Drew's Wine List

   NV Gruet Blanc de Noirs   Vintage:  NV Region: New Mexico, USA Winery:  Gruet Varieties:  75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay Price:  $13.99 (Should be able to find everywhere) Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review:  As a firm believer in drinking sparkling wine for no reason other than the fact that I can, I've always been on the search for Champagne quality sparklers for an affordable price. This wine comes with an interesting story. The Gruet family, owners of the Gruet et Fils Champagne house in France, discovered while on vacation in the Southwest that New Mexico had perfect conditions for sparkling wine. The area had high elevation, drastic day and night temperature swings, and sandy soils- all conditions that make for excellent sparkling wine. They planted an experimental vineyard in the 80's, and soon some of the Gruet children moved to run the winery.  With their first vintage being released in 1989, Gruet has b...

  2016 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir   Vintage:  2016 Region:  Oregon, USA Winery:  A to Z Wineworks Varietal:  Pinot Noir Price:  $15.99 (Should be able to find everywhere) Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review: Everyone give a nice warm "welcome back to the blog" to A to Z Wineworks! As you may have noticed, A to Z produced the first wine I ever wrote about, and today is the day I revisit their wines. While I've been on this drinking adventure, I've got a little side quest going. I'm on the hunt for quality Pinot below $20. Many wine professionals would laugh if I told them that because as I've talked about in the past, Pinot is super finicky and hard to make well, but I'm maintaining hope! So far, this one from A to Z sits on the throne. Oregon is receiving quite the praise around the world for putting out incredible Pinots that are a lot cheaper than Burgundy Pinots. Whereas a $20 Burgundy isn't going to be all that good, you ...

  2009 Ch âteau La Tour Blanche Sauternes   Vintage:  2009 Region:  Sauternes Premier Cru, Bordeaux, France Winery:  Chateau La Tour Blanche Varietal:  Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle (Sweet!) Price:  $19.99 (half-bottle at Wegmans) Rating:  96 Points My Rating:  97 Points The Review:  I know this wine is technically above the price range that I said I would stick to, but I have two justifications. 1) Serving sizes of Sauternes is 2 oz, so if we wanna do the math, it's still about the same number of servings as a 750 mL bottle. 2) Sauternes is super rare. And I'll add a third- if you were to go through a 750 mL bottle of this you'd feel so sick. So, what the heck is Sauternes, why is it so expensive, and why am I making a quasi-exception to my price rule? Sauternes is a tiny region in Bordeaux, France that is one of the rare regions in the world that only makes sweet wine. These are wines made from Semillion, Sauvignon Blanc, and M...