A Spanish Contender for House White

Finding a white wine versatile enough to qualify as a house white can be oddly difficult.

Some white wines are too sharp. Some white wines are too flabby. Some white wines are too darn expensive.

The 2006 Telmo Rodriguez Basa, on the other hand, is just right.

As such, it's an excellent QPR Spanish contender for your house white. ($11.99, domaine547; available elsewhere for the same price). Made from biodynamically farmed grapes, it has zesty flavors, and a heavier moutfheel than most zingy white wines. There are lime zest and litchi-fruit aromas, which are subtle until it warms up in the glass. Waxy flavors of Meyer lemon, golden delicious apple, candied lemon peel, and lime round out the experience of this delicious white wine made from a blend of Verdejo, Viura, and Sauvignon Blanc.

Versatile enough to go with everything from chicken and feta tostadas (a Greek twist on a Mexican classic) to chicken with lemon and olives, this is a wine that will be welcome on almost any table.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #33: Mid-Priced Wines from the Midi

Welcome to Wine Blogging Wednesday #33, the online tasting event dreamed up by Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours. Today our host is Marcus, better known as Dr. Weingolb, who came up with a terrific theme: mid-priced wines from the Midi. The Midi is the region in Southern France that might be better known as the Languedoc-Roussillon. The region produces hearty reds and full-bodied whites at excellent prices, and Marcus wanted us to focus for this tasting on wines that retail between $15 and $30. I've had many Languedoc-Roussillon wines that were under $15, but this was only my second foray into the slightly higher priced bottlings.

For my entry I tried the 2004 Domaine Olivier Pithon Côtes du Roussillon Cuvée Laïs ($19.00, Red Carpet Wine; $26.99 from K & L). This was a very interesting wine made with grenache blanc, grenache gris, and macabeo (aka viura) grapes. While I've had other wines made from grenache blanc, I've never had anything made from the other two varietals. And the grenache blancs I've had have been very perfumed. In this wine, the aromas were almost entirely from the mineral kingdom, with the fruit aromas very muted and almost non-existant. Sips of this wine revealed more mineral flavors, along with stone, wet grass, and herbs. There was a slight tinge of apple, as well, but only a slight tinge.

Languedoc-Roussillon wines respond well to the flavors of the Mediterranean--seafood, herbs, tomatoes, spices, and vegetables--so we had this with a roast chicken, a green salad, and lots of accompaniments, like flat-breads, olives, tzatziki, red pepper spread, and hummus. The wine went well with these flavors, and the mineral notes sliced through the varied spices without any problem.

Like many winemakers of the region, Olivier Pithon practices biodynamics, the subject of an earlier Wine Blogging Wednesday hosted by Jack and Joanne at Fork and Bottle. These are a body of traditional viticultural practices recorded by Rudolf Steiner, which include enriching the soil with natural ingredients and steering clear of pesticides (for more information, click on either of the links above which have many useful resources). I felt that Pithon's biodynamic practices may help to explain the minerality of his wine, as this was a feature of biodynamic wines that many of us commented on in the previous WBW event.

This wine had good QPR, but I still felt like the lower price bottlings often have even more bang for the buck. Still, this experience confirms that I would never shy away from a Languedoc-Roussillon wine in the wine shop. I've yet to have one that I felt wasn't worth the price I paid for it, or one that didn't deliver lots of interesting flavor. I'm looking forward to what others found out about the region's wines. To check out the WBW #33 posts as they come in, you can click on the comments section to this post on Dr. Weingolb. Or, you can wait for the round-up. As usual, I'll post a link to that over here as soon as Marcus gets it up and running. Thanks to Marcus for a great theme, and I'll see you back here for WBW #34 next month.

Lazy Sunday Wine Tasting at the Colorado Wine Company

I needed to get out of the house today for what the Victorians would have called "an airing," and decided to go to the Colorado Wine Company's "Lazy Sunday Wine Tasting." Located in the small town of Eagle Rock in Los Angeles (home of Occidental College), the Colorado Wine Company has a mission that Good Wine Under $20 readers will love: reasonably priced, high-quality wines. Most of their selections are under $35, and their ever-changing Sunday tastings (2 whites, 2 reds, and a selection of cheeses from Auntie Em's) are only $10. (Friday tastings from 5:30-8:30 pm are slightly more, with 5 wines poured instead of 4).

This wine store and tasting has a hip atmosphere. After browsing the bookcases shelved with wine, and the vertical hanging racks I went into the uber-cool tasting room with its modern furniture and candles. Everyone at the tasting was young, gorgeous, and dressed in black; I failed on all three counts. There were pairs and groups, and it was clearly a popular neighborhood spot, relaxed and comfortable. I was served an intriguing mix of wines from Oregon, Spain, the Central Coast of California, and Napa. The pourer was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Bring a designated driver, too, because the pours are very generous and the wines are so excellent you won't want to spit.

Here's what was on offer:

2005 A to Z Pinot Gris ($12.99): This is a collaborative effort of four producers intent on making low cost wines. Aromas of peach and pear led to a creamy, lush, and round flavor palate that was soft and easy to drink. Very good QPR.

2004 Muga Rioja ($13.99): This white Rioja tripped up a lot of tasters like me who were expecting a red wine! Made of Viura and Malvasia grapes, this tart and refreshing white would be a hit with those who love French sauvignon blancs. The wine had aromas of grass, herbs, and Granny Smith apples, and these aromas were echoed on the palate. I've never had one of these wines before, but I liked it and felt that its price was in line with sauvignon blancs that had very good QPR.

2004 Campion Pinot Noir Central Coast ($18.99): The winemaker, Larry Brooks, is a big believer in the power of terroir. Here, he co-fermented Edna Valley Pinot Noir with 7-8% Pinot Gris. It was a rich, ruby red with flowery aromatics and a juicy cherry and strawberry set of flavors that finished with just a touch of mushroom. If you like your pinots fruity, this would represent good QPR.

2004 Sandoval Cabernet Sauvignon ($12.99): This wine has excellent QPR. Rich garnet in color, with lush aromas of dark chocolate, berries, and a tinge of pepper it drinks smooth, rich and round with a note of vanilla and earth at the very end. All the flavors that you expect from the aromas are there in abundance. What a wine, and all at a relatively low 13.5% alc/vol. This proves that you can make an intense cabernet without letting the alcohol levels creep up into the clouds.

Armed with an informative tasting sheet and a need to buy both the Muga Rioja and the Sandoval cab, I went back for a more leisurely browse and was struck by how excellent the wine selection is. If you find large wine stores overwhelming and/or you have eclectic tastes, Colorado Wine is for you. The bottle count is small, but there are surprising bottles on nearly every shelf. Mexican Nebbiolo? Got it. Portuguese wine? Yep. A whole section of Oregon wines? That, too. It was hard to remain under control, but in the end I limited myself to picking up my very first Connecticut wine (the NV Sharpe Hill Vineyard Ballet of Angels, $10.99), a second Spanish white kindly recommended by Sonadora over at Wannabe Wino who is helping me out with my New Year's resolution to drink more wines from Spain (2005 Nora Albarino, $13.99), and a honey of a sangiovese (1998 Vigna Benefizio Morellino di Scansano, $14.99). I also found a bottle of NV Dover Canyon Renegade Red ($10.99), and I was thrilled to find this after reading their blog for months!

Shopping at Colorado Wine Company will definitely keep you from falling into a wine rut! And their tastings mean that you can sample before you buy. A great experience, and one that I look forward to repeating (with better shoes and a little more attention to my wardrobe).