*

*
The Foodie Report
Ruminations on food, cooking in and eating out in our area.


It's entirely possible to be a vegetarian in Porkopolis. Pop culture reporter Lauren Bishop blogs about products, recipes and restaurants she's tried for others who eat meat-free. E-mail her at lbishop@enquirer.com.


Nicci King is an unabashed foodie and the Lifestyle/Food editor in The Enquirer's features department. She loves to discover new food faves, and she's on a daily quest to answer one burning question: What's for dinner? E-mail her at nking@enquirer.com.


Enquirer Weekend editor Julie Gaw tends to order the same dish every time she eats at a restaurant, but periodically ventures out to discover something new and fabulous. After living in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand for more than 8 years, she craves tasty Asian food. E-mail her at jgaw@enquirer.com.


Food/dining writer Polly Campbell loves every quirk and secret of Cincinnati's food personality, and is on a constant lookout for something good to eat. Keep an eye out for her restaurant picks, or see how she's progressing toward becoming famous for her apple pie. E-mail her at pcampbell@enquirer.com.


Communities reporter Rachel Richardson is on a mission to prove vegetarians eat more than lettuce. She shares both her graduate work on American food culture and food-related news.. E-mail her at rrichardson@enquirer.com.

Powered by Blogger

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Good and cheap wine fave...


Wine is a wonderful thing. But, in my opinion, some people make wine drinking too complicated. Although I am interested to know whether or not an "expert" found a wine to be vegetal, I still want to try it for myself! I refuse to allow anyone to steer me away from a wine, just because they find a flaw. Perhaps that taster was battling allergies and a bit congested, thus rendering her taste buds useless. Or maybe our palates are just very dissimilar. Who knows?


My cheap-o fave of the moment is a chardonnay from Barefoot Cellars. It's only about $8 a bottle. No frills, but good stuff. The pear and vanilla flavors are crisp and perfect as the weather turns warm. And the deliciously buttery finish will make it hard to put your glass down... Of course this wine is nonvintage and isn't anything that you could age. But it is perfect for a casual girlfriend-get-together out on the patio or a romantic date on a breezy summer night. And the price is so easy on your wallet that you can afford to invite friends over every weekend through the summer. Heck, maybe every day...


My point is that when it comes to wine I like to keep things simple. Drink the wine. If you like it, continue to drink it. Whether it costs a little or a whole lot. Tell anyone who turns their nose up at your wine fave to stick a cork in it.


If you want to spend a little more money on a chardonnay, I posted some suggestions in the comments section.
What's your favorite inexpensive wine?


7 Comments:

at 5:10 PM Blogger Nicci King said...

By Frank Sutherland and Kate Sutherland
Gannett News Service

2005 Landmark Overlook Sonoma chardonnay. $27.99.
The aroma offered sharp acidic fruits such as lemon, lime and other citrus plus savory ham and briny scents. The wine was lemony on the tongue, but not too much so and nicely juicy. It had the best balance of the five. Our top-ranked wine in the tasting, it was least expensive. It stayed on the palate longer than the others.

2005 Frank Family Vineyards Napa chardonnay. $32.99.
From the glass we smelled exaggerated fresh pineapple and ripe fruit scents. The wine had good acidity, with tastes of ripe red apples, pear and ripe fruit. Tied for second in our tasting, this wine had the lightest texture of the five.

2003 Chalk Hill Sonoma chardonnay. $49.99.
The aroma reminded us of green apples, almonds, green nuts, cauliflower, asparagus and green peppercorns. The palate was spicy, with toasted nut butter flavors. The wine had better balance than most. It tied for second in the tasting, with a slightly buttered pecan taste on the finish.

2005 Mueller Russian River chardonnay. $34.99.
We discovered a nose like powdered sugar on top of pineapples and apples, along with some scents of tin. The wine made a big impression in the mouth - almost too much for some tasters. High alcohol competed with the fruit. This was a big wine, with wood tastes lingering in the mouth.

2005 Kistler Carneros chardonnay. $54.99.
The aroma contained smells of lemon, butter, tangerines, honey and a hint of minerals. The wine was silky and lush in the mouth, with good acidity and great balance. Our first bottle was bad. A second bottle sampled later was gorgeous and would have competed well at our tasting.

 
at 6:21 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please Sutherlands, get a life.....
This is perhaps THE most obnoxious and affected piece I've ever read... Oh God....
You sure this is not a joke???
It's like an SNL take-off on wine-losers...

 
at 8:02 PM Blogger Nicci King said...

Nope. It's the real deal, Rick. I happen to think the embellishment is entertaining in a..., well, an SNL kinda way, now that you mention it!

Hey, you didn't tell us your pick for an inexpensive wine.

On with the glass swirling and leg looking...

 
at 10:55 PM Blogger Matt Morris said...

i am not a frequent sipper of chardonnay...

but an inexpensive wine that we use as 'filler' for art openings and friends over for dinner is a White Shiraz by Little Penguin. It is sweet and caramelly, and pretty strong for its blush color.

i think it's something like $6-7.

 
at 10:58 PM Blogger ShannanB said...

My favorite inexpensive wine is, and will always be, Charles Shaw, otherwise known as 2 Buck Chuck on the coast and 3 Buck Chuck everywhere else.

I don't know what it is but there is something about it that is tasty. Everytime I head out to California to see my best friend we buy a case (more than just the two of us drink it!!).

 
at 7:32 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not much of Chardonnay person myself, but this time of year red wine isn't quite as appetizing...must be a warm weather thing...

Yellow Tail is always a great bottle of Shiraz, its inexpensive, and always tastes great.

Toasted Head makes a great Chardonnay.

Fat Bastard (smirk) is another brand thats friendly to the wallet.

 
at 8:47 AM Blogger Timaree said...

I am not much of a wine drinker but I love your attitude of simplicity. Yes, if it tastes good, keep on enjoying it. Of course, that's if it isn't too bad for you as I found out by eating too much meat and especially too much fat! But yes, enjoy with respect for your body and the heck with the snobs.

 
Post a Comment*

* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.

By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site. << Home


Blogs
Jim Borgman
Today at the Forum
Paul Daugherty
Politics Extra
N. Ky. Politics
Pop culture review
Cincytainment
Who's News
Television
Roller Derby Diva
Art
CinStages Buzz....
The Foodie Report
cincyMOMS
Classical music
John Fay's Reds Insider
Bengals
High school sports
NCAA
UC Sports
CiN Weekly staff
Soundcheck

Advertisement