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Wine Details
Price:
Description:
e continue to note that the paucity of distinctive, delicious, inexpensive white wine manifests itself in the wild success of Big House White™. Even if the label leads one to believe we throw anything and everything at the wine, there is a conscious mind at work behind its slightly formulaic conjuring which imagines something like 2 parts crisp herbal sauvignon / colombard / chenin blanc; 3 parts rich, fruitful pinot grigio / pinot blanc / viognier; and 1 part aromatic riesling / malvasia / muscat. Your blend at home may vary. Happily, there is always an element of serendipity at work. Just when you are about to give up trying to get the wine from satisfactory to utterly delicious, the perfect cuvée of vermentino or roussanne is brought into the yard restoring order to the world. Crisp and fragrant with notes of Asian pear, grapefruit and wild mountain honey, the wine, despite its melting pot constituent parts, reminds us of nothing so much as the Friulian blends which are its inspiration.
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Varietal Definition
Chenin Blanc:
Classic white varietal of France's Loire Valley and now grown throughout the world. Known for its rather unusual 'wet-wool', 'damp straw' aromas, it tends to be more floral than fruity when young and gives high acidity, growing well in marginal climates. It ages well and its susceptibility to 'botrytis'* produces some of the great sweet wines of the Loire, for example Quarts de Chaume and Vouvray. It is grown widely in South Africa where it is known as 'Steen'.
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Colombard:
Better known as French Colombard in North America. Acidic grape crushed by some northern Californian producers and made into a fruity white wine of simple character in both dry and sweet versions. Mainly grown in California to provide acidic backbone for white "jug" wine blends. Still grown in France where it is used for white wine blends known as "Bordeaux Blanc" and is also used for distilling into brandy. Also widely grown in South Africa.
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Malvasia:
Semi-classic grape cepage of ancient, probably Greek, origin. Widely grown in Italy as distinctive area sub-varieties, such as Malvasia di Candia, Malvasia Istriana etc. Used to produce dry and sweet white, and light red, wines with high alcohol content and residual sugar. Also widely grown in Portugal and the island of Madeira where the important wine-name Malmsey is an English word corruption of Malvasia.
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Muscat:
Muscat, thought to be one of the oldest grape varieties, is grown worldwide. It is vinified in a multitude of styles, from still to sparkling, and dry to sweet to fortified. Also called Moscato, Moscatel and Muskateller, it is a sweetly aromatic, fruity grape that has many genetic variations and colors. It probably originated in Greece but maybe the independent sultanate of Muscat in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula had something to do with it. Over 200 different varieties and derivatives to the Muscat family exist today. Muscat Canelli, Orange Muscat and Black Muscat are varieties most planted in California, which makes primarily still wine. More unusual is Muscat fermented to total dryness, which leaves greater alcohol levels and no residual sugar. Some Muscats are aged in oak to provide additional complexity.Today’s recommended Muscats represent many of these styles, so use the tasting notes and percent of residual sugar - listed if provided by the winery - to find a wine you’ll enjoy. The more sugar and the lower the alcohol, the sweeter the wine, though wines above 10 percent alcohol can also be somewhat sweet.
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Pinot Blanc:
White grape popular for the dry white wines it produces. Increasingly grown in California, the Northwest, Northeast, Canada.
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Riesling:
On the sweeter end of the spectrum, some of the best dessert wines should give thanks to the Riesling varietal. Riesling is known for its complementary nature of combining balanced acidity with sugar. Rieslings are made dry to sweet, but it is the sweet style Riesling that brought about its popularity in the United States. With the rise of spicy sauces, marinades and dips to flavor our meal, Riesling plays a part in taking off the edge of the heat. Riesling is known for a number of signature characteristics: floral, citrus and pear. Riesling has peaked in California with 11,000 acres planted. Today, Monterey County’s cool-climate areas and its long growing season produce good amounts of character for the Riesling grape. Outside of
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Roussanne:
Also known as Bergeron in the french Savoie region. Semi-classic grape grown in the Hermitage-Rhone and southern Cotes du Rhone region of France. Still occasionally incorporated into white wine blends, (e.g: with the Marsanne grape wine), because of its acidity and aroma but finding less and less favor.
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Vermentino:
Grape grown in Liguria (Riviera) region of Italy and also in Northern Sardinia where it is used to produce full-bodied, dry white wines that go well with sea-food. Best when young.
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Viognier:
The most acclaimed white wine grape from France's Rhône Valley, Viognier is a highly aromatic varietal, with a flavor profile that could include peach, apricot, nectarine, lichee, musk and flower blossom. The heady perfume of this varietal is one of its trademarks, although its flavors are sometimes problematic in matching with food. However, it does well with lobster, crab and moderately flavored fish. Use it as an apéritif as an alternative to Chardonnay. The "Rhône Rangers" in California have done an excellent job promoting this varietal.
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