The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 2015

I recently had a discussion with my dad about “epiphany wines” (aka the bottle or glass that first really opened your eyes up to the awesomeness that is wine). His was Gundlach Bundschu’s Gewurztraminer that he tried based on a sommelier’s recommendation at a restaurant. It just so happened that I carried that wine at my store so he got to try it again for the first time in forever. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to his expectations all these years later, but that’s not super surprising.

I didn’t have an epiphany wine so much as I had an epiphany varietal, Sauvignon Blanc, specifically from New Zealand. I’ve mentioned the time I was down from Denton and my parents and I had a blind tasting with three different bottles of NZ Sauvignon Blanc before. What I didn’t mention is that I got back to Denton and made my friend accompany me on a trip to find a bottle of Drylands Sauv Blanc (my favorite from that evening). Thanks to Denton being a dry county there weren’t a whole lot of wine shops to choose from so we wound up driving to Dallas too. Unfortunately nowhere had it or had even heard of it so I think we picked up a bottle of Bitch Grenache (yes, just because I thought the label was hilarious) and some other New Zealand wine. It was actually a pretty fun time despite not finding the particular wine we were looking for.

Several years later I spotted Drylands at a store in San Antonio and of course had to get a bottle of it. Just like my dad with Gundlach Bundschu, I was disappointed. It just lacked the complexity I’d come to expect from that varietal and was rather bland. While it didn’t live up to my memory of it, it still wasn’t a bad bottle of wine, it’s just that by then I’d had better.

One of those better bottles is The Ned Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. Unlike many NZ Sauv Blancs it’s not so in your face with grapefruit, which can get old rather quick. That’s actually why I stopped drinking or buying this varietal for quite some time (until Kye introduced me to the awesomeness that is Sancerre). It’s a medium-bodied wine that has notes of green pepper, wet grass and gooseberries on the nose. The palate is more fruit forward with lemon peel, passionfruit, and crisp green apple, and of course, a bit of grapefruit. Nicely balanced with sharp acidity and a long-ish finish. This is a super refreshing wine that is lovely by itself or paired with a wide range of dishes. While Kim Crawford and Drylands will always have a special place in my heart, this Sauvignon Blanc beats them not only in price, but also in taste.

Weegmüller Von Gelben Fels Riesling Trocken 2012

So obviously some stuff happened recently that set me on a rather blah path. While it's never fun to feel terrible about things that are happening in your life, it also helps to know that you can get through them relatively unscathed, mostly thanks to the fact that you're fairly used to shit like that happening, but also because of awesome people in your life. My best friend/roommate was a rock during that time (because he is awesome and the best guy ever) and the night after things really went to hell he got me dinner from one of my favorite restaurants in town (Thai Dee) to try and cheer me up.

Since he was providing dinner that night, I figured the least I could do was treat us to a bottle of wine I’d been eyeing for a while: Weegmüller Von Gelben Fels Riesling Trocken 2012. I’d been off the day the distributor came by to taste us on it, but my coworker told me it was delicious and his favorite out of all the wines they'd brought. Since he’d taken my advice on several wine suggestions in the past I decided to trust his suggestion and was very glad I did. It was hands down one of the best Rieslings both Kye and I had drunk in a while (and it paired perfectly with our spicy Thai food).

This winery has been in family hands for 11 generations, producing wine since 1685. It is also one of the few German wineries owned and run exclusively by women. According to the blurb on the importer’s webtsite Stefanie Weegmüller was the first female winemaker in Germany and that’s pretty damn cool. It's from Pfalz in Germany and reminded me of why I usually love the wines that come from that region. Dry and light-bodied with crisp minerality and just a bit of petrol. The fruit notes of white peach, golden pear and red apple on the palate balanced beautifully with the acidity. I know my tasting notes don’t do this wine the justice that it deserves, but trust me when I say this was one of the best white wines I’ve had in quite some time.*

*https://traubenhaus.com/producers/weegmueller

NV G.H. Mumm & Cie Champagne Carte Classique Extra Dry

When my sisters and I were born my grandparents bought each of us a bottle of Champagne that we were supposed to save and open at our weddings. Unfortunately my parents weren't too wine savvy at that time and lacked a decent place to store any of these bottles so they were left in the kitchen pantry, which didn't end too well. I know of at least two times when my parents were forced to secretly replace a ruined bottle, before finally deciding it wasn't really worth the hassle. My oldest sister, Alicia, and I somehow still had intact bottles, and luckily my middle sister, Teresa, grew up to be more of a beer drinker so it didn't seem to bother her. I don’t remember if Alicia opened hers at her wedding (open bar and I was still drinking liquor back then… it’s a rather hazy memory altogether), but mine is the only one left.

Since I’m rather ambivalent about marriage, not to mention way too young (or too old according to some of my relatives), I've decided waiting for a wedding that might never happen is just plain silly. So I've decided that my bottle of G.H. Mumm Carte Classique Extra Dry is getting opened tonight after work. Chances are it’s not even good, but even a terrible bottle of wine can be good material for a post. Hurrah for late-night experiments that probably won't end well! 

Later that night...

I opened the would-be wedding Champagne after getting home tonight and was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't horribly spoiled. Had this been the original bottle my grandparents bought when I was born it probably would have been a much less pleasant experience. Of course you never know, maybe after being stored in a kitchen pantry for 27 years it would have had lovely notes of breakfast cereal, uncooked pasta and almost every cooking spice you can think of.

This bottle was perfect after a less than stellar week. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but it’s a really lovely deep golden color. On the nose it has baked peach and red apple with yeasty characteristics. Smooth and medium-bodied with flavors of baked pear, dried apricot and orange zest which are quickly taken over by hints of clove, toasted almond and honeysuckle. The honeysuckle notes lead flavors of rich honey that coats the mouth before being balanced out by crisp acidity.

I really didn't expect much from bottle, so actually enjoying it has been a pleasant surprise. Even so I doubt this family tradition will be carried on. I plan on starting a nice collection of birth year and age-worthy wines for my niece so she can be a classy drunk when she reaches the legal drinking age (20 years from now). I don’t think she’ll be missing out too much if I don’t include a NV champagne that’s been kept in rather questionable conditions for 20-plus years.