Jason’s Wine Blog

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “The Two Vines Chardonnay offers fruit-forward apple and pear aromas with a hint of lemon citrus leading into a balanced crispness and creaminess on the palate and a lingering, lushly fruity finish. This Chardonnay, crafted in a lighter style designed for immediate enjoyment, perfectly captures the varietal intensity indicative of Columbia Valley wines.” -Ray Einberger, Winemaker

What I Think:

And the varietal tour rolls on! After enjoying the Cabernet I mentioned that I would give the Chardonnay a go. As a man of my word I am here to report on the results. To make it brief, lots of barrel, too much. This wine might work for others but not for me. I like my Chard in stainless steel or somehow else lacking the toast and barrel flavors that are overly prevalent in North America. That sounds disparaging but that is my opinion. This is a wine worth drinking and still serves as an excellent introductory bottle for those experiencing new grapes. As for me I’ll be sticking to the Callaway and hoping it can back up the results from my first tasting!

Rating: Skip It

Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Plume Ridge Wine Negotiants

What They Said:

Per the bottle “This blend of Sauvignon Blanc (50%) and Semillon (50%) produces a brilliant and silvery robe. The complex nose, blending floral and citrus aromas, reveals a perfect balance between fruit and wood, which makes this very enjoyable.”

What I Think:

After an amazing glass at Fleur de Lys a few months back I went combing the shelves at Trader Joe’s for a Pouilly Fuisse (a French appellation widely known for Chardonnay) to see how it could compare. I didn’t find one then I did come across this Sauvignon/Semillon blend that my wife and I fell in love with back on our honeymoon in New Zealand (especially the Pegasus Bay!).  I grabbed it without hesitation.

After pulling the cork this one seems like a winner. As it got closer to room temperature it began to show some chinks in the armor. The racy, mineral backbone that I thought was there disappeared leaving only light floral notes intermingled with barrel type flavors. Not bad, just not what I was hoping for after the first sip. This could sneak into my cart again but more likely not. You are better off grabbing a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc like this Geyser Peak.

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

These next few I am going to post are some stubborn ones that I have been digging around on the internet for to no avail for days. It looks like I am on my own here….

What I Think:

This is a Gewurztraminer from Clarksburg which I always thought was an area somewhere around Napa and/or Sonoma. It turns out it is in Yolo County on the California Delta about fifteen miles south of Sacramento. This wine is most certainly a private label offering with the vinter being “Rare Find Wine Purveyors”. As mentioned before rare find summarizes what I was able to find in regards to them on the internet, guessing they don’t really want to be found.

Now for the wine itself…Not much on the nose this wine appears to be rather clean. On the palate it starts rather plain before a whole lot of sweetness kicks in. You get some hints of fruits as it progresses, maybe some apples amongst others. All in all the sweetness takes its toll on me, the Michel Leon is an easy choice over this one. If you are going to give it a go make sure you have some super spicy food to pair it with.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “The aromatics of this wine are tropical with mango, passion fruit and apricot fruit notes. The palate is concentrated with stone fruit, ripe Fuji apple and Bartlett pear notes intermingled with honeycomb, petrol, wet stone and mineral flavors. These old vine Rieslings have great capacity to age attractively, in this case into 2010 and possibly beyond.

This Riesling is an excellent food wine. Try it with a John Dory filet in parchment with truffled mashed potatoes and haricot vert. The bright acidity of the wine with spicey bouillabaisse seafood stew, Kumamoto oysters on the half shell with a Champagne mignonette, or refreshing grapefruit and mint salad, is a perfect midsummer, poolside combination.

Most of Australia’s wine is produced in the south-eastern region of the country, an area which, like California, boasts considerable geographic and climatic diversity. It is well known that the Central Goulburn of Victoria area produces an excellent Riesling. Flavors born in the high altitude vineyards of the Adelaide hills, the cool coastal climate of Tasmania, and the deep granitic soils of the Strathbogie Ranges contribute to the distinct characters that gives these wines an international appeal.”

What I Think:

This wine was made for blogging, check out the link above and you’ll see what I mean. Tasting notes, bottle shots and the podcast all linked directly to the wine. That is usability I had never before come across on a winery website. I’m already ready to buy another bottle. The interest continued when I found on the site that Don Sebastiani & Son’s are responsible for this wine under their Three Loose Screws label. This was surprising given that this is an Australian offering.

Unfortunately much of my interest in this bottle ended about here. While the wine was quaffable it certainly didn’t distinguish itself. At times it tasted like Sauvignon Blanc and others just any generic white, I struggled to constantly remind myself that this was suppose to be a Riesling. I’ll be sticking to my favorite German offering but perhaps I’ll give another one of the Kono Baru offerings a try at some point.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “The aromas of this wine are reminiscent of baked apples. The smooth mouthfeel brings forward fruit flavors of apples, pineapple and lemon peel, which are highlighted by toasty oak and vanilla characteristics that lead to a silky finish. Our Coastal Chardonnay is a wonderful companion to a wide variety of foods. Try it with stuffed pork chops, lemon herb chicken, pasta Alfredo or sea scallops prepared in just about any fashion.”

What I Think:

I grabbed this one because I read positive coverage about it somewhere in the websphere but can’t find it now for the life of me. On the nose I could tell this one has some potential as I could actually smell something besides just barrel. On the palate the wine was nice and crisp with barely a hint of that buttery, barrel taste that is so typical of California Chardonnay. As for the fruit the majority seemed to be apples that settled nicely on top of a tangy, minerally backbone that lead to a toasty finish. As you may know I am not a huge Chard fan (but keep trying to be) so it is nice to be pleasantly surprised. A perfect companion for the crab cakes that were on the table and a bottle that will be sure to find its way to my house again!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $11.99 @ K&L Wines imported by Premier Wine Company

What They Said:

Per K&L Wines “This is from very old vines, 60-85 years of age, to be exact, and these aren’t your average white grape vines, either. This wine is made from the rare Romorantin grape, grown on heavy clay soils. The wine is fermented in three to five-year old Burgundy barrels and undergoes partial malo-lactic fermentation, which lends a very rich, almost viscous mouthfeel to an otherwise extremely mineral white. You can taste this beautiful, esoteric white for days after you’ve enjoyed a glass. Wow! Philippe Tessier has just converted the domaine to totally organic viticulture, too.”

What I Think:

This wine, from the Loire value caught my eye in the K&L newsletter based on the description above. After that I did a little research and found the following: Romorantin is a traditional French variety of white wine grape, that is a sibling of Chardonnay. Once quite widely grown in the Loire, it has now only seen in the Cour-Cheverny AOC. It produces intense, minerally wines somewhat reminiscent of Chablis. I found elsewhere that Cour-Cheverny has a total of 11 wineries that call it home. Love to find these types of bottles.

Now on to the wine which we served it with Mediterranean style fish. Interesting I find a golden brown coloring, not the straw or yellow you may expect. Also interesting as the texture on the tongue is that of a dessert wine but the taste is something altogether different. Here you find almost zero sweetness. The nose shows mostly mineral leaving the texture to come as an even larger surprise. You get citrus notes to accompany this on the palate before a finish advertised as long that I found somewhat disappointing based on all the hype. At the end of the day this wine was extremely interesting but I didn’t dig it. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t but either way I guarantee you’ll have an interesting experience. The kind you only need once.

Rating: Pricey

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Plume Ridge Wine Negotiants

What They Said:

Per Hawks Head Wines “The Laugel family have been producing wine here since 1889 when Alsace was part of Germany. With classic rose petal and lychee aromas this elegant white has good varietal character and lovely complexity. Grapefruit and citrus notes keep it refreshing and the finish is long and balanced with good integrated acidity. This is a lovely example of this Alsace speciality, drinking well now but will keep to 2009. (Drink now to 2011)”

What I Think:

Another Gewurztraminer from the Alsace. As you can see from my write up on the Marcel Hugg. This was even before my recent return visit to Fleur de Lys where I had the Trimbach once again. Amazingly enough, they have this same Trimbach at Trader Joe’s. If you feel like dropping a $20 spot on that one stop reading here.

Now back to this wine. Hard to find a write up here, awfully common for wines for Trader Joe’s wines I find. I was able to track down something from a UK retailer selling this at £8 (about $16) which makes this one at $7 seem quite the steal already. On the nose you get light floral and citrus notes. On the palate the profile is almost custard like and at first I thought it was sweet. Later I realized it was more from a texture perspective than on the palate. The fruit, mostly lemon, faded quickly and led to a nice tight mineral finish. We had this as an aperitif before dinner with cheese and it worked perfectly. Not as good as the Marcel Hugg but good enough to buy until I find something better.

Rating: Buy It

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “This fruit-forward wine accents classic Gewürztraminer characteristics of lychee, dried apricots and hints of rose petal. Subtle spicy-sweet fruit flavors linger through a refreshing, juicy finish” - Best Buys: Whites, Excellent - Wine Press NW

What I Think:

So there I am standing in the wine section at Trader Joe’s.  It’s busy. My wife is in the checkout line, getting closer to the front. And I can’t decide whether to grab the JW Morris , the Santa Ynez or this. With time running out I decided to try something new.

The other night with curry on the menu I decided it was time to see what this one was all about. On the nose you get wafts of sweetness along with dried floral and fruit aromas. These flavors follow through on the palate but I found the sweetness a little overpowering. The next night I had it as an aperitif with some cheese which seemed to better suit this bottle. For those newer to this varietal this may be a nice introduction. As I prefer a drier style I wish I would have grabbed the Santa Ynez.

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by International Import-Export

What They Said:

Per snooth.com “Good acidity balances perfectly the touch of off-dry that this wine presents. Some floral notes, good minerality. Good long finish. Paired well with curry, would work with any spicy foods.”

What I Think:

To give you an idea straight off the bat, the snooth write up had a comment of someone who could only remember that they paid under $20. Promising! Coupled with my experience with the 2005 and many others from my pre-blogging days I was happy to be pulling the cork on this one as I was preparing Thai Basil Chicken for dinner.

It didn’t disappoint. On the nose I found a mostly floral bouquet with some lighter fruits lingering in the background. On the palate something tries to show early but is swept up in sweetness before it can express itself. Just when it appears doomed to be a overly sweet effort a nice crisp, acidic backbone saves the day showing mineral characteristics and leading to a pleasant finish. Therefore I gave it a “Buy It” rating but wanted to also provide a disclaimer that I will never have more than one bottle of this in my house. And I’ll be happy to have it whenever spicy Asian food is on the menu. Unless you are a Riesling purist I imagine there are few out there that wouldn’t enjoy this effort. I challenge you all to try a bottle and report back with your thoughts.

Rating: Buy It

Price: $8.99 @ K&L Wines imported by Trilussa Wine Company

What They Said:

Per K&L Wines “With a super fragrant nose exploding with fresh nectarine, grassy notes, sage, rosemary and lime, this 100% Vermentino aged in stainless steel is crisp and refreshing, loaded with citrus and hints of peach. This is an outstanding effort at an incredibly affordable price.”

What I Think:

A white from Tuscany the Vermentino grape is suppose to be a late ripening grape which would lead you to believe it may be a sweeter bottling. Not the case, it was much more towards the lighter, crisper side. The nose was fragrant with melons and lemon showing predominately. On the palate cantaloupe came to the fore. Though worth the try if you have the inclination if you’re going to grab an unheard of white I would strongly recommend you grab this Mesache Blanco instead.

Rating: Skip It