overtones and has a powerful astringency on the palate. These wines are meant to be consumed well chilled by the summer following the vintage (in this case I am 3 months late).

#153 Plavac Mali

An absolutely brilliant dry well-balanced $11 bottle of Plavac Mali from Croatia's Peljesac Peninsula.

I insist you look at this link... The Dalmatian Coast has just sprung up into my top 5 places I need to visit.

Now it is all starting to make sense. One of my first favorite wines was a Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon made by the famed native Croatian (and now Californian) winemaker Mike Grgich. This goes to show that even at varietal #153 great things can happen.

#152 Teroldego

"Teroldego Rotaliano ovvero "Oro del Tirolo" da una probabile interpretazione del idioma "Tiroler Gold" I regnanti d’Austria, durante la loro reggenza in Trentino, considerarono infatti questo vino eccellente sia per il colore intenso e profondo, profumato di lampone e mora che per il sapore pieno rotondo giustamente acido e privo di tannini: appunto Oro del Tirolo."

I say "Plums and Prunes and edgy acidity."

#151 Frappato

Nose:
Blueberry Sauce

Taste:
Blackberry Jam

Finish:
Anise

I enjoyed this wine. It is the first time I have tasted a wine that had such distinct and recognizable flavor profiles. As with all the wines at this stage of the quest this one was not easy to find. If you come across it give it a try.

#150 Tinta Madeira

Ficklin "Old Vine" Tinta Port

In the production of the OV Tinta Port, which is not vintaged, winemaker Peter Ficklin uses wine from the winery's unique Solera system. Because of this, the blend for any particular bottling cannot be precisely measured. 60% to 80% of the blend is Tinta Madeira, 2% to 10% is Tinta Cao, and Touriga and Souzao each constitute 10% to 25% of the final blend. Unique and a super value!

I think the most observant of my millions of readers will notice that this is in fact an American made "Port" but that its primary grape is Tinta Madeira which is not a major player in the Portuguese version. What is Tinta Madeira? It seems to be its own varietal but is down to its last 50 acres or so.

While this bottle doesn't have all the lushness of a proper port it is certainly an enjoyable effort and for $15 you cant go wrong. This will make a nice aperitif for a cold fall evening or late night tipple to warm your insides and allow for a slow drift into a long winter slumber.

#149 Loureiro

Here we have a truly unique Vinho Verde from Portugal for a mere $10 which reminds me of a diluted lemonade braced with a hint of seltzer. On the pour you will see a swirling of the tiniest bubbles. For those of you still with me that is called "pétillance" (pay-tee-YAWN). On the first taste I find a nice soft sweetness followed by the bracing lemon acidity and finishing in a balanced harmony of the wine's major elements.

This is a really fun wine that I am sure will amuse your guests as well as your palate. I recommend giving this one a try if you can find it.

And oh yes, Vinho Verde can be made from a variety of grapes. This one contains 50% Loureiro which I have been unable to find on its own so this will have to do.. for now anyway.

#148 Tocai Friulano

Tocai “Mari Me” ‘07

Here we have a Tocai Friulano. It is a nice clean white with hints of peach and a nice bright minerality. The winemaker says that this grape was the only one his mother would drink and so named this one "Mari Me" (My Mother). This was a Sam's wine purchase and I fear that I won't be able to find this one again any time soon but it would make a nice summer wine.

#147 Uva Rara

Uva Rara means "rare grape" and is almost never found as a star it is usually part of the supporting cast. At first taste I was about to relegate this one to the trash heap of "oh no not another one that tastes like all the other cheap ones" wines but now as I go back to take a second taste (and after the wine has been opened for more than a few days) I am finding it much more enjoyable.

At first sip I am thinking it is a fruitier Chianti but the mid-palate fades a bit quickly and the finish is a bit acidic. Nonetheless I am very happy to have had a chance to try this unique grape.

#146 Refosco

As I get closer to the end of the varietal list I am finding that it is as hard to acquire the wines as it is to find ones that really blow me away. So from here on in I will not try to find nice ways to say that a wine just wasn't that good but that it might be worth a try. For most people these days throwing $20 away on an uninspired bottle hurts twice, once in the pocket and once again on the palate. Sure, in the heady days of the dot.com mania or the subsequent property "boom" when..... But I digress.

In this case we have a smoky earthy red with a quick dry finish and an excess of heat. Most of our tasters last night felt that it was a decent wine but perhaps would be more suited to that $10-$12 price point.

The quest just got a whole lot harder

Our once great local wine shop Sam's Wines and Spirits has finally succumbed to horrible management and has been absorbed into the Binny's empire.

www.samswine.com

Sam's Wines and Spirits was once a grand store. For quite a while they were the largest single wine retail space on the planet. They had inventory that filled shelves reaching to the ceiling of their 3 story store/warehouse. They had sales people that could dizzy you with their passion for wine while simultaneously making sure they didn't lord their wine knowledge over you. When I shopped Sam's I felt like they were happy I dropped by. It didn't matter if it was for empty cardboard boxes or for a few cases of wine you were treated like a valued part of their business. They even had a rewards program that was automatic and generous. Sams was a classic family owned success story and a destination in and of itself.

Then along come the new owners with plans to turn Sam's into a monster of retail. They had plans to open 20 new stores in a year or so and to sell only "what people buy" which meant a sea of $8 bottles of animal emblazoned wine would soon replace the deep inventory. The inventory was decimated (why tie up all that $ in wine when you deploy it elsewhere) and the shelves that reached for the ceiling were soon taken down. With the diminished inventory the need for knowledgeable salespeople waned almost as quickly as the salespeople's interest in the shallow inventory faded. They moved on and the passion was gone. The rewards program was gutted and turned into a short expiration date coupon. The few new stores that had opened were shuttered. The online system crashed repeatedly and made placing an order a real test of ones willpower. Sam's sadly had become a place to avoid, an empty shell of a once great institution.

As for the quest, this turn of events will make things a bit more difficult To be honest it was rare that I would find anything new there anyway but still.... Oh well.... I wish everyone who remains the best of luck!

#145 Pinela

A delicious wine. Think unoaked chardonnay with firm structure and solid acidity. It has great balance despite the alcohol content of a blistering 14.22%! This wine is bold but not over the top and if you can find it (good luck) its an excellent bottle.

And a blurb from the retailer:
"Zelen and Pinela are the two indigenous grape varietals of the Vipava Valley which are just now being rediscovered and replanted by a handful of leading vintners. They consider these grapes their precious natural resource to make wines that are unmistakenly unique to their beloved wine region.
Guerila is one of these few estates, its vineyards have been family owned for centuries. The approach revitalizes traditions but with an exquisite contemporary technical know-how and a careful attention to every detail."

#144 Zelen

Zelen from Slovenia.

At first I was a bit disappointed in the uni-dimensional aspect of this wine. Served ice cold it went down like an ultra-light beer. A few days later, warmed to room temperature this wine revealed its character. At first I considered it a simple Pinot Gris in style but there is a bit more dimension. Maybe a touch of nutmeg with that citus acidity? Enjoyable wine and easy to drink without food.

This had me very interested in the next bottle...

#143 Kisi

"2006 Vinoterra Kisi, Khakheti, Republic of Georgia SKU #1044695

100% Kisi, a very rare grape varietal indeed, which is fermented in kvevri (amphora/clay jars) and then allowed to mature in oak. A little nutty, a little salty, a little savory with loads of mouth feel, structure and character. Try this with smoked white fish!"

Can you tell I stole this directly from the K&L website? I suppose since I paid $22 for this bottle from them they might not mind after all they did nail the tasting notes. I might simplify it further (if I wasn't trying to sell anything) and say this wine has a hint of nutty brine once the oak washes off. Also the wine has a unique color which reminds me (again since I am not trying to sell the bottle) of a white wine poured into a recently finished glass of red. Just a hint of red.

I greatly enjoyed this wine for its history and manufacture and color and taste. Really fascinating.

#142 Rkatsiteli

Tonight we have another Georgian wine... Yes the country not the state. A blend of 80% Rkatsiteli and 20% Mtsvane. Rkatsiteli is believed to have been the most widely planted grape in the world at one point. Seeds from this grape have been found in Georgia in man made vessels dating back 5,000 years.

And a quick map check from the winery; "Mildiani Family Winery is located in the town of Tsinandali, one of the most renown appellations and possibly the single most recognized historical wine town in Georgia, and the heart of the Kakheti region in the southeastern portion of the country."

This bottle set me back $10. It has subtle fruit up front followed by a mid-palate fade and then a buzz of acidity. The 13.8% alcohol level can be felt on the finish as wisps of the stuff trace through my nose. It is a simple white which reminds me of a Pinot Grigio.

#141 Baco Noir

Oh my, it has been 6 weeks without a new wine... I do have a small backlog of new varietals and I will dutifully get on to it, after all I do need to get to 200 grapes before the year ends. (That has become a lot harder than it sounds)

Today it is Baco Noir . Clearly this is not an easy grape to find but I have to say that not only does the wiki (check link above) do a great job of describing this grape it mentions this particular bottling as well. In short this is a grape that is now largely found in Ontario and primarily has excellent defenses against many of the North American weather/diseases/bugs. Perhaps the flavor profile was secondary to survival as this wine is fruit forward but then becomes quite acidic - a lack of balance. Still at $15 a bottle for a red wine made in Canada in far from optimal conditions I must respectfully say thank you.

#140 Mandilaria

Mandilaria... Yes it does sound a bit like some sort of mosquito borne parasite but it is in fact the most widely planted red variety in the Aegean. Now if I wasn't requiring that my varietals tasted be 70% or more of the wine I would be able to add Mavrotragano to my list also as this once nearly extinct grape makes up 10% of this bottle. But clearly I digress.

The nose is somewhat off putting and I catch more of a plastic diaper/ointment smell than anything else. It is a juicy and fruity wine with a strong punch of tannins on the finish. I was in the mood for a red wine but I cannot get past the smell... check it off the list.

#139 Welschriesling

2006 Krizevci Winery Grasevina, Kalnik Region, Croatia.

And that is all you need to know. OK not exactly.

This one marks our first Croatian wine. Weighing in at a mere 11% a.b.v. this in a nutshell is basically a simple summer white. (despite the riesling you see in its name). According to K&L "What Croatian lovingly call Grasevina is known in the neighboring countries as Welschriesling, Olasz Rizling, Laski Rizling, or simply Riesling Italico."

#138 Athiri

From the Greek island of Rhodes comes this enjoyable 100% Athiri wine. Usually Athiri is used in blended wines to give weak whites some backbone and structure but on the island of Rhodes it is common to find this fine grape standing alone.

This bottle went quickly. It has a light citric zing, a clean dry finish and just enough structure to make it more than just an easy summer white. What is remarkable is that this wine is hiding a 13.4% alcohol content behind that delicate facade.

#137 Clairette

Another new white and another inexpensive hit. Here we have a clairette from Mas Carlot. It has a floral oak nose and a creamy mouth feel. Well rounded but with a nice dry zing on the finish. Not bad for $11.

Once again K&L had this one in stock.

#136 Irsai Oliver

Today we have a grape that has eluded me for almost a year. When I first learned about Irsai Oliver I was determined to seek one out. Only lately was I able to find a bottle and to my delight it was Hungarian. (and $10).

This is a 2008 Szöke Irsai Oliver (link for those who speak Hungarian). My first taste was disappointing but I quickly realized I had served the wine too cold. As it approached a proper serving temperature the wine really showed its stuff. It has a floral nose and a bright acidic minerality. I actually enjoyed the wine even more later in the evening when it had arrived at room temperature. This wine is a real delight.

Thanks to K&L wines for carrying this gem and a link here to their site and a little more information about the wine. It is worth a quick read.

#135 Maria Gomes

The quest takes us into yet more uncharted territory. This time it is a sparkling white from Portugal: Luis Pato Maria Gomes Vinho Espumante Bruto.

Fernao Pires (aka. Maria Gomes)
"This Portuguese native is that country’s most planted grape, especially in the Ribatejo area. In Bairrada, Fernão Pires is known as Maria Gomes, and is the most familiar white grape variety. The best wines made from the grape exhibit excellent fruit character and strong aromatics, sometimes suggestive of pepper. Fernao Pires can be quite versatile, often used to produce flavorful dry, sweet and sparkling wines. The grape is also widely grown in South Africa."

This wine has a big lovely nose, floral and fruity yet it is surprisingly quite dry and crisp. This one was a real delight for $15 a bottle.

#134 Vidal

And wrapping up the reunion series of new wines is this Jackson-Triggs Vidal Ice Wine. Made from 100% Vidal grapes this wine was the biggest hit of them all. Unfortunately I only had one small bottle to offer and it was gone in a minute.

Ice wine is made from harvesting the grapes AFTER they have frozen on the vine. Most of the priciest and best come from the Niagara area. It is said that one grape yields only one drop of wine.

Intensely sweet and flavorful this wine easily stands in place of dessert. Its sweetness would overpower even the richest of desserts. That said, it was a huge hit and I would certainly be interested in buying more when the cold winds begin to push the memories of summer into the recesses of my mind..

#133 Black Muscat

I stumbled across this Black Muscat in a grocery store in Egg Harbor WI. At first I figured it was likely just another name for an already tested grape. However it does appear to be its own varietal. While it will not help me achieve subquest #1 (completing the official checklist) it does get me one closer to completion of quest #2 (200 varietals).

This wine was well received despite the searing outdoor temperatures and its 19% abv. Served with fresh pie and ice cream this bottle hit the spot although it would certainly be fine on its own preferably on a cold winters night. There is the obvious sweetness yet there is enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. At $20 it is a relatively good value for a dessert wine.

#132 Saperavi

"From the Kindzmarauli microzone of the Kvareli in the Kakheti Region, republic of Georgia".

Here we have the neatest wine bottle I have ever seen. This is a bottle I received from friends at a recent and enjoyable wine tasting (Bring the funniest label). It is 100% Saperavi which is a grape that can make wines that cellar for 50 years or more.

This was a big surprise. I was expecting the worst but as is the nature of this quest I am thrown out of the comfort zone and "forced" to try increasingly far reaching wines. This one is semi-sweet with a soft peppery backbone and is smooth from start to finish. It reminded some of a rose' despite its darker color. My aunt (the host of the reunion... thank you thank you thank you) thought that it would pair nicely with an Athenian lamb stew. I would like to give that a try.

Perhaps it was the company, but I really did find this to be an enjoyable wine.

#129 #130 #131 Bual Sercial Malvasia

Sure the picture may be a little blurry and a bit off center but hey you would be too if you decided to tick off 3 varietals (in their fortified state) in an evening. These were opened during a wonderful family reunion in Door County WI. Temperatures were high for the season so breaking open a high octane fortified wine wasn't on the top of the "good idea" list but in the name of the quest we struggled on....

Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Portuguese Madeira Islands. (Check that link for some really fascinating detail). There are four major types of Madeira three of which you see above. There are 5 age classifications stretching from 5 years to 20+. We tried the youngest and least expensive.

These wines spanned from dry to sweet and light to dark. Each had their own specific character while still having an underlying similarity. The sercial was dry and lighter, the bual was sweeter with a deeper tone and the malmsey (malvasia) the darkest and richest.

I found these wines to be compelling and fascinating and am very interested in trying some of the best of the best in this category. Perhaps while studying its long history and its impact on the formation of the United States.

#128 Schioppettino

The final wine of the day was this Furlan Castelcosa schioppettino. I found this to be one of the most interesting wines in the quest so far. It has the nose of a big Southern Rhone red (read barnyard) leading me to expect a big wine with loads of tannin. Instead its a delicately sweet wine which is impossibly easy to drink. I have discovered that this grape has made its way to Sonoma County CA. I will absolutely be seeking out more of this grape. Thankfully it was able to come back from the brink of extinction.

#127 Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano)

Zenato's "San Benedetto" Lugana was the surprising highlight of today's tasting. Ugni blanc is a grape widely used to make cognac and isn't commonly found in a pure white wine.

I am impressed with this wine's structure. Its refreshing without being simple and at $13 it is a wine I will buy again

#126 Seyval Blanc

Lynfred Winery produces this interesting white wine from the deep suburbs of Chicago Illinois. (check out the winery link for an impressive location).

This is a seyval blanc. It has a really fresh nose but surprises with a sweet taste and finishes with something perhaps a little metallic. One of us thought it tasted like "sugar water" and indeed it did improve with a few clean ice cubes to dilute and chill. It is a pricey $15 but the winery looks like it might be worth a visit if in the area.

#125 Inzolia

Another Sicilian white with that Mediterranean feel. Slightly tart and dry with distinct minerality. Perfect for a cool drink on a sunny porch. $9 not too much to pay for this one.

#124 Aligote

"Bourgogne Aligoté, cépage Aligoté : vieux cépage bourguignon, ce vin blanc a des qualités reconnues. Sa robe or et ses reflets verts libèrent des arômes de raisins mûrs. A servir avec charcuteries, fruits de mer, fritures et andouillettes."

Which could possibly (if everything were in fact possible) be translated to "A refreshing and not too complex white wine suitable for an afternoon in the sun... and a decent value at $12".

#123 Vignoles

Michigan bubbly here made entirely of Vignoles.

Nose is yeasty apples, dry on the palate and a grape finish. This is a surprisingly strong wine revealing some real zing. We smoothed it out by turning it into a lazy Sunday afternoon mimosa.

Which led into.....

#122 Ruche

Blogger is acting up tonight so I will be brief. Luca Ferraris "Bric D' Bianc" Ruche di Castagnole 2006 is Mother's day wine #2. This one was served with grilled filet mignon paired with a cheddar potato cake, balsamic marinated portabella mushrooms with parmesan, and simple green beans. The bracing tannins this wine possesses was a nice counterbalance to the richer meal.

Its a $16 wine that reminded me at first like a Cotes du Rhone but then seemed more like a light weight Barolo. It has beautiful aromatics, sharp tannins and a clean finish. Further research reveals that this wine is from Piedmont and does (according to wiki) share some resemblance to its elegant neighbor Nebbiolo.

#121 Vernaccia

Mother's day dinner opens with a Vernaccia this year. First course is a few large prawns marinated in garlic and oil and a few hot peppers and then cooked over charcoal on our new (just opened but 2 years old) cast iron hibachi. I go into detail because there just isn't all that much about the wine to write about. This one is a thin, dry, 12.5% alcohol $10 wine with enough acidity to hold up to the prawns.

#120 Muscadelle

There's our little Muscadelle on the right. I had their Mauzac this March and hope some day to get a hold of their Len de L'el (that's him off to the left).

This is a sweet one. Tastes and smells a bit like Concord grape jelly with a hint of smoke (or is that cedar) and a thick sweet finish. I think this wine begs to be served cold and young with, or perhaps in place of, desert.

#119 Bonarda

A very cool label and a dangerously drinkable wine. This was an enjoyable surprise. Astute followers of this blog of which there are a total of one will notice that Bonarda was already claimed as a grape varietal on January 15th 2008 (Varietal #14). However further study on the Bonarda grape reveals that the Italian version (which this wine is) and the Argentinian version (Wine #14) are NOT the same grape. An Argentinian Bonarda is really a Charbono.... Who knew? Well we all do now.

That said, this was an enjoyable wine. My first taste tonight reminded me of the first taste of wine I ever had. There is something slightly hot, wispingly herbaceous, and rapidly vanishing about this one. It's a $16 wine and it wont be easy to find here. If I lived near the winery I suspect this would be a front runner for my house wine.

#118 Orange Muscat

Robert Hall Orange Muscat at wine varietal #118 earns its place in this quest's history as the first Costco wine to make the list! Oh sure I always browse the wine at Costco when I drop in to buy eggs and milk but I have never found a varietal yet to be checked off. This one weighed in at $14 so I took a "chance". (We all know it was going in the cart... heck it almost had a Wii and a Wii fit as company.... next to the eggs and milk of course... and the $700 air compressor that I know I am going to need some day). I fear I digress lets focus on the wine.

This one has an enticingly perfumed nose of delicate flowers and fresh laundry. It is sweet without being cloying and has a wispy citrus orange finish. This is a wine I would like to try to work into a pairing menu. I would say it is a desert wine trapped in a table wine's bottle and it has the potential to raise some eyebrows. 118 varietals into the quest and I am still being surprised... thank you!

#117 Auxerrois

Auxerrois... The spellchecker recommends "Terrorist" but my research indicates that this sweeter white is both a relative of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It is a chameleon of a grape being called Pinot Auxerrois or Auxerrois Blanc in addition to a few others. This wine is a Vin D'Alsace created for our pleasure along the French and German border in Alsace of course.

And as we would expect for a wine made near Germany this is very much like a dry Reisling or Gewurztraminer. Syrupy honey up front, fades into a light snap and is followed by a warm dry finish. Its a nice wine for a mere $16.99.

#116 Savagnin

This was a difficult find. It might have been harder to find details about the wine than it was to find it for sale here in the United States. The long and short of it is that Savagnin is a local varietal found mostly in Cotes du Jura France. Interestingly (according to wiki) recent DNA testing in Australia has shown that what the Aussies had been exporting as the Spanish varietal Albarino is in fact Savagnin. It appears that wine questers could pick up a cheap Aussie Albarino and end up getting a difficult to find varietal checked off their list and enjoy a really nice wine to boot ($25).

As I was searching for a label picture I came across this review from Whisper Wine:

"This wine is a rarity in many aspects. Jura is known for its "Vin Jaune" (literally "Yellow Wine") made with the Savagnin grape, a very local varietal. To make a long story short, Vin Jaune, due to its very special vinification, would compare to a Jerez in taste - a very dry wine with unique aromas of walnut and morel. Alain Labet has been first (back in 1990) to change the ancestral tradition and use the Savagnin grape like a Chardonnay grape. Many have since followed in his footsteps. This Fleur de Savagnin is a pure expression of terroir - should you want an illustration of the nature of terroir, this is it. The wine is powerful, clean, a bit spicy. Côtes du Jura is a rare find not only in Pennsylvania but possibly even in the whole United States.

Share it with your very best friends only, it's quite unique. Want to play blind tasting? Many will think it is a top notch white burgundy!"

No time for relaxation. The quest continues!

Notice anything different about the Great Seal? Perhaps you noticed that if one was great then two must be awesome? Well I had already endeavored to complete the entire original Century Club list which numbered 165 wines (some quite difficult to find here). Now a new category of wine tasting mastery has been created. "Doppel Members" will have tasted TWO hundred varietals. So with very little hesitation I welcome this new challenge. As always the varietals I take credit for must come from a source which consists of at least 70% of said grape.

Wish me luck....

Time to relax for a moment.....

#115 Verdicchio

Why haven't I had this before?

If this was a blind tasting... I would have guessed a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Green in the glass with a tropical vanilla nose, strong acidity and a good bite on the finish. Of course as usual I would be wrong. This is a 2006 Verdicchio from donna Ginevra and its from Italy.

It all starts to make sense when I learn that Verdicchio hails from the Marche region in Italy (The calf in Italy's boot) right on the Adriatic. Presumably benefitting from the same sort of natural phenomenon that make New Zealand whites so wonderful.

To keep it simple this is just a fabulous wine for $17. It went so fast I had to intercept the bottle, steal a glass full and run to the computer to record my notes before it was all just a distant memory.