Tag Archives: White wine

Famiglia Meschini Premium Unoaked Chardonnay

Cost: Average price $12

Where buy now: Sorella Wines, Zipp’s Liquors, South Lyndale Wines

Grapes: Chardonnay

Region: Argentina

Vintage: 2011

Famiglia Meschini Unoaked Chardonnay

The sun is shining once again in our neck of the woods. The veil of clouds, snow, snow-rain mix, sleet and other unwanted precipitation seems to have given way to the golden green of Spring.

My once dark, dead eyes have now opened up, and to what? To Unoaked Chardonnay.

For regular readers of The Savvy Lush, it should be no surprise that I’m shouting the praises, once again, for a Famiglia Meschini creation. Read one that gives a little Meschini history: http://bit.ly/15vRaQd/Famiglia Meschini This wine is 100% Chardonnay that doesn’t touch a lick of oak. Therefore, the buttery, syrupy pear tastes Chardonnay is often associated with are not what you’ll find. Instead, you’ll experience a brighter Chardonnay; one that expresses itself with crisper and more tropical fruit notes. It’s not tart but has snappy acidity that balances out the tropical fruit and light citrus tastes.

I couldn’t have chosen a better wine to inaugurate this beautiful weather we’ve so longed for. Unoaked Chardonnay is a must have at any warm weather social occasion. It will have your white wine drinkers happy and it’ll surprise the hell out of those exclaiming, “I don’t care for Chardonnay.” Win-win

If you love Chardonnay, and are willing to try a twist on the theme, pick this up. If you love Sauvignon Blanc, Soave, Pinot Grigio; pick this up. Plus, at around $10 – this could quickly move straight into your weekly wine night rotation. (PS – it’s on sale at Zipp’s right now!)

Salud!

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.

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: