Our wine cabinet has been overflowing with late spring releases, so we’re doubling up for this edition with 24 wines of great variety and good prices.
NV CK Mondavi California Pinot Grigio ($6). Green notes with a fruity sweet finish.
2019 Fetzer California Chardonnay ($8). More pear than apples with a creamy, toasty finish.
2019 Fetzer California Gewurztraminer ($10). Very nice, fruity Gewurz, especially for the price – clean, flavorful, well-balanced.
2019 Clean Slate Mosel Riesling ($11). Fresh, lightly sweet/tart floral flavors, plumy, oily. Easy drinking.
2020 Frenzy Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($13). Blend of sweet fruitiness and herbal tartness.
2019 Bread & Butter North Coast Sauvignon Blanc ($14). Good intensity of green fruitiness and acidity with a hint of fruity oiliness.
2018 Surani “Arthemis” Puglia Fiano ($15). A wine to go with big-flavor foods – floral with heavy honey and cane-sugar notes, yet well-balanced and not overly fruity sweet.
2019 Cedar + Salmon Willamette Valley Pinot Gris ($16). Very pleasant floral and spicy flavors with a clean finish.
2019 Simi Sonoma County Chardonnay ($16). Slightly tart at first but finishes with mellow apple-pie flavors.
2020 Masciarelli “Villa Gemma” Colline Teatine Bianco IGT ($17). Like a Prosecco without bubbles – lots of spritz and lightly candied, fruity flavors.
2016 Nino Negri “Quadrio” Valtellina Superiore ($18). A lightish but satisfying wine of moderate complexity – fresh fruitiness balanced with good oak, good acidity, and light tannins.
2019 Priest Ranch Napa Valley Grenache Blanc ($22). Honeyed flavors, but a clean, crisp body with good acidity in the finish.
2019 Gradis’Ciutta Collio Friulano ($25). Very fresh and spicy with floral fruitiness and a touch of bitters.
2018 Masciarelli “Marina Cvetic” Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Riserva ($55). Reminiscent of a sophisticated Chardonnay, with moderate body and dominant green-apple flavors.
2020 Bousquet “Gaia” Argentina Pinot Noir Rosé ($15). Piquant citrus flavors, yet not overly tart, with a medium body.
2020 Masciarelli “Villa Gemma” Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Superiore Rosé ($18). In its flavors, a little like a Lambrusco – light with tart cherry and savory notes and a little tannin.
2018 Volver La Mancha Red Wine ($16). A Tempranillo, it has good flavors but also powdery textures and a very tart finish.
2016 Santi “Ventale” Valpolicella Superiore ($19). Mature flavors with tart cherries and some wood notes.
2017 La Mascota “Unanime” Argentina Malbec ($20). Still knitting together – full-bodied, but tart and tannic with some balsamic notes.
2017 Cedar + Salmon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($21). A lighter, Burgundy-style village wine with good rooty and cola flavors and a fine finish.
2019 Lapostolle “Cuvée Alexandre” Apalta Cabernet Sauvignon ($21). Lovely signature Cabernet tart-berry aromas with blackberry flavors, a savory underlay with dusty tannins in the finish.
2018 Simi Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($23). Red and black raspberry flavors with nice herbal notes – lean and tight with dusty tannins.
2017 Zenato Ripassa Valpolicella Superiore ($27). Light sweet-berry flavors – both red and black – with considerable heft.
2019 Cockburn’s Fine White Port ($16). Like all Ports, this one’s fortified (19%), with nice floral and herbal flavors, very viscous and slightly sweet though clean finish. It’s delightful over ice with tonic as a summer refresher.
Prices listed are generally SRP or from wine-searcher.com. As more wineries are now shipping direct-to-consumer, check the winery website if you can’t find a bottle in your retail store.
Feature photo credit: Jaime Casap
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