SOMM Laguna

This week, I’m starting to look at grocery store wines and the first stop will be Trader Joe’s. But before we get to TJ’s, during a couple of tastings, people have asked me about Legs or Tears in the glass. What are they and are they a reflection of the quality of the wine? The technical explanation is just that, very technical. The simple (?) answer is, tears are created by alcohol and/or residual sugar reacting with oxygen to create surface tension on the glass. The higher the alcohol or the sweeter the wine, the more prominent the tears. Do tears reflect on the quality of the wine – No! Enjoy how pretty they look and Love the wine you are with.

Moving on… I picked TJ’s as they have interesting wines and some excellent values. To be sure, the bottom shelf wines at TJ’s are not grand wines but at their price-point, I think many are an excellent value. The three wines below are all under $10/bottle and for casual dining, pizza, BBQ or meatloaf they work just fine. My tasting notes are not going to be of the professional variety. For the average wine drinker, I don’t find those notes overly helpful. So here we go.

The first wine is an exclusive to TJ’s. Pontificis is a white wine from Southern France (Rhone) and is a blend of 3 grapes – Viognier (Vee O Nay), Rousanne and Marsanne.

Viognier is one of my favorite grapes. This is a dry wine with a pretty, light golden color. It has enough acidity (refreshing) and tastes different enough from the usual options of Chardonnay and Sauv Blanc. At $6.99 (or $1.75 per glass), it’s a great value. This one is a porch sipper

The second wine is a red blend from Southern France. The folks at TJ’s tell me this flies off the shelf.

This is a Non-vintage wine (NV) which means it can be blended with wine made from different years. It is a table wine for sure but for those who have travelled Europe, we know local tables wines can be very tasty. The wine is a bit fruity, light on the tannins (no bitterness), some acidity and moderate on the alcohol 12.5%. It is very easy drinking and will go well with casual meals. At $4.99 per bottle, I would match this up to local wines costing twice as much or more.

The last one is a bit of a flier. This one is a dry red out of Puglia, Italy (the heel of the boot). The grape variety is Susumaniello (sue sue man yell o). I had to look this one up as none of my wine books have this grape listed.

The grape is localized to the Puglia area and is inky dark. It is low in tannins but a little acidity keeps it fresh. If you’ve ever smelled sweet pipe tobacco before it burned, you can get a little essence of that when you sniff it. As this comes from southern Italy, the grapes easily ripen so there are some dark berries in the smell and taste. This one is $9.99 and comes in a stubby little bottle (still 750ml). I enjoyed it as it is a little different than the standard reds. Match this up with some pasta and red sauce and Love the Wine you are with.

Next week, more grocery store wines and a little bit about tannins (the bitter and astringent stuff) in red wines.

Featured Image by: Jep Gambardella PEXELS