Wannabe Wino

The wine for the dreadfully hot afternoon was a 2007 Spier Sauvignon Blanc. I picked this bottle up at Total Wine and More in Alexandria as part of a mixed case of under $10 Sauvignon Blancs. I was hoping that would get us through a bit of the summer, but alas, it's only June 19 and the case is gone. Another Total Wine trip may have to work its way into my weekend plans.

The wine hails from South Africa and is made by Spier Stellenbosch. More specifically it is from the Western Cape, had a plastic cork closure, and clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume.

Figs, tropical fruit, tart grass (yes, I realize that sounds strange and it would probably be me aptly described as freshly mowed grass, but tart was the first adjective that popped into my head), asparagus, and citrus. In the mouth, I got a fruit salad. Peach, fig, pineapple, citrus, melon, it was the drinkable equivalent of a refreshing hot afternoon snack.

The wine was crisp, but not mouth puckeringly so like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and exceedingly refreshing. Matt gave this one some high praise, proclaiming it "very drinkable." For an inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc, this is definitely a great value.

That was my first thought on opening tonight's wine. The wine was a Burger Family 2006 Rietvallei Red Muscadel. It hails from South Africa, cost me $16.99 at Tinderbox in Atlanta, and clocked in at a hefty 16% alcohol by volume. It had one of those half cork with a plastic top closures. Sorry no pictures, I'm traveling and don't have my camera.

The color was that of a very dark rose. I've never had a Red Muscadel, or a white one for that matter. The nose was sweet, very sweet, like candied raisins. Honey also dominated, which I thought strange for a red wine. The taste and smell were almost port-like. I realize this is a dessert wine, but the high alcohol, raisin scent and flavor all scream port to me. As did the firey way it went down my throat.

I really do think someone who enjoys Port would love this wine. It doesn't quite have the nuances of a Port, but I could see if being very good with dessert, particularly a vanilla ice cream with this drizzled over it, or a chocolate tort.

Which to me means we have shifted almost entirely away from the heavy reds I love so much for the winter and into the Sauvignon Blancs, Roses, Gruner Veltliners, Albarinos, and, oh, who are we kidding, any crisp white wine that will beat the heat and humidity that comes from living in a swamp.

With that in mind, the wine for the evening was a 2007 Ken Forrester Sauvignon Blanc. The wine had a screw cap closure, hailed from Stellenbosch, South Africa, clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and cost me $14.99 at The Winery in Old Town Alexandria.

Dominate on the nose of this one was asparagus. There was no mistaking that one!. Other aromas were grass, gooseberries, lime, and a touch of pepper, the vegetable kind! In the mouth I found lime, gooseberries, citrus, grass, and more of the green pepper.

This was a very tasty and spicy (because of the pepper) Sauvignon Blanc. Perfect for the weather and great with all the lighter cold pasta salads and white fish we'll be eating all summer long!

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Bottlenotes.

Or rather, to a Pinotage/Shiraz blend. I received this wine quite a while ago as a part of a blogger trial of Bottlenotes. For the trial, I was given a credit at Bottlenotes which I could use to try out any of their wineclubs. I chose the Dinner Party club, and received this Pinotage/Shiraz in a shipment along with a bottle of Petite Sirah Port that I have yet to try.

The wine was a 2006 Seven Sisters "Dawn" Pinotage/Shiraz from South Africa. It can be purchased from Bottlenotes for $14.99. It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, and was a blend of 60% Pinotage/40% Shiraz.

This wine was honestly fabulous. It's been a few months since I drank it, but I can still remember what it tasted like, and what an incredible value it was. I'd never had a Pinotage before and I was happy to try one and was delighted to find a new grape to love. I will certainly seek out Pinotage again.

The nose of the wine was plummy and spicy. Dark black fruit shone through, with pepper and earth. Vanilla cream emerged after some time in the glass. The wine was very fruity on the nose, while being dark with smoke and earth at the same time. In the mouth I found plums, dark fruit, blackberries, and earth. The wine was tannic, it needed some time to air, but after an hour was completely smoothed out and kept evolving.

An excellent value for the price.

*Disclaimer: I received this bottle of wine from Bottlenotes as part of a sample pack.

Several months ago (okay, perhaps more like 6 months ago) a PR firm for the wine club and online wine store Bottlenotes contacted me and asked if I would like to participate in a blogger trial of their online wine club. They gave me a credit which I could use to join any of their many clubs for a few months. After perusing the options, I chose the Dinner Party Club for 3 months, 2 bottles at a time. Though I must admit, I was sorely tempted by the Little Black Dress Club, I was curious about a wine club geared toward women and touted by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow!

The concept behind the Dinner Party Club is just that, a dinner party worth of wines in a box. Though I would guess to get the full experience you would have to go for a larger shipment than the 2 bottle one, since that would give you the whole meal!

I had to ship the club to my parents' house, since at the time (not sure if that's changed) Bottlenotes could not ship to Virginia. The shipments arrived like clockwork on my parents' doorstep and I was eager to collect them over Christmas as I had been reading the emails with what the shipments contained for months.

My second shipment brought a bottle of white and a bottle of red. The white, which I will review here, was a 2006 Amehlo, which can be purchased for $14.50 and the red a Cabernet Sauvignon that I have yet to taste.

The Amehlo comes from Alain Moueix in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume and was a blend of 63% Sauvignon Blanc and 37% Semillon grapes. Because I was curious, and the label told me, Amehlo means "the eye" and represents the leopards that live by the vineyard.

On the nose of the wine I found pineapple butter. It was neither pineapple or butter, but what I would imagine a spread made in apple butter style but with pineapple instead would smell like. I also got pear, pastry cream (the kind of custard like stuff in eclairs) and an almost minty/herbal aroma. The nose was dominated by tropical flavors. The nose was unlike any other wine I've smelled. In the mouth I found lemon cream, tropical fruit, and a bit of a grassy flavor. The wine was crisp with a really light mouth feel that I didn't expect after the nose. The flavors were clean.

The wine was very different overall. I've never had a blend of these two grapes before, so I like that it got me to try something I likely would never have picked up in the store. We drank this on it's own, which was great, but I think it would do well with a light white fish dish or with cheese and crackers!

So there you have it. I drink what I want, when I want, regardless of the weather :) We drank quite a bit of Sauvignon Blanc over the last month or so, and particularly over the holiday season. The particular bottle for this night was a Nederburg 2005 Sauvignon Blanc from the Westeer Cape of South Africa. The wine clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume and cost me $11.95 at MV Wine and Spirit.

On the nose I found kiwi, gooseberries, tropical fruit, and flowers. I really liked the nose on this wine. In the mouth the wine showed gooseberry, citrus-particularly lemon and lime, and a hint of tropical fruit.

The wine was crisp overall, and tart, but not mouth-puckering like some New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, and softer than some of the bottles I've been drinking from Chile. I thought this bottle was a good value and one I wouldn't hesitate to pick up again.

The bottle was a "Beyond" 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, by a winery named Buitenverwachting. Hailing from South Africa, the wine cost me $12.99 at the Winery, had a real cork, and clocked in at 12.5% alcohol by volume.

On the nose the wine smelled creamy. I found aromas of lemon, lime, and grapefruit. In the mouth, the aromas of the nose followed through, with the wine also seeming a bit floral. It was crisp, but it felt heavier in the mouth than I am used to for a Sauvignon Blanc. Overall, I liked the display of citrus in the wine.

I served it with snow crab leg clusters with drawn butter and fresh lemon. I tend to love to pair this meal with a Sauvignon Blanc and this was no exception!

The wine is the 2005 Indaba Sauvignon Blanc. I grabbed the bottle at Total Wine for three reasons, one, it was cheap, only $7.99, two, I liked the design on the front, and three, the word "Indaba" rang a bell and it irked me, so I wanted to figure out why.

Upon examining the label closely when I returned home, I discovered that the wine was 12.5% alcohol by volume, had a screw-cap, and was from the Western Cape of South Africa. And the word "Indaba?" It means a gathering, a forum for sharing, in Zulu. I knew it sounded familiar, I remember it from one of my all-time favorite books, The Power of One.

Anywho, what I found in the bottle was a nose of lemon and grass with a hint of tropical fruit. The wine was very lemony in the mouth with herbal notes and limes. Overall, the wine was crisp, but not very complex. A perfect wine to take on a picnic or to the beach, especially with the screw-cap!

You didn't believe me about the deluge of Sauvignon Blanc I would be drinking, did you? If you were living in mid-to-high 90s weather with 100% humidty, you would be downing Sauvignon Blanc like it was going out of style as well!

We drank this 2006 Fat Ladies Sauvignon Blanc from the Western Cape of South Africa while sitting around the other night. (See, I can break out of the box...South Africa instead of Marlborough!) It had a screw-cap, cost me $7.99 at Total Wine, and was 12.5% alcohol by volume.

On those nose I found grapefruit, tropical fruits and lemons. The wine was very aromatic, I definitely didn't need to get my nose wet to smell this one. (Come on, I know you've done it too, stuck your nose so far into the glass that you actually get wine on your nose? No? It's just me? Well, it certainly wouldn't be the first time I've admitted to being an odd duck.)

In the mouth I found more grapefruit, tangerines, lemons and oddly enough, what I can only describe as orange creamsicles. It almost made me want an orange creamsicle, until I realized I'd prefer to have the wine.

Overall, I'd describe the wine as displaying very good citrus flavors while not going over the edge into overally acidic or tart. With the creamsicle flavor, I'd say the wine was smooth and it had a creamy character to the mouth that I don't find in the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs I've been drinking. Another great value for everyday drinking from Total Wine.

Last night we opened the last bottle from my most recent quest for everyday wine at the Curious Grape. This was a 2006 Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc. I picked it up for $10.99, it's 12.5% alcohol by volume and had a real cork closure.

My kind of Sauvignon Blanc! Big ol' grapefruit and nothing much else, but that's okay with me. I love the crisp citrus flavors of this style of Sauvignon Blanc. The grapefruit was all over the nose and in the mouth of this wine.

I served this with ham, cheese and pineapple omlettes last night. It was actually a really good match. Although this wine was fairly simple, it was a great and inexpensive everyday wine and I'd definitely get it again.