Shenandoah Vineyards Chenin Blanc / Viognier

Name: Shenandoah Vineyards
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chenin Blanc/Viognier)
Vintage: 2010
Country/State: California
Region: Amador County
Price: $15
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)

I was hoping for a little more from this wine since it was a blend of two of my favorite white varietals, Chenin Blanc and Viognier.  The wine was rich and full, but the flavors were lacking for me.  I picked up on some peach and pear, but that's about it.  It was OK, but I'd probably pass on it in the future.

Chateau de la Tour de L'ange

Name: Chateau de la Tour de L'ange
Color: White
Varietal: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2010
Country/State: France
Region: Burgundy
Price: $14
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

We enjoyed this white Burgundy last week...The nose was a bit limited, but the flavors were great.  Mostly pears, apples, some citrus, and lemons.  It had great acidity and was quite juicy.

Burgans Albarino

Name: Burgans Albarino
Color: White
Varietal: Albarino
Vintage: 2010
Country/State: Spain
Region: Rias Baixas
Price: $15
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

We had this wine last week with scallops, and it was delicious.  We've had several Spanish Albarinos before and have really enjoyed them all.  This one from Burgans was no exception.  It featured peach, lemon, and citrus flavors and was round, ripe, and coated the mouth.  We really can't go wrong with an Albarino from Spain. 

Bougrier Famille Vouvray

Name: Bougrier Famille Vouvary
Color: White
Varietal: Chenin Blanc
Vintage: 2010
Country/State: France
Region: Vouvray
Price: $12
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

We had this Vouvray a couple of weeks ago and thought it was terrific.  A little on the sweet side, but still crisp and refreshing.  Good fruit flavors with a generous amount of honey.  Chenin Blanc is quickly becoming one of our go-to white varietals.

Kemblefield Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Kemblefield
Color: White
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2010
Country/State: New Zealand
Region: Marlborough
Price: $10
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

This was a nice New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region that we bought in place of our usual go-to Sauvignon Blanc from Kim Crawford...The Kemblefield is a couple bucks cheaper, but it still had the citrus, grapefruit, and tropical fruit flavors that you'd expect from New Zealand. It's a very good, light-bodied, summer sipper.

Kitchen Sink White Blend

Name: Kitchen Sink
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc/Gewurztraminer)
Vintage: NA
Country/State: California
Region: Various
Price: $9
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

This was a terrific little white blend for less than $10...Very fruity, with pears, melons, citrus, and honey really present in the mouth. The finish was pretty short, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this was a delicious, refreshing, lively wine. Especially excellent for the summer!

Bougrier Vouvray

Name: Bougrier Vouvray
Color: White
Varietal: Chenin Blanc
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: France
Region: Loire Valley
Price: $10
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)


This was our first bottle of Vouvray (made with the Chenin Blanc grape), and we completely enjoyed it...It was a delicious, medium-bodied wine, with flavors of sweet fruit like peaches, pears, and pineapples, with some kiwi and green apples. It's an off-dry wine, but it had enough acidity to keep it balanced. We drank this wine on its own after chilling it, and also had it with a dinner of grilled chicken and vegetables. It was terrific with and without food.

For about $10, we will definitely keep this one on our list of favorites.

Conundrum White

Name: Conundrum
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon/Viognier/Muscat)
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: California
Region: Various
Price: $18
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)


We enjoyed this terrific white blend while spending a relaxing night away at the Innisbrook Resort, just up the road in Palm Harbor...Krista and I polished off the entire bottle before cutting through one of the golf courses to eat dinner at the Salamander Market Grille. The wine was delicious and featured tropical fruit, peaches, pears, honey, and vanilla. It was off-dry but still had great acidity to keep it in balance.

After reading more about Conundrum online, I learned that it's part of the Wagner Family of Wine, the same group responsible for the Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir that we like so much. Both the Meiomi and the Conundrum are amazing wines that would please many palates. Both are less than $20, making them excellent values, too.

Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Clifford Bay
Color: White
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: New Zealand
Region: Marlborough
Price: $9
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)


Krista bought this wine earlier this week to go with a dinner of fish and crab. It's been awhile since we've had a Sauvignon Blanc, which is unusual since it's one of our favorite grapes. We usually buy the Kim Crawford, but this one was a few dollars cheaper and pretty good. It was a fairly typical Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand -- dominated by grapefruit, citrus, and other tropical fruits. Not bad at all for less than $10.

Las Brisas Rueda

Name: Las Brisas
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Verdejo/Viura/Sauvignon Blanc)
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: Spain
Region: Rueda
Price: $12
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

This was our second wine from Rueda in the past month and we really enjoyed it, much like the last one (Naia). This wine is another terrific summer wine option. It's very crisp, fresh, and refreshing with good acidity and balance. It features delicious peach and apricot flavors and was very to easy to drink...We polished off this bottle very quickly.

Graham Beck Chardonnay/Viognier

Name: Graham Beck
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chardonnay/Viognier)
Vintage: 2010
Country/State: South Africa
Region: Western Cape
Price: $10
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

This was a nice white blend, mostly Chardonnay but with a nice touch of Viognier, that we enjoyed with dinner (chicken, with a white wine sauce, made with this same wine)...This wine had a nice nose and taste dominated by peaches and pears, with some lime. It was big and rich, but still crisp and fresh. It went well with the dinner and was also very good on its own. Another South African winner!

Boutari Moschofilero

Name: Boutari Moschofilero
Color: White
Varietal: Moschofilero
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: Greece
Region: Martinia
Price: $13
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

We had this wine (our first from Greece) with dinner last night (fish with a corn salsa relish), and it was excellent. It was our first experience with a Moschofilero and it definitely won't be the last. I hope I can find more of this varietal from other producers to see how it compares to this one from Boutari.

The wine was light and fresh, clean and bright. It's a very easy drinking wine, perfect for sipping on its own or with light dishes. It has less than 12% alcohol, so it won't weigh you down. It has flavors of crisp green apples and pears, lots of pears, with a bit of grapefruit and citrus at the end. It's not very complex, just delicious. We finished this bottle very quickly!

Naia Verdejo

Name: Naia Verdejo
Color: White
Varietal: Verdejo
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: Spain
Region: Rueda
Price: $13
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


We had this wonderful Verdejo from Spain last night and really enjoyed it. This wine was packing a wallop of grapefruit, kiwi, and citrus. It had a medium body with a really nice mouthfeel. The finish was long and the wine was terrific. I would definitely recommend this wine and will look for more Verdejos to try soon.

Helfrich Vin D'Alsace Riesling

Name: Helfrich Vin D'Alsace Riesling
Color: White
Varietal: Riesling
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: France
Region: Alsace
Price: $13
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)


The Helfrich Riesling is a clear, bright yellow in color with a rather muted aroma. Nothing specific came through on the nose for me, except maybe a little bit of light citrus. The flavors are crisp and quite dry. We drank it with a tex-mex style soup and then finished the bottle after dinner. I drank most of this one myself. Krista had only one glass...I enjoyed it, but wasn't necessarily blown away by it. I appreciated the medium body, dry style, and the minerality, but just wasn't as impressed with the overall taste.

DeBeaune Les Galopieres Pouilly-Fuisse

Name: Debeaune Les Galopieres Pouilly-Fuisse
Color: White
Varietal: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: France
Region: Pouilly-Fuisse
Price: $20
Stars: 4 (out of 5)



This French Chardonnay was very enjoyable...It was smooth, balanced, and delicious. It tasted primarily like green apple, pear, and other citrus flavors. The nose was similar but was a bit restrained. The flavors, however, were terrific. The finish was long and the acidity was excellent. The wine was great with dinner and also very good on its own.

I continue to really like French whites.

Snoqualmie Naked Chardonnay

Name: Snoqualmie Naked Chardonnay
Color: White
Varietal: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Washington
Region: Columbia Valley
Price: $12
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


We enjoyed the Snoqualmie Naked Chardonnay with appetizers on Thanksgiving Day. It was delicious, with flavors of pear, green apple, and citrus. It was very well balanced and was excellent with and without food. It had a fuller body than I expected, which I really enjoy in a Chardonnay. At the same time, it was juicy, crisp, and clean. I will definitely seek out other wines from this Washington winery in the near future.

Domaine Lenoir Macon-Villages

Name: Domaine Lenoir Les Vins Jean Claude DeBeaune
Color: White
Varietal: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: France
Region: Burgundy (Macon-Villages)
Price: $12
Stars: 4 (out of 5)



This is a terrific white Burgundy from the Macon-Villages region in France. It features aromas of apples, pears, and other white fruits. The taste is similar to the nose but it also has a little kick of citrus. This Chardonnay is unoaked, medium-bodied, smooth, and easy drinking. It paired nicely with a roast chicken we had for dinner. We used a bit of the wine in the sauce.

The wine was also excellent on its own. French Chardonnays continue to be among our favorite white wines.

Pine Ridge Blend

Name: Pine Ridge
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chenin Blanc/Viognier)
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: California
Region: Various
Price: $16
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

This was a very good wine that we enjoyed tonight with dinner (chicken and vegetables). It was our first wine made primarily from Chenin Blanc and we really liked it. It had a touch of sweetness and featured citrus, pear, and grapefruit flavors. It was a medium bodied wine and it had a fairly decent finish.

Chateau St. Michelle Pinot Gris

Name: Chateau St. Michelle
Color: White
Varietal: Pinot Gris
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Washington
Region: Columbia Valley
Price: $10
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

We had this Pinot Gris from Chateau Ste Michelle with crab and scallops. Both were outstanding...The wine was fruity with crisp acidity and bright, juicy flavors. I picked up on primarily pear, apple, and melon flavors and aromas. It had a nice, medium body with a long, smooth finish.

Indaba Chardonnay

Name: Indaba
Color: White
Varietal: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: South Africa
Region: Western Cape
Price: $8 (on sale)
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


We had this chardonnay from South Africa tonight with crab and cheese on English muffins and grilled asparagus. The meal and the wine were similar - light, easy, and delicious.

The wine was light to medium bodied, with aromas of pineapples, pears, and honey. The taste was filled with apples, honey, citrus, and a little bit of cream. The finish was fairly long and completely enjoyable. For the price (normally around $10), the Indaba Chardonnay is a fantastic value. We continue to have great luck with wines from South Africa.