July 1st Wine Tasting Review

This tasting was a pleasant surprise for yours truly. We wanted to do something different for the holiday weekend and I guess we hit the spot with our Friday afternoon "cocktail hour". This affair offered three dry whites, two dry reds, and two cocktails, "Tincho" and Sangria.

Here is your review:

1. Surazo Sauvignon Blanc 2008 was a pear/mineral medium body Sauvignon Blanc that satisfied fairly well at $9.99/btl. It hails from the Rapel Valley of Chile.

2. Barnard Griffin Fume Blanc 2010 from Colombia Valley, Washington has been a proven winner in this store in the past and showed well last night. While this wine has often been more floral and feminine in style, it now appears more forthright and demonstrably Sauvignon Blanc. This one is an $11.99 retail.

3. Cutler Creek California non-vintage Pinot Grigio was over matched by the others but it was supposed to be so. It is a $5.99 "recession" label and is actually a bargain at that price.

4. Rimbaldi Italian Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2009 was also out of character for this event. It was a pasta wine to be sure and we weren't serving pasta, but that said, everyone seemed to like it. It sells for $11.99/btl.

5. Schweiger Spring Mountain Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 was also not a clear fit in this event. It is a $40/btl srp that I was offering last night for $25/btl. It is most definitely superior wine but probably not $40's worth.

6. New Age is a sweet blended white (90% Torrontes/10% Sauvignon Blanc) from Argentina that makes a drink called "Tincho" when poured over ice with a wedge of lime. The lime seems to cut the sweetness. New Age retails for $11.99/btl.

7. Sangria Classico is a real find for those who like sangria in the summertime. It comes to us from Spain with a recommendation to add fruit, orange in particular, and, of course, serve chilled. This one is $9.99/1.5l bottle!

The three best selling wines of the tasting were: 1. New Age, 2. Sangria Classico, and 3. Surazo Sauvignon Blanc. Stop in this week and pick up any three of these and get your 10% case discount by citing this report. Schweiger came in fourth by the way and cannot be discounted further.

Stop in this week and ask about the best buy in the store. It's an Italian red under $10. How about champagne for the holiday? Happy 4th!