#1 — 2007 Trentatre Rosso
#2 — 2007 Rabbit Ridge Allure de Robles
#3 — 2008 Sauvignon Republic Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc
#4 — 2008 VINTJS Syrah
#5 — 2007 Now & Zen Wasabi White
#6 — 2007 Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve
#7 — 2008 Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Carmenere
#8 — 2006 Chiusa Grande Tommolo Montepulciano d Abruzzo
#9 — 2008 La Granja Tempranillo
#10 — 2007 Dr. Beckermann Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling Spatlese
2007 Pancake Cellars Big Day White
Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s
What They Said:
Per corkd.com courtesy of bjwdad; “The nose has scents of pear, lychee and spice. And Gewürztraminer dominates the taste, even at only 12% of the stated blend. This wine is DELICIOUS, and one of the best whites I’ve ever experienced!! Outstanding value, to say the least.”
What I Think:
This label was hard to resist. Again the blend looked intriguing and as I grabbed the bottle to give it a read I got the idea that this was made by the same outfit behind my beloved Franc Merlot. At that point it was just a matter of resisting the urge to put more than one bottle in the cart. I am still trying to validate that these were indeed products of the same winemaker. The Pancake Cellars was made by Central Coast Wine and the Franc Merlot by the Central Coast Wine Warehouse. I was able to track down an email address from the latter and asked for confirmation. I’ll let you know what (if) I hear back.
Now for what was in the bottle. This one was a blend of 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 27% Chardonnay, 12% Gewurztraminer and 1% Pinot Blanc. On the nose it was clean, with light notes of white fruit and minerals. On the tongue it was well balanced. The sauvignon blanc leads while the chardonnay holds through the mid-palate and lingers through the finish. In the finish just a hint of the gewürztraminer sweetness shows itself, from the above review I was expecting much more. All in all, my initial inclination is that this wine isn’t all that distinguishable. That could be taken as a negative but the plus side is that this blend will pair nicely with virtually any food. I prefer the Synergy but perhaps a side by side tasting is in order. Yeah, that works. I’ll grab a bottle and check back in with a second opinion. For now this seems like a 12th bottle.
Rating: 12th Bottle
just picked up a bottle of this at TJ’s today…excited to try it.
rj
had the pancake cellars last night – really liked it. a little boring, but not a bad wine to have around.
posted about it – http://rjswineblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/pancake-cellars-2007-big-day-white-paso.html
It is from Central Coast Wine Warehouse like Franc Merlot. An interesting blend of white wine grapes. The gewurz was the most easily detected of the blend. A good wine to have around if you are bringing friends over after a night out. Nothing bad about it, good price, good company will make the evening not this wine.
@rjh Glad you enjoyed it, you inspired me to give it another try!
@TfjwIII Thanks for confirming this is from the same maker as the Franc Merlot. Love your focus here on the company making an evening, one that can be used often.
bought strictly because of bottle and name. several empties to prove how good it was this morning….great!
I randomly grabbed this for a potluck at my house and was pleasantly surprised. It went over well and I was glad to find something under five dollars. I love wine but I just don’t have the means to drink expensive wine. And I know I don’t have to.
Thanks
Very smooth and a bit dry, that’s good, it’s great table wine or for every day drinking. Great value.
We bought this bottle of wine at Trader Joe’s simply because it had a cute label and was cheap! We drank it last night and it was very enjoyable. Back to TJ’s today to get some more as we only bought one bottle to try.
Trader Joe’s doesn’t carry it anymore. Do you know where I can buy it now? Thanks.
@Jennifer This one was a TJ’s only offering as far as I know. Many of us are hoping the 2008 vintage shows up soon. If it does and I see it I’ll let you know…
i found the 2008 vintage at trader joe’s in westfield, nj. hope that they will carry it in ann arbor
Got a bottle of this wine for Christmas. Haven’t tried it yet but I just LOVE the artwork on the bottle. Is it possible to find out who the artist is? Why isn’t his or her name on the label???
@denny The ‘08 never showed up in northern California. How was it?
@Laurie It isn’t typical for a label artist to get credit on the bottle. Perhaps too many artists in the kitchen. That said in this case I thought I crossed paths with the individual somehow. Did some searching tonight and can’t seem to recollect how. If I do I will certainly share the info!
@Laurie I tracked it down! Proof Wine Marketing (pdf) seems to be the artist responsible for this label…
Thank you Jason! I’m not exactly sure this tells me who the artist is but it’s still good information. (I mean — I assume this Proof Wine Marketing is a marketing company and not the people/person/company who actually did the artwork). Anyway, I thought the artwork was so interesting and will keep my eye on that website. Waiting for the right occasion to try the wine. I’m in Western NY where 6 months of snow is not uncommon, so the wine tasting occasion may simply be the result of being snowbound and unable to resist trying something new! Thanks again!