Another New White

We haven't reviewed a Californian Sauvignon Blanc yet, and this weekend we opened one. Raymond Reserve Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2006. Excellent! Not as much juicy tropical fruit as our beloved NZ SB. Daryl thought it had an acidic overtone, and I tasted a hint of citrus. We opened it with last night's catfish and finished the bottle with happy-hour's Cheez-Its. We have a bottle of their Merlot, which we are curious to try.

Getting out of a rut

Last time, we talked about trying new white wines. The Chilean white was a start, and this week we opened something brand new to us: Berger 2006 Gruner Veltliner, an Austrian white. Very nice! Smooth, very dry, excellent with grilled pork chops and chicken. And it should go well with tonight's fried rice. Versatile.

This was our September white wine of the month--proving again why we love being members of a wine club. We probably would never picked this up on our own, but now that we've tried it, we'll look for it again.

Oh, and we recently tried the Gewurztraminer from Washington State...another great, new wine for us--unexpectedly peppery and crisp.

Looking over some recent purchases, we can't wait to open a bottle of Syrah Rose from France (and see how it compares to our favorite from Paso Robles) and a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc to see how it compares with ones from Chile and New Zealand.

Chilean Sauvignon Blanc

From the "roots of the Andes"...this weekend's wine is a delicious 2006 SB from Anakena (D.O. Valle Central). Crisp, light, a touch acidic--this a great, refreshing wine! We had it last night with barbecue and finished the bottle this afternoon with spinach dip and crackers. It's been a long time since we drank any sort of Chilean wine, and we're wondering why. The price is always excellent (this bottle was around $7), and the quality is good. We're still stuck on Rueda and NZ SB, but maybe it's time to branch out and look for wines, especially whites, outside our comfort zone.

Have a great week!