Wiley Whites

Since it's summer I can "officially" wear white, and I feel the need to drink them (and pink) too. Unfortunatley I've had a few tucked away that just didn't withstand the test of time and have had to dump more than drink lately. Sad.

I fell in love with the Cadaretta SBS during a Wine Wednesday interview a couple of years ago, and stocked up on a case of the sauvignon blanc/semillion blend. Digging around for some weekend wines, I FOUND ONE, but my excitement was quickly tempered when I read the fine print....2011.

Not because it was a precarious year for some growers (mostly in California, this is from Washington) but because it's four years old. While some reds aren't even released for four years, whites are a different story....aging potential is generally more limited.

When first opened, my fears were supported....disappointment. It was a bit astringent, however, I tasted tropical fruit even mango, so I put a cork on it and tried it again the next day. Guess what? It worked itself out.

Moral of the story....if there is a HINT of potential....let it sit and try it again, you never know if magic can happen with a little infusion of oxygen.

Wine Wednesday Cadaretta

It's Wine Wednesday!! Today was such a treat. I got a call from Heather Smith at Opici, who just happened to be in the neighborhood with Andrew Broden from Middleton Family Wines. They stopped by the studio with some GREAT wines. The one I am featuring is the Cadaretta SBS a blend of mostly Sauvignon Blanc with some Semillion. It's new to the Southwest Florida Market, coming in at under $25 retail. Hear more here:



https://soundcloud.com/gina-birch-live/wine-wednesday-cadaretta

Love The Label

I was at a wine tasting this week and got to sample a lovely Riesling from Milbrandt Vineyards, in Washington State. It's a fruity Riesling, but not too sweet. For example, I tasted juicy apricots but also crisp citrus for a nice balance. I was dying to have a plate of spicy red curry from my favorite Thai restaurant with this wine.

I was looking at the bottle, taking notes when the distributor said, "Here take this". She ripped a perforated piece of the label off of the back, to my surprise, and handed it to me. The band-aid sized paper had such pertinent information as the grape, the year, a few tasting notes, a pairing suggestion and vineyard website.BRILLIANT! I wish all bottles had this.

I'm currently working on an article for "Times Of The Islands" Magazine about wine labels and Milbrandt, for sure, will be one of the wines I include. If you have any favorites for labeling, please share them with me!


***COMMENTS: Thanks to all my Facebook friends for posting so many great comments. I would LOVE it if you could also post your comments here on this blog site. Many people tell me they posted and it never showed up. Disappointing for us both. So click comment, type your comment, check the box that says "comment as" then hit post. If a word verification box does not appear next (a scrambled word to retype) your comment did not post. Thanks!