Drew's Wine List

  2017 Biggio Hamina Biha Andreas Vineyard Gewürztraminer Vintage:  2017 Region:  Willamette Valley AVA, Oregon Winery:  Biggio Hamina Cellars Varietal:  Gewürztraminer Price:  $20.00 from a local wine shop My Rating:  91 Points The Review:  As I was looking through my notes trying to figure out a wine to write about, I stumbled upon this one that I drank a little ways back. Remember how in the last blog post I said that color comes from the skins of the grapes? Well, today's example is what happens when you ferment a white grape with the skins. Normally, white wine isn't ever in contact with the skins, but when it is ("skin contact"), it produces an orange color- thus the wine is known as "orange wine." This skin contact provides some interesting depth in the way of tannins while still presenting classic white wine taste. This method of white winemaking is actually ancient, but disappeared for a while and is just now starting to make a comeback i...

  2019 Chateau Montaud Rosé (3L Box) Vintage:  2019 Region:  Côtes de Provence AOP, France Winery:  Chateau Montaud Varietal:  Rosé blend. In this part of the world, usually dominated by Grenache Price:  $29.99 from a local wine shop Expert Rating:  89 My Rating:  87 The Review: To box, or not to box. That is the question, isn't it. We'll cover two big concepts in wine during this blog: what is rosé and also is boxed wine good. Let's jump in. What is rosé? Many people will answer that it's red and white wine mixed together. And while they'd be correct on certain occasions (it's rare), the vast majority of rosé is produced in a method called "short maceration." See, red wines get their color from the skins. These wines are always fermented with the skins (macerated), allowing for lots of rich color and tannins. If you want to make a really fruity and light wine that presents lots of red grape flavors, you can do this short maceration method. In thi...

  2017 Torre Zambra Madia Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Vintage:  2017 Region: Abruzzo DOC, Italy Winery:  Torre Zambra Varietal:  Montepulciano Price:  $12 at Wegmans Expert Rating: 92 My Rating:  90 The Review: Hope everyone has had a good past week or so and has had some good wine! Today's wine varietal, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (where Montepulciano is the grape and Abruzzo is the place) just so happens to be probably my favorite pizza wine, so buckle up and let's talk about wine! Abruzzo is a region in central Italy, right next to Tuscany. It's most famous for this pretty approachable grape, Montepulciano. These wines, called Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Montepulciano from Abruzzo), are usually very round, fruity, acidic, and low in tannins- all things that perfectly complement tomato sauce and cheese! Thus, this wine has started to get a little bit of a reputation as pairing really well with pizza, and since I had this combo the other night, I'm pleased to confir...