Think Outside the Box: What’s With the Weird White Wine?
Want to bring something besides Chardonnay to your next BBQ?
It’s starting to feel like Summer again here in Seattle, so lets talk white Wine! I have been lucky to travel many parts of the world in the name of cheese and wine. During my travels I have discovered all sorts of white wine varietals and blends that I would deem unique Summer Sippers. Here are a few wines that my Twitter Wine Master Minds and I recommend tracking down for swig of something a bit outside the box.
Vernaccia (one of my personal favorites). I discovered this little easy drinker while riding my bike through San Gimignano, a little medieval town in Tuscany, Italy. My first taste of it was in the form of gelato flavored Vernaccia, which I admit was not as good as the wine itself. I buy about a case every Summer; most wine shops carry at least one bottle (which usually has dust on it and can be found behind quicker selling wines).
Soave (Highly recommended by myself and @YasharWineMongr). This is a wine that Yashar and I have agreed upon as one of the easiest to drink Winter white wines (next to Champagne). For me, it is a year-round sipper that drinks amazingly well with food. Soave is a dry white wine from the Veneto region in northeast Italy, principally around the city of Verona.
Vinho Verde (@AtlantaWineGuy): This wine is great for St. Patricks day, and just about any sunny Summer day! It’s a drink now kind of wine that has a green tint to it. Many of my friends think it’s only suitable for white Sangria, but I disagree. I have consumed plenty of $7 bottles of this affordable green wine.
Merwah & Obaideh (@RickBakas and @TexasWineGuy). Man oh man, I had to look this one up. These are Lebonese grape varietals that make up wines such as Chateu Musar’s popular white blend. Obaideh has been rumored to be the ancestor of the Chardonnay grape, and has a Semillon-like appeal.
Catarratto (@DivinaCucina) is a white Italian wine grape planted primarily in Sicily where it is the second most widely planted grape after Sangiovese. Overproduction in recent years has led to this grape being a substantial contributor to the European wine lake problem. Catarratto can make full bodied wines with lemon notes… Learn More
Siegerrebe (@WineBeerWA) is a white wine grape that is grown primarily in Germany with some plantings in England, Washington State, and British Columbia’s North Okanagan… Learn More
And that is just a few! Please add your favorite ‘outside of the box’ white wines in the comment section below… I’m always looking for new treats!
~Some descriptions in this post were sourced from Wikipedia, with links to learn more.
Wine Tasting Etiquette: From an Ex-Tasting Room Manager
Don’t: pet the winery dog then bury your hand in the bowl of oyster crackers (in front of anyone).
Don’t: pour your unconsumed taste of wine in the water pitcher, use the spit/dump bucket.
Don’t: ask for each pour to be put in a separate glass. They are pouring you wines in an order for a reason, it won’t make a difference. Rinsing the glass with water in between each pour is silly, don’t do that either.
Don’t: take sips of your cold Starbucks during your wine tasting.
Don’t: wear perfume, it impedes on other tasters olfactory experience, most of what we taste is directly related to what we are smelling. Don’t wear deodorant either, this will add to the ‘funky’ smell of everyone’s wine, giving it a more Old World appeal.
Don’t: have long drawn out conversations with the tasting administrator and guests standing around about how much you LOVE the winery next door and visit them each year etc.
Don’t: use the cheese and crackers set out as a substitute for your lunch, especially after you have loudly proclaimed that you are only at that free tasting to taste, not buy.
Do: (if you like to be handled rough) get drunk and hit on the woman pouring your wine- she’s the wine maker’s wife and knows how to deal with brash, impulsive, messy, loud drunk men. Also, make sure to call her “waitress”.
Do: if the wine maker is around, try to come up with original questions that they don’t hear all day. Instead of “so which one is YOUR favorite wine”, ask how they feel about Obama’s new Health Care Reform and what they’re favorite flavor of muffin is.
Do: swirl obnoxiously while stick your pinkie up when you sip, put each glass of wine up to a white piece of paper, and blather on about the legs of the wine, how it needs to open up, and how you spend more money on wine than groceries; this will ensure the tasting room administrators and other guests respect for you.
Do: ask to “revisit” everything you already tasted so you can make an informed choice about which to purchase, start with the sweet Riesling and move to the Cabernet.
Do: ask if they will waive the tasting fee if you buy, if there is a case discount, if there in an extra one for wine club members, and if you can have the ‘industry discount’ on top of all of that. The wine maker is working full-time at a gas station because he or she likes to make wine, not because he wants to sell it for a living.
Do: buy the wine your wife wants… trust me, it’s best for all involved.
~All Content Written By Seattle Wine Gal
What on Earth is a “Barrel Sample” Walter Dacon Wines Explains
I had an AWESOME time this weekend at Walter Dacon Wines in Shelton WA. THANK YOU Lloyd, Ann and Holly so very much for showing me around. I feel about Walter Dacon the way I do about Obelisco Estate and Barrage Cellars– true GEMS that I am so happy to have found. Wine Maker and owner Lloyd introduced us to his dog Belle, and then took us in the cellar for some barrel samples.
Awesome wine maker and cutie Holly talks about Twitter!