Wine Blogging Wednesday #47: Today’s Wine Brought To You By The Letter “S”
Our hosts for the July edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, the blogosphere’s monthly virtual wine tasting event, are Erin and Michelle of the Canadian wine blog Grape Juice. They selected a very fun and original theme, Today’s Wine Brought To You By The Letter “S”, that takes us back to our childhood and days of watching Sesame Street. They intentionally left this theme vague and up to interpretation. The only requirement was that the word beginning with “S” must be directly related to the bottle(s) of wine selected (i.e. region, varietal, producer, winemaker, etc).
The Wine Peeps had a lot of fun with this theme. We set out to taste several super Sauvignon Blancs for summer. Obviously, our first “S” was the varietal, Sauvignon Blanc. Next, we chose four different Sauvignon Blancs from four different wine regions around the world with the common denominator being that the names of all four producers started with “S”.
We blind-tasted these four wines: the 2007 Seresin Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand; the 2007 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley, California; the 2007 Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc from Adelaide Hills, Australia; and the 2007 Snoqualmie Sauvignon Blanc from Columbia Valley, Washington. They all nicely complemented our light summer fare of grilled halibut, wild rice, and steamed broccoli. In fact, Sauvignon Blanc is our favorite summer white varietal whether we are enjoying it with dinner or just sipping it outside on the deck.
While I would not turn down a glass of any of these, the Seresin from New Zealand was the clear favorite of all four of us. In fact, this tasting was the rare occasion when we all ranked the wines exactly the same way.
In order of our favorite to least favorite:
2007 Seresin Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand): Very fruity and sharp nose with aromas of grapefruit and hay. Grapefruit, green bell peppers, and jalapenos come through on the palate. Very spicy with ripping acidity. Crisp, refreshing, and smooth with a nice, long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Esquin (Seattle), $20; Available elsewhere, $15 to $24
2007 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley, California): Aromas and flavors of grapefruit, Granny Smith apples, and apricots. Good complexity and a nice finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Esquin (Seattle), $21; Available elsewhere, $18 to $23
2007 Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc (Adelaide Hills, Australia): Freshly cut grass and citrus fruits come through on both the nose and the palate. Good acidity but a short finish that just trails off.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Esquin (Seattle), $17; Available elsewhere, $15 to $23
2007 Snoqualmie Sauvignon Blanc (Columbia Valley, Washington): Pleasant floral and pear aromas, pear flavors, and some acidity. Decent but definitely the weakest of these four wines.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle), $7.50; Available elsewhere, $9 to $10
To be perfectly honest, my experience with Old World Riesling is extremely limited so this was a great opportunity to try something that has not been in my regular repertoire. I picked up two different bottles so that we could have a blind tasting. One of them, the 2006 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Drachenstein Riesling “Dragonstone,” we had a couple years ago in a previous vintage. The other was new to us, the 2004 Studert-Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese, but had been featured in the newsletter for a local wine shop.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed with both of these wines. They were both good but certainly nothing spectacular. The four Wine Peeps were split two to two on which one we liked better. Given that I have other white wines at this price point that I like much better, it is doubtful that I would buy either of these again. Since I have heard such great things about Old World Rieslings, and German Rieslings in particular, I do plan to try others in the future. I am not going to let this one experience color my opinion of all German Rieslings. And I do think people who have a different palate than I do, especially those new to wine, may find these two wines enjoyable (particularly the Dragonstone).
Last month, Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV hosted the 44th edition of 
French wines made predominately with Cabernet Franc can be found in a number of different regions. However, the most well-known are 
I thoroughly enjoyed the Comfort Wines theme of the 43rd edition of 
Sydney, my 13 month old daughter, is asleep right now and I finally have a moment to sit down on the couch, relax, start reading a book that’s been on my nightstand for over a year, and sip one of my all-time favorite wines, the 2002 Peter Lehmann Shiraz. Too many times when Sydney is sleeping, I am frantically trying to get as much done as I can (paying bills, washing dishes, working on these blog posts, etc.) that I rarely take time for myself. This comfort wine theme was perfect in that it forced me to slow down and relax a little.
When I’m not studying wine, I’m in the investment management business studying these crazy markets. I unwind at home in my sweats by sipping a good glass of wine while watching the sailboat races on Lake Union from my deck, reading a good book [currently I’m reading New Classic Winemakers of California], or going online where I browse sports, travel [fantasizing about my next trip Down Under], and wine.
My comfort wine is the Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot Cabernet. The price is right, averaging between $6 and $8 a bottle, and it is a great all around wine. The wine has a fragrant nose of red cherry and hints of minerality. On first sip it is fruit-forward and balanced with just enough tannins for a good body and a pleasant finish. After it has had a chance to breathe, you can expect the tannins to open up so you can experience its true complexity. It’s not overpowering but definitely not a wimpy wine either.
Most evenings I unwind and relax with a book; my reading of choice is fiction. While I read I enjoy sipping a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, most often Nobilo. While many people might question a Sauvignon Blanc as a sipping comfort wine, it is those characteristics that it provides that I specifically like: the fresh, tart, grapefruity taste with the soft golden color. I do not like sweet or oaky flavors, but I love a crisp, cold white wine…even in winter!
Andrew from Spittoon was our host for the February 
First things first, the Wine Peeps selected the 2001 Vietti Barolo Castiglione as our subject. Last fall when we were in Orange County, we visited the 
The Vietti winery is one of the most well-known wineries in Piedmont. It is located in the tiny village of Castiglione Falletto in the heart of the famous Piedmontese wine region known locally as “The Langhe.”
This blog is for busy people who enjoy wine and want to be savvy wine consumers, but who do not have the time or inclination to do the research themselves. We want to be your Wine Peeps. As a regular reader of this blog, we hope that you will learn everything you need to know about selecting, tasting, and enjoying good wine. You’ll be able to impress your friends with your knowledge of wine. 