In the summer, my taste in wine goes much lighter, and we tend to drink a lot more white (and the last couple of years, rose) wine.   The good thing is there are plenty of nice everyday white wines available for < $10 (much harder to do with reds).  The challenge is to find one you like, because every year (and these are wines which are best young), what’s good changes.  And when you do find a great Sauvignon Blanc for $8, next year it will be $12 and not as good as you remember.   So, at the beginning of summer, we always start the hunt for “this years” house white.  And this year, we have scored big, with 2 great finds, a  2 and a 3 on the Deb-scale of wine rating.

The first is called Las Brisas.  It’s a Spanish wine (blend of mostly from grapes you have not heard of plus some Sauvignon Blanc), we picked it up at Cost Plus for $9.  We have had a couple bottles now, and really liked it. It’s a great seafood wine. Even Robert Parker (the renowned wine reviewer… who mostly just does red wine) likes it, and rated it an 87.   The second is Bear’s Lair Viognier, available at Trader Joes for $5.   Viognier is a somewhat uncommon wine, it typically is “big” for a white wine, something that would typically stand up to roast chicken or pork.  This Vognier though is not at all heavy, almost coming across as an un-oaked chardonnay with a lot of citrus notes.  It doesn’t have much of a pedigree – likely central valley California grapes, and the same maker of other Trader Joe wines (like 2-buck Chuck).  My opinion on the Trader Joe wines (both what they have made as well as source) is they are typically honest wines, they don’t try to be more than they are, and don’t seems to have serious flaws that come from oak sawdust or other tricks the low-end suppliers use.   This Viognier is particularly nice, I would have felt I had got my money's worth at $15 (hence, the 3 rating), but at $15 would not be sending Roy out to pick up a case.

Last, a word on Rosé Wine.  In the US, Rosé has picked up a bad name from White Zinfandel (I wonder -- if they use high fructose corn syrup in wine, do they need to put that on the label?), and many of the European Rosés (which do have a long and honored history) – at least the ones that make it to Arizona, often don’t have the floral and fruit qualities that I like in a wine.  But Rose’s are becoming much more popular, and we have found a reliable source…. Sharon, the wine buyer at AJ’s.  The only down side here is the wines are typically in $20+ range. They are really good and worth the price, but not a drink in the pool before dinner wine. But Trader Joes has stepped up again, with a French Rosé called La Ferme Julien (look for a Goat on the label), another $5 find.  

Time to stock up.