Our merry band of tasters assembled at Joy's . We were joined by Jeanene Gibbs (Kelly Brewer's mom), Steve Brewer and Rocky Slaughter. Rocky was seeing how the other half lives before heading to the Napa Valley as an intern for his dream job with Kendall-Jackson and Murphy-Goode Winery. He promised to keep us all posted on his adventures in vineyard land.

With the thermostat hovering at 106 degrees, we decided to stick to white and rosé. We started with a prosecco from Trader Joe's . A light, pleasant wine, not as good as the Zonin reviewed earlier, but at lower price worth a tumble.

We moved on to two more sparklers from France, one a TJ house brand, the other a sparkling rosé from Grocery Outlet. Elaine gave this one a rare "Hoorah." It really was a food-friendly wine. Happily, Joy put together an incredible spread for it to get acquainted with. We started with one of her specialties, a mixed-berry-anad-tomato gazpacho followed by platters of goodies, an assortment of meats, cheeses, salad caprese (tomato, basil and mozzarella) made with tomatoes fresh from the backyard, all accompanied by homemade focaccia. Doni brought a luxurious tomato-and-cheese tart, and Elaine made a sensational olive tapenade with goat cheese.

To wash all this down we moved on to a pinot grigio , another pleasant, light summer wine, a little too light for some. Joy thought it tasted like water a grape had swum through. Next we had a white Rioja and TJ's new entry,  three-buck-chuck chardonnay from down under. The Rioja was one of Don's favorites; the chardonnay not so much.

Grocery Outlet Alert: For those who missed the wonderful 2004 Chalk Hill Chardonnay for $5.99, there's some available. Buy a few bottles since whites don't last very long - a great bargain.

Rating system:

Hoorah = Run out and buy it before they run out.

Yah = Enjoyable - would buy again.

Nah = Life is too short to drink bad wine, marinate something in it.

All wines were tasted with food.

Don Cohen is a retired commodities trader who has lived in Redding for 10 years. Joy Yoshioka is a retired high tech exec who has lived in Redding for four years.

2 Responses »

1. 

   Steve Fischer

   August 4, 2009 • 2:43 pm

   The trick with that Down Under Chardonnay is not to think California chardonnay. If you tell yourself it's a sauvignon blanc, a blend or something, it fits nicely on the palate. Or think of it as one of the crisp chards made for everyday table wine in Chablis. We found it to have a nice structure, a bit of peach flavor and very good acidity - an ideal summer sipper not needing the inexpensive white wine correction factor (a twist of lemon and an ice cube). And for those of us who like it, Sunset Market was selling it at two for $5.

   Reply
2. 

   Joy

   August 8, 2009 • 11:12 pm

   Steve,

   Thanks for your suggestion - I tried it and it was more likable to the palate.
   Also, thanks for the good price recommendation at Sunset.

   Enjoy,
   Joy

   Reply