New! New! Not.

We’ve been going through a phase. We’re actually a little tired of trying new this, new that, in search of another good affordable everyday wine. We’ve just been buying our known favorites – two of this, three of that, maybe even a case of something just to have Old Reliable on hand.

Thus, we don’t have a lot of new reviews we’re excited about (although we do have a backlog of tasting notes still to post). So we thought we’d list – for you and as a reminder for ourselves – some of our current all-time-favorite fallback affordable wines. These are the wines we’re buying in multiple quantities and keeping on hand for everyday drinking.

• Castle Rock Pinot Noir – California
• Barnard Griffin Syrah – Washington
• Red Diamond Syrah – Washington
• Concannon Petite Sirah – California
• Barnard Griffin Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot – Washington
• Tapeña Garnacha (Grenache) – Spain
• Tapeña Tempranillo – Spain
• Beringer White Zinfandel – California
• Brancott Sauvignon Blanc – New Zealand
• Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc – New Zealand
• Barnard Griffin Sauvignon Blanc – Washington
• Covey Run Fume (Sauvignon) Blanc – Washington
• B&G Vouvray (Chenin Blanc) – France
• Kiona Chenin Blanc – Washington
• Columbia Crest Pinot Grigio – Washington
• Ryan Patrick Naked Chardonnay – Washington
• Barnard Griffin Chardonnay – Washington
• Bogel Petite Sirah – California
• Bogel Old Vine Zinfandel – California

All of the wines on the above list should be readily available for under $15, many even for $10 or less. And they all should be widely available.

You might notice, sadly, that there aren’t any affordable Zinfandels on that list. We absolutely adore Zin, yet have been disappointed with several (many) sub-$15 wines we previously enjoyed. The closest we have come are Dancing Bull and Ravenswood (for when we don’t want to break out a Ridge or Turley; both of which are generally in the $30+ range), but we just don’t think they quite make this list. It’s also unfortunate that there are so few nice Pinot Noirs in our “affordable” price range. We could drink Pinot Noir every day – if we could find a few in our everyday-budget range. UPDATE: We've added Bogel's Old Vine Zin to our list – the best "cheap" Zin we're recently discovered.

Finally, note that there are four Sauvignon Blancs on the list – probably because it’s summer and we love those wines this time of year. The two New Zealand wines are bright, crisp, and grassy – typical NZ styles. The two Washington wines are more mellow but still fresh and lively – excellent summer dinner wines.

Monkey Bay Chardonnay 2004 – New Zealand

We generally think of New Zealand as specializing in Sauvignon Blanc. We enjoyed the Monkey Bay Sauvignon a lot, so when we saw this Chardonnay, we thought we’d try it without knowing anything about it.
It has some wonderful, deep aromas – vanilla, honey, and ripe apples. The tastes are of apple (both crisp green apple, and fuller ripe red apples), with a bit of an herbal/spicy note – maybe rosemary? It’s a bit woody and creamy, but has some crispness to cut through those notes. Yes. $10 on sale, usually about $14.

Sauvignon Blanc & Steamed Salmon

DINNER
A friend mentioned recently that we haven’t been discussing food and cooking as much as we should. So... we’ve been playing with a new bamboo steamer. Food comes out crisp and moist (is that a contradiction?). The other night we put salmon (with a little mild teriyaki sauce) on one tray of the steamer, and some sliced parsnips on the other. The salmon was incredibly moist and tender, and the vegetables retained their flavor and texture and went well with the teriyaki. Japanese rice with green onions on the side.


WINE
Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – New Zealand
If you’ve ever had a “typical” New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, you know the wine’s basic profile – this Nobilo could be the prototypical one. The nose is zingy, citrusy, with some grass and dried flowers. Somewhere underneath there is a hint of more depth with olive oil and herbs. (We make it sound like the nose is more dynamic than the taste. Remember that our sense of smell has a huge impact on our taste buds.) Drinking the wine, it has a clean grassiness and tastes of grapefruit and lemon, with bright acids and a tart finish. This and Brancott are our two favorite inexpensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. House. About $12.

House Wines

(We’re going to be traveling and away from computers for a week, and we aren’t going to even think about posting again until we return on February 17. Enjoy your wines and dining until then.)

If you’ve been wondering what are our House wines, here is the complete list. We have not indicated differing vintages (and there can sometimes be vintage variations), nor different bottlings within a winery’s offerings. In a few cases, we have specified a particular wine. (For example, Mark West is a California winery which sources grapes from around the world. We don’t care for their California Pinot Noir, but did hugely enjoy their wine made from Corsican grapes.) On this list, you’ll find wines from California, Washington, Colorado, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Spain. (Next up, we’re planning a concentrated effort to see what’s new and exciting in South African wines, as well as to revisit some of our old tastings from Chile and Argentina.)

This is the cheat sheet we take with us to the store, although we’re always sampling and trying new offerings from the shelves. Also, this doesn’t represent all the wines we enjoy – rather it is the ones we like that we find most reliable at a good price, without having to do any thinking. We do have a separate list of higher-end (and higher-priced) wines we know and love, but those are for special occasions and not for our House wines. With a few exceptions (such as some of the Colorado wines), these should be widely available, affordable (under $20; most are $10-15, or even less, especially on sale), and reliable year-after-year.

SAUVIGNON BLANC
Brancott, Yvecourt, Columbia Crest, Turning Leaf, Covey Run, Canyon Wind, Geyser Peak, Barnard Griffin

GEWURZTRAMINER
Villa Wolf, Meridian, Chateau St. Michele, Columbia Crest, DeBeque Canyon, Covey Run

TRAMINER- RIESLING
Rosemont

RIESLING
Covey Run, Clean Slate, Snoqualmie, Chateau St. Michelle, Beringer, Greenwood Ridge, Columbia Crest

CHARDONNAY
Peace, Stonehedge, Carlson, Penfolds Thomas Hyland, Cambria, Redwood Creek(France)

VIOGNER
Domaine de Caillan, Oxford Landing, Yalumba

CHENIN BLANC
B&G Vouvary, Beringer, St. Chappell, Yalumba

ROSE
Beringer, Buehler, B&G Rose Anjou, Le Ville Ferme

PINOT GRIGIO
Columbia Crest, Stone Cellars

MUSCADET
Clos de la Clemanciene, Remy Pannier

GAMAY
George DuBeuf Beaujolais-Villages

ZINFANDEL
Ravenswood, Rosenblum, Stonehedge, Ridge

PINOT NOIR
Castle Rock, Coyote Creek, Mark West(Corsica), Scarlett of Paris, Beringer, Redwood Creek(France), Parducci, Cambria

CABERNET SAUVIGNON & MERLOT (and Blends)
Barnard Griffin(C-Merlot), Columbia Crest(Merlot-C)

SYRAH/SHIRAZ
Columbia Crest, Castle Rock, Yalumba(S-Viogner), B&G Cotes du Rhone, Red Diamond, Los Planos, Rosemount(S-Grenache), Lindemans, Domaines Astruc(S-Viogner)

GRENACHE
Los Rocas

TEMPRANILLO
Penascal, Tapena

SPARKLING
Bouvet Brut, Cristalino, Segura Viudas, Domain Chandon, Gloria Ferrer

PORT
Sandeman Tawny

Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc & Salmon

On July 29, 2007
WINE
Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2006 (New Zealand)
We’ve come to expect “exploding” tastes of grass, acid, and tropical fruits from New Zealand Sauvignons. Monkey Bay at first almost seemed disappointing (especially to Ken). But upon sipping, we realized that its more subdued tastes paired better with food. We found a nose of grass and pineapple, and tastes of the same that were better integrated than many NZ Sauvignons. A Yes wine, maybe a House wine upon our next sampling.

DINNER
Pan sautéed salmon, with a home-made cherry chutney. Fresh asparagus with a butter/herb sauce.