09.09.09 Comparing Pinots: Gris vs Grigrio

The lineup

Pinot Gris? Pinot Grigio? Would a Pinot by any other name smell as citrusy or green appley? We dared find out. We started with the generally crisper Pinot Grigios then moved on to a couple Pinot Gris, and finished with a whack blend with some percentage of Pinot Grigio.

2007 Süditrol-Eislachtaler Pinot Grigio (Alto Adige, Italy), $17.
Katie got a citrus spritz of air freshener and mineral on the nose. Nikki got white peach, paté, and along with Colin, formaldehyde. I got chemical’d lemon zest and Tim got lemongrass. Colin got honey, marmalade, and lemon while Ellen got peary-peach.
The palate

2006 St. Paul’s Pinot Grigio (Egg Leiten Vineyard, Alto Adige, Italy), $23. The nose on this pinot of the grigio variety gave us cinnamon green apple, and Chris C. and I got Dijon mustard. Katie got rye and arugula, Colin got powdered sugar, Eric got Granma soap vs. white pepper, Brie got 99 Bananas, Ellen got pear, Nikki got cucumber and celery, and Tim got a salty mineral component. Hella diversity up in this nose.
The palate had noticeable minerality with some slightly noticeable alcohol, and an finish that was like having a rock in your mouth (minerally rock, not covered in dirt, gray, and preferably shiny). Nikki got banana flavored Now N’ Later + radish, Tim got mild aged cheese, Colin found it very light with nasty green banana, and Katie found it floral but like eating an unripe flower.

2008 Pisato Pinot Grigio (Veneto, Italy), $11. The nose was fresh and sweet to Brie, Katie got sugar covered gummy candy and honeydew melon, Colin and Tim got green apple along with Ellen, who also got honey.  Eric F. got salty refreshing sea shore, and Tim got ocean and more fuckin’ grass. Oh, and Tim got sparkles, and Chris C. got sparkly unicorn.
The palate was juicy and smooth, Tim found it refreshing, balanced, and easy, if not a little boring. Nikki thought it was balanced with nice acidity and easy drinkin’. Katie found it balanced and refreshing, like ice water with lime. Ellen thought it was slightly salty with a light finish and easy to drink.

2008 Hatcher Pinot Grigio (El Dorado County, CA), $16. The nose on this bitch gave us a barrel o’ tart green apple, Nikki got pear, cucumber, melon and musk, while  Brie got perfume, Katie found it soapy/yeasty, and Ellen got pear and the baby cousin of funk. On that note, Tim got hot mess boy smell/last call at Badlands bar SF.
The palate was hella tart with yet even more green apple, Tim found it high in acid while Nikki found it crisp and lemony, Katie got lychee, and Colin got caramel apple.

2008 Firefly Ridge Pinot Gris (Central Coast, CA), $16. Straying from green apple, I got got canned green beans on the nose and apple juice. Tim got candied fruit and Nikki got candied peach rings, lychee, and seconded the canned green beans. Colin got lychee and juice box style apple juice. Brie got smooth cream. Katie got LYCHEE (in caps) and white grape juice. Ellen got peach-O’s, more lychee, and Tree Top apple juice blend from the box.
The palate afforded honey, spice, and alch to me. Tim got artificial sugar, and thought it tasted cheap. Nikki found it sweet, and white grapefruity (as did Colin and Katie). Ellen found it sweet as well with flavors of peach-O gummies.

2007 J Vineyards & Winery Pinot Gris (Russian River Valley, CA), $20. The nose was faint with minerally waxed apple component. Nikki found it champagne-y, yeasty, and smelling like baked pear tart. Ellen got pungent blue cheese. Katie got creamy, sunflower polenta.
The palate showed honey, with a minerally roundness. Colin got creamy vanilla icing. Nikki got dark green Mr. Sketch marker and found it very balanced. Tim, Nikki, and Ellen found it slightly sweet and Katie thought it had good acidity.

2007 Luna Vineyards “Freakout” White Blend (Napa Valley, CA), $25. This was ridic blend of 32% sauvignon blanc, 29% chardonnay, 29% pinot grigio and 10% tocai friulano had aromas of ham(!) and sulfur to me and Eric F. Katie thought it smelled like Heath Bar. Nikki got gefilte fish, prosciutto, matzo ball soup, and probably some other Jewish/meaty component. Ellen took the ham up a notch to deviled ham. Made from evil pigs in hell.
The palate was funky, with Nikki getting minerality and not a lot more. Katie and Ellen found it salty and Ellen got a meaty component with a hint of white grape. Interesting to say the least.

Gracefully Grigio'd Winos

8.26.09 Les Petits

The Petits

After some bucolic day-tripping in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, jet setter/young wino Tim Borjas was inspired by some petite sirahs, and suggested a tasting of the beastly little berries. Trying to be inclusive and diverse (this is San Francisco…) I wanted to spice things up by including the Bordeaux-based underdog blending grape: petit verdot. The only problem? Damn near no one makes a single varietal bottling of PV. So to start things off, we tried a California Bordeaux-blend with a staggering 14% petit verdot…

2005 Girard “Artistry” Red Wine, (Napa Valley, CA), $42. Right out of the gate, Ellen got blackberry, rained-upon asphalt, and Dr. Pepper on the nose. Katie found it minerally, with a damp cave/geode component. Alea thought it was earthy, and seconded the bubbly carbonation aroma with Coca-Cola. Ever the alchy, Tim got Jägermeister. Sarah got rose, Ben got pepper, Nikki got leather, new car smell, and thought it wasn’t very fruity. I got black cherry Robitussin.
The palate was earthy, according to Tim, and Ellen thought it tasted heavier than it smelled. Katie thought it was pretty tannic. Alea got plum and cherry. I thought it was chalky with medium-high acidity. Sarah got lemon zest and Brie also found it fairly tannic. Not the best example of petit verdot on its own, but at the time, 14% had to do for this Cab Sauv-based blend.

Our first petite sirah was a 2006 Truett-Hurst “Burning Man” Petite Sirah (North Coast, CA), $32. On the nose, Ryan got BBQ sauce. Chris C seconded that with Mickey D’s BBQ sauce, specifically. Chris H got jam, Sarah got Play-Doh, Katie got black cherry, Nikki got candied yams, Colin got blackberry, and Alea and I got boysenberry.
Sarah got raisin on the palate, Sarah got nutmeg, and I got black cherry candy. Chris H got black pepper on the finish while Colin found it harsh and Alea found it hot from alcohol.

Next was an 2007 Bogle Petite Sirah, (California), $11.
Nikki got blueberry on the nose, along with a graphite/pencil shavings component that Colin noticed too. Chris H. thought it smelled like autumn. Sarah got saffron and white truffle, Ben got cornbread, Ellen got something greater than juice, but less then jam, and damn near everybody got school supplies.
As for the palate, I got JUICE(!), watered down Petite Sirah juice perchance, but JUICE nonetheless. Chris H. got guava, Ryan got prune juice, Alea got ‘shrooms, and Sarah found it very drinkable.

2006 David Bruce Petite Sirah (Central Coast, CA), $20. At the get-go, Tim got barnyard/poo on the nose. Colin got beef jerky which Katie seconded with a meaty, tobacco-y component and a touch of hella dark chocolate. Ben and Ellen got sulfur, Emily got stinky cheese. Alea found an earthy component that Ellen echoed with damp forest. Genevieve smelled perm solution, Sarah got cat potty, and Tim later noticed Flintstone grape chewable vitamins.
For the palate, I found it plummy and like the last, watery. Colin thought it was peppery with a cranberry overtone. Ben thought it was smooth while Ellen noticed some bitterness. Katie got espresso with a coffee finished seconeded by Alea and Sarah. Nikki thought it was pretty tannic.

2007 Line 39 Petite Sirah (Lake County, CA), $15. On the nose Genevieve got sandy beach. Nikki’s nose thought this shit was bananas (B.A.N.A.N.A.S.) and reminded her of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle gingerbread man —  Donatello, to be specific. Alea got honey, Sarah got celery and hand soap, and Emily got caramel. Noticing Nikki’s aforementioned confectionery  aromas, Katie got Nilla Wafers dipped in cranberry, Colin got molasses, and I got sweetie pie, which I guess is a sugary pie made for/by lovers.
The palate was metallic for Nikki, smooth to me, tasted like cherry juice for Ellen, and had a cucumber and barley component for Sarah.

2005 Stonehedge Petite Sirah (CA), $11. Colin got rubber cement on the nose. Katie got canned vegetables. Nikki got chocolate covered blueberries and Genevieve found it syrupy. Alea got a zinfandel-esque port smell coupled with cough syrup. Chris C. got chocolate milk and s’mores flavored Pop-Tarts. Ellen got graham cracker and I thought it smelled like a fruit bomb, ready to explode in or around my mouth. That’s what she said. (Sorry, had to.)
And then came the disappointment: the palate was a watered down fruit bomb; a fruit grenade, or perhaps a fruit pipe bomb, if you will. Chris H. suggested cherry bomb. Emily got dried apricots, Katie got cherry Jolly Rancher. Alea got licorice and thought this wine was all about the mid-palate and not much else.

2006 Vinum Cellars “PETs” Petite Sirah (Clarksburg, CA), $11.
Katie commenced with funkberries on the nose. Always the sweetheart, Nikki got confectionery of course, and mushroom. She half-joked that this was the “pinot of petite sirah.” Colin got brie rind, Alea got gym socks, and Ben + Emily got roasted marshmallows.
Tim thought the palate was bitter and Colin found it jammy at first with the bitterness on the finish. Alea thought it was high in tannin, had a “Coke-y” finish, and “warms the soul.” Nikki found it meaty with an orange Peke tea flavor. Katie thought it tasted like Aladdin’s magic flying carpet transporting wild baby apples. This bitch was a favourite.

2007 McManis Petite Sirah (CA), $11. Colin got vanilla on the nose while Nikki got candied yams, milk chocolate, and homemade play-doh. Ellen got cotton candy, Alea thought it was meaty, Katie got basil, Sarah got Barbie doll plastic, lavender, and granmuh-style talcum powder, and I got barbecued plums.
I got more pleasant plum on the palate, Alea got campfire, Ellen found it pinot-ish, adn Chris H. got marshmallow. We enjoyed this wine much as well.

Well that does it for the petite sirah tasting!

Happetite Winos!

…BUT WAIT!

……LONGER!

………. Ok, just like 5 days longer.

On a otherwise uneventful picnic with a handful of young winos in Dolores Park, I was slapped across the mouth with none other than a PETITE VER-muthafuckin-DOT! Bless your heart 2005 Terra Sávia Petit Verdot (Small Valley Vineyard, Mendocino, CA), $15. Colin got gasoline and vegetable on the nose. I think they call that Bio-Diesel…? I got boysenberry and blueberry, Katie found it a little funky, and Tim thought it was earthy.
The petit palate had very good acidity, dark fruit which was mostly upfront, and fell a little short on the finish. Katie noticed the acidity as well and thought it tasted tart with flavors of green pepper. Tim got salty cheap olives. Overall, we were down with this little verdot.

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YWSF