Yesterday was a busy day of sight-seeing and showing the relatives around LA on the first day with real sunshine since they arrived. We were all exhausted and full after snacking our way through Beverly Hills and by the time we got home all we could muster enthusiasm for was soup, bread, and wine. But, hey, that's pretty good stuff! So I stuck out some bowls of olives and set out to make yummy Silver Palate Carrot Ginger Soup (you can cut the butter in half to diminish some of that wopping calorie count).
For wine, I chose the 2006 Woop Woop Verdelho V ($8.95) which I purchased a few weeks ago at Chronicle Wine Cellar here in Pasadena. Mom and Dad drink the first bottle when they were out, and I hadn't tasted it yet, so I nabbed another. It is also available through retailers on both coasts (check Wine-Searcher, see link in sidebar). Verdelho wines are known for their crispness and their herbacious flavors--very much like a sauvignon blanc. Sometimes, also like Sauvignon Blanc, they are aged in oak. This wine was not, and it retained its bright, citrusy flavor profile. In the glass, the Woop Woop was very pale, almost clear. There was a nice whiff of grapefruit rind when you gave it a sniff. Where this wine really was pleasant was on the palate, where it managed to be both crisp and round thanks to a pink grapefruity flavor mixed with herbal and flowery notes.
Woop Woop is part of Ben Riggs' Galvanized Wine Group,which includes popular labels like Penny's Hill and the Black Chook (my favorite shiraz-viognier blend!). They are based in the McLaren Vale wine region, and I think they make some of the best value wines around.
For the price, and given its excellent varietal characteristics, I am giving this one very good QPR. If you like unoaked sauvignon blancs from California or Australia, you will like this wine and it will pair easily with all the foods you usually drink with your favorite sauvignon blancs.
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