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Wine by Numbers

Jeff — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:54:34 +0000

Wines featured in today’s show:

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (~$18)
Fish Eye Pinot Gris 2008 (~$5)

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

I’m going to concentrate on the Pinot Grigio only because I feel like it gets short shrift in the wine world nowadays. Us wine snobs love to poo-poo Pinot Grigio because it’s the only thing our moms and rebellious sisters drink. But honestly, its a very user friendly food pairing wine.

Let’s break down the typical P.G. for a moment: medium bodied, evident but not overbearing fruit, and great acidity. Dishes that work with that kind of structure are going to be of moderate weight, moderate flavors (don’t think spice or heat or intensity…think Minnesota), and perhaps a sauce, cream, or dip in play. Right off the bat I think of fish tacos, scallops in an herbed cream sauce, shrimp scampi, rice and beans, or chicken salad with ranch dressing. Perhaps you notice a pattern? It’s almost an “I’m eating heathier” wine. On that note check out this scallop recipe (I swear, this mumbling moron must be from Wisconsin, but it appears he knows how to make some nummy scallops). Ask your wine guy for a quality Pinot Grigio. There is a lot of crappy P.G. juice out there, but if you find a quality bottle, you will wonder why wine snobs ever get snobby about them.

REVIEW: Domaine Viret “Solstice IV”

Jeff — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:24:55 +0000

God, I love stuff like this. Here is a wine from a family that has been making wine in the Rhone Valley for five generations but they use grapes (Cabernet and Merlot) in the blend that are not permitted in “Rhone wines” so the wine can only be labeled as “Vin De Table de France”, or French Table Wine. By law they can’t put a vintage or place of production on the front label. Welcome to the wine-making laws of France. They are punished for making a wine that happens to add 10% Cab. and 10% Merlot to the blend because they think it helps make the wine that much better. And you know what? This wine ROCKS!

Nose:

Sweet ripe berries and a little cola and coffee.

Palate:

Full bodied with bright, fresh acidity. Really crisp cherry cola notes with a little chocolate, strawberries and cherry wrapped up in a subtle vanilla robe. LONG cherry menthol finish.

Very delicate and refined, in fact, it almost wishes it were a Pinot Noir. A lot of layers here and much to contemplate. I may have found a new favorite.

The Som Rating: 8/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

REVIEW: 2006 Peirano Estates “Six Clones” Merlot

Jeff — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:19:53 +0000

Nose:

Nice Fruit with a bit of gaminess on the nose. I wanna say blackberries and leather. Touch of chocolate underneath.

Palate:

Tannins are very much in play here, but they’re not distracting. In fact, they are nicely balanced with better than average acidity. This is a slightly less than full bodied wine that is wrapped in dark berry flavors with a gentle kiss of oak. There’s just a touch of dark chocolate on the long, dry finish.

Great wine for the price range ($11-$13 depending on where you shop). Peirano Estates produces very good value driven wines. Buy a case and watch those tannins round out and integrate beautifully into the fruit over the next two years.

The Som Rating: 7/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

Peirano Estate "Six Clones" Merlot