2012 Brassfield Pinot Grigio

Two pinot grigios/gris today.  First off is a 2012 Brassfield pinot grigio from Brassfield in Clearlake Oaks, CA, northwest of Sacramento.  It ran me $14.

If you like very acidic, almost grapefruit juice quality pinot grigios, this is one for you.  I liked it.  Very tart, it would probably go well with rich seafood courses.

Second up is a 2006 Alsatian pinot gris from Sparr; I reviewed one of their rieslings a year ago.  This one ran me about $10.

I like this one a lot too and almost drank the whole bottle in one sitting.  It's not as acidic as the California one, more middle of the road, but a good drinking wine, though not overly sweet.  I might go with this as a go-to pinot gris/grigio choice.

2010 Oderro Italian White Blend

Today a 2010 white blend from Piedmont, the Langhe wine region around La Morra, which is south from Turin/Torino.  Bottled by Oderro.  I don't remember where I picked it up (either Morrell's or Invino) or what I paid for it.

No idea what grapes are schmushed up in it, but I like it.  Dry and very much on the acidic end of the spectrum.  Nice herbal notes to it.

I drank it solo, but I can see this going well with chicken done just about any way (except nuggets).  Maybe a tomato-based pasta? Look it up.

2009 Chateau St Jean Sonoma Gewurtz

This week I drank a 2009 Chateau St Jean gewurtz from Sonoma that ran me about $13.

This was slightly sweeter than the last one (which admittedly prided itself on how dry it was), almost to an apple juice level but not cloyingly sweet.  The notes were your standard gewurtz/riesling, not particularly funky as gewurtzes go.  So many of these gewurtzes say they have notes of lychees, I'm going to have to eat some lychees to get the flavor in my taste buds.

All in all a nice wine for just sipping or with a meal.  I'm thinking maybe shrimp in a cream-based sauce, or even maybe shrimp in a Thai chili-based sauce.

2009 Gundlach Bundschu Gewurtz

Over the weekend I drank a nice Gewurtz from Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma that ran me about $20.

The labels sums it up:  "aromatic, spicy, full-bodied and DRY."  Their caps, which they repeat later.  I like a dry Gewurtz or Riesling, and this one was just up my alley.  Nice notes without the funky ones you find in Gewurtzes sometimes (not that I've found those much this summer trying different ones).  A nice wine for shrimp or lobster or maybe something with lemongrass.

Middle Sister Moscato, Argentina

For something different, a no date moscato from Middle Sister, "sweet and sassy", from Argentina.  It ran me about $10 at my local Liquee Mart.

As I saw about once a month, I'm not a sweet wine fan, but this wasn't bad, not overly so, and it has nice spicy notes to it.  I'm betting it will go well with SE Asian cuisine.

Also pictured is a 2004 Spanish coupage with syrah, cab sauv, and garnacha from Terres de Vidalba.  This has been sitting for a few nights so I'll probably use the rest for cooking, but the first night or two it had a high alcohol content, meaty kick to it.  A nice Spanish red.

2010 Incognito White Blend, 2011 La Giiareta Veneto Pino Grigio

Two whites today, a 2010 Incognito white blend from Michael and David Phillips and a 2011 La Giareta pinot grigio from the Veneto.

The white blend, from around Graton in western Sonoma, was originally $18 and change, on sale for $13 and pennies.  It doesn't specify on the bottle what's in the blend.  My general reaction was drinkable but meh.  Nothing stood out about it, either nose or notes.  It would be fine to grab when you need something to go with chicken, but it's not notable.

The pinot was one of the best I've had this summer, with more distinction than the usual run of the mill of this varietal.  It was citrusy and acidic but not overly so.  Even after a night in the fridge it wasn't bad.  I'd grab this one first to go with seafood or chicken, or maybe SE Asian food.