Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? If so, you might want to check out the 2014 Ponzi Pinot Gris from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$20
• Must be widely available

Ponzi Vineyards, located in Sherwood, Oregon, has been one of Oregon’s most consistent Pinot Gris producers for over 30 years. Dick and Nancy Ponzi founded Ponzi Vineyards in 1970. They first produced Pinot Noir in 1974. Then, the Ponzi family began planting Pinot Gris, a varietal virtually unknown in the United States at the time in 1978. In 2012, sisters Luisa and Maria Ponzi took the reins from their parents as the winery’s owners and operators.

“This inviting nose has floral notes of meadow flowers, chamomile and rose hip entangled with brighter aromatics of tangerine, lychee, sweet mint and hints of vanilla and lemon cream throughout. The lively mouth and vibrant acidity are wrapped around hints of quince, kumquat, starfruit and orange zest balanced by a touch of sweetness.” –Winemaker Luisa Ponzi

2014 Ponzi Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley, Oregon): Pale straw yellow in color. Aromatic with lemon and floral notes on the nose. Citrus fruit, melon, and a touch of minerality come through on the palate. Dry and light-bodied with lively acidity and a long, refreshing finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $17; Available elsewhere, $17

A Wine for Tonight: 2014 Ponzi Pinot Gris was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

No matter where you live in the United States, you are probably familiar with the wines of Chateau Ste. Michelle, particularly their Columbia Valley line. While those wines enjoy national distribution, Chateau Ste. Michelle also produces a number of other reserve and limited release wines that are not as widely available.

We recently had the opportunity to taste a number of the current releases from Chateau Ste. Michelle, in a blind samples tasting. The seven wines featured here, five whites and two reds, are all very good and, most importantly, deliver serious bang for your buck. Six of these wines received a QPR rating of 4 or 5. When it comes to good quality at an excellent value, the Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley line is hard to beat.

And, for those of you who generally stay away from white wines in the middle of winter when it is cold and/or wet, I encourage you to “let it go”. Especially when paired with the right foods, these wines can be enjoyed year-round.

2013 Chateau Ste. Michelle Horse Heaven Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Horse Heaven Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington): 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Pale straw yellow. Aromatic with citrus, particularly orange, and floral notes on both the nose and palate. Dry and light-bodied with racy acidity and a long, refreshing finish. Food pairing suggestions: mussels, halibut, chicken, goat cheese.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $15; Available elsewhere, $11 to $19

2013 Chateau Ste. Michelle Harvest Select Sweet Riesling (Columbia Valley, Washington): 100% Riesling. Pale to medium, greenish straw yellow. Nice nose with apricot, peach, and a touch of honey aromas and flavors. Medium-sweet and medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish. Food pairing suggestions: fresh fruit, crab, Asian dishes, mild cheeses. Residual Sugar: 4.3%
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $10; Available elsewhere, $7 to $12

2013 Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling (Columbia Valley, Washington): 100% Riesling. Pale, greenish straw yellow. Very aromatic with apple, apricot, and melon on both the nose and palate. Off-dry and light-bodied with lively acidity and a medium to long finish. Food pairing suggestions: fresh fruit, crab, mild cheeses, chicken. Residual Sugar: 2.01%
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $10; Available elsewhere, $7 to $12

2012 Chateau Ste. Michelle Merlot (Columbia Valley, Washington): 92% Merlot, 3% Syrah, and 5% blenders (Malbec, Grenache, Mourvedre and Petit Verdot). Deep, dark purplish red in color. Nice nose with black plum, black cherry, leather, and smoky aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with lively acidity, smooth tannins, and a long finish. Food pairing suggestions: beef, lamb, grilled salmon, hearty pastas.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $15; Available elsewhere, $12 to $19

2012 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley, Washington): 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 4% Syrah, 2% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot, and 2% Mourvedre. Deep, dark purplish red. Beautiful nose with red and black fruit aromas and flavors as well as a touch of eucalyptus. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, silky tannins, and a long, smooth finish. Food pairing suggestions: beef, hearty pastas, dark chocolate, blue cheese.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $15; Available elsewhere, $12 to $16

2013 Chateau Ste. Michelle Gewurztraminer (Columbia Valley, Washington): 100% Gewurztraminer. Pale yellow in color. Aromatic with floral notes as well as green apple and citrus on both the nose and palate. Medium-sweet and light-bodied with lively acidity and a medium to long finish. Food pairing suggestions: crab, Asian dishes, chicken. Residual Sugar: 1.7%
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $10; Available elsewhere, $8 to $12

2013 Eroica Riesling [Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen] (Columbia Valley, Washington): 100% Riesling. Pale, greenish straw yellow. Beautiful nose with white peach and honeysuckle aromas. Granny Smith apple and floral notes come through on the palate. Off-dry and light to medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long, refreshing finish. Food pairing suggestions: Asian dishes, Indian curries, crab, scallops. Residual Sugar: 1.55%
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $20; Available elsewhere, $14 to $26

Chateau Ste. Michelle Delivers Serious Bang for Your Buck was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

All of the wines paired well with Mom’s (LaGayle) dinner of tomato basil soup, ensalada mixta, chicken tapenade, grilled garlic basil polenta cakes, roasted asparagus with balsamic browned butter, and topped off by orange sherbet with strawberries drizzled with simple syrup and ground black pepper for dessert.

The consensus favorite of the evening was the 2013 Nobilo Regional Collection Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. In the 1940’s, Nikola Nobilo emigrated from Croatia and planted some of the first commercial grapevines in New Zealand. He was one of the pioneers responsible for the worldwide popularity of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

The other two wines in this tasting that deserve extra attention because of their high quality and excellent value are the 2013 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and the 2012 Efeste Feral Sauvignon Blanc from Washington State. These top three wines are outstanding and are great choices to enjoy on your deck on a warm evening or to complement lighter fare such as chicken or fish any time of the year.

From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings:

2013 Nobilo Regional Collection Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand): Pale, straw yellow. Beautiful nose with grapefruit and lime aromas. More grapefruit and lime as well as vegetal notes come through on the palate. Dry and medium-bodied with crisp acidity. Well-balanced with a very long, refreshing finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Total Wine & More (Seattle, Washington), $8; Available elsewhere, $8 to $13

2013 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand): Pale, greenish straw yellow. Very aromatic with grapefruit, lime, and fresh cut grass on the nose. More grapefruit, lime, and a touch of pineapple come through on the palate. Dry and medium-bodied with racy acidity. Well-balanced and refreshing with an extremely long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Total Wine & More (Seattle, Washington), $12; Available elsewhere, $10 to $14

2012 Efeste Feral Sauvignon Blanc (Evergreen Vineyard, Columbia Valley, Washington): Pale, greenish straw yellow. Gorgeous nose with lime, grapefruit, pear, and a touch of minerality. More citrus notes come through on the palate. Dry and light to medium-bodied with tart acidity. Well-balanced with a very long, lingering finish. Very crisp and refreshing.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Total Wine & More (Seattle, Washington), $20; Available elsewhere, $19 to $21

2013 Chateau Montet Bordeaux Blanc (Bordeaux, France): Pale, straw yellow. Nose is a bit tight at first, then pear and apple aromas come through. More pear, apple, and a touch of citrus come through on the palate. Dry and light-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Total Wine & More (Seattle, Washington), $10

2012 Woodinville Wine Cellars Sauvignon Blanc (Columbia Valley, Washington): Pale, straw yellow. Aromatic with apple, pear, lime, and a touch of minerality on both the nose and palate. Dry and medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Total Wine & More (Seattle, Washington), $15; Available elsewhere, $15 to $17

2012 Gilles Blanchet Pouilly Fume (Loire, France): Pale, straw yellow. Moderately aromatic with apple notes on the nose. More apple as well as pear and a touch of flint comes through on the palate. Dry and light-bodied with lively acidity and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Total Wine & More (Seattle, Washington), $18

Wine Tasting Dinner: Sauvignon Blanc from Around the World was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Since we visited New Zealand in 2005, we have followed Kim Crawford Wines closely. Recently, we had the opportunity to taste their 2013 Sauvignon Blanc in a blind samples tasting. It is outstanding and delivers serious bang for your buck.

Regular readers know that we are big fans of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, the country’s flagship wine. And Kim Crawford Wines makes one of our favorite New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. It’s crisp acidity and refreshing grapefruit flavors are especially pleasing to our palates. The most amazing thing about Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is its remarkable consistency from vintage to vintage. And, speaking of vintage, the 2013 vintage has been hailed as New Zealand’s “Vintage of a Lifetime.”

Constellation New Zealand’s Chief Winemaker, Darryl Woolley, who has over 30 years of experience making wine in the Marlborough region called the 2013 growing season “exemplary”. In addition to being New Zealand’s driest growing season in about 70 years, the 2013 vintage also benefitted from the sunniest first three months of the year since 1930.

“We’ve had a perfect mix of warm, but not hot, days and cool nights. Rain fell at the right part of the growing cycle and, more importantly, did not fall during the critical period leading up to harvest. This resulted in a medium sized crop of exceptionally high quality grapes.” –Darryl Woolley, Constellation New Zealand’s Chief Winemaker

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is widely available in the United States and is an excellent choice for the warm spring and summer months.

2013 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand): Pale, greenish straw yellow. Very aromatic with grapefruit, lime, and fresh cut grass on the nose. More grapefruit, lime, and a touch of pineapple come through on the palate. Dry and medium-bodied with racy acidity. Well-balanced and refreshing with an extremely long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $17.99; Available elsewhere, $11 to $19

New Zealand’s 2013 Vintage hailed as “Vintage of a Lifetime”: 2013 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

This spring, Brancott Estate introduced a new lighter wine range called Flight Song, which includes a Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot Grigio. These wines are produced using grapes harvested earlier in the season when their sugar levels are naturally lower. This leads to a wine that is 20 percent lighter in calories than a typical wine of the same variety.

“There are a number of ways to reduce the calories in wine but not all of these processes are natural and many of them affect the flavor of the wine. With Brancott Estate Flight Song, we use a natural winemaking approach to create a wine that is 20 percent lighter in calories. By doing this, we retain all of the distinctive Marlborough flavors that people expect from Brancott Estate,” says Patrick Materman, Brancott Estate Chief Winemaker

Recently, we had the opportunity to taste the 2013 Flight Song Sauvignon Blanc and the 2013 Flight Song Pinot Grigio in a blind samples tasting. Both wines are good and are perfect sippers for the warm weather ahead. The Flight Song range is now available nationwide in the United States.

2013 Brancott Estate Flight Song Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand): Pale straw yellow. Aromatic with grapefruit, lime, and orange blossoms on both the nose and palate. Dry and light-bodied with very crisp acidity and a long, refreshing finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $14.99; Available elsewhere, $11 to $16

2013 Brancott Estate Flight Song Pinot Grigio (Marlborough, New Zealand): Very pale straw yellow. Nice nose with honeysuckle and citrus aromas. Lemon, lime, and floral notes come through on the palate. Dry and light-bodied with lively acidity and a medium finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $14.99; Available elsewhere, $11 to $16

Brancott Estate Flight Song: A New Lighter Wine Range was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$20
• Must be widely available

Robert Mondavi was a winemaking legend and Napa Valley pioneer. Mondavi played an integral role in putting United States wine on the map worldwide. He founded his namesake winery in 1966, which was the first major winery in the Napa Valley of California after Prohibition. His goal was to produce wines that would stand up against the best wines in the world. Robert Mondavi Private Selection was founded in 1994 by Robert Mondavi to showcase California’s best Central Coast vineyards. Today, winemaker Rick Boyer produces eleven different wines under the Private Selection label including this Riesling.

“Our 2013 Riesling was produced exclusively from grapes grown in Monterey County in California’s Central Coast American Viticultural Area, a region renowned for its cool climate. An especially aromatic rendition of the noble Riesling varietal, it exudes warm, ripe peach, jasmine, fresh citrone, and Florabunda rose perfumes. Strong acidity keeps the wine crisp and refreshing. A slight sweetness makes it the perfect accompaniment to spicy Thai, Spanish, or Indian cuisine.” –Rick Boyer, Winemaker

2013 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Riesling (Central Coast, California): 100% Riesling. Pale, greenish straw yellow in color. Aromatic with peach and floral notes on the nose. More peach, dried apricot, and floral notes come through on the palate. Off-dry and light to medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long, refreshing finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $11; Available elsewhere, $7 to 9

A Wine for Tonight: 2013 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Riesling was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Since we are always trying to come up with fun ideas for our challenging wine pairings, we decided that it was time to do a pairing with Peeps. Obviously, these confections are not the ideal dessert, but we had a great time selecting the wines and trying the pairings.

A general food and wine pairing guideline is “sweet with sweet”. In most cases, you want the wine to be at least as sweet as the food. When you sip a sweet wine with a sweet dessert, the sweetness level actually goes down and all of the flavors come together.

We decided to go with two wines that had some sweetness but were different so we selected one sparkling wine, the NV Michelle Extra Dry Sparkling Wine, and one still wine, the 2012 Ste. Chapelle Special Harvest Riesling. The unanimous choice as the best pairing with the Peeps was the Extra Dry Sparkling Wine. It exhibited a subtle sweetness and crisp acidity that complemented the sweetness of the Peeps and provided great balance in the pairing. The Riesling was a bit too sweet and syrupy and lacked the acidity needed to balance out the sweetness so the combination was overwhelming.

What would you have paired with the Peeps?  And, as always, we welcome your suggestions for future challenging wine pairings.

Bon Appétit!

NV Michelle Extra Dry Sparkling Wine (Columbia Valley, Washington): 63% Chardonnay, 19% Pinot Noir, and 18% Pinot Gris. Small, fast bead of bubbles. Pale to medium yellow in color. Aromatic with white peach, pear, nuts, and floral notes on both the nose and palate. Off-dry and light to medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish. Residual Sugar: 2.18%
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $14; Available elsewhere, $9 to $17

2012 Ste. Chapelle Special Harvest Riesling (Snake River Valley, Idaho): Medium golden yellow. Nice nose with candied apple, honey, and apricot aromas and flavors. Sweet and light to medium-bodied with lively acidity and a long finish. Residual Sugar: 7.5%
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $12; Available elsewhere, $11 to $13

Challenging Wine Pairing: Peeps Marshmallow Confections was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

The Grand Tasting is the “main event” each day. This year, Taste Washington featured 226 wineries pouring their wines and 68 Northwest restaurants serving small bites. With more than 780 wineries now open in the state of Washington, this event offers attendees the opportunity to try a large number of them in one place at one time. Considering the time and gas money you save not having to crisscross the state visiting tasting rooms and making appointments, the price of admission to Taste Washington is money well spent. Now, don’t get me wrong, once you attend an event like this and discover some favorite new wines and wineries, you will definitely want to make plans to travel to the wineries to visit and taste again. There is nothing like spending a long weekend in Washington wine country.

One of the best aspects of Taste Washington is that often you will find either the winemaker and/or winery owner pouring that winery’s wines. In addition to visiting with a number of people whose wines we have enjoyed in the past, we always find it a great opportunity to try some wines from wineries whose wines we have not previously tasted.

With over 800 wines featured at a large tasting like this, we can only taste through a limited number of them. Therefore, we don’t try to revisit wines that we have recently reviewed (i.e. Avennia, etc.). Keeping that in mind, my favorite wines from the Grand Tasting, from wineries whose wines we’ve enjoyed in the past, were the 2008 Boudreaux Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2011 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2010 Fall Line Winery Red Willow Red Wine, and the 2011 Rotie Cellars Northern Blend.

At Taste Washington last year, our most exciting discovery was Kevin White Winery. We deemed it as a winery to watch. Kevin White recently released his 2012 vintage wines, and this was our first opportunity to taste them. They did not disappoint. In fact, his 2012’s are even better than his 2011’s. The 2012 La Fraternité Red Wine and the 2012 En Hommage Red Wine are both outstanding. And, I expect them to only improve with some age. With price tags under $30, both wines deliver serious bang for your buck.

For the best new-to-us winery, my nod goes to Bartholomew Winery. While not a brand new winery, we had not tasted their wines previously. They were pouring three wines at the Grand Tasting, the 2013 Aligote, the 2013 Rosé of Carmenere, and the 2010 Reciprocity Red Blend. All three were very good and are worth checking out. Bart and Chona Fawbush founded Bartholomew Winery in 2007. Their tasting room located in Seattle’s historic Old Rainier Brewery building is open to the public for tastings on the weekends.

Did you attend Taste Washington this year? What were some of your favorite wines?

Even though Taste Washington Wine Month has concluded, here’s to enjoying excellent Washington wine all year long. Cheers!

Taste Washington 2014: Highlights from Seattle’s Wine & Food Weekend was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.