white wine

Tasting Vinho Verde Wines

Filed under: Wine

Summer is in full swing and it's hot out there. It's prime white wine drinking season. But when the temperature spikes even the California Chardonnays can seem a bit heavy. If you have run through your New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and looking for something else that is light and refreshing on a summer evening, the wines of the Vinho Verde region in Portugal may be just the thing.

I recently attending a tasting of Vinho Verde wines held by Tasting Panel magazine. There I made the acquaintance of a new grape to look for in summer wines, Alvarinho. The Alvarinho grapes produce a wine that has a light straw color and a scent of fruits such as peach, lemon and passionfruit. The taste is a bit like a Pinot Grigio or perhaps a Sauvignon Blanc but without the minerality that the Sauvignon Blancs are famous for. The name Vinho Verde means that they are green wines, not in color or in eco-friendliness but in youth. The wines are meant to be drunk in their youth. They are also much lower in alcohol than many California whites and are value priced at generally under $10.

Wines to look for to explore Vinho Verde wines include:

The Portal Do Fidalgo 2006 is a deliciously juicy white with tastes of peach and honey. It would be outstanding on one of those nights when it is too hot to cook and you end up nibbling on cheese, bread and vegetables.

The Quinta del Avelada 2006 is a little less sweet and more citrusy than the Portal Do Fidalgo. The low alcohol level (around 10.5%) means you could pair it with a salad or a light meal and not end up overly tipsy.

The Sogrape Gazela Vinho Verde is light and refreshing with a bit of a fizz. It's only 9% alcohol so it's almost like a readymade wine spritzer. This makes it a great drink for an afternoon garden party, it's as thirst-quenching as a light beer but with more elegance. And it's cheap (around $6) so you can throw a bunch of bottles in an ice-filled tub out on the lawn and let your guests go wild.

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Tags: alvarinho, portugal, summer wines, vinho verde, white wine, wine

Jacuzzi Winery Opens

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

I never knew that the Jacuzzi family , famous for the Jacuzzi spa also made wine but they do. In fact they have just opened a lavish new winery in the Sonoma Valley in partnership with the Olive Press. The two businesses are setting up shop on Highway 121 in an 18,000-square-foot Italian stone villa on 190 acres along Highway 121, directly across the road from Cline Cellars. red Cline is the maternal grandson of Valeriano Jacuzzi, one of the five brothers who took part in the creation of the Jacuzzi Spa. Fred and Nancy Cline also own Cline Cellars. The wines so far are from separate vineyards but according to an article in Sonoma News the two labels may share some vineyard sources in the future.

The new winery takes its inspiration from the Jacuzzi family home in Italy and has stone buildings assembled around a central coutryard. One wing is devoted to the Olive Press which makes high-end olive oil. The Jacuzzi winery uses "Green String" biodynamic farming practices with no chemical pesticides or fertilizers. The winery produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Nebbiolo, Primitivo and others at prices starting around $20.

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Tags: california wine, CaliforniaWine, jacuzzi, red wine, sonoma, white wine, wine, winery

Interchange Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

The new Hayman & Hill Interchange wine from Cellar Door intrigues me because it has a bumper crop of white varietals. Interchange is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Malvasia Bianca, Semillon and Gewürztraminer grapes. The grapes are meant to represent the diverse terrain of Santa Barbara county. The wine is described as having a floral nose and a tropical palate with just a hint of oak.

Hayman & Hill is named for its winemakers, David Hayman and Dennis Hill. David Hayman has seventeen years of strong international winemaking experience and is Blackstone Winery's Senior Vice President of Operation. Dennis Hill has over twenty five years of winemaking experience with many leading Sonoma wineries and is the Chief Winemaker for the Blackstone Winery. The Interchange wine is priced at $13.99.

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Tags: california wine, CaliforniaWine, hayman hill, HaymanHill, interchange wine, santa barbara, SantaBarbara, white wine

Bennett Lane, The Nascar Winery

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

We've talked before about the fusion between Nascar and fine living. Check out this article on Bloomberg about Nascar wines and the Bennett Lane Winery, the first winery to back a Nascar racing team. Former race car driver Randy Lynch is now a successful winery owner. He and his wife Lisa started off in th Napa Valley with a weekend house and a small vineyard but then picked up a nearby winery. The Lynches are part of an overall wine drinking trend in the Nascar crowd with the numbers of wine lovers rising steadily and wine now being sold at concession stands.

If you are looking for a light summer white wine the recently released 2006 Bennett Lane Maximus Feasting White wine is a nice choice. It is a blend of 87% Sauvignon Blanc, 11% Chardonnay, and 2% Muscat. It's a bit fruity but with a nice mineral snap to keep it crisp and refreshing. It sells for $28.

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Tags: bennett lane, maximus, nascar, white wine, WhiteWine, wine, winery

Waring Pro Wine Chiller

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Wine

As the weather gets warmer the need for a chilled bottle of white wine increases. Waiting for your bottle to chill can be frustrating and the old shove-it-in-the-freezer trick can be both risky and haphazard. Instead the Waring Pro Chiller can handle the task. And you don't even have to think about what temperature your varietal should be set at. The chiller has 33 preset varietal temperatures for reds, whites or sparkling so that your wine is at the optimal drinking temp. The electric device is attractive enough to due duty at the table keeping your wine cool on a warm summer night. It sells for $99.95.

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Tags: chardonnay, chiller, waring, white wine, wine, wine chiller

Fat Bastard Maker Refines Their Palate

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

I'm no fan of the Fat Bastard wine but I am curious about Click Wine Group's higher-end line called the Global Wine Collection. The wines are aimed meant to appeal to the "Millennials," people 21 to 30 years old. The portfolio continues the group's tradition of innovative naming. The wines include Flying Fish (from the Pacific Northwest), 2up (from Australia) and Mad Dogs & Englishmen (from Spain). Their Clean Slate, a German Riesling from the Mosel-Saar- Ruwer district won a Double Gold medal at the 2006 San Francisco International Wine Competition. The Clean Slate sells for around $10.

[via The Daily Report]

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Tags: cabernet sauvignon, clean slate, click wine group, ClickWineGroup, red wine, RedWine, riesling, white wine, WhiteWine

Montrachet Sells Off The Cellar

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

There have been a lot of exciting wine auctions this spring. The Spring auction from Zachy's in New York on May 11 gives you the chance to own wines from the cellar at Montrachet, a wine-oriented restaurant in New York which closed last year but may yet reopen at a later date. Meanwhile they are selling off a bunch of their cellar. Decanter reports that the 536 lots Zachy's hopes to sell include 383 of red and white Burgundy, ranging through the 1980s, 1990s and the current decade. The restaurant had been open since 1985, plenty of time to stock up on a wealth of treasures. The Zachy's website has details of the lots and the absentee bidder form.

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Tags: auction, burgundy, montrachet, red wine, white wine, wine, zachys

Kono Baru Wine, Upside Down Is Right Side Up

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Don Sebastiani & Sons, the folks behind Used Automobile Parts wine are at it again. This time with wine with upside-down labels. Kono Barú. The upside-down labels represent the fact that the wines are sourced from vineyards in the Southern hemisphere. The initial launch is of six varietals from three countries. A Sauvignon Blanc, unwwoded Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile; a Riesling and a Shiraz from Australia; and a Malbec from Argentina. The Chilean and Australian wines are around $12 and the Malbec is around $16. The line is meant to represent a step up from the bargain-priced wines from Chile and Australia with something a little bit more upscale. The initial launch is around 100,000 cases.

[via Wine Business News]

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Tags: australian wine, AustralianWine, cabernet sauvignon, chilean wine, kono baru, KonoBaru, malbec, red wine, RedWine, riesling, sebastiani, shiraz, white wine, WhiteWine, wine

True Earth Organic Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Just in time for Earth Day, the wine brand The Three Thieves have launched a new organic brand called True Earth. The wine is made from organic grapes. There are two True Earth wines, a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah, and a varietal Chardonnay. Both are made from California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) vineyards in Mendocino County, using no pesticides, herbicides, or conventional synthetic fertilizers. The wines contain minimal amounts of sulfites which are used in the winemaking process to preserve freshness. The first release is 5,000 cases of each type and the wines sell for $12.99.

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Tags: california, chardonnay, grapes, mendocino, organic, red wine, true earth, TrueEarth, white wine, wine

Riesling Rendezvous

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Events

It seems to have taken United States wine drinkers a while to warm up to Riesling wine but more and more people are discovering the delightful food-friendly white wine. Now Riesling is getting its own event. Chateau Ste. Michelle and Dr. Loosen, the team behind the delicious Eroica Riesling, will host "Riesling Rendezvous" in June at the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery in Woodinville, Washington. The three-day event, June 24-26, 2007, will include tastings, food pairings and workshops. The Rendezvous offers the chance to taste wines from around the world including a gala tasting of on the evening of June 26th at the new Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park. It looks like you can't buy tickets to certain events you have to sign up for the whole Riesling Rendezvous which costs $700 ($600 if you sign up before April 15).

[via Avenue Vine]

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Tags: chateau ste michelle, loosen, riesling, white wine, wine

Barry Manilow Joins the World of Celebrity Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Celebrity Shopping

The latest celebrity to enter the wine business is none other than Barry Manilow. Fans of the singer can now get their hands on Manilow wines in five varietals, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel made at several different California wineries. The Manilow wine retails for between $20 to $25 dollars a bottle. It doesn't seem like Manilow has much of a hand in these wines. Many celebrities actually work with a winemaker and/or vineyard to produce a particular type of wine but these wines seem to be Manilow in name only. Still, they will probably be a big hit with the "fanilows."
[via Wine Spectator and E Online]

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Tags: barry manilow, BarryManilow, red wine, white wine, wine, winemaking

Luxist Tastes: 2005 Eroica Riesling

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Some of my favorite wines are a collaboration between Old World technique and New World grapes. Case in point, the Eroica Riesling from Chateau Ste. Michelle. The wine is a collaboration between Washington's Chateau Ste. Michelle winery and Germany's Dr. Ernst Loosen. The wine is named after a Beethoven symphony. The grapes come from the Columbia Valley area of Washington. The 2005 includes grapes from two new slopeside vineyards.

The resulting wine is straw-colored with a citrus and white flower nose, crisp and richly aromatic. The wine is deeply satisying, it has a great mix of pear and mineral flavors and a lipsmacking finish. It's drier than some Rieslings but has just a smidge of honeyed sweetness that makes Riesling so appealing. The fact that it is a bit sharp makes it very food friendly (and for more thanThai food which is the recommendation of the winemaker). It earned 90 points from Wine Spectator and sells for around $20.

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Tags: chateau ste michelle, eroica, riesling, white wine, wine

Tiglat Chardonnay

by Anne Metz (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Now that summer has officially begun, I've officially switched from sipping red wine to white wine. One of my favorite warm-weather treats is a cool glass of Austrian Chardonnay. My favorite this year is the Tiglat -- which is named after Austrian wine-maker Heinz Velich's oldest vineyard. Planted in 1959, this Chardonnay vineyard is one of the oldest in all of Austria.

At any rate, these old vines create a beautiful wine with good fruit and fine mineral notes. Velich utilizes very strict selection when picking the grape. Half of the wine actually spends 18 months in oak barriques, later to be joined with the rest of the wine in steel tanks for an additional two months. You can order a bottle or a case on-line through Winemonger.com. Price: $54.99

Tags: Austrian wine, AustrianWine, Chardonnay, white wine, WhiteWine

Melusine Austrian Wine

by Anne Metz (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Wine

The Melusine, an Austrian white made by wine maker Marion Ebner from Gruner Veltliner grapes, is a limited edition high-end imbibe imported by the online retailer Wine Monger.

In addition to the complex peppery flavor, what I love most about the Melusine is the way the wine appeals to my aesthetic sense in addition to my palate. As someone who has been known to buy bottles of wine based on the labels alone -- a problematic criterion, I admit -- the Melusine, admittedly, caught my eye in this regard. The clean, simple silver label, embossed with a small Melusine mermaid screams, sophistication and good taste. With the wax seal over the cork, frankly, this wine feels like a steal at $58.99 a bottle. For fans of Austrian whites, I can't think of a better delight than this wine.

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Tags: austria, marion ebner, MarionEbner, melusine, white wine, WhiteWine, wine

Taste-In Wine Tastings

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Services, Wine

Decanter reports on a new London-based company that offers private in-home wine tastings. What makes Taste-In unique is that they have rounded up some of the U.K.'s best known wine professionals to serve as hosts. Hosts include Tim Atkin, the wine writer for the Observer; Michael Broadbent, who used to handle wine for Christie's and Joanna Simon who writes for the Sunday Times. A two-hour tasting starts with a glass of champagne followed by eight wines. The Classic tasting costs £1200 for 12 people. They can also provide bespoke tastings to deliver whatever your heart desires.

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Tags: london, red wine, white wine, wine, wine services, wine tastings, WineTastings

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