Smokin' Mendocino Wines

Spent the night at a wine tasting over at a friend's store; tasted a few I've had before and a few new ones, too.

Parducci Muscat Canelli

This guy is a pretty incredible white. I mean, it's really sweet, but not like sickeningly sweet. Sort of like soft nectar. I can stand it, and I think the ladies would really love it. And girly dudes, too.

Parducci Pinot Grigio; Parducci Sauvignon Blanc

Okay, I'm taking these two wines on at once becuase, frankly, I could not tell the difference. I mean, one cost two dollars more than the other, so maybe there's a difference. I think the girl pouring the wines messed up and poured me two glasses of pinot grigio and then when I got a glass of the sauv blanc it was pretty much the same.

So yeah, anyway these two whites weren't great. Surprisingly, they weren't too sweet. But then they weren't really much else, either.

So these two whites came with a little wad of some kind of chicken spread, which I did not have. Also some Ritz crackers. They were as nice as Ritz crackers get, I suppose.

Parducci Pinot Noir

I guess I find it tough to believe that a pinot noir can really be good at around eleven bucks. There was a speech about how the Mendocino guys have friends at the vineyards who still cut them deals. I dunno. It was pinot. Not terrible. I guess it falls into that big category of inexpensive pinot noir that just doesn't seem to have enough intenisty, nor does it have an underlying complextity uncovered by the usual softness of pinot noir to capture my interest. I mean, it's pinot. I guess I'd recommend it if you like pinot.

Parducci Petite Syrah

Yeah. I'm a fan of petite syrah. This one was a bit too tart. And not so extracted as I'd like it. Just didn't have the punch.

Big Yellow Cabernet Sauvignon
I've had this one before, and I really do like it. Good luck finding a good cabernet around ten bucks. And it's from Mendoncino. I mean, it pretty much tastes like cabernet with a hint of spice at the end. But yeah, it's totally worth it. I've got a bottle sitting around here somewhere.

Tusk'n Red Blend
Another that I've had before. Another decent red, this one interesting because of what it is - a Tuscan-style red blend. It's from California, but compared to other Cali blends, it's a lot more dry and complex.

These two wines were paired with a really delicious smelling portabella steak soup. I would have eaten it if it weren't for the steak. But as the cook pointed out, here in the midwest, everybody eats as much meat as possible in everything.

Zig Zag Zinfandel
After tasting Rombauer North Coast Zinfandel and Seghesio Zinfandel, I don't really see any zinfandel under $20 really overwhelming me. So it wasn't that great. The fruit was soft and hidden behind plenty of tannins. So at first, it really didn't capture my interest.

The zin came with a chocolate eclair. It was delicious. The sugar really softened up the zin and let the darker plum and raspberry (?) flavors. Also, it was something like six hundred calories.