WHITE WINE PANIC!

Okay, so you get home with your hot Chinese Take-Out, and then you realize you forgot the wine!  AHAHHHHHH!  You can’t eat Chinese food without a chilled glass of white to wash down the spicy eastern seasonings.  In desperation you accept that any white will do, a Pinot Grigio, a Chardonnay, a Riesling perhaps; you’d even settle for something marked ‘White Table Wine’! 

And then it happens, the magic in the way way back part of your fridge.  You see it green and tall, shinning like a lighthouse beacon, beckoning for your fumbling hand.  Salivating, you graciously accept that what ever it is will be welcome, a salvation for your meal from the Orient.  Now let’s see, what did you pull out?

[Barry in a smoking jacket with a monocle, wiping clear the condensation, then blowing the dry make-believe dust from its soggy label..]

A 2008 Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc!  Hmmmmm, normally red ‘Two-Buck’ doesn’t fair well when taste-tested along side its peers.  But, this is a white Two-Bucker, and I’m desperate.  So I’ll uncork it and see.  No time to breathe, just pop—pour—and—chug!

Well, what an unexpected and welcome surprise.  The wine was crisp, clean, aromatic, fruity, and played well with my palate’s salty Asian playmates.  It rescued my meal and saved the day!

SEIZING A RIESLING

I stumbled upon a true Bottom Bottle find while browsing at Ralph’s the other day; Chateau Ste. Michelle 2010 Riesling on sale for half its usual price range of $10--$14.  For just a little bread I got a little wine, and enjoyed a transcendent “French-style” supper of cheeses and crackers, cured meat and fruits—and of course cold crisp dry perfumed Riesling.

Pronounced ‘/ˈrizlɪŋ, ˈris-/ Reez-ling’, this white fruity grape originated in the valley of the Rhine and was grown by peasants and popularized during the Middle Ages.  My wine was grown at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville Washington.  Although a long way from Germany, it is the oldest winery in Washington and the largest single producer of Riesling in the United States!

 

I found this wine to be quite delicious.  It needs no breathing and comes out clean and loose, fruity and aromatic at first pour.  Rieslings are sold ‘sweet to dry’ depending on preference—mine was semi-dry and oddly semi-sweet.  I paired it with some sumptuous Columbus Herbed Salami, a Boar’s Head Blue, buttery Dutch Havarti, fresh garlicky hummus, sliced apples and tomatoes and low-sodium crackers.  This was my dinner and though it was a totally UNAUTHORIZED TASTING, it was absolute HEAVAN!  “Fo’ shizzle my Rizzle!”

This is RHINE COUNTRY!

No time to Rhine now!