Wannabe Wino

I was going to do a nice post today for my 300 post on Wannabe Wino about the past 8 months and all that jazz, but just discovered that the theme for WBW #36 has been posted. And, it's for the 3 year anniversary of WBW, so I would guess that should be a good enough topic for my 300th post!

Lenn of Lenndevours (some of you may have heard of the founder of WBW :)!) is hosting for us for this, the 3rd anniversary of WBW. Congrats to Lenn for starting something so great that has continued on in the blog world for that long!

Our theme for the month is Let's Get Naked! Turn those dirty minds off, there will be no naked pictures on all the wine blogs come the due date of August 8! Instead, Lenn would like everyone to get out there and find a bottle of unoaked Chardonnay. No other requirements, just that the wine has seen no oak. I love this theme, as I have many unoaked Chardonnays in the basement just begging to be consumed.

Lenn has also announced the release of a new central meeting place for all things WBW-related, Wine Blogging Wednesday Community, in addition to a new board of wine bloggers to help him manage WBW. Not to mention that there's a competition going to design a new label for WBW! Lots of news this month. You can read all about it here on Lenndevours.

Oh, and please do stop by My Wine Education to read the excellent round-up of Spanish wines from WBW #35. The reviews are all up, and Michelle and Kevin did a fantastic job. Thanks again for hosting.

Our host for this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday is Michelle of My Wine Education. The theme she has chosen is two-fold, our wine choice should first be from Spain, and second, it should fall into the $10 and under category. Bonus points if you get a wine not from Rioja, in order to think outside the most popular wine-growing areas of Spain.

I know I said I wouldn't return to Total Wine if I were searching for a WBW wine or a specific bottle as it was quite difficult in my opinion to find anything in particular, but this assignment seemed custom built for the Total Wine experience. Namely, the cheap part. I've bought my local wine shops out of inexpensive bottles and none of them came from Spain. So back to Total Wine I went.

The selection was actually pretty good. They had at least two dozens bottles that fell into the under $10 category, however, most were red wines. I really wanted a white or a rose as it is hot in VA and the idea of a heavier red in 100+ degree weather just doesn't appeal all that much to me. So I took my chances with this $7.49 bottle of Osborne Solaz 2005 Blanco Viura.

The wine had a real cork closure, weighs in at 12.5% alcohol by volume and hails from from Tierra de Castilla, a wine region in Toledo, Spain. (Do I get bonus points Michelle?) :)

On the nose the wine was lightly floral, with a hint of lime and just a bit of tropical fruit. However, the nose was very light and I had to keep sniffing at it for quite a while to be able to distinguish the aromas.

In the mouth the wine showed lime and bitter almonds. The limes were not tart or acidic, but what I imagine the limes in Sprite would taste like if I drank soda. I realize that bitter almonds sounds a little odd, but I kept going back to it trying to come up with a better descriptor, but that's really what it was.

I served this wine with king crab legs, butter and fresh squeezed lemons. The note on the bottle actually suggested a pairing with shellfish, and I happened to be serving king crab, so it was time to break out this bottle. It really wasn't fabulous with the crab. I think the strong, fresh lemon flavors overpowered the light qualities of the wine.

Overall, this is a very simple white wine. It showed better on it's own than with food, though something about it suggested it might be a good match with a sharp cheese. It had a light aroma and a light flavor and I can pretty much describe it as neutral. It was easy to sip and drink, but nothing stuck out about it.

Many thanks to Michelle for hosting!

I saw via my Twitter sidebar that Michelle, aka wine-girl, of My Wine Education has announced the next WBW!

In case you are unfamiliar with WBW (Wine Blogging Wednesday) the idea is that once a month, a wine blogger gets together with Lenn, of Lenndevours, the creator of WBW and picks a theme. Then, on the selected Wednesday, lots of wine bloggers and wine lovers raise their glasses to drink a bottle of wine that fits the topic.

In any case, this month's theme is Passionate Spain. And by that, Michelle means go find a bottle of Spanish wine, preferably under $10, red or white. She says she'll give us a little leeway with the price, but not too much! Additionally, she'd love for you to seek out lesser known areas of Spain in your hunt!

Report back to Michelle with the details of your wine by July 11! You can find all the specifics here.