Drew's Wine List

2019 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Gris Vintage:  2019 Region:  Oregon, USA Winery:  A to Z Wineworks Varieties:  Pinot Gris (aka Pinot Grigio) Price:  $9.99 Expert Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  88 Points The Review:  Today we answer the age-old question- are Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio the same thing? The simple answer is yes! Both Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are the exact same grape, but Pinot Gris is from France, and Pinot Grigio is from Italy (Gris and Grigio being French and Italian respectively for "grey"). However, like most things in wine, there's a more complicated answer as well. While the wines are the same grape, winemakers have started to use the different names to refer to the style that the wine is made in. The Italian style, which most people are quite familiar with from every wedding ever, is light, fruity, and pretty straightforward  (what wine people politely call "neutral").  To be a little frank, Pinot Grigio is made to ge...

2019 Kirkland Signature Carneros Pinot Noir Vintage:  2019 Region:  Carneros, Napa Valley, California Winery:  Kirkland Signature (made by Alison Crowe) Varieties:  Pinot Noir Price:  $9.99 My Rating:  88 Points The Review: Howdy folks. Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day! Today's blog covers what I think is one of the all-around best value wines out there. The 2019 Kirkland Carneros Pinot Noir is consistently a really good Pinot for $10! As I think I've mentioned in the past, Pinot Noir is really hard to make well for cheap. It's finicky, very sensitive to the weather, and can easily be screwed up by the winemaker. This one, however, from the very famous Pinot region of Carneros, is typically very good! From the Napa side of Carneros (this subregion is really interesting because part of it is in Sonoma and the other part is in Napa), Alison Crowe puts out a wine that checks all of the boxes for what we want in a wine from this region. One of the really ...

2019 Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses Rosé Vintage:  2019 Region:  Languedoc, South of France, France Winery:  Gérard Bertrand Varieties:  Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault Price:  $13 Rating:  91 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review:  Sorry for the little bit of time away from the blog! I decided to take a break for a week or two. But now I'm back and I've got some really fun wines to share over the next few weeks, especially as we move into summer weather. Today's wine is a super crushable and light rosé from one of the most famous rosé regions in the world; and best of all, it won't break the bank! The 2019 Gérard Bertrand Côtes des Roses probably will catch your eye because of its really unique bottle shape. It's got a glass stopper on top of an elongated neck, but most notably the base looks like a rose. This is definitely a cool-looking bottle if you keep bottles like other really cool people do, but if not, the wine inside is just as cool. Rosé fr...

2018 Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vintage:  2018 Region:  Burgundy, France Winery:  Louis Jadot Varieties:  Pinot Noir Price:  $14 Rating:  89 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: Some of the most expensive wines in the world are coming out of Burgundy, France at the moment. These wines are historically the most renowned Pinot Noirs, and the famed Domaine de la Romanee Conti regularly puts out new releases that retail at over $1000. While tons of super-rich collectors absolutely eat this kind of stuff up, many wine professionals will tell you that some of the worst values out there are from Burgundy. Even though Pinot Noir is naturally expensive (I feel like I've explained why in a previous blog at some point...), Burgundian wines really decide to ramp up the price a little bit more. For reference, you usually can't find a really good red Burgundy for below $30...  That being said, Burgundian wines got recognition for a reason. They're a b...

2017 Zenato Alanera Rosso Vintage:  2017 Region:  Veneto, Italy Winery:  Zenato Varieties:  55% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 10% Covinone, 5% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon Price:  $11 Rating:  93 Points My Rating:  93 Points The Review:  Today's wine is a really interesting Costco find that I was reluctant to try, but finally did (I feel like I've seen it elsewhere, but it's always at my Costco). And boy is it good... James Suckling, the critic who gave this a 93, is consistently handing out ratings that are too high for Italian wines (he owns a house there, so he's biased), but I think he nailed this one. The Zenato Alanera (which translates to black wing btw) is unique in a few ways. First, it's made with a really odd blend of grapes. There are a few varieties that are indigenous to Northern Italy, your classic Cab and Merlot, and Corvina, a grape of legend. Corvina is famous for being the main grape in the wines of the Valpolicella region. In this ...

2019 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc Vintage:  2019 Region:  California, USA Winery:  Joel Gott Varieties:  Sauvignon Blanc Price:  $9.99 Rating:  92 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: As I was looking through some of my notes trying to find something to write about, I stumbled upon this wine and was just shocked that I had forgotten to write about it! The 2019 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc was one of the biggest unexpected hits of 2020, and for good reason. It's gotten unbelievable recognition, can be found just about anywhere, and best of all, it's $9! After a great vintage year for California, famed producer Joel Gott was able to put out a smash hit Sauvignon Blanc that ended up being ranked #21 on Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 of 2020. Now, most of these sorts of wines from respected big-name producers will be consistently solid, but it's pretty exciting when they're able to put out a stunner. It's up there with some of the better Sauvignon Blancs in the w...

What is decanting and do I need to do it? A good decanter also a good decanter Recently, there's been this Tik Tok trend in which people put really cheap wine in a blender and say that it tastes better. Now I don't personally have a Tik Tok, but I've been sent these videos on at least 4 different occasions and it got me thinking about decanting/aeration. Also, I don't have a wine I want to write about at the moment, so here's a nice rundown on decanting. As you've probably noticed, oxygen is very important in wine. It lifts aromas out of the glass, lets certain aromas shine through or balance out, allows tannins to meld better, and even plays a key role in aging. In fact, when we swirl the wine in our glass, it's not because we're trying to look pretentious! It's to aerate the wine and let small amounts of oxygen dissolve into it. Aeration effectively simulates a hyper-fast aging process. Whereas in bottle aging, tiny amounts of oxygen seep through t...