Argiolas Costera Cannonau di Sardegna 2013

One of the most amusing and annoying parts of working at Whole Foods was dealing with the Dr. Oz groupies. These people would show up in droves looking for whatever "miracle" cure for... whatever... that "amazing" man was currently being paid to sell them on his show at the time. I usually got to watch this from a safe distance since I worked strictly in the beer, cheese and wine department. Then came the day that, for some unfathomable reason, Dr. Oz decided to try his hand at selling wine, specifically Sardinian Cannonau. From what I could gather he'd claimed that the the people of Sardinia, who apparently drink nothing but wine all day, were more likely to live to 100 (why anyone wants to live to 100 is truly beyond my understanding). What his viewers heard was that if they imbibed enough of this wine they could live FOR-EV-ER and they descended upon us like vultures. These were people who only drank wine when it was sweet or mixed with orange juice, so I wound up feeling rather bad for selling them an almost $30 bottle of wine I knew they would hate. Unfortunately there was no convincing them to ignore this latest "prescription" from this daytime television doctor they believed in wholeheartedly.

I have no idea if the bottles of Argiolas Costera Cannonau di Sardegna (the only Cannonau we had on the shelf) were ever actually imbibed. To be honest, they'd been gracing our shelf for quite some time and while it was nice to finally sell them, I rather doubt those buyers took more than one sip before pouring the bottle down the drain.  Absolutely none of those customers ever came back to buy another bottle so I suppose their desire for immortality wasn't that great. Quitters.

I hadn't really thought about those days until one of my sales reps gave me a bottle of 2013 Argiolas Cannonau and it brought the memory of that amusement and chagrin flooding back.

 

The Italian island of Sardinia is the second largest in the Mediterranean Sea, located just south of Corsica. The dominate red varietal grown there is Cannonau (aka Grenache) most believe it came there during the nearly 400 years the island was ruled by the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon. There is also the theory that the grape actually originated in Sardinia. No matter which is correct it's a grape that does very well in the warm Sardinian climate. 

The 2013 Argiolas Costera Cannonau is 90% Cannonau, 5% Bovale Sardo and 5% Carignano, it spends 8-10 months in French Oak barrels and 5 months in cement vats. The wine is full-bodied and spicy with notes of dark cherry and baked strawberry on the nose. The fruit carries over to the palate and is joined by hints of anise, black pepper and cloves. It finishes dry with firm tannins and bright acidity. It would really shine with pairings of roasted meats or pastas with red sauce. I really enjoyed this bottle and the walk down memory lane that came with it. 

Empire Estate Dry Riesling 2016

Since getting into wine I've had several different jobs in the industry, some were definitely better than others, but even the terrible ones had their bright moments. Working for Whole Foods definitely falls under the category of terrible, honestly it might have been one of the worst companies I ever worked for, but those three years did have some good moments. Like how much freedom they gave their wine buyers to bring in pretty much whatever the hell we wanted. For a while the locations that Kye and I worked in San Antonio had a pretty amazing selection of both typical and eclectic wines and we were actually pretty damn decent at selling them. These days they definitely don't give the buyers as much freedom or support, but I'm still able to find some random gems on the shelves.

Empire Estate Dry Riesling 2016 is definitely one of those gems. I'm a girl who likes her Rieslings and this one I was most impressed with. It comes from the Finger Lakes region in New York and has a light gold color with notes of ginger, lemon zest and green apple on the nose. The citrus flavors carried over to the palate, joined by white peach, honeysuckle, limestone and powerful (but enjoyable) acidity. While this was a dry wine, the fruit notes balanced it out nicely making it one that even sweet wine lovers might enjoy.

Birichino Malvasia Bianca 2012

Just in case it's bothering the multitude of people who read this blog (aka: my parents), I am well aware that it seems like I rarely ever touch red wine. The reason I tend to favor whites is mainly due to the fact that I live in San Antonio, Texas where it’s hot as hell for at least eight months out of the year. I really do love red wines, but after moving back home four years ago I started leaning more towards whites simply because it was too damn hot for me to enjoy the bold, spicy reds I typically bought. Once it gets cooler the color in my glass will change and I will regale you with many tales of red wine, but for tonight I’m sticking with white: Birichino Malvasia Bianca 2012.

The Birichino winery was founded by Alex Krause and John Locke in 2008, but only showed up on my radar about six months ago when Kye (the Quarry Whole Foods wine specialist) took an interest in them. His passion for wine has led him to develop a knack for tracking down little-known and rather unique wines from all over the world. He wound up bringing in several of Birichino’s wines (Malvasia, Vin Gris, Pinot Noir, Grenache and Muscat Canelli to be exact) and not a single one disappointed.

The lovely white wine I’m discussing tonight is from Monterey in California. It is 100% Malvasia Bianca (a varietal of ancient origin, most likely Greek) and aged for five months in stainless steel. A beautiful pale gold color with greenish tinges displaying aromas of tangerine, wet limestone and floral notes on the nose. The palate is light-bodied and racy with flavors of lemon peel, lime zest and white nectarine followed by hints of jasmine, fresh ginger and bright minerality. Crisp acidity cuts through the floral and fruit to deliver a clean finish. Really enjoyable for this summer weather we’re still having in San Antonio... in the middle of October.

The Birichino Malvasia Bianca is a truly lovely, complex wine and a rather hard to find varietal (in Texas at least). I've no doubt that will be enjoyable even after the weather decides to cool down. In case I've managed to peak your interest I would suggest hightailing it to either of the Whole Foods Markets in San Antonio.

… Except of course for puppies, puppies are better than everything ever.

Abbazia di Novacella Kerner 2012

I got to try some absolutely stellar wines from Alto Adige today that inspired me to pick up Abbazia di Novacella Kerner after work. The last time I bought this wine I loved it and left about half the bottle at my parents’ so they could try something new and fun. I realized my mistake when I found out later that they’d thrown it into a batch of sangria which is a sure sign that they didn’t like it. I still haven’t let them live that down. Now every time I leave good wine with them I make them promise not to mix it in with sangria. Luckily for me they tend to only make sangria around Easter so most of the hand-me-down wines I give them have escaped that fate.

Just to give you a little background: Kerner is a cross of Schiava (also known as Trollinger or Vernatsch) and Riesling. It was bred in Germany in 1969 and named after the German poet, Justinus Kerner, whose works included songs and poetry about wine. In the 1990s it was, for a time, the third most planted grape in Germany, but plantings since then have fallen. In fact the few Kerners I’ve seen in store were all from Alto Adige in Italy. Alto Adige was part of Austria-Hungary before it was ceded to Italy after World War I which can explain the distinct German and Austrian influences on the wine industry in that region.

This wine exhibits a clear and light gold color with aromas of lemon zest, honeysuckle and grassy notes on the nose. Medium-bodied and spicy with zesty flavors of key lime, orange peel, pineapple, beeswax, cream fraiche and fresh jalapeno. Hints of wet slate combine with medium acidity that creeps up on you slowly to lead to a longish finish.

As my parents proved it’s not a wine that appeals to everybody, but it is definitely worth it if you want to try a cool, rather unique varietal. 

Vigilance Petite Sirah 2011

Petite Sirah (aka: Durif) was one of the first red varietals I really and truly enjoyed. Michael David’s Petite Petit was probably the first wine that opened my eyes to Petite Sirah (and yes, I bought it because I thought the label was utterly adorable). It was definitely one of the better wines tucked away in the rather pathetic excuse for a wine room at the liquor store where I was working at the time. I wish I could say that after that I fell head over heels for the complexity, uniqueness and blah blah blah that this wine displayed, but sadly no (it would’ve been such a good excuse for what followed). I definitely enjoyed the majority of wines I had from that varietal afterwards, but my overall obsession with it didn’t start until after an adorable toy Australian Shepherd came into my life.

I’d originally wanted to name her Rogue after my favorite X-Men character, but Sarah Palin’s book (‘Going Rogue’) had just come out so after hastily scrambling to come up with a new name, I settled on Petite Sirah. At the time I had no idea that she was a toy so it wasn’t until later that I realized how fitting a name it was. She is the world to me and despite sometimes feeling like a pretentious (but clever!) bastard whenever I have to explain or pronounce her name for people, I still love it. I have a Petite Sirah who is literally petite… it is ridiculous how happy that makes me.

Vigilance is from the Red Hills AVA located at the base of Mount Konocti in California. It is 100% Petite Sirah with a vibrant ruby color and aromas of blackberry, vanilla and cedar. Medium-bodied and smooth on the palate with fruit flavors of dark cherry, blueberry and plum nicely balanced with notes of vanilla, clove and white pepper. Finishes with some slightly earthy notes and low tannins, definitely had more finesse than I’ve come to expect from California Petite Sirah.

PS is a grape that I enjoy rather immensely and love introducing to people for the first time. Vigilance is one of the more unique wines I've had of this varietal and it’s one I highly recommend. It is available at Whole Foods Market Vineyard in San Antonio.

Endless Crush Rosé 2013

Finally got my act back together (meaning I stopped being lazy and procrastinating) and am ready to introduce you to the wonders of rosé!

Earlier this year I had the good fortune to meet Kathleen Inman, the owner and winemaker of Inman Family Wines in Russian River Valley, while she was in San Antonio. Getting to meet and chat with friendly, passionate winemakers is one of the things I love most about my job. So combining those invariably interesting conversations with really great wines makes me a very happy little girl. I had heard that Inman’s natural and environmentally responsible winemaking style produced well-balanced, terroir-driven wines so it was awesome getting to taste that for myself. We sampled the Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Endless Crush Rosé, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Olivet Lane Vineyard Pinot Noir and Thorn Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir. They were excellent: the Chardonnay was crisp and bright, the Pinot Noirs were simply elegant with subtle, unique differences in each, but it was the Endless Crush Rosé that I fell head over heels for.

This exceptional wine is made predominately from organically grown Pinot Noir from their Olivet Grange Vineyard in Russian River Valley. An “intentional” rosé (rather than one made with the run-off juices from red wines, the saignée method), first made in ‘04 to celebrate her and her husband’s 20^th anniversary.  It is a delicious dry wine with red cherry, strawberry and floral notes on the nose, followed by refreshing strawberry, orange zest and watermelon flavors balanced by crisp acidity, hints of honeysuckle and spice that linger pleasantly on the finish.

Endless Crush is one of the most elegant and unique rosés I’ve ever tasted, I am thrilled that we finally have it in our wine set. It’s especially perfect for these ridiculously hot days we’ve had in Texas lately. Plus it has a pretty label! That way if you wind up not liking the wine (which is highly unlikely), you’ll have a pretty empty bottle… so no matter what you win! That is, assuming I’m not the only weirdo who keeps empty wine bottles to use as home decorations. Anyways! You should start walking at a very brisk pace to find this wine at Whole Foods Quarry in San Antonio.

Wine Five #1

About a month ago John and I randomly decided that making a video series where we drink and talk about wine (but mostly drink) would be ridiculous amounts of fun. That is how the first (and hopefully not last!) Wine Five came into creation. 

For the record we made this around 2am after several glasses of wine. The original cut was much longer and a ton more ridiculous.

Casa Silva Sauvignon Gris 2012

 Chilean wines will always have a special place in my heart simply because they remind me of my grandmother (Chilean)  who was a huge part of my life until her death almost 13 years ago. To me she was an extremely graceful woman, cultured and sophisticated, not a single hair out of place. She drilled my sisters and me on proper etiquette and manners until she was satisfied we were perfect (for the record I don't think I ever managed that perfection). It was a bit ridiculous and not very useful in the world outside of her home, but she was determined that her granddaughters not be ill-mannered hooligans. I’m probably making her sound like a ridiculous tyrant, but really she wasn’t, she just had standards for everyone, especially her family, and she made damn sure that we met them. To me she was elegance incarnate and I find most Chilean wines to be that same way.

The Silva family pioneered grape growing in the Colchagua Valley in 1892 and have the oldest cellar in the valley. The Sauvignon Gris is unique in that you almost never find that varietal anywhere since almost going extinct following the phylloxera epidemic. Not much has been planted since it was rediscovered in the 1980s in the Loire Valley. The Casa Silva Sauvignon Gris 2012 is medium-bodied and with crisp citrus flavors of lime zest, orange peel and pink grapefruit.  Fresh floral notes, spice and medium acidity lead into a rich, vibrant finish. It is elegant and complex, a wine I’m sure my grandmother would have loved and not just because her maiden name was Silva.