White Wine of the Week | White Wine Reviews

Whites and bubblies you can grab in the Twin Cities for under $15. Expect a new wine to be revealed each Thursday(ish).

Chateau Haut Rian Bordeaux Blanc

Cost: Average price $14

Where buy now: North Loop Wines & Spirits for $12.99

Grapes: 60% Sémillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc

Region: France

Vintage: 2011

Chateau Haut Rian

You know that point in the evening when you have a great buzz going and you start attacking your liquor cabinet or wine rack for your next fix?

How many times have you been super excited about some top shelf liquor or expensive wine that you love and you insist, your guests must love, too.

Of course, that comes after hours of drinking. It makes complete sense since your inhibitions are down and you “love everybody” to gush on about your favorite libation for all to try.

Then, you awake around Noon to find that bottle is not only empty but so is your soul until you can get that throbbing headache to go away. How could you have done it? Opened that bottle you were saving for some other occasion and now it’s gone. Worse yet, you don’t even remember tasting it. It was just another drop, some more of that drug to keep your buzz high.

Well, I’m happy to report that I didn’t let that happen at a soiree I hosted over Labor Day weekend. Oh – I got to that point of the night where I’m perusing anything and everything to keep us drunk and get us drunker but i didn’t pull out the super-duper expensive stuff.

Instead, I opted for this modest Bordeaux Blanc. I knew if I pulled a white wine out late in the evening, I wouldn’t be as tempted to drink it all. Don’t ask what that logic is or was, I just know it’s good to know yourself, your limits, your boundaries. . .this is one of mine.

I was introduced to this wine at North Loop Wines & Spirits by Brandon. The French wine guru if I ever did meet one. This guy is dangerous. He told me good and bad news at my last visit. Good news, he’s moving to France for a year and half to study for his Masters. Bad news, I’m going to miss his wealth of knowledge. Good news, because it will be better for my pocketbook. Ah – so bittersweet.

I could listen to him talk all day. I was writing copious notes as the French language rolled off his tongue. I was trying to keep up and repeat the French words but sadly, I didn’t sound like a fair French maiden. I sounded like I had a glandular problem choking on my own saliva. That back throated, nasally inflection turns out to sound like shit when you’re stuttering your way through the words.

I digress, I definitely exceeded my budget on this visit. But, he told me about this wine which was a nice Bordeaux Blanc right in my wheel-house at $12.99.This wine is a delightful white that is 60% Sémillon and 40% Sauvignon Blanc. It’s golden green hue emotes scents of light citrus, floral notes, a touch of grass and minerals. The taste is fresh and balanced. You taste citrus, melon and mineral concentrations. The Sémillon produces a great balance of flavor and heavier texture to the crisp acidity and grassiness of the Sauvignon Blanc. It’s delicious and mild.

This wine will stand up on it’s own. Perfect for a lazy Sunday or in the evening as you watch the sunset. You can parlay that after work glass into dinner. This pairs well with rotisserie chicken, fish, oysters, salad, goat cheese, grilled vegetables, a bagel and cream cheese (for you breakfast for dinner kinda folk). It’s just so versatile. Pop it and drink it.

I’m glad I brought this out around 1 am, enough for that last sip before passing out. I was so happy to see a ⅔ full bottle in the fridge when I awoke the next day, not that I wanted one lick of wine but I was content knowing when I was ready, that bottle would be there.

Wolfberger Pinot Blanc

Cost: Average price $16.99

Where buy now: Byerly’s Ridgedale, Sale: Buy one, Get one 1/2 price = $8.50/bottle

Grapes: Pinot Blanc

Region: Alsace, France

Vintage: 2010

Wolfberger Pinot Blanc

You must try this wine!” says my trusted Byerly’s “@winestud”, Rodney, during a recent visit. Really? It’s Alsatian white wine, big deal. Perhaps it was my mood, but I’d never had a wine from the NE region of France that’d ever tripped my trigger. No, he insisted, and tucked it in my wine tote.

Flash forward a few days later. I was perusing my wine rack, gazing at all the bottles (that seem to keep dwindling) and saw this. OK, yeah: Rodney’s pick.

Well, I’ve found my new fried chicken wine. I know, classy. But, truly, this is it. Hey, I can eat with the fanciest of the fancy, but fried chicken has a special place in my heart. The crispy, seasoned coating, the juicy thigh and leg, the grease glistening on your finger tips. It’s all working and on so many levels. [You may recall my poetic waxing last Spring: http://thesavvylush.com/white-wine-of-the-week-|-white-wine-reviews/twin-islands-sauvignon-blanc.html/The Savvy Lush

You’ll need a wine to cut through all that: enhance the flavors, yet balance them out. Oh, Alsatian Pinot Blanc, I sing your praises.

This wine is more than meets the eye. Upon first glance, this is a pale yellow libation with scents of citrus. Try swirling the wine around in the glass with your hand on top. Remove your hand and stick your nose in, you’ll discover different notes popping out at you. I smelled lemon pith, peach and citrus fruits. I smelled again and then caught a very small, sweet undertone, which reminded me of a macaroon.

This wine has a medium body and the acidic tastes of the citrus fruit are rounded out by a slight peach flavor and a light macaroon/vanilla whisper. It was crisp, light yet tart and savory. I thoroughly enjoyed sipping this whilst getting all carnivorous with my fried chicken treat.

Fried chicken not your bag? I [probably] won’t accuse you of being Communist, so here’s another food pairing idea: with a tried and true grilled cheese. Try using Muenster-it’s creamy and melty. I like to slather some Dijon mustard on one side before grilling.

Nora Albariño

Cost: Average price $14

Where buy now: Surdyk’s

Grapes: Albariño

Region: Spain

Vintage: 2010

Nora Albariño

So it was yet another hot weekend, and I was home alone. What’s a girl to do? Well, let me tell you what I did. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I watched the classic 90’s movie “Singles”. This will surely date me, but I don’t care. I totally bought into the grunge era: music, wardrobe, dirty hair and all. I had a bowlful of white gazpacho left and looked into my wine selection. Aha, Nora Albariño, that sounds good. I cued up the movie and garnished my soup with chives, cucumbers and fresh sweet tomatoes. The Albariño was chilled perfectly so pour away I did.

I’m new to Albariño, but know that they can vary in sweetness. It may be “dumbing it down”, but I’d explain it as sitting on the spectrum between Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The Nora Albariño definitely sides more toward the acidic & tart variety. I’d liken it to a Sauvignon Blanc, but with a slightly fuller body due to the aging in oak. Also, this is not as thick and syrupy as some Chardonnays, for those who say they don’t like oaked Chards.

This wine was light golden in color and the fragrance included hints of apple, green grapes, peach and herbs. On the palate, citrus fruit, herbs and floral minerality emerge. I did some digging and the vineyard where the grapes are grown are surrounded by pine and eucalyptus. Aha, those scents must waft and swirl around the vines imparting their essence into the grapes. I am not saying you are drinking a glass of gin; but rather suggesting that, beyond the citrus and stone fruit, you get hints of the surroundings that play along.

I continued to enjoy the way the crisp and vibrant Albariño danced in my mouth, and I must say, this went swimmingly with the creamy gazpacho.

White Gazpacho

This taste experience was made even better, as I enjoyed watching a young Eddie Vedder [hey, that kind of rhymed] portray the Citizen Dick drummer, and 20-somethings are “finding themselves” in Seattle set to the sounds of the late 80s-early 90s. I finished the soup but continued sipping the Albariño. I noticed a smile on my face as I was listening to Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Jimi Hendrix (yep, from Seattle, and on the must-have soundtrack).

While I’m not rushing to bring back that whole look, I did go in search of my old flannel that I’ve kept in the bottom of a storage box. Some things, like comfy clothes or a good gazpacho/wine pairing, never really go out of style.