Alsace! Pierre Sparr Pinot Blanc

Okay, so what IS the difference between Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, or Grigio? The difference is they are two completely different varietals. Pinot Grigio/blanc is famous as the easily found white from Italy even though more Pinot Blanc is grown there. Pinot blanc is actually a mutated for of Piont Grigio and usually provides more substance in the glass when it comes to flavor and body. Some of the best Pinot Blancs (all subjective of course) are grown in the Alsace region of France or the Alto Adige region in Northern Italy. I enjoyed this Pierre Sparr Reserve Pinot Blanc from Alsace's 2004 Vintage tonight with some Salmon. It was fantastic. The wine has a bright golden hue in the glass with aromas of peach, pear, and sweet citrus, something like tangerine. On the palate it is nice and big, touching every tastebud and giving a sense of thicker viscosity. There does seem to be a bit of residual sugar but not a whole lot. The acidity is sharp, helping the finish. It actually reminds me a lot of an unoaked Chardonnay form a cooler climate. Anyway, its a good drop, cost me about $12.00 and well worth it. Oh, the Salmon turned out great. Hard to ruin Salmon. Overall, I give the wine an A-.

Monterra = Good Value

2004 Monterra Cabernet Sauvignon
80% Cabernet, 15% Merlot, 5% Petite Sirah
Tonight I got home and just felt like having a glass of something red and a fruity with some tannin. I pulled out this $10.00 Cabernet and it fit the bill perfectly. It is by Monterra Winery and the grapes come from the cooler climate of Monterey County. Monterra is actually a sub-winery of the well established, lower shelf king, Delicato. I have to admit that even though I didn't want to, I prejudged this wine knowing that is a was Delicato Product. I am not saying that Delicato makes bad wine, but I think that it does belong on the bottom shelf. So I opened the Monterra Cabernet with this in mind and what?.... I was impressed with how much fruit character I got and the sufficient tannin to help keep it moving through the palate to the finish. No, it is not a perfect example of a true Cabernet Sauvingon but for the mood that I was in, it was.... perfect.

Color: Opaque ruby color with sharp clear edges showing it's heavy alcohol relative to the weight of the wine.
Nose: Very fruit driven with jammy strawberry and cherry characters. There is some oak influence showing cocoa and tobacco aromas along with cloves and a hint of earthiness.
palate: In the mouth this wine is pretty light with lots of fruit and a decent amount of tannin on the finish. The acidity is good and keeping the wine lively and helping to prolong the finish on such a light Cab. It kinda leaves a hole in the middle of the palate which is usually remedied by adding Merlot into the blend but it didn't work as well this time.
Overall: I can't complain, for $10.00 this is a good wine that I would not be afraid of buying again. It is clean, very pleasing after a long day of work and I like the gobs of fruit. CHEERS! I give it a B