Wannabe Wino

Sorry for the silence around here! I had no way to hook my computer up to the internet since Wednesday and am just getting back online today! We should be back to your regularly scheduled wine programming from here on out, no vacations for the Wannabe Winos for quite some time! I have lots to report on from our Sonoma trip, great new wineries, restaurants, more wine....! All in all, an excellent time was had by all and I really enjoyed getting to meet some of the wine bloggers I've been chatting with for a couple of years now! More on that later.

As for the wine of the night, it was a 2006 Twisted Oak Verdelho from Alta Mesa Silvaspoons Vineyards. The wine arrived in my very first Twisted Oak club shipment, along with Bob my chicken :) It can be purchased from Twisted Oak from $16, clocked in at 13.4% alcohol by volume, and had a screw cap closure.

On the nose I found cream, white pepper, tropical fruit, cantaloupe, peach, and flowers. The wine was very aromatic. I also loved the pale straw color of the wine. In the mouth the wine showed pineapple, peach, citrus, and melons. The wine was surprisingly crisp and very refreshing. We quaffed it on an unusually warm winter evening in the DC area, on its own, and it was perfect.

I've previously reviewed the 2005 version of this wine, which you can read here.

*Disclaimer: I received this bottle from WineQ because I am a member of their Beta Club.

This bottle of 2005 Barreto Cellars Verdelho came several shipments ago from WineQ and I have been very delinquent in reviewing it. It hails from the Lodi appellation on the Central Coast of California. It had a real cork closure, clocks in at 14.7% alcohol by volume, and can be purchased from WineQ for $14.99.

On the nose I found citrus, tropical fruits, honeysuckle, and minerals. The nose was quite aromatic, you didn't have to get too close to your glass to smell this one (hence, I didn't end up with a nose full of wine this time!). In the mouth there were flavors of grapefruit, other citrus, peach, and tropical notes.

Overall the wine was tangy, very very crisp, acidic and a bit different than anything else I've had. I believe this is only my second Verdelho, so I'm still not sure quite what to expect from them, but I really like them. I think this would be a great choice for appetizers at all those upcoming holiday parties as the grapefruit flavors are quite strong and palate cleansing and would do well up against creamy dips and cheeses.

This bottle of Twisted Oak 2005 Verdelho arrived in my very first shipment from WineQ. I have been meaning to try the wines from Twisted Oak for quite some time now, but let's face it, I'm a bit lazy and I can be forgetful (yet another reason WineQ works really well for me, I don't have to think much about it beyond adding more wines to my queue, minimal effort is excellent) so I hadn't gotten around to it. But now I have and I can say for certain this will not be our last bottle of this one or from Twisted Oak in general....I have my eye on the Petite Sirah....

Anywho, onto the wine. Screw-cap (which actually came off the bottle without Matt having to take the pliers or a knife to it, thanks Twisted Oak!), 13.2% alcohol by volume and cost $15.99 (free shipping!).

The nose of the Verdelho was very aromatic. It started out with a strong sense of pineapple giving away to apple. Flowers then dominated the nose. In the mouth there were pears, apples and peaches. The wine had excellent acidity and structure.

I served it with parmesean breadcrumb baked tilapia and leftover risotto. Some kind of vegetable too, though my memory is foggy and I couldn't take a picture of the dinner with the wine as you couldn't see the bottle up against my pile 'o junk. The light flower and crisp fruit flavors in the wine paired well with the light flaky fish and the acidity did well up against the creamy cheese risotto.

Overall, we loved this wine. The flavors and aromas were great for the summery weather we've been experiencing here and the value was excellent.