WINE Whites after Labor Day By Mark Criden Photo by J. P. Thimot. Wine writing, even beyond fame and glory, carries a certain number of perks. A legendary British scribe used to leave his trunk open when visiting wineries, the better to attract homage in anticipation of glowing notices. Naturally, there was a direct ratio between the booty in the boot and the radiance in the reviews. At Spree, however, the bought-and-paid-for syndrome is generally frowned upon, and staffers have been canned just for registering at GraftCentral.com. This is not to deny, though, that swag arrives daily at the Spree loading docks. Sometimes there’s even wine. Sometimes I even get it. Now, before you go all ethical on me, bear in mind that most of this stuff is samples, provided so as to alert you, gentle readers, to the existence of these products. At Spree, we writers call these alerts “reviews” although the purveyors of said swag think of the process as “promotion.” So it was that I came to be the proud owner of eight lovely white wines, thoughtfully provided by Folsom and Associates, a San Francisco wine PR firm. Folsom has a first-class roster of wineries, and each wine I tasted was terrific in its own way, and perfectly suited to wash down the waning days of summer or the early days of autumn. Blackstone has long been known for fruit-forward, easy-to-like wines, and both their 2008 Winemaker Select Pinot Grigio and Riesling fit that description. The Pinot Grigio was crisp, clean, and light, a decent summer quaffer for $12. Much better was the Riesling, all peaches and limes, with a crisp, elegant finish. It’s a nice $12 bottle that would be terrific with Pad Thai and the first snap of autumn. Step up a notch, and for $15, you can enjoy the drier 2007 Helfrich Riesling from Alsace, a lovely, crisp white brimming with real varietal character; don’t miss this with pork tenderloin and apples or peaches. Cupcake Vineyards sources grapes worldwide to craft well-made examples of your favorite varietals. Their zesty 2008 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a $15 crowd pleaser that highlighted just how fine this grape grows in the South Pacific, is crisp and refreshing with scents of lemons and limes. Their 2007 Central Coast California Chardonnay ($14) was good, if a little generic. One of California’s most rollicking wineries is Big House, and their 2008 Big House White, an aromatic, zesty white made from a kitchen sink of varietals, is terrific. You like peach? It’s got peach. You like mangos? It’s got mangos. The bottle is cool, the wine is cool, and the website (www.bighousewine.com) is way cool. Hard to beat for $10. Finally, it’s hard to top Mondavi for variety and consistency in California winemaking. The company’s $15 2007 Solaire Chardonnay exhibited all the crowd-pleasing aspects of central coast Chardonnay—tropical fruits and orange peel, wrapped up in creamy vanilla. It’s no wonder people buy truckloads of this stuff. Topping the charts, though, was the excellent 2007 Napa Valley Fume Blanc, as fine a $20 California white as you’re likely to find. This is one major, sexy mouthful of wine: lemony, with a blast of orange blossoms and minerals, all wrapped up in a delicious creaminess that’s the hallmark of Mondavi’s Fume. Highly recommended. Mark Criden is a nonprofit executive who is involved in several WNY food and wine groups. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top