Drew's Wine List

Thanksgiving Wine Recommendations + Review of What I Will Probably Serve for My Family That's right people. I'm writing above the picture! Unprecedented. Anyways, before I gave a review of the wine I'm most likely going to serve at my own family's Thanksgiving dinner (spoiler alert mom), I figured I'd talk about pairing wine with everyone's favorite "impossible-to-pair-wine-with" feast (I mean seriously. Whoever picked these dishes clearly did not have sommeliers in mind.). Pairing food and wine is an art. It takes lots of thought and care to complement, and more importantly, not overshadow flavors. Thus, my official Thanksgiving recommendation is- don't overthink it! And that applies to pairing in general. There are no food and wine pairings that are set in stone. Obviously, some wines will work better than others, but if a wine is good enough, it'll work with just about anything. Which is perfect for Thanksgiving because it's pretty much ...

2018 Domaine Gouron Chinon Rouge Vintage:  2018 Region:  Chinon, Loire Valley, France Winery:  Domaine Gouron Varieties:  Cabernet Franc Price: $17 (found at Kroger in Rio Hill for my CVille Peeps) Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: Happy Fall! With the most recent blast of cold air, I think we can comfortably say the chill is officially here to stay. That being said, it's time to break out some nice reds for the cooler weather! The 2018 Domaine Gouron Chinon Rouge is the perfect Fall wine and is a great wine because it is a very pure expression of Cabernet Franc, a grape many of us in Virginia are familiar with. The Cabernet Franc variety originated in Southwestern France but made its name as a blending grape in Bordeaux (and as the parent grape of Cabernet Sauvignon). It can make up a large percentage of the blends of Right Bank Bordeaux wines, which are Merlot dominant. In the Loire Valley, however, Cabernet Franc takes center stage and...

2015 Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay Vintage:  2015 Region:  Fauquier County, Virginia Winery:  Linden Vineyards Varieties:  Chardonnay Price:  $35 My Rating:  89 Points The Review: In honor of most Virginia wineries making it through most of harvest (at least of white grapes) and Fall sneaking up on us, I thought it'd be appropriate to cover one of the most recognized and renowned Virginia wines out there- the Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay. Linden Vineyards was first planted in 1985 with the intention of making single-vineyard expression wines. The first few acres, now making up part of the "Hardscrabble" vineyard, are still included in today's production. Those are some old vines! Typically, vineyards in Virginia will cycle out vines every 10ish years, however, Linden has been able to keep these old vines healthy and continue their production. Currently, Linden has three distinct vineyard sites- Hardscrabble, Avenius, and Boisseau- and the wines that have...

2019 Cellier des Princes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Sainte Vierge Vintage:  2019 Region:  Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône, France Winery:  Cellier des Princes (Négociant) Varieties:  90% Grenache, 5% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre Price:  $22 (at Costco) Rating:  91 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review: Situated in the Southern Rhône Valley of France sits the wine region with one of the weirdest and most fun names- Châteauneuf-du-Pape (pronounced Chateau-noof doo Pop). Translating to "the Pope's new castle," CdP (not typing that whole name anymore) earned its name after the Pope moved temporarily to the region from 1309 to 1378. It is regarded as the most famous Grenache-based wines in the world, and this is another one of those magical regions which has benefited from great marketing. You'll be very hard-pressed to find a bottle for below $30. The Rhône Valley is a fascinating place, because it is geographically divided into North and South, and each part ...

2014 W&J Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Porto Vintage:  2014 Region: Douro, Porto, Portugal Winery:  W&J Graham Varieties:  Blend of Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca, old mixed vines Price:  $24 (I found it for $21 at Trader Joe's) Rating:  92 Points My Rating:  93 Points The Review: As I was sitting at home the other night enjoying a nice glass of Port after dinner (hold the old man jokes), I realized that I've never written about the well-known fortified wine! And I've gotta be honest with you, it's for two main reasons- 1) I really don't drink a ton of it, and 2) it's one of the harder types of wines to explain. But I promise I'll do my best, and hopefully you'll close your browser having learned a little bit about Porto. And maybe you'll drink some instead of just cooking with it. :) Right off the bat, let me clear the air before we get into it. I'll probably alternate between referring to the wine as ...

2018 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva Vintage:  2018 Region:  Chianti Classico DOCG, Tuscany, Italy Winery:  Kirkland Signature Varieties:  At least 80% Sangiovese with Colorino, Canaiolo Nero, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot making up the rest. Price:  $7.99 Rating:  92 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: I recently solidified my grownup status with my joining of Costco, and I must admit I've been TEARING through their wine section. One of the wines I was super excited to stumble upon is the 2018 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva- not just because it's a Tuscan wine for $7.99, but because it's a really really good Tuscan wine for $7.99. I had heard a lot about this wine in the past from writers and magazines, so I was excited to give it a try and find out just how good it is. I've written about Chianti Classico in some previous blogs, so I won't bore you too much with long explanations about the laws and grape growing techniqu...

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...