WTN: Eenie meenie Vermentini

Tasted side by side with dinner tonight: a Tablas Creek 2014 Paso Robles Vermentino ($23.00) and a Bisson 2013 Portofino Vermentino "Intrigoso" ($29.00). Without food, the comparison was pretty predictable: the Bisson was leaner, showing white pepper, minerals, and a long finish of sea-air salinity, while the Tablas Creek was slightly richer and rounder, with more explicit lemon-zest notes and a bit bigger mouthfeel -- though still well-structured enough that, on its own, if you'd asked me if it was Italian or Californian I'd have thought Italian for sure. Indeed, the only surprise was how faint the differences between the wines were. But with food -- in this case, whole-wheat spaghetti with EVOO, rapini, garlic, peperoncino, and pecorino -- the Tablas Creek really came into its own: the slightly richer fruit seemed to play especially well with the stronger flavors of the dish, becoming more complex, while the Bisson was more of a neutral, cleansing backdrop. Both are solid, tasty, reasonably priced wines, but the Tablas Creek was a particularly nice discovery.

Eenie meenie Vermentini..saw this and thought David .

He's a punspiration to us all.

Tasted side by side with dinner tonight: a Tablas Creek 2014 Paso Robles Vermentino ($23.00) and a Bisson 2013 Portofino Vermentino "Intrigoso" ($29.00). Without food, the comparison was pretty predictable: the Bisson was leaner, showing white pepper, minerals, and a long finish of sea-air salinity, while the Tablas Creek was slightly richer and rounder, with more explicit lemon-zest notes and a bit bigger mouthfeel -- though still well-structured enough that, on its own, if you'd asked me if it was Italian or Californian I'd have thought Italian for sure. Indeed, the only surprise was how faint the differences between the wines were. But with food -- in this case, whole-wheat spaghetti with EVOO, rapini, garlic, peperoncino, and pecorino -- the Tablas Creek really came into its own: the slightly richer fruit seemed to play especially well with the stronger flavors of the dish, becoming more complex, while the Bisson was more of a neutral, cleansing backdrop. Both are solid, tasty, reasonably priced wines, but the Tablas Creek was a particularly nice discovery.

Yup, Patchen...the TCV Vermentino is quite a dandy expression of the grape. It and the Ryme "Hers" are my two favorites
from Calif & can stand up to any made anywhere in the World. The Tuscany versions are pretty boring. The Corsican ones I find
a bit...well...coarse...and not the perfume/refinement of others. We had an Abbona Favorita last night that was, perhaps,
the finest Vermentino I've had from Piemonte.
Tom

Eenie meenie chili beanie! The spirits are about to speak!