Summer White Wine Scorecard

It is July 18th and a good time to analyze our perceptions of the white wines we are selling to this point of the season. Let's look at them in five dollar increments beginning at $10 and up to $25 and prices may be rounded up or down to fit the category. We will use the standard Donald-Public-Donald formula; Donald (D1-my favorites), Public (P-popularity by sales), and the Donald Rumsfeld (D2) category citing his famous "we don't know what we don't know" speech, that is, we haven't tasted it but boy is it supposed to be good!

$10 Category: D1-2010 La Playa Colchagua Valley Chilean Sauvignon Blanc (conservatively speaking, a citrus explosion); P-2009 Seis Circles Spanish Viura (tastes like light dry muscat to me and see June 25th blog); D2-2009 Caposaldo Veneto Pinot Grigio (comparable to $15/btls, I hear).

$15 Category: D1-2009 Les Volcans Cotes D'Auvergne Chardonnay (tastes like white burgundy); P-2010 Marchetti Verdicchio (fruit and spice = nice); D2-2009 Planeta La Segreta Sicilian Bianco (complex $20 value, I hear).

$20 Category: D1-2010 Madrigal Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc (rich for type, balanced); P-2008 Bouchard Pere & Fils Pouilly Fuisse (superior chardonnay at price point); D2-2009 Casanova della Spinetta Toscana Vermentino (deemed the best of twenty five wines at local tasting).

$25 Category: D1-2009 Martina Rueda Spanish Verdejo (finest white in the store); P-2009 Schug Sonoma Chardonnay (benchmark); D2-2009 Maroslavac-Leger Bourgogne Blanc La Combe ($50 value?).

Not all of these are in the store at this time, but purchase any of these along with my expanded "honorable mention" list this month citing the blog and get a ten percent discount. Again cite the blog for 20% off cheese and crackers to go with your wine.