It is hard not to love a good Gruner Veltliner, and we were fortunate enough to pick up several bottles from Domane Wachau while at Duty Free in Vienna's airport in 2020.
The Kinrberg bottle was an interesting one from the bunch as it had an intense minerality about it that the other bottles simply did not have. This one may be a bit too mineral-forward for some, but if you like this aspect in your white you may really enjoy this bottle!
Chenin Blanc is said to be the most widely planted grape in South Africa, and after taking a sip of a bottle like Tania et Vincent Careme's Terre Brulee Le Blanc you'll understand why.
This one comes loaded with tart fruit and a bitterness that is balanced quite well.
Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery in the Finger Lakes has been a staple of the region for many decades, and with good reason. This one produces some fine wines that are quite representative of their styles and go down quickly.
So if you are in the mood for an easy-drinking off-dry Riesling, Dr. Konstantin Frank's Reserve Riesling should be right up your alley!
Anthony Road is a popular winery located towards the northwest end of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes. With a beautiful tasting room, a wealth of wines available to taste, and a visitor's garden featuring grape vines, herbs, and more, this is really the kind of winery we love to visit.
Naturally, we also left with a number of bottles.
One such bottle was their off-dry Vignoles, and we recently paired it with a spicy chicken tikka masala which made for a wonderful pairing!
If you've read enough wine reviews on this site, you may hear us regularly talk about one of our favorite restaurants and natural wine shops in Pittsburgh- Apteka.
There are many reasons why we love this one, but on the wine side it is because they really help us procure some lesser-known grape varieties that are often out there.
One of the first bottles we bought from them was Louis-Antoine Luyt Gordo Blanco NV which smelled of camphor and eucalyptus and tasted like a lemon-lime beverage. Naturally, they carried more from this producer and we returned to pick up the Pipeno Carrizal (100% Pais grape in a 1L bottle) on a later visit.
Rakete from Jutta Ambrositsch has an interesting backstory. First, the grapes are grown inside the city limits of Vienna (we've walked near some vineyards here before- it is very surreal). Second, it is a natural wine. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is that this particular bottle is a field blend!
Whereas being a field blend on its own is maybe not as exciting, the grapes that go into Rakete (Zweigelt, St. Laurent, Blauburger, Merlot, and “some white grapes”) are all grown side by side in just five rows.
Grapes that are grown, picked, and fermented, quite literally, together? Sign us up.
Salcheto Winery takes an interesting approach to their Sangiovese. The bottle of Obvius is made naturally with (as we understand it, at least) indigenous yeasts, no sulfites, and was not aged in barrels. As such, it was meant to be enjoyed with a bit of reduction going on as well.
But for us, the reduction notes were too intense for our liking.
Cendre is a 50/50 blend of Mourvedre and Petite Syrah coming out of Paso Robles, California that we received within an order from Plonk Wine Club.
This wine had solid acidity with approachable tannins, and a well-rounded balance of dark fruit and herb flavors making it an easy sipper to pair with one of our favorites- pizza!
When we visit Finger Lakes wineries, we almost always make a stop at Heron Hill on Keuka Lake.
Apart from having a stunning view of the lake, the winery does a good job at producing an array of delicious wines that we think are quite representable of their respective styles. One such wine was the Heron Hill Reserve Riesling which is true to form for a cool climate Riesling.
Keuka Lake Vineyard is a great spot to hang out for a while, sample some easy-drinking wines, and take in the beauty that is the Finger Lakes.
In fact, when we visited this one in 2020 we had such a great time talking with the owner (who we found out was also from Pittsburgh) that we got another reminder of an aspect of wine that we often do not discuss a lot on this site- the people behind it. Hearing stories of growing up in Pittsburgh, working in Nepal, and more reminded us of how much we love this part of wine tasting.
Naturally, we left with several bottles, and Keuka Lake Vineyard's Sauvignon Blanc Young Block was one such wine. It didn't take long after returning home for us to open this easy-drinking white!
