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Wednesday, Oct. 07, 2009

Wine Line: Third year's the charm for Wine Line

As Wine Line moves into its third year, I'd like to say thank you. I hope you have enjoyed reading the column as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Wine Line will continue to be a consumer-friendly column, and if by chance my winey thoughts get into that mode of snooty-tooty wine-speak-snobbery, please e-mail me and let me know.

As Bartles and Jaymes used to say, "Thanks for your support."

I'm sure most of you realized in the last column as I listed my white wine picks for the year, I didn't have a chardonnay. Finding a chardonnay that is readily available, of good value to price and under $15 is not easy, especially in Merced. Most chardonnays in this price range taste a bit manufactured, too sweet or cloying and definitely not food-friendly. But alas, thanks to Wine Line reader Bob, I finally found a chardonnay for what's on our table (see below).

Red wine picks

Three pinot noirs were chosen for the Thanksgiving column and all three are available at Costco. These light reds are a tad over $15.00 but what the heck, it's Turkey Day. The 2006 Acacia Napa Valley Carneros, the 2006 Cambria Santa Maria-Julia's Vineyard and the 2006 La Crema Sonoma Coast are all great examples of cold weather pinots and are all quite food friendly.

Several medium bodied/fruity reds made the list this year including the 2006 Antinori Santa Christina ($9.99 Raleys, Bev-Mo, World Market) which is a blend of sangiovese and merlot. The 2007 La Ferme Julien Cotes de Ventoux ($4.99) and the 2007 Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve ($6.99) at Trader Joe's are down right steals that go with just about anything from left-over meat loaf to boeuf bourguignonne. Two other medium bodied reds that made the cut were the Folie a Deux Menage a Trois ($6.99 Costco) and 2006 Ravenswood Vinters Blend Shiraz ($7.99 Save Mart/Raleys). Both are great medium bodied, fruit forward red wines.

Three cabernet sauvignons and one zinfandel made it in the big red category. The 2006 Quivira Dry Creek Zinfandel was not easy to find ($14.99 Bev-Mo) but well worth the effort as the wine has gone on to win many gold medals. The 2005 Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($11.99 Raleys/BevMo), the 2006 337 Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon ($12.99 SaveMart/Raleys) and the 2006 Louie Martini Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon ($11.99 Costco) are some of the best value red wines available in the market today. If you are into big reds, they are drinkable now but all three have the potential to age.

What's on our table

2007 Edna Valley Vineyards "Paragon" San Luis Obispo County Chardonnay

I like this wine and I really like this wine region south of San Luis Obispo. You can taste wine, have a great picnic lunch and hit the beach in the afternoon. Coming from a cool climate, the wine has the bright acidity to off-set the rich tropical flavors of peach, mango, pineapple and ripe pear. It has been hiding in the rows at Costco and now, (thanks to Bob), I have found it! And finally, I really really like the price of just $8.99, which is about $5 less than its regular list price. Cheers!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? You can reach me at rgwinton@yahoo.com