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| Jul 29, 2010 - 06:46 PM |
Queen City News - Helena's FREE Weekly Newspaper |
Helena, Montana |
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Summer is normally the season for reruns, but I’m going to use autumn to repeat some of my earliest columns to help catch up anyone who missed them. The reviews, however, will all be new. This particular column first appeared on Jan. 25, 2006:
This column is going to be about wine, but I hope you’ll find it unlike any other wine column you’ve ever encountered. Most wine columns I’ve read were at once both pretentious and incomprehensible. You not only feel like you don’t belong to their club, but you also can’t understand what they’re saying (what exactly does “nuances of toast” mean, anyhow?). In addition, you may not be able to afford and/or find the wine even if you do understand them.
I live in Helena. I want to know about the wines that I can find here and that won’t drill a hole in my pocket. This column is going to be about those wines–the ones that you can go down to the store and find. In addition, I want to share some of the things I’ve learned over the past 10 years of studying and tasting wines. So let’s dive right in.
What makes a good wine? The one and only answer to that question is, “One that you like.” Period, the end. If it costs $4 or $40, the wine you like is a good wine for you.
One of the classic wine-related cartoons shows a customer in a wine shop tasting a wine and saying something like, “This is the worst wine I’ve ever tasted.” The man behind the counter replies, “Wine Spectator gave it a 92” (a high rating), to which the customer answers, “I’ll take a case.”
I’ll be talking about wines in this column and I’ll be rating them. But that rating is simply my opinion (and sometimes the opinion of my wife). I’ll be staying away from numeric evaluations and sticking to something more along the lines of Fair, Good, Great, Yucky, etc.
Reviews
Three Blind Moose 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. California (red). Rating: Good. Cost: $7.39 on sale.
I found this wine to be very fruity up-front with good hints of cherry. It is a thin wine, the type of thing suitable with lighter food. There isn’t much of a finish. Once the initial yummy flavor dies out, there isn’t a lot hanging around afterward.
Your best wines will have a good, strong finish that lasts for some time. This doesn’t make TBM bad, it’s just one indication of why it’s inexpensive. I recommend it as a good red wine for the price.
Gordon Brothers Katie’s Vineyards Columbia Valley 2002 Sauvignon Blanc. Washington (red). Rating: Great! Cost: $9.99. Alcohol: 12.7 percent.
This Sauvignon Blanc was very obviously aged in oak barrels, giving it a butter-vanilla taste you might ordinarily associate with Chardonnay. It is a little lighter-bodied (thinner) than your typical Chardonnay and has some flavors of oranges. It is a little more tart than the typical.
For the price, this is a really nice wine for drinking. You need to think of it more along the lines of a Chardonnay if you decide to try it.
We’ve talked a lot in this column about Sauvignon Blanc’s characteristics, and while this wine doesn’t match that stereotype, it’s still good, and those of you who like what you find in a lightly-oaked Chardonnay will certainly like what this wine has to offer. And the price is right!
Columbia Crest 2003 Chardonnay. Washington (white). Rating: Good. Cost: $6.39 on sale. Alcohol: 13.5 percent.
Columbia Crest ordinarily makes very dependable wines. This Chardonnay is no exception. It is a fairly typical, oaked Chardonnay, full-bodied, with butter and vanilla flavors. It would go well with any food that would benefit from the buttery flavor. Chill this one pretty well before serving.
Most of Columbia Crest’s wines are consistently good enough that, even though the prices may be low, you can usually buy them with confidence.
(Keith Lavender, aka, “The Wine Guy,” is a computer systems analyst and IT project manager with Northrop Grumman in Helena. His column appears in the Queen City News every other Wednesday.)
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The Queen City News is published every Wednesday in Helena, MT, by Mossback Media, LLC.
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