• They didn’t call it a “Meritage”
• Syrah is not regarded as one of the “Noble Grapes”

Speaking of Meritage, the Meritage Association has a fun and informative site worth checking out: http://www.meritagewine.org/home

At any rate, if someone could leave a comment or contact me regarding information on the rules, it would be much-appreciated. Now let’s get into the wine.

Color

Stiff, thick purple. Nothing light in this baby, and seeing as it’s hot as hell out there right now, I should apologize for reviewing it at this time. That said, save this for after sundown.

Nose

Oak, creamy vanilla and very fruit-forward. Lot’s of blackcurrant and even some prune. The wine was aged in American Oak for 23 months, which was very smart on the winemaker’s part (I’m sure he’s looking for my novice approval) because if it had been French Oak, this baby would have been a BEAST.

Taste

The fruit explodes here and almost overdoes it, but the alcohol is present enough to back it up. 2007 was a late year, meaning much of the fruit in Northern California had to stay on the vine longer than usual in order to achieve maximum maturity. This tardiness on the part of the fruit makes this wine great, not only because it ripened a bit more, but because the vines didn’t have it easy, thereby making the fruit more concentrated. The wine is your standard office building: straight-up structure, nothing flashy, and it really serves it’s purpose well. The American Oak comes in to finish off the deep prune and blackberry flavors with a little creamy smoke.

With Food

I see this wine as not over-the-top when it comes to fruit, despite the explosion mentioned above, so I think it would do well with something Provencal or stewed. I wouldn’t pair this with barbecued foods or cheese. Lamb stews, Coq au Vin, or something similar.

Where to Buy

$10.96 at WinesThatWork.com!

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Color

Very pale for a Chardonnay. A little…too pale. Almost looks like a Pinot Gris with these grey tints I’m seeing.

Nose

Asparagus. Raw, cut asparagus. Some citrus and a shot of almond.

Taste

Great acidity. That’s what hits first. The wine is firm but not overpowering. Expected more oak from a Sonoma Chard, but not bad. A nice 1-2-3 structure: Acid on the attack, good fruity fig, then almond, then the vegetables, crisp finish. Some oaky vanilla on the tail. A solid wine.

With Food

Honestly, vegetables. This is a veggie wine. Put some type of protein in your dish if you must, but go low on salt. Stick with vegetables as the centerpiece and you won’t regret it. If you remember our Pebble Beach Grand Tasting menu, thinly-sliced raw asparagus with olive oil, lemon and parmesan was one of the best things we ate. Asparagus Carpaccio, they called it.

Where to Buy

Gets difficult here because I found this at a local Ralph’s supermarket for $11.99. Outside of California I believe there is Kroger and Food 4 Less. I have yet to see it anywhere else, so I’d stick with those stores if you can. If someone is able to find it online anywhere, please let me know in the comments below!

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Solid. A pleasant, mellow gold.

Nose

Strong rock. Some Emmentaler cheese. Cut raw potato (that’s new!). Oak.

Taste

Hello fire in the mouth cradled in swaddling oak. This stuff is supercharged oak. Puuuuuure Cali. I’m getting some wet rocks and some intersting almond and marzipan flavors, but it’s all out-gunned by our woody friend. Full, FULL mouthfeel. Almost too filling. Chardonnay cake comes to mind. Not a Summer-Sipping white. Intense finish that leaves you begging for a glass of water.

With Food

Buttery white foods only. Alfredo sauces and shellfish. This thing could melt cheese. Woof.

Where to Buy

$10.21 at UltraLuxeWine.com!

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The Foundry Viognier 2006

Yellow-green and very bright. Looks very refreshing. Lot’s of honeysuckle and citrus with a strong burst of apricot. Good rockiness on the back-end that leads to a crisp finish. A good hot summer white to enjoy with the TV outside.

WHERE TO BUY: $8.99 at WineLegacy.com!

Fair Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Apple freshness with very bright acidity. Good creamy lime flavors come through once it’s not so chilled, making this great for grilled chicken or fish with lime and some salsa.

WHERE TO BUY: $7.01 at FineWineShop.com!

Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz 2004

This is a weird one. There aren’t a lot of sweet red wines out there that aren’t fortified or taste like spiked Kool-Aid, but this one was actually pretty tasty. It fits into the summer heat thanks to the sweetness. But don’t let the name or my use of “sweetness” throw you. This isn’t sugary or syrupy, but only slightly sweet. Not a regular Shiraz, but not a straight-up dessert wine. Great juicy plums and maraschino cherries. Still a few tannins in there, but I would leave this for after the meal.

WHERE TO BUY: $11.89 at TheWineStoreRI.com!

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COLOR: If apple pie were a color, this would be it. Or roasted apples. Ever roasted apples with butter and looked at that deep golden brown? This looks like that. Some would call it apple cider color (smacks head).

NOSE: Wow. This wine has one of the best scents I’ve ever smelled in a white wine. Rich apple cider (again, I know) and buttered almonds.

TASTE: Great mouthfeel that is not too heavy. Apples again, some tart pear, and the slight alcohol heat gives you the sense of cinnamon. There is also an underlying mineral compenent here that is very pleasant. It makes me think that, despite the buttery apple, this may have been fermented in stainless steel. That minerality is the bedrock here and rounds out a perfectly structured Chardonnay.

WITH FOOD: Would go great with red snapper or steamed salmon with Herbs d’ Provence. You could also try it with a nice cream sauce over pasta, perhaps with some shellfish thrown in. Actually, I’m going to ask some of you out there to try that if you decide to buy this. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

WHERE TO BUY: $11.99 at Magnolia Wine & Spirits!

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COLOR: Liquefied raspberry jam. A little darker than usual for a Pinot Noir, but at least you can still see your fingers through it.

NOSE: Wet rock, dark overripe strawberries and raspberry. Reminded me of something that I could not place until the taste…

TASTE: So, to preface, this is technically a Burgundy, so that explains a lot of what I’m about to say. Ok, this baby is pure rock. Some might say granite, but let’s not get all frutti-tutti-tasting-note here and just say rock. The scent I couldn’t place that arrived on tasting was a camping morning. You know, a stiff chill in the air, you dread getting out of the tent, much less the sleeping bag, everything shriveling, dead campfire smells with pine and a lot of dirt and rock. Very very interesting. Then the fruit comes through. Stiff cherries, which is rather odd for a Pinot since it’s meant to be lighter. Merlots, Cabernets, Syrahs, these are the wines meant to have strong cherry flavors, but Pinots are supposed to be more strawberry-focused. Weak acid and a somewhat short finish, but still, all in all, not bad for under $12.

WITH FOOD: Because of the rock flavors, it almost mimics minerality with red wine tannins, meaning this works very well with Ahi Tuna. I don’t know about pairing it with red meat, per se, so I wouldn’t go farther than pork. A little too much rock for duck or chicken.

WHERE TO BUY: $11.89 at RyeBrookWines.com!

WINERY WEBSITE: http://www.hangtimewines.com

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A MUST BUY. Though the label may look like it was drawn by a 14-year-old girl, this wine kicked serious ass (and it’s $13!). We stumbled upon the Bocage Merlot while traveling through Salinas and the Monterey area, home of John Steinbeck. We realize that you readers probably have absolutely zero interest in John Steinbeck, or the museum we visited in Monterey that bears his name, so let’s just pretend we didn’t mention it at all.

COLOR: Inky purple with a blue tint to it when you tilt against a frosted lamp with a 60 watt bulb. I’m serious, you need to follow those instructions exactly.

NOSE: Crack open a can of black olives and throw some dried blueberries and chocolate on them. Shake it up and take a whiff. If you don’t throw up, that’s what the nose is like.

TASTE: Absolutely scrumptious. We don’t use that word too often, but this wine is very complex and very satisfying. We didn’t finish that first day and came back to it 2 days later, and it had taken on even more flavor. Silky and balanced, this wine brings seriously ripe fruit that conjures leather, blueberry, big black olives (which I hate, though they were good here), with a great shot of dark chocolate in the mid-palate. The finish is bland at first, but give it a moment and you will be rewarded with an aftertaste similar to finishing a pizza with only black olives. Something about the finish made me think of browned mozzarella, pizza dough, tomato sauce and black olives. Who knows why I think of these things? Stop staring at me!

WITH FOOD: Great pizza wine, let me first say that, but we had it with mushroom ravioli and spaghetti bolognese. I see no reason to suggest anything other than those items.

WHERE TO BUY: $10.99 at CAWineClub.com or $12.95 direct from San Saba Vineyards OR $13 from A Taste of Monterey!

SPECIAL NOTE: Thanks to the dude at A Taste of Monterey who suggested we shouldn’t pass it up at $13. Despite it not even being on their tasting menu, something told me that it would be good, that something being that dude.

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One of the fondest memories I have is of watching my grandfather eat chili. He loved a good chili the way most men love a good steak. It was one of his two favorite foods, the other being peanut butter. Needless to say, he never could find a way to combine his two favorites, but he certainly was able to ingest ridiculous quantities of each, separately. Many times when he would watch me during summer days or whenever my parents went out for a Saturday night dinner and a movie I would go to the pantry in his house (which was really a makeshift closet) and stare and shelf upon shelf of canned Hormel chili. There would literally be thirty to fifty cans at a time in there, next to which would most likely be a jar of Jiff Peanut Butter. Point is, whether it was a can of Hormel at home, or a homemade pot of bubbling goodness, when you have a favorite food, it should be indulged whenever—and however—you damn well please.

So it’s still winter time for much of the world (despite the 80-degree weather here in Los Angeles), and that means it’s one of the best times for that most American of dishes: Chili. There’s nothing like a hot bowl of tomato sauce, beef, pork, beans and spices all mixed together to warm you up on a freezing 60-degree night. There are three wine reviews today, and all of these go great with with this after-dinner-room-clearing classic. Sorry, but that had to be said.

Cardinal Zin Zinfandel – $11.69 at LowestWinePrices.com

Besides the kick-ass label created by the immortal Ralph Steadman (just think of Hunter S. Thompson), this wine brings serious fruit and kick with it. Chili, depending on who’s involved in the cooking, can be either wild or mild. This wine is equipped to handle both with big fat plums, fig, and syrupy black pepper, if that makes any sense.

San Simeon Syrah 2006 – $14.98 at FineWineHouse.com

With a sissy-ass label denoting the former regional home of overweight publishing maniac William Randolph Hearst the San Simeon Syrah packs enough of fruit punch to handle the spicier, Texas-style, four-alarm, melt your teeth, pants-dropping, blah blah blah my jaw is falling off-type of chilis with ease. Good acid that is surprisingly enjoyable after a mouthful of kidney beans and ground pork. Also, I have to point out how good this wine tastes with the flavor of onions.

Orfila Malbec 2006 – $4.99 at Hell If I Know

I’ve had this wine on multiple occasions at one of my favorite restaurants in Southern California, Inka Trails: a Peruvian restaurant located in the extremely dull town of La Verne. Just go eat there and leave quickly. Anyway, they always have this Malbec that I eat with my “Bisteak a la Pobre”, but I’ve never been able to find it anywhere else. I’ve seen other Orfila varietals, and I know that it is an extremely cheap wine (we’re talking like $4.99 here), but when I asked the owner of the restaurant about his distributor and how I could get my hands on some, he shrugged me off like I had just complemented the glass of water he handed me. Basically, the wine tastes like the perfect mixture of olives, spice, raisin, green pepper and gorgeous blackberry. This is a wine that was born for chili (insert lame “Chile the country” quip here). So we know it’s unorthodox to not give a link to where to find the wine, but it works so well with chili that we figured we’d mention it anyway. If you do find it, please let me know ASAP, as my life is not complete without it.

Check out our other Zinfandel wine reviews.

Check out our other Syrah wine reviews.

Check out our other Malbec wine reviews.

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Ahhh, Christmas time. When you’re a kid it’s all about presents. When you’re a teenager it’s all about presents and no school. When you’re an adult, it’s all about no work and food.

Which is where we come in.

That’s right, we’re reviewing some Christmas wines for you at Wine Welfare. These two reds and two whites are sure to pair perfectly with whatever fattening grub you’re throwing on that table this year. So light a nice warm fire, cozy up next to that Christmas tree, and enjoy your family becoming slightly blurry as you polish off a bottle of one of these wines with your favorite uncle.

Neyers 2006 Zinfandel Pato Ranch – $17.98 at WineLibrary.com or available at most wine stores or BevMo!

The Holidays are not complete without a delicious California Zinfandel. Sure, you could go with a Primitivo (basically Zinfandel in Italy), but American Thanksgivings and Christmases tend to call for the big, juicy California fruit bomb that is Zinfandel.

Neyers is one of California’s best wineries, working out of Sage Canyon in the Napa Valley. They are consistently earning 90-point scores and astounding wine-lovers everywhere. Their Pato Ranch Zinfandel is no exception, with delicious tobacco and cherry flavors swirling around a foundation of moist, stinky soil. Sounds good, right? Trust us, this should be on your table with that turkey or prime rib, especially at this price.

Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend – $11.99 at WineAnthology.com or at BevMo!

Never even heard of this one before we tasted it, but the Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend is both delicious and available in most wine stores. Deep, dark opaque color, like ink-infused Welch’s grape juice. The grapes keep coming as well, in the form of Nerds candy flavors. This is an Australian Bordeaux blend: Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Chocolate and plum jam come through like gangbusters, but the acid fights back to balance it all, leading to a cakey, long finish. Delicious with duck.

Big House White – $6.99 at WineLibrary.com or available pretty much everywhere!

Shockingly good for less than seven bucks. The Big House White is a rather odd blend of Malvasia Bianca, Muscat Canelli, Viognier and Rousanne. We’d never had any blend like it before, but this didn’t mess around. The funny thing is, you can taste elements of all of those varietals, but you taste more flavors of varietals that are not in the wine. Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay (big time, buttery and creamy) and the like. Big pina colada flavors and spiced apples. Serve this one only slightly chilled before the meal or with appetizers. Might not hold up to the likes of turkey, gravy and stuffing.

Fleur Des Pins Graves Sauternes – $12.98 at WineLibrary.com!

If you’ve never had a Sauternes, now is the time to try one. Holiday sweets go magnificently well with Sauternes, no matter if they’re cookies, cakes or candy. Sauternes makes everything better. We’ll go into more detail about Sauternes later on, but for right now, if you can’t find the Fleur Des Pins Graves, just pick up any one you can find. You may find it difficult to locate one under $20 (we did), but rest assured, even a $30 375ml bottle of this stuff will put a smile on your face. This is solid 50/50 Bar, with delicious lemon picking up as well. Very sweet, but with that smokey characteristic often found in botrytis wines (moldy grapes; again, more on this later). The result is you enjoying a magnificent flavor explosion and then passing out on the couch watching A Christmas Story. ‘Tis the season.

One last thing and, we didn’t really want to mention anything because we’re so embarrassed, but…well, this is post number 100 for us here at Wine Welfare. That’s all we’re going to say. Feel free to maybe, we don’t know, leave a comment, compliment or congratulate us. Whatever you like. Really. We don’t need validation or anything. But one last time, just to clarify:

100 POSTS!!! WOO HOOOO!!!!

So that’s it. We sincerely hope you check out at least one of these four bad boys, and slap some serious enjoyment onto that Christmas of yours.

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Happy Holidays and Cheers!

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The Monaci Maru Negroamaro is on sale at your local BevMo, but it’s cheaper in the link below. The Negro Amaro grape is grown exclusively in Southern Italy; the Puglia region to be specific. This isn’t a wine seen very often, so cheers to BevMo for throwing one up on their shelves. The wine is definitely worth a taste, especially if you are into the dark, murky fruit flavors and love tobacco wines. The only caveat is that if you open this, you should drink the whole bottle, which makes it a party or long-meal wine. It lost all of its pop after one day.

Color

Dark red with brown. Very dirty looking, but full-bodied.

Nose

Definite must and tobacco on the nose. It opens up beautifully to great fig, dried cherry, cinnamon and anise scents.

Taste

More and more figs. The figs are on a roll lately. The wine takes a moment on your tongue before exploded in figs. However, they quickly fade and are replaced with cavendish tobacco, spices and a think, muscular dose of leathery tannins. Very interesting because the wine seems to go back and forth between the fruit and the elemental flavors. The finish is decent, but not lingering.

With Food

Never had an actual tobacco wine on Wine Welfare before, but if you ever wanted to enjoy a Cuban cigar or a pipe with a glass of wine, this is it. Of course, liquers, sherry or brandy might work better, but if you’re not into those, pop one of these open and enjoy with a good smoke.

$10.95 at NapaCabs.com!

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¢

It’s rare, but it happens. We have here a bonafied California Sauvignon Blanc that we liked very much. The wine exemplifies all the classic flavors we like, look for and love about New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. The Contrada is made by the Michael Pozzan Winery; a solid producer. The Contrada Sauvignon Blanc is a great quaffer for a nice, warm day.

Color

Clear, kiwi juice, lemon water.

Nose

Crisp and actually exciting. Strong lime, mineral, rock and vanilla grass.

Taste

It’s the grass we’ve been looking for, with little heat. This is usually the problem for us when it comes to California Sauvignon Blancs: too much alcohol and too little fruit and grass. The Contrada is grassy, but more wet grassy. A pile of mulch mixed in wiht thyme, tree bark and a solid shot of lime and kiwi. Not too herbal.

With Food

Lemon chicken, most white fish, preferably grilled with citrus or a mango salsa.

$12.99 for 2 at the BevMo 5 Cent Sale!

$10.99 at GrandVin.com after the BevMo 5 Cent Sale is over.

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Tolosa No-Oak Chardonnay

Given that we pretty much bashed Tolosa’s other Chardonnay into submission yesterday for being as oak-ridden as your grandmother’s antique dining table, we figured we had better give them another shot. So here we have the Tolosa “No Oak” Chardonnay, a name that still cracks us up because it was almost like they tasted their barrel aged Chardonnay and thought, “This is ridiculous. We’d better do something.” Thus, the “No-Oak” Chardonnay was born, and labeled bluntly.

Color

Same as yesterday’s “Oak” Chardonnay. Oily golden color, very viscous. Just goes to show that oak is not necessary to having a beautiful-looking Chardonnay, only decent fruit. Still, because they look alike, we’re scared.

Nose

Refreshing, which belies the thicker color and consistency of the wine. Fresh cut green apple, some lemon, some sugary pear, and a bit of minerality.

Taste

Thank. God. This is what we were hoping for. Like the nose, this wine is crisp and refreshing, while still maintaining the hallmarks of the best California Chardonnays. Excellent fruit brings up those lemons, pears, limes, and a great acid that bounces along your tongue. Full-bodied, but not as much as you would think given how thick it looked. Great vanilla and a bit of campfire towards the end, helping the heat of it back off. A solid, solid wine all the way.

With Food

Great with fish or chicken cooked in light butter sauces since the wine is crisp enough to cut through the fat of the butter. Tailor made for some crab at the Cracked Crab in Pismo Beach which, coincidentally, is about ten minutes from Tolosa’s winery in the Edna Valley of California.

$11.99 at BudgetBottle.com!

Tolosa Winery

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Qupe Syrah 2006 Central Coast

A very reliable producer with lucscious fruit from Santa Barbara. This is our first Qupe wine on Wine Welfare, but everything we’ve had from them has been stellar.

Color

Deep inky purple. Not sure if this is filtered or not, but the this is not a very clear red. Looks gorgeous.

Nose

Smoke, deep red cherries, very ripe blackberries, moist earth. Give it a few minutes to open up and you will get some pine and a touch of rhubarb, which seems strange for a Syrah. Usually the tartness is reserved for Pinot.

Taste

Wow. A fruit explosion. The cherries and blackberries really come through and are joined by smoked meat and a healthy dollop of vanilla cream. Not too much oak, and the heat is very well balanced. The wine does not let up all the through to a lengthy finish.

With Food

BBQ steak or ostrich only. Very balanced acidity and fruit that can tear through a good cut of red meat.

Qupe Syrah 2006 Central Coast – $11.98 at WineLibrary.com!

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Altos De Luzon Jumilla

From a region about 200 miles south of Madrid (that’s Spain), comes the Altos De Luzon Jumilla red wine. This table wine is a blend of three varietals: Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo (Spain’s flagship grape).

Spain is hot, and in many regions (particularly the wine-growing ones), the soil is chalky and unforgiving for grape vines. What this means is that vines need to struggle and fight all of their lives to produce fruit, and they don’t produce much of it. What they do produce, however, is more powerful, concentrated and flavorful.

Translation: Struggling Vine = Better Wine.

Bad News First

Nada. Unless, of course, you like your reds on the unfocused and hollow side.

Good News

Color: Dark, dark purple. Squid ink with some clouds. The concentration of flavors is definitely evident in the color. Keep away from light carpeting at all costs

Nose: Deep dark fruits: Raisins, prunes, dark stewed cherries with a bit of cinnamon and some clove.

Flavor: Cassis has arrived! This is a flavor we have not mentioned much (mostly because it rarely comes to mind). Cassis is basically blackcurrant, but with a bit more concentration of flavor and a touch of alcohol thrown in. The prunes have turned back to plums but the raisins remain. The tannins are firm but not pronounced, making the finish on this wine absolutely delectable. The spice is back as well, along with some toast and vanilla oak from the French and American barrels.

This wine was made with extreme skill and care.

With Food

Strong red foods and stinky cheeses. Paella would work well, as would a delicious rack of lamb. Pair it as you would a stiff Cabernet.

$11.99 at WineLibrary.com!

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Ochoa Navarra Garnacha Rosado 2008

We had this wine at a new restaurant in Glendale, CA called Palate (more on the restaurant, as well as a little review coming soon). Palate was an absolute marvel of a restaurant. A huge, brilliant space that combines a great restaurant, tapas bar, 2 wine bars, cheese shop, and wine merchant. The place was absolutely ridiculous.

Anyway, they offer a weekly cheese and wine pairing known as a “Cirque de Fromage”, which is essentially 3 cheeses chosen by their resident expert and paired with 1 spectacular wine. This is where the Ochoa Navarra Garnacha Rosado comes in.

Bad News

When we had it, the wine was served a bit too chilled; we tend to prefer our whites or rosés just barely chilled. Other than that, this vino was perfect.

Good News

Nose: Green leaves, strawberries soaked in sugar and very brisk.

Color: Watered-down raspberry juice (otherwise known as raspberry flavored Crystal Light). Gorgeously rich, however.

Flavor: More strawberries, loads of them in fact. Cream thrown into the mix, along with breezes. We know that sounds weird, to say that a wine can taste like a breeze, but….hey, we say what comes to mind. If breezes is too abstract, try laundry drying in the sun over a bowl of evaporated milk; that’s much simpler.

With Food

To make things simple, we will just tell you what foods and cheese we matched with it, though keep in mind that most Rosés are very food-friendly. Roasted figs, buffalo bleu cheese and hangar steak carpaccio with pecorino. There you have it.

Palate Restaurant

$11.99 at the new Palate Wine Merchant!

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A Mano Soave 2007

So it appears that the BevMo 5¢ Wine Sale will never be over. It’s just going to go on and on and on. Seriously, we expected this thing to last a few weeks, which is a lot for most sales, but this thing has been going on since mid-June. Anyway, let’s look at something a bit different today: The A Mano Soave 2007.

If you had not guessed yet, “Soave” (swah-vay, as in “Rico) is the name of the wine and “A Mano” is the name of the brand. Soave wines are dry, white wines from the northeast region of Italy, near Verona. You remember Verona, where those two crazy kids Romeo & Juliet met tragedy because they couldn’t get their hands on any wine…something like that.

Anyway, Soave wines are made from a grape called Garganega which, besides having an awesome name, is not really grown anywhere else. Translation: get some Soave.

Good News: Soave is somewhat sweet, but in an understated kind of way. It is delicate, light and crisp. The first thing you will notice on the A Mano Soave is the light straw color. Not as golden as a Chardonnay, but not as silver as a Sauvignon Blanc. The nose is floral, with green touches of grass, melon and some freshly opened almonds. The wine should be chilled, but not too much. The green melon returns in the mouth, and you get a little touch of buttery green olive. The finish is quick and leaves you with a tingling lime and orange component. Very easy drinking.

With Food: Shellfish is made for this wine. Oysters, mussels, clams and probably crab or lobster, though we would suggest a more buttery Chardonnay for those if you have the choice.

$10.04 for 2 bottles at the BevMo 5¢ Wine Sale!

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Bad News First: Can’t find anything bad. We suppose if you hated white wine then this would be bad, but that’s not how we roll here at WW.

Now the Good: Delicious and a party wine? This can’t be! It’s true; this wine can be enjoyed anytime and with practically anything, though a decent steak deserves a red. This Sicilian white is a five way blend of 20% Chardonnay, 5% Fiano, 60% Grecanico, 5% Sauvignon and 10% Viognier. Smells fantastic (you can smell the oranges that grow so well on the island), but once you roll it around in your mouth, you’re taken away to the tropics. Pineapple grilled over a charcoal flame, with small bit of coconut at the end. Closest wine to a pina colada we’ve ever had, but not sweet or over the top. The wine is not dry, so even newbies will enjoy it in favor of the oft-served Riesling.

With Food: Like we said before, this wine is versatile, but we suggest having it at the beginning of a meal, with finger foods, etc. Try seafood or fried items with it (shrimp cocktail, fried artichokes), or combine the two by serving crab cakes with it. If you aren’t moving on to bigger, bolder reds at some point during the process of your meal, then by all means, drink this in the beginning, middle and end.

11.67 at Petrock’s Liquors

Check out the Planeta Winery.

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As this is our first French listing, we feel it necessary to let you know that finding good French wines under $20 in the good old U.S. of A. is a tough challenge, but we are determined to scour the country to find you the best French vin under twenty bones.  This first one is a South Rhone blend, from the Rhone region of France (named for the Rhone River; more on that later). So without further or do, here we go:

Bad News First: Despite this being French wine this is “affordable” French Wine, meaning the acidity is a bit much and the fruit is not very palpable. That said, it’s better than drinking a hollow wine. Worth it if you want to do a “tour of the world” type of wine night, but there will be some better French wines from this region (Rhone Valley) that will cost a few extra dollars, but pay dividends.

Now The Good: No oak; Rhone blends tend to use less. Vegetal and has length, but very weak finish. Acidity is good, but it’s a sign that this is meant to be sold for less. Dark fruits, probably stewed. Think “smells like a barn but tastes like tart blackberry pie with a plum on the side.” Should be enjoyed with food rather than alone.

Food Pairings: Red meat, blackened meats (including fish or chicken) and plenty of vegetables. This is to be swished around in the mouth with a tasty, peppery, red meal.

11.64 at Saratoga Wine Exchange

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