Barefoot Pinot Grigio

Country: USA

Region: California (Modesto)

Thoughts: It's been a long, long while since I made any posts here - and with good reason. From April 2 until now, and really ongoing for the forseeable future, my wife and I have gone from living in apartment to buying a house to moving in. We're still unpacking and will be for a long while. But as the whole process was going, wine tasting got pushed to the background. If I needed a drink, which happened occasionally, I reached for a beer; it was easy enough and I didn't have to think about what I was tasting. But last night, we were happy to have our friend, Donna, over as our first official dinner guest - however, it should be noted that it was dinner in the most casual sense. She brought along a bottle of Barefoot, one of those wines I had seen often but never had bothered to pick up. So I figured that would be a great way to get back into the wine blog. The bouquet was very sweet and the taste nicely followed; the citrus notes were larger than the word "notes" implies, almost to the point of being overwhelming. If you could get around that, however, the wine was pretty mellow; all in all, it was a decent value for the money, much like our other favorite large bottle, Beringer.

Do-over? Another good value that delivers in a pinch

Final Grade: B-

Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc '06

Country: USA
Region: Napa
Thoughts: My original plan was to review this wine yesterday - you know, when April Fool's jokes were still fashionable. Unfortunately, I came home with a splitting headache, ending any chance at a wine tasting. So rather than keep it around for another year, I figured it'd be better a day late than 364 days late. For those of you unfamiliar with wine, this is Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc, a regal-enough name, no? One might think so - at least until you heard its nickname. Yes, this is the famous - or infamous? - Two-Buck Chuck, named for its, uh, affordability. (In reality, this bottle cost me like $3.50. I guess it's pricier here in the east.) My wife told me I'd be surprised by the wine; you can tell by the location of the photo just how low my expectations were. But she was right; for its price, it was pretty damn good - with a few caveats. Chief among them was the nose, which nearly confirmed my suspicions before wine ever reached tongue. The bouquet - if you can call it that - was rubbery and rough. The taste, however, did a 180 from the nose. The wine was light and fruity to the point that I questioned whether it was really sauvignon blanc. This is now the 14th sauvignon blanc I've tasted; this was unlike any of the previous ones - worlds away, really. There was even a little something - hardly detectable, but there - to the finish, which is more than can be said for a good number of wines we've tried on here. So I hope you'll accept my apologies for the photo shoot; I was dead wrong on this one.
Do-over? For the price, you can't beat it; no wonder I was the only one carrying a single bottle out of Trader Joe's
Final Grade: B