Tag Archives: Poema

Fourth of July wine 2021

Let’s help the WC find quality cheap wine for Fourth of July

Fourth of July wine 2021: Four bottles to enjoy for Independence Day

The Wine Curmudgeon, several readers have noted, usually doesn’t choose U.S. wines for the annual Fourth of July post. Mostly, that’s because of price and availability. This year, though, I found one — as well as quality cheap wines from elsewhere in the world.

And, as always, keep our summer and porch wine guidelines in mind for this time of year. Consider these Fourth of July wine 2021 suggestions:

• Parducci Cabernet Sauvignon Small Lot 2018 ($13, purchased, 14.5%): Competent, professionally-made California cabernet sauvignon with all the requisite traits — lots of ripe, red fruit (sweet cherries?), soft-ish tannins, a hint of some kind of oak, not too hot, and just enough structure. This is firmly in the New World style, but also tastes like wine.

• Lubanzi Chenin Blanc 2019 ($15, purchased, 12.5%): This South African white isn’t quite as crisp as I like my chenin blanc, but still well done — apple and pear fruit, maybe a little lemon. It’s not soft — just not as crisp as something like the Ken Forester. Imported by Cape Venture

• Spinelli Terre Di Chieti Rosato 2019 ($8, purchased, 12.5%): This Italian pink costs as little as €3 in Italy. Berry fruit, almost savory in what seems to be an Italian style much preferred by Italians, as well as bone dry and a stony finish. Highly recommended. Imported by Enotec Imports

• Poema Cava Brut NV ($12, purchased, 11.5%): A touch softer than traditional cava, the Spanish sparkling wine. That means red apple instead of green and not as much lemon. But well done, and the bubbles belie the price. Imported by Kobrand

Photo: “Happy Fourth of July 2013!” by JD Hancock is licensed under CC BY 2.0

More Fourth of July wine:
• Fourth of July wine 2020
• Fourth of July wine 2019
• Fourth of July wine 2018
• Wine of the week: Domaine Bousquet Sparkling Rose Brut NV

Mini-reviews 96: Poema, Natura, Sicalia, St. James

st jamesReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month.

• Poema Red 2015 ($10, sample, 14%): This red blend, made with tempranillo and, believe it or not, cabernet sauvignon, is Spanish wine for people who think Spanish wine should taste like it comes from California. Thick, ashy, and not very interesting.

• Emiliana Natura Unoaked Chardonnay 2016 ($11, sample, 13%): The Natura, like other Big Wine products made with organic grapes, is surprisingly inconsistent from vintage to vintage given that the point of Big Wine is consistency. There’s more tropical fruit than there should be, less apple and pear, no crispness, and a bitter finish.

• Sicalia Red Blend 2014 ($10, purchased, 13%): This Sicilian red, like the Poema, uses an international grape, merlot, so the wine won’t taste like it came from the country on the label. The merlot’s sweet black fruit overwhelms the nero d’avola in the blend, and the result is more ashiness and more unpleasant thickness.

• St. James Winery Semi-Dry Vignoles 2014 ($15, sample, 11%): This Missouri wine, sort of sweet and made with a hybrid grape, is something that wine snobs would sneer at on principle. But it’s embarrassingly more honest and better made than the three other wines in this post. Look for lemon and pineapple fruit, a certain softness that makes it perfect for spicy food, and marvel at how this can be done.