Wine Find
20 November 2009
A bottle of wine is always evolving; whether sealed tightly in the cellar or in a glass on the table, it changes, for better or for worse, over time.
Life is like that, too, and I've just gotten my own life-changing news. I'll give you a hint: I can't drink wine for nine months. Here's another one: On June 21 or thereabouts, I'll be popping open a bottle of Champagne in the delivery room.
Got it yet? I'm pregnant with baby #3, and while the news is joyful, it also means time to put Vinobite aside for now. I'm still out there writing about wine for other publications like MyRecipes.com and Wine Enthusiast, and you can keep up with my work if you're so inclined at www.gretchenroberts.net.
Thanks for reading, and cheers.
I'm a sparkling wine and a Riesling nut, so when I saw Pacific Rim's new sparling Riesling, I had to try it. It tastes like sweet and sour green apple Jolly Ranchers, without the creamy toastiness of Champagne or the earthiness of Cava or the complexity of great California sparkling wines. But the White Flowers Sparkling Riesling is definitely distinctive, interesting, and ultimately addictive.
Now that we've broken out the winter coats, it's nice to warm up with a big, bold, high-alcohol wine like Boxhead Shiraz from South Australia. It's a pretty typical inexpensive Aussie Shiraz, with jammy, dark berry flavors and a hint of sweetness underneath its brash weight, but the Boxhead stands out on the shelf with its pretty geometric label.
Unlike cult Cabernet, Chenin Blanc is no one-trick lead actor. This grape is like an immensely talented character actor who can morph from a darling old lady in one flick to a tortured, angst-ridden mother in the next. Originally from the Loire Valley in France, Chenin Blanc makes a range of wines from bone-dry and light to stunningly sweet and succulent to vivacious and sparkling. The Ken Forrester, from South Africa, is bright and light with citrus fruit and the grape's signature honey flavor with a hint of spice.
Confession: Dessert wines just aren't my cup o' vino. Give me dry and pleasantly tannic over syrupy and smooth any day. But I make an exception in the fall and winter, when rich foods and spice-laden desserts come back into season. Though Australia may be best known for its inexpensive critter wines, in Victoria's Rutherglen region winemakers pull off a delicious dessert wine called Rutherglen Muscat. The 