Wine Wednesday, Divalicious

A principal ingrained in me from childhood is not to judge a book by it's cover. And while most of the time I do pretty good when applying the concept to humans, I have to admit I still struggle with it in the wine world.

Case in point. I was given a bottle of the new Little Black Dress wine; Divalicious White.  It is a Pinot Grigio based blend with some Muscat, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, White Riesling and Viognier to round it out.  And while the label totally appealed to all of my senses as a woman (the title, the font, the hanger, the red shoes), an alarm went off in my head blaring "gimmick".  

I judged it as a sweet party wine targeted to the wallets of female consumers who like anything diva-ish, not that this is a bad thing mind you. But in the case of wine I questioned just how much substance it had. While there was fruit, like melon and citrus, there were other layers of flavor; a little spice, quite nice.

I give it girlfriend approval. This time of year, Divalicious is a great beach wine. It goes with the standard, portable snacks of salty chips and juicy fruits. And in the $10 price range, I'm not going to get ticked off if it gets too hot and I have to dump it, just mildly annoyed. Cheers!

Rare Find-Good Wine

I went to The Twisted Vine Bistro in downtown Fort Myers, FL, for a late lunch yesterday. And also to taste some new wine with owners Steve and Denise Hollister. Steve couldn't wait to share his latest acquisition, Allamand Cuvee Saint Jeannet. 

He explained that Saint Jeannet is a French grape that was thought to have been completely eradicated. That is until the owners of Allamand found it growing on a hillside of their property in Mendoza, Argentina. They had the strange grape with thick skin genetically tested to determine its origin.

There aren't many vines but vintners harvest what they can and in this case, blended it 50/50 with Chardonnay from 90 year-old vines. The result is a fresh and creamy blend, with some spice on the finish. I could pick out the rich Chardonnay immediately but it did not overpower the citrus and tropical fruits in the Saint Jeannet. OK for sipping in this hot weather but I liked it best with food.

After the wine rep told Steve there were only three cases in Florida, he said, "I'll take them all (waving his hands in the air)." The shipment should be in next week. As of yesterday he had planned to serve it by the glass and the bottle, $12/$48.

If you like to try different, unique and hard to get wines, you have to stop by and try this one a go, before I drink it all!

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