How Many Wine Grapes Have You Tried?

How many different wine grapes have you consumed? Once you reach a certain level of wine geekiness you'll find yourself thinking of such things.

I started a list a year or so and tried updating it tonight. Then I made one of those cute little word clouds you see on many websites. I don't know that I have every different grape listed here but I suspect I'm pretty close.

A general rule is don't know your Chardonnay from your Roussane until you've hit 100. I'm close enough now not to be embarrassed at 86.

I decided I was list every grape that is in any wine I have consumed. Many grapes are just not turned into 100 percent varietal wines.

It's sort of a fun thing to do. I believe I once red there are something like 5,000 different vareties in the world that can be turned into wine. So I have a long way to go.

If you like these goofy word clouds, click on the thumbnail below and beholds it's beauty! Or is it my gluttony? Well, it's one or the other!

La Vieille Ferme Blanc - I Triple-Dog Dare Ya!

Are you stil in a bit of a post-holiday stupor? Many of us are suffering from a little bit of that.

I thought of the holidays this evening when I finished off a bottle of La Vieille Ferme blanc - a nice white Rhone blend from France.

I kept thinking to myself, 'Self, who wouldn't like this white wine?' I'd pour this for anyone and take a shot they'd like it. My regular wine drinking buddy drinks very little white and usually poo-poos anything I make him drink.

Ironically he really likes Cotes du Rhone red wines. So I poured the white and he liked it! He really liked it! (wait, that's another iconic 80s ad line!)

The wine is simple and straight forward and cheap, don't let the grapes scare you. The juice is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Rousanne and frankly two grapes I had never heard of previously - Bourboulenc and Ugni Blanc! Who knew?

I get mild and balanced acidity to go along with a little hint of lime. Many folks will pick up floral hints.

I paid $8.99 for this little gem and found it as low as an unbelievable $4.99 on the web.

Try it; you'll like it. It's that good. C'mon, give French whites a try.

And it's guaranteed your tongue (and palate) will like it. Your tongue won't stick either.

Try it.

I double-dog dare you!

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Sartori Regolo Rosso Veronese Dynamite Italian

A lot of people getting into wine have to force themselves to move beyond the unknown. You can spend your life drinking Merlot and Chardonnay, and perhaps a few other varieties, but there is a world of other grapes that you just might like if you'll give them a sip.

I've always enjoyed most Valpolicella wines but they're often a bore - a tad thin or a bit too sour on the finish.

Tonight I opened Sartori di Verona's 2007 Regolo. The wine is made from the Corvina grape, grown in northeastern Italy. It normally makes up about 70 percent of the wine in a Valpolicella. I thought this wine was better than any straight up Valpolicella I've previously tried. It wasn't to the level of Amarone, the premier wines of the region, but it was delicious Italian red wine.

The Sartori was a full-flavored wine that was definitely dry and not overly fruit driven like many of the lesser Valpolicella offerings. It was soft and rich in the mouth with a little bit of cherry evolving to sour cherry on the finish.

The wine spends 18-24 months in oak but the tannins are very supple and smooth. This wine gets distributed in the U.S. by the Banfi folks so it should not be difficult to find.

It was great with some basic pasta and even chocolate after the meal. This is one of the best Italian wines I've tried in a long while.

This great juice was a trade sample with a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Clif Blend, Concannon Riesling Good Values

Some catching up is in order. I recently consumed a couple of "trade sample" wines that were both pretty darn good.

I've written before about Clif Family Winery - the energy bar people originally - and have enjoyed almost all of their offerings.

Back in November my wine drinking buddies - Dudes on the Porch - raved about the Clif Sauvignon blanc.

Just the other night I wanted some red wine and went shuffling through my racks and remembered The Climber 2009 red wine from Clif. The Blend: 63 percent Zinfandel, 21 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 12 percent Syrah, 2 percent Merlot and 2 percent Petite Sirah. It's got a little blueberry going on and some spice. I'd tell a friend it's tasty red wine with just enough punch to keep you happy but not so much to scare away novice wine drinkers.

To me it was like a straight-forward Zin without huge fruit punch or finish but very drinkable.

Here is a link to something I wrote a little over a year ago about their basic red and white blend.

To me it was like a straight-forward Zin without huge fruit punch or finish but very drinkable.

Riesling any one?
I remember falling in love with Riesling when I first started drinking a lot of wine. I have tried to come back to it lately with mixed results. Imagine my surprise at Christmas when I opened a $10 (srp) bottle of Concannon Riesling and found it much better than some I had tasted lately at a much higher price point!

Concannon is a name in wine that is easy to find and delivers a consistently good product. The grapes are grown in California's Central Coast region. The wine really has a nice nose with hints of pear and a nice acidity to balance the mild sweetness.

This also was a trade sample - but as I sometimes say when noting the wines were sent to me - I'd buy this one. I recommend you buy it as well!

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com