Tag Archives: white wine review

Poggio Anima Uriel Grillo

Cost: Average price $13-15

Where buy now: Sorella Wines & Spirits, Zipp’s, The Wine Thief, Surdyks

Grapes: Grillo/p>

Region: Sicily, Italy

Vintage: 2010

Poggio Anima Uriel Grillo

This has been the Winter of white wines. Contrary to my usual Winter drinking, in 2013, white wine consumption rivaled the red wine. Expanding pallet? Different diet? Maybe, but it likely has more to do with the fact that I just love discovering new wines to love. I love to love wine.

Oh look- the folks I love at Poggio Anima, makers of delightful reds (see http://bit.ly/OIm8wx/Poggio Anima Belial and http://bit.ly/12oY3jD/Poggio Anima Asmodeus) are making white wine, too! The Poggio Anima Uriel is 100% Grillo. Grillo is a Sicilian grape that is often used to make Marsala, a fortified wine. It’s also used in varietal blends such as my personal favorite, Insolia, in addition to Sicilian Chardonnay & Catarratto. It is not a varietal I have seen in pure form, however.

I’ve bought this bottle a few times already as it’s become my after work go-to “cocktail”. Poggio Anima’s Uriel Grillo smells of tropical fruits, apricots and peaches. It’s aged in stainless steel, so no oaky thickness here. The tropical fruit is light and refreshing yet this wine has a rounded mouthfeel with balanced minerality and acidity, completed with a snappy finish. If you like Pinot Grigio or Soave, give this a try. If you like dry Riesling, give this a try. It doesn’t contain the same amount of sweetness but a similar mouthfeel and tropical fruity goodness.

There are few writers I trust implicitly, and one of them is local fave, Bill Ward. He writes Lifestyle & Wine (rather redundant, really) pieces for the Star Tribune. Even better, check out his website: Decant This, http://www.decant-this.com/Decant This He’s witty, descriptive and I always seem to align with his thought process. Bonus, he’s a hoot with a great sense of humor to match his Tennessee drawl. I noticed on FaceBook he was sampling a Grillo of a different brand. He said it had mineral goodness, lemon flavor and a stark finish. The folks he was sampling it with were all giving it glowing reviews.

This has become a household staple and I know you’ll dig it just the same. Plus, with a sale price tag of under $13, it’s hardly a gamble. Bring this puppy to your Spring/Summer grill outs and impress your white wine drinking friends with this gem. Or, just crank the heat, hunker down, and start practicing for outdoor drinking season.

Kung Fu Girl Riesling

Cost: Average price $12

Where buy now: Elevated Wines & Spirits ($10 at Surdyk’s Spring Wine Sale)

Grapes: Riesling

Region: Washington State

Vintage: 2010

Kung Fu Girl Riesling

I can’t believe I’m writing about an American Riesling. Not because I’m a hater-I look at every wine I dislike as a missed romance- my palate is just not about syrupy, sweet wines. American Rieslings have a reputation of being sweet and thick. While “sweet” and “thick” can be very desirable adjectives for certain things in life, wine is not one of them.

I checked out the new(ish) Elevated Wines & Spirits in South Mpls off Hiawatha Ave. I was welcomed by warm employees as I walked into this great space full of craft beer and wine. The New France [local distributor] rep, Erin, was pouring delicious wines. I told her I was going to make some spicy Mandarin chicken and she asked if I’d tried Kung Fu Girl Riesling. At first I balked at it, seeing it hails from Washington State. Erin told me that she’s not a Riesling drinker by nature but loved this one. So, I took her advice and off I went.

Kung Fu Girl is bursting with zingy apricot, tart apple and peachy floral aromas and tastes. It’s smooth and silky with a layer of lime balanced by minerality. It’s truly an off-dry Riesling and I haven’t had an American one that mimics a German Riesling.

‘Tis the season for corned beef and cabbage, so, on a hunch, I bought another bottle. Constructing the perfect Reuben is quite important to me. The corned beef must be shredded, topped with Frank’s sauerkraut, thick swiss cheese & a healthy dollop of Thousand Island dressing. Oh, and it had better end up between marble rye. I must tell you the Kung Fu Girl Riesling was a pleasant surprise. The zing and tart, balanced by sweetness and minerality, cut through the thick beef/kraut/dressing veil- complimenting it rather than competing with it. This was wine/sandwich perfection. Get your corned beef on for St. Paddy’s Day and I defy you to go against the norm and pair it with this Riesling.

Corned beef aside, this will be my go-to wine for spicy food. it paired swimmingly well with Mandarin Chicken (kissed with Sriracha). I can also see this pairing well with a burrito al pastor, possibly Pad Thai. It’s also going to be a superb Summer sipper. Erin, you vino matchmaking genius, I can’t thank you enough for persuading me to take this girl home.

Fattoria Colmone della Marca Bianco del Moro

Cost: Average price $19

Where buy now: Zipp’s Liquors, South Lyndale

Grapes: Sangiovese

Region: Le Marche, Italy

Vintage: 2010

Fattoria Colmone della Marca Bianco del Moro

Get this: a white wine made of 100% Sangiovese grapes. It’s truly unlike any other wine I’ve ever had -in all the best ways- a white wine in a red wine’s body.  

What? Did I just blow your mind?

I found out about Fattoria Colmone della Marca due to their familial connection with Famiglia Meschini, whom I’ve sung their praises in past reviews. It just so happens Eugenio Meschini’s cousin, Giovanni, who resides in Italy, not only makes great wine, but also helps run a five star restaurant, Ristorante A Piero! One, a wine maker in Argentina, the other a wine maker/gourmet restauranteur in Italy! Can I marry into this family, already?

One gorgeous Summer evening I had the pleasure of meeting Giovanni whilst tasting his wines. We chatted about food and wine in a mixture of his Italian and broken English and my English and broken Italian. “I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night and still have asked for more.”- the in/famous song from My Fair Lady swam in my head.

Amanda, Giovanni & me

I enjoyed all his wines, but this, this was special- I needed to write about it toot sweet.

So we all know grape juice is clear. (Well, if “we” don’t, now you do.) It’s only the contact of the juice with skins of red, purple and black grapes that give red and rose wines their hue. For this wine, the juice is extracted from Sangiovese grapes, hardly exposed to the skins, resulting in a clear white wine culled from a red grape.

FC’s Bianco del Moro has floral and apple notes. It’s acidic and fresh but has a smoother and creamier body than you’d expect. This is a great year-round white wine. In the Summer, it will taste great with grilled fish, seafood, chicken and green or pasta salads. In the Winter, it tastes amazing with a mixed green salad of romaine, arugula, herbs and gorgonzola cheese. In fact, I’m not sure what happened in my mouth, but I swear the combination of gorgonzola cheese and this wine tasted a bit like red sauce [aka my people’s gravy]. I know you probably think I’m stretching here. Truly, I couldn’t stop eating bite after bite of gorgonzolistic salad washing each morsel down with a sip of this wine. Repeatedly. Over and over. Could…not…stop.

This wine is so very fun, delicious and versatile. You must try it. While it may confuse at first, it will please white and red wine drinkers alike. Yes, this white in a red’s body- akin to a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or perhaps a transgender wine. [Can you really say “transgender” wine? I guess I just did!] Enjoy this: