We welcomed this beautiful spring by pairing eight wines with Indian food by Joy, famous fig chutney from Don’s yard and an exquisite fresh strawberry shortbread dessert by Doni. We found the strong aromatic Indian spices affected the true taste of the wines – perhaps the lighter and sweeter whites would partner better to complement spicy foods.
Like our March tasting, we upped the ante on the wine prices to an average of $6.50/bottle – interesting how a few dollars more does make a difference with wine quality. A few of the wines were on sale at 40% off – a good buy (see footnotes in the ratings section).
Well, May is the anniversary of one full year of WINE ON A DIME. Originally, our intent was to support our local merchants and consumers to find the best value for their wine dollars. However, we found by the time we tasted, wrote up and posted our findings, some if not many of the wines were no longer on the shelves. Time is everything these days … We had a brainstorming session and decided we’d really love to hear more from you – our readers. We are changing our format with the vision of being more interactive in real time about wines and recommendations. If you have any ideas or requests, we’d love to hear from you in the comments.
So, bring on your ideas!
May Day Ratings:
NAH = Life is too short to drink bad wine — marinate something in it.
SHRUG = Would probably drink it but not sure why.
YAH = Like it, would probably buy again.
HOORAH = Love it, run out and buy a case.
| Wine | Price | Store | Nah | Shrug | Yah | Hoorah | ||||||
| 1 | Hungerford Hill Pinot Gris 2006 Victoria, Australia |
$4.99 | G.O. | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | Chardonnay Calcareous 2007 Central Coast, CA |
$6.99 | G.O. | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | BV Coastal Estates Chardonnay 2009, Sonoma, CA |
$5.99 | Raley’s | 6 | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | Blue Pirate Pinot Noir 2007 Oregon |
$5.99 | G.O. | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 5 | Norma Jeanne – A Young Merlot 2007, Nova Wines, Oakville CA |
$7.99 | G.O. | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 6 | BV Coastal Estates Pinot Noir 2009 California Grown |
$5.99 | Raley’s | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||
| 7 | Fetzer Valley Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 |
$5.99 | Raley’s | 1 | 6 | |||||||
| 8 | Sterling Vintner’s Collection 2008 Central Coast, CA |
$9.00 | Raley’s | 2 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
Comments:
2. Comments varied – buttery, watery, and good body
3. Lighter, just a nice wine, would be good served really cold
4. A nice pinot, does not go with Indian cuisine
6. Sharp, peppery, better than most
7. Regularly priced at $10.99, a good buy on sale at $5.99
8. Regularly priced in the $13.00 – $14.00 range, on sale at $9.00
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.
