Whole Foods
Here marks the end of the Whole Foods Top Ten Holiday Wines review. Hope you enjoyed the write-ups and had a chance to go out and try some of these for yourself. If you did, let me know – would love to hear what you think.
Below is the wrap-up of my results. At the end of the full tasting, I was more often in the “buy it” camp than not. All ten are in order of preference below, along with my “What you should do” notes for each:
2008 Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir, Valle Central
Did I mention that you should buy this wine? Well, it’s worth saying again. If you like Pinot Noir and good deals, this is the one for you. It’s around $6 and an incredible Pinot Noir for that price – the QPR is off the charts on this one. My rating: 89 (I give it a 90 rating for wines under $10)
2008 Pisato Montepulciano
Buy it. Well worth having some around the house. After all, you know of any other sub $15 bottles of Organic Italian wine? Yes? Good, go buy this one. No? Well, good, go buy this one. My rating: 88
2008 Paso a Paso Tempranillo
Buy this wine. It’s always nice to find a good Tempranillo and the quality of this wine, especially for the price, is high. My rating: 88
2008 Los Vascos Domaines Barons De Rothschild (Lafite) Special Selection Sauvignon Blanc
BUY IT! It’s just a nice take on Sauvignon Blanc. Some good complexity, but an easy drinker at the same time. And, given that sweeter wines tend to find their way through the clutter more over the holidays, this was a nice surprise and a drier alternative. My rating: 88
2008 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Special Selection Cotes-Du-Rhone Blanc
Getting hard for the Whole Foods wines because I’m preparing to go next week and buy a bunch of these. This one’s no exception. I would buy it. It’s a good value, a nice wine, from a trusted producer who clearly cares about the world around them. If you had to pick up only one, I would probably err on the side of the Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir, but if there are a couple you can afford, this is also a good one to have on hand. My rating: 87
2007 Helfrich Gewurztraminer
Buy this wine in time for Thanksgiving. It will be a great one to kick off your night, especially with some good, rich cheeses, as Whole Foods suggests. The sweetness of the wine should be offset by the robust cheeses. My rating: 87
2008 Santa Julia Bonarda & 2008 El Coto Special Cuvee Rioja
Buy the Santa Julia and try it out, but if you want to get a Tempranillo, I would go for the Paso a Paso – just more bang for the buck on that one. Santa Julia rating – 87; El Coto rating – 86
2008 Marques De Riscal Rueda Seleccion Especial
Buy it. I think this is a timely wine and one that you can have with Thanksgiving dinner. A relatively light and refreshing wine, it would be a nice complement to the Helfrich Riesling, which is sweeter, but definitely a nice wine to pair with pre-dinner cheeses. Plus, between the two wines, you’ll impress your guests with your international wine savvy. My rating: 86
J. P. Chenet Blanc De Blancs Frut
First off, I wouldn’t take my advice on sparkling wines. If you have a keen eye for them, definitely buy it and see what you think. All the Whole Foods holiday wines are affordable. It won’t be what we crack open for a special occasion, as I’ve had many champagnes that are better and feel more festive, but it’s good. My rating: 85
2006 Red Truck Zinfandel Mendocino County
Don’t buy this one. As I said, the producer used to be higher on my list and I don’t know if it’s just the Zinfandel that’s throwing me off, but not my favorite. Plenty of other good ones on the list (like the Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir and the Paso a Paso Tempranillo) for you to choose from. My rating: 84
2008 Sutter Home Muscat of Alexandria
If you like sweet Muscat, definitely try this. If your palate is more like mine and prefer dried wines, you may want to try the 2008 Ca’ del Solo Muscat from Bonny Doon – it’s a beautiful, well balanced, drier Muscat that kept me going back for more when I first tried it. If you like cheese, find a way to get ahold of some Mount Tam or Rogue blue – these will certainly not disappoint. My rating: 82
Continue reading about Whole Foods Wine Holiday Top Ten list – the wrap-up
Well, this is it, the end of the road for the Whole Foods Holiday Wine Top Ten List for 2009. Two more posts – this one and one coming soon that wraps it up just in time for the last holiday push.
I’ll keep it short and sweet today, given that these are actually numbers 11 and 12 in the Top Ten…which is odd, but always the case with Whole Foods. I think they do it this way so that everyone can find at least ten in their local Whole Foods, but I’ve always been able to find all twelve, so not sure if that’s the case or not.
The two wines for today are the 2008 Santa Julia Bonarda and the 2008 El Coto Special Cuvee Rioja. Both are close peers in my book, not the best on the list, but easy drinkers that are worth checking out. And, I’ll only say this one more time – all the bottles on the list this year are under $15, so it’s an easy list to experiment with.
2008 Santa Julia Bonarda
Not too aromatic at first, but with some air and rest, comes out with earth, leather, plum, dark cherry and tobacco. A little more tart and spicy in the mouth with blackcurrant and smoke. Nice firm tannins, a little hot, with a decent, but not lingering finish.
What Whole Foods has to say: With energy conservation and recycling projects, this winery is dedicated to earth-friendly winemaking in Argentina. Juicy berries and underlying spiciness drive this lively wine, making it a savory match for tomato sauce in pizza and pasta. A few bites of Drunken Goat cheese make the wine jump.
My rating: 87
2008 El Coto Special Cuvee Rioja
This one isn’t a far cry from the Bon
arda. More floral on the nose, with cherry, plum and some of the earth and leather, but a bit oakier in the mouth, with a touch of vanilla and spice. This one is a bit off balance to me, with not enough fruit to counteract the oak and almost tastes somewhat diluted. It’s not bad, just a few key elements missing for me that throw it out of balance.
What Wholes Foods has to say about it: This toasty wine tastes modern, but its long finish comes from Spain’s noble Tempranillo grapes. Hearty cherry-vanilla and plum notes make it perfect for roasted meats or try sharp El Trigal Manchego or Mahon cheese to give it the flavorful grip that Rioja’s known for.
My rating: 86
What you should do: Buy the Santa Julia and try it out, but if you want to get a Tempranillo, I would go for the Paso a Paso – just more bang for the buck on that one.
NOTE: both of these wines were sent to me as samples.
Again with the cheeses – I love this! Whole Foods is outdoing themselves with the cheese recommendations this year. And all really good selections. Here’s what they suggest in the write-up for today’s wine…
We snatched up every case of this bargain Chilean white, bottled by legendary Bordeaux winemakers. Boxwood and exotic fruit with minerality and lean elegance are hints of an extraordinary terroir in the foothills of the Andes. Sip with Oysters or a knob of Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog cheese to bring out its juiciness.
Personal letter to Doug Bell:
Dear Doug,
Please keep including the delicious and clearly hand-picked cheese recommendations. If this were a cheese blog, I would give you very high marks.
Sincerely,
RJ’s Wine Blog
That oughta do it…now off to write my letter to Santa.
Oh wait…there’s a wine this week too, I almost forgot – the 2008 Los Vascos Domaines Barons De Rothschild (Lafite) Special Selection Sauvignon Blanc. One of my favorite whites on the Whole Foods Wine Holiday Top Ten List, it’s a cool combination of elements. On the nose, star fruit, blood orange, apricot and minerals, particularly a zinc quality that gives it a nice edge. Minerals continue in the mouth, but the fruit switches to more lemon and grapefruit. Overall, a light and crisp Sauvignon Blanc, but just creamy enough that I understand why it was included on a holiday wine list. This is a very nice white to have around in the afternoon as relatives are trickling in for the festivities, right before you switch over to a Pinot Noir.
What you should do: BUY IT! It’s just a nice take on Sauvignon Blanc. Some good complexity, but an easy drinker at the same time. And, given that sweeter wines tend to find their way through the clutter more over the holidays, this was a nice surprise and a drier alternative.
My rating: 88
NOTE: this wine was sent to me as a free sample.
Getting close to the end on the Whole Foods Holiday Wine Top Ten list this year – only a few more to go. Overall so far, there have been some good selections and some not so good selections, but it’s always a pleasure seeing what Doug Bell and his team pull together for these lists. I love that Whole Foods does this twice a year, mostly because for the average wine consumers, it takes a lot of the guesswork out of what wines to buy. If you’re like me, you could taste all the wines on the list and probably come up with a few you could live without and a few that you have to put on your own good wine list.
Thankfully, the 2008 Pisato Montepulciano falls in the latter camp. It’s not the richest, most acidic, earth-bound Montepulciano I’ve ever tasted. Nor does it have the finish of some of my favorites (see La Braccesca 2004 Vino Noble di Montepulciano, the 2005 Masciarelli Estate Bottle Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, or the 2006 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano). But, this is a nice Italian wine. And, it’s made with organically grown grapes, so I guess that’s nice. Although, I’m not really sure what that means. If you ask some growers up in Napa, they fight every day to get the organic seal of approval, while others do everything they can to avoid the designation and instead focus on farming techniques that are truly sustainable. This post is not about that topic, as it could go on forever and rarely do you get the same opinion when you ask. For me, though, I just thought it was interesting because it’s the first Montepulciano I’ve seen that has this designation (but then again, maybe I don’t get out enough).
The 2008 Pisato Montepulciano has an interesting array of aromas and flavors – very dark cherry, earth, chocolate and wet dog on the nose, followed by a pomegranate, cranberry chocolate espresso (hold the whip cream) in the mouth. Not as acidic as I expected it to be, but it was well balanced for a wine at the sub $15 price point. The biggest bummer is that the finish dropped off a little too early for me, but up until that point, a very satisfying wine.
What Whole Foods has to say: For turkey and other rich poultry consider this affordable alternative to Chianti with soft tannins and hints of dried fruit. Bold ruby color and dry silky fresh tomato notes complement Italian food. Superbly creamy with Cabot Clothbound Cheddar aged at the Cellars of Jasper Hill or Parmigiano Reggiano Aged 24 months.
You know, it’s always fun to go through these top ten lists and see what Whole Foods comes up with, but, I have to be honest, reading their descriptions makes me want to go on whatever cheese tours they go on. Incredible the cheese recommendations for these wines.
What you should do: Buy it. Well worth having some around the house. After all, you know of any other sub $15 bottles of Organic Italian wine? Yes? Good, go buy this one. No? Well, good, go buy this one.
My rating: 88
Continue reading about Whole Foods Wine Holiday Top Ten list – 2008 Pisato Montepulciano
When I first moved to San Francisco a few years back, there were some inexpensive wines that I thought were not only drinkable, but worth always having a case around for those weeknights with grilled burgers or pizza. Red Truck was one of those producers and I think I still have a few bottles from the case I bought 4 years ago. But, it occurs to me now, that I’m no longer much of a fan of Red Truck. I’ve had a few of the wines since that first case and nothing’s really knocked me out. Good enough, but not memorable. And, unfortunately, the 2006 Red Truck Zinfandel Mendocino County on the Whole Foods Holiday wine top ten list falls in that camp.
It’s a fairly nice mix of cherry, cranberry, cedar and freshly ground nutmeg, but with an aroma of the air you smell when fly fishing, part fresh mountain air, part fish, part fresh water and mist. Having fished my whole life (although less and less as the years go by), this is a welcome smell, as long as you’re catching fish, but not so welcome when the trout have gone somewhere else down the river or perhaps permanently reside on the hook of your friend standing right next to you. After the river runs through the wine, there’s a dusty butter and vanilla finish, which is actually a little comforting and rich, but a disconnect from the rest of the wine. Off balance, a bit confused about what it wants to be and no longer on my list of weeknight keepers.
What Whole Foods has to say: Think of this bottle as an old friend in a snazzy new pair of shoes! A balanced, organic California wine, its brambly berries, cracked pepper and dark chocolate finish keep your attention, whether you’re eating pot roast or pasta. Wow your taste buds and pair it with Stilton produced by Colston Bassett or Borough market.
What you should do: Don’t buy this one. As I said, the producer used to be higher on my list and I don’t know if it’s just the Zinfandel that’s throwing me off, but not my favorite. Plenty of other good ones on the list (like the Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir and Paso a Paso Tempranillo) for you to choose from.
My rating: 84
Halfway through the Whole Foods Wine Holiday Top Ten list for this year, Doug Bell and team are doing pretty well. One wine that really pleasantly surprised me (the Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir, even after two tastings) and another that fell really short (the Sutter Home Muscat, which was too sweet and one dimensional). But, overall, this is a good list of wines and Whole Foods is living up to its philosophy of maintaining the balance between quality and price.
Which brings us to another very nice wine, the 2008 Paso a Paso Tempranillo. Lots of dark berry, plum, sage and smoked pork, with just a bit of sweetness like you would get from a barbecue sauce on that pork. This is an interesting wine. When I first tasted it, it was a bit tight and the wine absolutely disappeared on the finish. But, after letting it open up for 10 minutes in the glass, there was plenty of rich, balanced finish. Medium acidity and firm tannins, with the tannins most present on the front palate, then easing as it made its way to the end.
What Whole Foods has to say: From sandy soils in the prized terroir of La Mancha, Spain comes this powerful example of Tempranillo. Six months of aging in French oak barrels results in its deep opaque color and ripe plum and toffee aromas, perfect for drinking with hearty winter stews or bring out the creaminess in P’tit Basque cheese for an intense flavor experience. Made with Organically Grown Grapes
What you should do: Buy this wine. It’s always nice to find a good Tempranillo and the quality of this wine, especially for the price, is high.
My rating: 88
NOTE: This wine was sent to me as a free sample.
Continue reading about Whole Foods Wine Holiday Top Ten List – 2008 Paso a Paso Tempranillo
Nice to see an old familiar brand on the Whole Foods Holiday Top Ten wine list again this year – M. Chapoutier. Back on the 2008 list, Doug Bell at Whole Foods included the 2007 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Côtes-Du-Rhône Rouge. This year, it’s a white from the same producer, the 2008 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Special Selection Côtes-Du-Rhône Blanc.
The first most noticeable thing about the M. Chapoutier wines is the use of braille on their labels, something I hadn’t seen before last year. According to the M. Chapoutier website: The expression of an assertive, confident personality, Braille has been present since 1996 on all M. CHAPOUTIER labels. Far from being anecdotic, this symbol draws its origin from the very history of the Hermitage vineyard. Maurice Monier de La Sizeranne, owner of the plot of the Hermitage, la Sizeranne, is also the inventor of the first version of abbreviated Braille. The trademark pays tribute to this man but also expresses the desire to reach out to and include all people with sight-impairments, lovers of good wines.
As we all know labels don’t make the wine, but there are some cool enough labels out there that you just can’t ignore them and this one is one of the most unique. But, what about the wine? On the nose, lemon, melon and apricot – a nice blend of fruits, not too complex, but not one dimensional either. Quite dry on the mouth, drier than I expected, given the fruits on the aroma, but with dry, I expected it to be crisper than it was. Also, noticed a bit of a bitter note on the finish…but nothing to make me shy away from this wine. Overall, I enjoyed it and thought it was a nice, balanced white.
What Whole Foods has to say about it: A highly respected family vintner brings us this authentic, floral special selection White with a loving sense of place. Try its apple, lime and white pepper notes with roasted veggies or pork, or indulge with Amadeus Austrian Select cheese and you’ll swear you’re eating fondue.
Of all the wines on the holiday list this year, this is the one that was the furthest off in terms of what I picked up vs. what Whole Foods picked up. If you’ve had this wine, let me know what you pulled out of the wine and we’ll compare notes.
What you should do: Getting hard for the Whole Foods wines because I’m preparing to go next week and buy a bunch of these. This one’s no exception. I would buy it. It’s a good value, a nice wine, from a trusted producer who clearly cares about the world around them. If you had to pick up only one, I would probably err on the side of the Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir, but if there are a couple you can afford, this is also a good one to have on hand.
My rating: 87
NOTE: This wine was sent to me as a free sample.
I’m not much of a sparkling wine connoisseur. I know what i like when I taste it, but you can put most any sparkling wine in front of me, as long as it’s not too sweet, and I’ll probably like it enough to raise a toast at a wedding or at the stroke of midnight new years eve. But, I’m not one to analyze it and pull apart all the different elements – not even sure why except it may have something to do with bubbles getting in the way of the flavors and aromas. Let’s just say that I wish I knew more about this category, but, for now, with so many other types of wines to explore, I’ll leave it at “I know what I like when I taste it.”
The short story is this – this a perfectly fine sparkling wine…nothing special, nothing too sweet, nothing too bubbly (in fact, just a few less bubbles than a lot of champagnes, which is good in my book since I lean more toward Prosecco for that very reason) and definitely not the best sparkler I’ve ever had. But it’s fine. It’s got a nice dry aroma, no attack on the nose, with a clean, light-yellow color and a dry finish.
What Whole Foods has to say: The value-minded—and utterly delicious—French Sparkler is back! Fine bubbles and a golden hue make this delicate but powerful pour refined. Whether you pair its apricot and buttery brioche notes with Bon Homme Brie from Normandy or Hervé Mons Camembert cheese, pour for a toast or sip after a long day, it always shines.
What you should do: First off, I wouldn’t take my advice on sparkling wines. If you have a keen eye for them, definitely buy it and see what you think. All the Whole Foods holiday wines are affordable. It won’t be what we crack open for a special occasion, as I’ve had many champagnes that are better and feel more festive, but it’s good.
My rating: 85
NOTE: this sparkling wine was sent to me as a free sample.
Continue reading about Whole Foods Wine Holiday Top Ten List – J. P. Chenet Blanc De Blancs Brut
I’ve been really impressed with the tasting and food pairing notes this year from Doug Bell and team over at Whole Foods. For the Sutter Home Muscat, Whole Foods has this to say about it:
The retro label is a tip-off—you’ll find comfort in this bottle. Honeysuckle and peaches make it playful for occasions like brunch or dessert when you need a wine on the sweet side. Cowgirl Creamery Organic Mount Tam or Rogue Creamery’s Anniversary Blue cheese makes the wine’s sugary side divine.
Cowgirl Creamery Mount Tam and Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese? Are they kidding? How’d they know these are two of my favorite things? In San Francisco, my wife and I always went to Cowgirl Creamery at the Ferry building and this was the cheese we went ho
me with, especially when we needed something for a dinner party. On top of that, the Rogue Creamery is a few miles from where we got married in Oregon and their blue cheese is out of this world. Or, better said, the best in this world (literally, they’ve been voted as making the best blue cheese in the world).It’s like Whole Foods somehow tapped our phone lines over the last few years, then rigged it so I would start wine blogging and direct some of my focus on Whole Foods – brilliant! Very interesting…and if I were a paranoid person, I would put a lot of merit in that idea, but I am neither paranoid nor inclined to spend ti
me on such a silly idea. Unless, of course it’s true, then I’d have to hire a PI and bug their phone lines right back and…uh, well, okay maybe not.Unfortunately, I found myself focusing more on the cheese than the wine, because this wine was not to my liking. In short, I found it be one-dimensional and offer not much more than a bottle of spiced honey. Very sweet, too sweet for my taste and a wine that I won’t be picking up again. I did struggle for more to say about it, but after more sips than I would have liked, I just kept coming back to honey with a little bit of spice, like nutmeg or cinnamon.
Now, Whole Foods di
d nail the fact that this wine would go very well with the Mount Tam and the Rogue blue cheese, but I’ve had enough of both of those cheeses to know that a lot of whites can hang out with these near-perfect cheeses. I would probably even give the Muscat a few extra points in my rating if I tasted it with the cheeses, but I didn’t, so will settle into a lower score of 82.What you should do: If you like sweet Muscat, definitely try this. If your palate is more like mine
and prefer dried wines, you may want to try the 2008 Ca’ del Solo Muscat from Bonny Doon – it’s a beautiful, well balanced, drier Muscat that kept me going back for more when I first tried it. If you like cheese, find a way to get ahold of some Mount Tam or Rogue blue – these will certainly not disappoint.My rating: 82
NOTE: this wine was sent to me as a free sample.
Continue reading about Whole Foods Wine Holiday Top Ten list – 2008 Sutter Home Muscat Of Alexandria
You want a good, solid Spanish white for the holidays? This one is it.
I was really impressed with the nose – peach, pear and cedar, with a hint of grandma’s old mothballs (which, for me, is nostalgic and since it wasn’t overwhelming on the nose, brought back very fond memories of my grandmother and her wardrobe-saving white balls of winged creature demise). The nose is a bit over-oaked, thus the woodsy, cedar components, but the mouth doesn’t pull much of that oak into the blend. It does change from nose to mouth, transforming into lemon, peach, grapefruit, cream and butter. It’s light in color, with just enough acidity and very little heat (which has been consistent for all the top ten wines thus far).
It did strike me as b
eing a bit more like a Sauvignon Blanc than a Verdejo with a light crispness and grassy lemons, but that was mostly when it was cold and straight from the refrigerator. So, let it sit and warm up a bit and you should be able to capture some more complexity.Wha
t Whole Foods has to say: We bought all of this refreshing, full-bodied Spanish wine, but we’ll share! Old-world Verdejo comes alive in a straw-colored wine brimming with fruit and fennel. A huge value, serve as an aperitif or with tapas or roasted chicken. Pairing it with Fourme d’Ambert or Drunken Goat cheese brightens its flavor.What you should do: Buy it. I think this is a timely wine and one that you can have with Thanksgiving dinner. A relatively light and refreshing wine, it would be a nice complement to the Helfrich Riesling, which is sweeter, but definitely a nice wine to pair with pre-dinner cheeses. Plus, between the two wines, you’ll impress your guests with your international wine savvy.
My rating: 86
NOTE: this wine was sent to me as a free sample.
