Tag Archives: wine blogger

Elicio Rosé

Cost: Average price $10

Where buy now: Sorella Wines & Spirits Sale – $5

Grapes: Grenache & Cinsault

Region: France

Vintage: 2011

Elicio Rose

Rosé typically rings in Spring, but with the sub-freezing BS throughout March, Spring seems eons away. I’m grasping for anything to help remind me that better weather will be here. Remember what your patio looked like? Remember the smell of multiple grills burning food stuffs throughout the neighborhood? Remember not cursing to yourself every time you walked outside?

Besides sucking down 5,000 IUs of Vitamin D and gluing my face to my light box, Rosé will be my third little helper. This trifecta will prevent my soul from succumbing to this never-ending weather suckage.

Today, I was right hungover. After seeing my new favorite local band, The Blackberry Brandy Boys, then staying up eating pizza with the hubby, watching Netflix until we passed out on the couch around 4am, I “made my bed”. So I laid in it. Well, on a reformer carriage. I got my sad ass out of bed for my 11:30 Pilates class then laid around watching some March Madness.

Later, we met a friend at Sorella Wines & Spirits for their Spring wine sale. There were tons of wines to sample and I didn’t want a one. I wanted a bed and maybe a doobie to help me slip off into a winter slumber. My husband got a glass and went with- the old “hair of the dog” strategery. He emphatically sang the praises for the Elicio Rosé. That’s right, my husband is a pink wine drinker. Listen up all you men: there’s no shame in this. A lady loves to see a man bury his face in a pink glass to check out the nose, then wrap his eager lips around the glass as he confidently wets them with the pink nectar.

Anyways, *ahem*, his sheer excitement was quite refreshing for these tired eyes so we grabbed a glass to join in. Wow. The nose had a strawberry/watermelony whiff. Not sweet like a jolly rancher but a bright fruit forward flavor, creamy body, balanced by a mineral dryness. We took a sip, then looked at each other. It’s good. Really good. Wait, it’s on sale for $5? It’s stupid good!

Now, we are counting down the days for Solo Vino’s Rosé Tent Tasting May 19th. Perhaps you think our standards for Rosé are low due to anticipation, but I don’t think so. I think this is some damn good French juice, so at this price, I had no choice but to stock up. If you’re at all on the fence about Rosé, pick this bottle up and give it a try, a $5 non-gamble that will have you sucking down bottle after bottle. So, if we can’t have Springtime physically, we can at the very least, have it mentally. This Elicio Rosé will help get you there, at least until the real thing arrives.

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.