Tag Archives: riesling

Mini-reviews 158: Cleaning out the wine closet

man and woman drinking wineReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. This month, four wines after cleaning out the wine closet

• Fancy Flock 2020 ($4, purchased, 13%): Is this Spanish red from Aldi worth $4? Probably not — tart, not especially ripe, and rustic in a bad way. The pandemic has not been kind to Aldi’s wine selection. Imported by Mack & Schule

• Signaterra / Benziger Sunny Slope Red 2016 ($49, sample, 14.8%): I’ve been getting a lot of samples lately that aren’t available. Like you can’t buy them at all. No, I don’t understand that approach, either. This is terrific wine, save for that — fruity, rich. herbal, and with soft tannins.

• Tortoise Creek Mission Grove Pinot Noir 2019 ($12, sample, 14.2%): This red is $15 supermarket-style California pinot noir, with all that means — some heat, not much pinot character, and more rich and fruity than it needs to be.

• Apaltagua Envero Gran Reserva Carmenere 2019 ($16, sample, 14%): Solid, professional carmenere, a red from Chile, with all that means — very herbal (almost bell pepper) and not all that much fruit. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

Photo: Couple drinking wine, Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels

Mini-reviews 156: The geeking out edition

drinking wine
“Yes, the WC is eight. These are geeky wines.”

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. This month, four wines that remind us how geeky wine can be

• Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan Großes Gewächs Riesling 2016 ($85, sample, 12%): This German white, which is apparently one of the country’s great wines, showed by magically and mysteriously — maybe a sample from a German wine trade group? It certainly is stunning wine, complex and layered (stone fruit, minerality); frankly, much more than I’m used to tasting. And it should age for years and years. Imported by Banville Wine Merchants

• Gillmore País Mariposa 2019 ($17, sample, 13%): The pais grape — known as mission in the U.S. — is about as trendy as these things get. Having said that, this red wasn’t very interesting. It tasted more like supermarket Beaujolais — some cherry fruit, too tart, yet thin and watery. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Bodega Marichal Tannat 2019 ($16, sample, 13%): This Uruguayan red is adequate tannat — rough-ish and heavy-ish, but not heavy or rough, with some almost cherry fruit and surprising acidity. If you like tannat, you’ll like this. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Tercos Bonarda 2020 ($14, sample, 13.5%): Fine example of bonardo, a little known red grape from Argentina. It’s a little earthy, with some spice and dark fruit, but not heavy. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

Photo:”Deya Drinking Wine at Four Point Winery” by nan palmero is marked with CC BY 2.0.

Mini-reviews 155: Two Sicilian grillos and two sweet wines

pop culture winesReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. This month, two grillos from Sicily and two sweet wines

• Stemmari Grillo 2020 ($8, purchased, 13%): Simple, not stupid, and professionally made Sicilian white. There’s some citrus (not too tart) and very refreshing. It just doesn’t taste like an Italian wine or like grillo. Imported by Prestige Wine Group

• Corvo Irmana 2020 ($18, sample, 12.5%): Fresh and fruity Sicilian white that doesn’t especially taste like grillo, either, and costs $6 more than it should. Imported by Disaronno International

• Villa Wolf Dry Riesling 2020 ($15, purchased, 11%): Overpriced and not especially dry German white. Some stone fruit; the sweetness hangs around as if the producer couldn’t decide whether to make a focus group wine or a German wine. Imported by Loosen Bros.

• Viticoltori Acquesi Brachetto d’Acqui NV ($18, sample, 65%): This fizzy Italian red is very sweet and almost creamy. Whether you want to pay $18 for this style of wine is up to you. Imported by Mack & Schuhle

Expensive wine 146: Smith-Madrone Riesling 2017

Smith-Madrone riesling
Smith-Madrone riesling/$30-$35

Smith-Madrone’s riesling is a top-notch New World take on a classic grape

Once more into the riesling breach, dear readers: And why not? I’ve probably tasted more reislings over the past 18 months than I have in the blog’s entire 14 year history. And I’ve rarely been disappointed. The Smith-Madrone, despite California’s lackluster track record with the grape, is just one more reason to sip and smile.

The Smith-Madrone riesling 2017 ($35, sample, 12.9%) combines New World-style fruitiness with the varietal characteristics that make great riesling so much fun to drink. In other words, not sweet for the sake of sweetness, and not some kind of fruity confection because, you know, that’s what Americans drink.

Look for lime zest, a bit of tingliness in the back, a hint of petrol, some sweetness floating around to remind you it’s riesling, just enough acidity to greet the sweetness, and stoniness in the finish. In fact, this is one of the few times where the wine geek descriptor “wet stone” almost makes sense.

Highly recommended – the kind of wine that people who don’t think they like riesling should try. Even the very tough crowd on CellarTracker (the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app) like this wine. And the usually only like high-end Napa wines.

Mini-reviews 146: AIX, Marques de Caceres, Ponga, Clean Slate

summer wine
“What does the WC suggest for summer wine drinking?”

Reviews 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. This month, four summer wines.

• AIX Rose 2020 ($20, purchased, 12.5%): Hugely popular Provencal pink made for the U.S. wine drinker who wants all wine to taste like it came from California. So this is softer and fruitier (watermelon and strawberry), with less minerality. Nothing wrong with it if that’s what you think Provencal should taste like — and if you think that’s what rose should cost. Imported by Kobrand

• Marques de Cáceres Verdejo 2020 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): This Spanish white is much more supermarket in style than the 2018, which was terrific. It’s just tart (lemon?) and not much else. Not badly made — just not as nicely done as the 2018. Imported by Vineyard Brands

• Ponga Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($14, sample, 12.5%): Well-made supermarket sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. Yes, lots of grapefruit, but hints of one or two other things stashed in the middle that make it more than it should be. Sadly, this wine would cost $9.99 in a perfect world. Imported by Winebow

• Clean Slate Riesling 2019 ($10, sample, 10,5%): Disappointing German riesling made in the “focus group” style. That means appreciably and annoyingly sweet and devoid of almost all riesling character save for some sort of peach something or other. This is the kind of $10 wine the industry gives us because they assume we don’t know any better. Imported by Mondovino

Photo:“Glass of White Wine” by Smabs Sputzer (1956-2017) is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Wine and food pairings 12: Hot dogs (because everyone refuses to believe it can be done)

hot dogsThe Wine Curmudgeon pairs wine with some of his favorite recipes in this occasional feature. This edition: three wines with hot dogs — a fancy version, but hot dogs nonetheless.

The Wine Curmudgeon once hosted a weekend cookout where the main dish was hot dogs. To which one of the guests sneered: “I’d like to see that — drinking wine with hot dogs.”

Oh ye of little faith. Wine is not reserved for $100 dinners or dishes made with three sauces. Wine is for dinner — no matter what dinner is. Which, of course, has been the point of the blog for almost 14 years. Hence, wine with hot dogs, which is something I’ve wanted to write about since my Cordon Bleu teaching days. We did part of a class where the students paired wine with fast food, to show people learning haute cuisine that wine didn’t have to be haute.

This version, called Hot Dog Boats and adapted from the Tastemade/Tasty cooking hegemony, is much fancier than those 8 for 99 cent hot dogs served on the buns that fall apart as soon as you pick them up. A compound butter, and par-baking the buns even. But it’s well worth the effort — think of it as a chili cheese dog for people who want to take the hot dog to the next level.

Click here to download or print a PDF of the recipe. Pairing hot dogs isn’t as difficult or as goofy as it seems. It’s a sausage, after all, and the Germans and the French in Alsace have doing wine and sausages for centuries. These wines will get you started:

• Old Soul Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ($12, sample, 13.7%): This is a simple, Lodi-style cab, so there’s lots of sweet berry fruit. But it’s more than just another sweet red wine, with a bit of heft in the back for balance. A fine value.

• Inazio Urruzola Rosado 2019 ($16, sample, 10.5%): Interesting Spanish rose from the Basque region that’s made with truly obscure grapes. It’s  lemony and savory, and not what most people expect. Imported by Winesellers, Ltd

• August Kesseler Riesling Kabinett 2018 ($13, purchased, 10.5%): Zippy, oily, and sweetish German riesling, with some lime and stone fruit. Because riesling with sausages. Highly recommended. Imported by Vineyard Brands

Blog associate editor Churro contributed to this post.

Full disclosure: One of these days, I’ll remember take a picture of the dish; the one accompanying the post is from Tasty.

More about wine and food pairings:
• Wine and food pairings 11: Croque monsieur, turkey style
• Wine and food pairings 10: Lemon rosemary roasted turkey thighs
• Wine and food pairings 9: Mushroom ragu

Slider photo: “Rome Elite Event: wine, food and nice people” by Yelp.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Wine to drink during rolling power blackouts

power blackouts
The idea is to have cheap wine in the house so you don’t have to drive in this mess to buy cheap wine to drink during rolling power blackouts.

Three wines to drink during Texas’ rolling power blackouts — because that’s when you really need quality cheap wine

The weather in Dallas for the past 10 days has been exceptional – record, almost sub-zero cold and more snow in a couple of days than we usually get in a couple of years. As such, we’ve had rolling power blackouts thanks to the unprecedented electrical demand. Here at Wine Curmudgeon World Headquarters in Dallas, the power went off eight times between Sunday and Wednesday — and I was luckier than most, who didn’t have any power at all. And a friend in suburban Arlington lost water, and had to use snow to flush the toilet.

Fortunately, I have lots of sweaters, as well as flashlights positioned around the house. Churro, the blog’s associate editor, showed grace under pressure — he barely objected when I wiped his feet off after a trip outside.

The situation raises two questions: First, how did the state’s grid operator get in this mess, which isn’t really in the purview of the blog (though I have had long experience with Texas’ electricity ineptness). Second, what wine to drink during rolling power blackouts?

Fortunately, the WC has the second one covered:

• Grunhaus Maximin Riesling 2017 ($15, purchased, 11%): One more very pleasant German riesling surprise – sort of sweet, lemony, almost sparkly. It’s not complicated, but it is German in style. Highly recommended. Imported by Loosen Bros. USA

• Fantini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): This vintage of an always dependable Italian red blend is a touch more interesting – a little earthier, more intriguing cherry fruit, and a little more complex. Just the thing for my mom’s spaghetti and meatballs, and especially when it’s snowing outside. Imported by Empson USA

• Marquis de la Tour Brut NV ($10, purchased, 11%): This French bubbly from the Loire, made in the charmat style, is soft, a little sweet (honey?), with tight bubbles and lemon and apple fruit. Very nicely done, and especially for the price. Imported by Palm Bay International

More about wine and weather:
• Porch wine for the long, hot summer
• Wine to drink when the electricity goes out – yet again
• Wine to drink when the air conditioner is replaced

Photo courtesy of Dallas Morning News