Beringer 2009 California Collection Pinot Grigio - $4.99 Everywhere

Hit up this cheap vino for only $4.99 a bottle practically anywhere. I think they even sell it at dry cleaners. Sharp acid, strong citrus fruit (white grapefruit topped with sugar), great lemongrass backend, and a low alcohol content (only about 11%) make this the perfect Christmas lunch wine. Just as the sun starts hanging high and the most depressing start of the year inches ever-closer, pop this puppy open and smile knowing you spent the same amount on weird Uncle Mort’s Christmas present.

Estancia Zinfandel 2007 – $8.99 to $10.99 in Grocery Stores

No American holiday would be complete without a solid, cheap Zinfandel. The not as commonly found in 7-Elevens, the Estancia Zinfandel can be found in most grocery stores. This baby brings a powerful blast of ripe cherries, chocolate sauce and some stiff herb action (heh-heh) on the palate, leading to a slightly acidic but long finish. Much longer than I’m used to for a Zin under $10. Definitely pair this with either the ham or prime rib. Might be a bit too robust for the turkey, but if you’re like me on the holidays, your tastebuds will be destroyed long before the sun goes down.

Have a safe and Merry Christmas!

Cheers!

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You can thank some God-forsaken summer bug for the delay in posts the past week or so. I was too busy hacking my lungs out and not keeping meals down to write any new gems of wine wisdom here at the old WW. But now I’m back and ready to dig into some bottles.

I should warn you though, the posts may come fast and furious at first. Eight days without wine for a guy who really LOVES wine is painful. Not heroin-withdrawal painful, but I still ended up yelling at everyone who offered me water or juice. Anyway, you don’t want to hear about my EPIC BATTLE AGAINST THE COMMON COLD so I’ll just move onto some wine:

P.S. The reviews are going to be pretty condensed since I want to plow through a lot in the next week or so. Don’t like it? Send me an email so I can curse at you directly.

Trinity Oaks Pinot Grigio 2008

Good sweating wine. Put this on ice, wait until you’re blazing hot after floating in the pool for too long, then pour yourself a glass of this instead of a margarita. The flavors are concentrated and well-wrought. Nothing goes by unnoticed in this Pinot Grigio.  Lime cream with good acid and some caramel. It’s still good even if it warms up a bit once you pass out on your raft.

$5.99 at MadWine.com!

Query Riesling 2009

White fruits, including some honeydew, with an explosive flavor. Solid sweetness that can push it a bit, but still very very good. Apple acidity and some great sort of almond aftertaste. I can’t wait to get sunburned pounding a bottle of this juice.

$14.99 for 2 at the BevMo 5 Cent Wine Sale!

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While there is still a large section of the winemaking industry that produces wines minus organic or sustainable practices (mostly the larger, corporate wineries), the majority of boutique and smaller wineries have all adopted sound environmental practices.

What’s ironic (and great) is that many of the wines we have reviewed in the past year have actually been wines produced organically and sustainably. We’ve even tasted a wine whose winemaker used sheep to weed his vineyards (it was over $20 so we couldn’t review it, but it’s called Osso Libre).

But enough of that for now, on to the Barra Organic Pinot Grigio:

COLOR: A nice, off-clear white. Don’t know how else to describe it besides my favorite description: lemon water.

NOSE: Tight, a little lacking. Some sour green apple and, if you can believe this, green Sour Patch Kids. That’s what popped into my head. And I don’t even like Sour Patch Kids.

TASTE: Very crisp with a strong pear element. Good flowers breeze up to your nose through the mouth. The balance is there, but that’s about it. The wine is a big fat yawn for the most part. It’s attractive because it touts “Organic” on the label (something few wineries do, even if they are organic), but beyond eliminating the guilt you might have felt destroying the environment with every sip, the wine is pretty basic.

WITH FOOD: As Pinot Grigios go, it’s a great appetizer wine with some thick cheese or a shellfish starter. Not really a solid dinner wine.

WHERE TO BUY: $16.99 at WineMerchantCincinnatti.com!

WINERY WEBSITE: http://www.barraofmendocino.com/barra/index.jsp

I’m thinking about promoting a specific section on Wine Welfare for organic or sustainably produced wines. Let me know what you think in the comments section!

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The Villa del Borgo label is owned by Vin Divino and is used only in the United States. They know how we Americans love them fancy soundin’ names on our wine because that must mean it’s good. Well, in this case, the wine is good. Very good. In fact, you will be hard pressed to find estate-grown (meaning it’s grown on the winery’s actual grounds and vineyards) and bottled Italian wines at this price. The wine is done in 100% stainless steel, with no malolactic fermentation and it never touches oak. This means you get more fruit and natural acid than fake vanilla wood flavors.

Color

Green-washed tea. Kind of like underripe hay.

Nose

Have you ever had Werther’s Originals? Or at least a caramel candy? That’s what this smells like. Not caramel alone, but the caramel candies. That and citrus.

Taste

More caramel candies, purple sweet tarts, grass mixed with orange peel, green apple, parma violets. That’s everything we could think of. The acid is surprisingly low, but there is enough to cut through and please your tongue. It leaves a great finish and gives you a satisfying pucker.

With Food

Creamy cheeses and tart fruits. Since the acid is slightly low, you may want to compensate. As for main foods, maybe a lemon chicken or cream sauce would work. Seafood of course, but no tuna or salmon. You want to have food that’s got some fat to it so that the acid can break through the oil.

$9.59 at WineChateau.com!

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