Sunday Betsy played matinee, I was in charge of dinner. We had some franks and smoked turkey/garlic sausage that had not been used at our Labor Day party. So I made cole slaw, thawed chili, and opened a can of baked beans. Grilled the meat and some endive. Chili/slaw dogs are a childhood memory for me. Wine was from the Finger Lakes, the 2006 Dr. Konstantin Frank Dry Riesling. Despite its name, I thought I detected a little residual sugar, this was just a touch off-dry. Crisp fall apples, some slatey minerality, this might pass unnoticed in a lineup of drier MSR QbAs or Kabinetts. Gets a little citrus/grapefruit note with time. Maybe a bit short. B
Monday I was in a meeting when Betsy needed a cup of dry white wine, she made her way to cellar and as our agreement took from the "drink now and not too expensive rack." When I got home I tasted a glass of the 2005 Stone Cellars by Beringer Chardonnay. This was a wine brought and abandoned at Labor Day party. I wish it had been abandoned somewhere else. I knew this was a rather industrial product, with I think a generic California designation, but I really tried to keep an open mind (and I think I had a drinkable Stone Cellar red once). But this was ghastly. Canned pears overlaid with microwave popcorn butter, with noticable sugar and oak. Nothing is integrated, no backbone, no character. I wish I could say short finish, but a weird chemical note held on. C-
Luckily it didn't seem to spoil the dish, a Bolognese sauce from a Biba C. cookbook. Betsy served it over pappadelle with a fig/chevre salad and some broccoli rabe. A Bologna recipe, might as well try an Emilia-Romanga wine, the NV (as far as I could tell) Cleto Chiarli "Pruno Nero" Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvestro. Bright dark purple color, light bubbbles, Betsy looked and said "what is this?" Light tannins, good acidity. Floral nose, flavors of homemade blackberry jam. Usually the word jam is probably a pejorative for me, but not in this case. That lovely deep concentrated flavor, but as noted there is good acidity. Lightly sweet on palate, though sweetness doesn't seem to carry over to finish. This would be lovely with charcuterie on a picnic, but does pretty well with the Bolognese sauce (with is much more about mirepoix and meat- in this case a pork/veal mix- than about tomatoes) and the sweetness lets it tango with the figs in the salad. Fun wine for $12. B+
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency
(edited to clarify what I meant re the sauce)