x

Bar Review is a series which chronicles my search for a house wine for the Kitchenette house. The perfect house wine will cost less than $15 per bottle, go well with lots of dishes yet still be tasty enough to drink by itself, and preferably make me seem a lot classier than I really am.

x

My second wine to try was the Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2009. Look, this stuff was recommended in the Martha Stewart November issue, and you know as well as I that Martha is ALWAYS FREAKING RIGHT. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. She’s the High Priestess of All Things Domestic, which translates to, “I know way more about food, wine, crafts, and basically everything in the world. Also, I’m better than you.”

So we take her wine recommendations, because she probably isn’t far off the money. Alternatively, if these aren’t her personal recommendations, whoever wrote this column probably gets paid good Martha Stewart money. But whatever.

Anyhoodle, until a few months ago, white wine was TOTALLY my business. I would only drink white. Red wine was for French people and people more cultured than I (which is pretty much everyone, if we’re being honest.) Give me my unhealthy, sugar-filled, ice-cold white wine, thankyouverymuch. While now, I have evolved to actually LIKE some red wines, I am still predominantly, a white wine girl. They go down easier, they go with my style of cooking, and I like a lot more of whites by themselves than I do reds.

And I especially love, love, LOVE me some Sauvignon Blanc. If I was to carry around a pimp cup (and I may someday) I am fairly sure that it would be filled with Sauvignon Blanc. I’m fairly sure my blood type is not A+ like they say… it’s SB+. It’s just my wine of choice, what can I say? So I was fairly sure I would find this wine palatable, if not utterly delicious and pimp-cup-worthy.

x

x

Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2009
Price:          $13
Country:     Chile
Rating:       89 (Wine Enthusiast)

First Impressions: Crisp and clean. Maybe tastes a little like grapefruit? (I can never tell the flavors apart.) Not too dry. I could drink this with anything, including but not limited to chicken, fish, and my morning coffee. Would be great for cooking with because it doesn’t taste too strongly of any one flavor.

The back of the bottle description:

“Fresh, crisp, and intense. Citrus and tropical fruits deliver a mouthwatering, tangy finish. Sip with salads, seafood, oysters, and sushi.”

Uh, maybe it’s just me, but aren’t ALL WINES mouthwatering when you’ve been drinking wine straight for an hour? You’d give up your car keys for a glass of water at that point. So that part is moot, duh. And why only sip with seafood and salads? Granted, I wouldn’t want to serve this with a giant T-bone steak, but I could see this even with hamburgers, especially during the hot summer months.

Enthusiastic Wine Drinkers Anonymous comments:

“Veramonte knows how to capture the pungent, alert character inherent to Sauvignon Blanc. This is a peppy wine with spiky tropical and green-fruit aromas and flavors. It’s a mash up of citrus and nettles, with a controlled, fairly long grapefruit-driven finish. Modest in price, but the real thing.”

And there you have it. It’s the REAL THING, PEOPLE.

In conclusion, I like it. I really think this wine is truly yummy. And it’s very flexible. But you know what I like even better? Buying lots of wine to try from the store. And then writing crappy reviews of those wines.

BOOYAH.

See you next time!

x

x

Previous Bar Review Issues:
Root:1 Carmenere 2008

x

x

The Swell Season / Low Rising

x

x