2005 Marshall Field's Pinot Grigio

Forgive me for being smug, but when I first poured a glass of this wine I remarked to Fran “I think they may have replaced the wine in this bottle with water.”

There’s nothing going on here. It’s pretty eye opening in a way...if there's one thing I can say about this it's that I've never had wine like this before. I've had my share of cheap Pinot Grigio but nothing like this (and at $10, this is pricier than respectable low end producers like Ecco Domani and Gabbiano).

On the nose–-grapes. Just grapes. Many Illinois wineries make wine out of a Niagra grapes that tastes pretty much just like alcoholic grape juice–-no acid, no definition, no complexity, just grapes and sugar: this smells like that.

On the palate, unlike Niagra, it’s not terribly sweet. There is some fruitiness (in the form of grapes), very low acid (if any), and other than grapes, the only flavor I get is alcohol.

The bottle says “Fabulous with Fried Foods,” I wonder if the person who wrote that is the creator of “Hi and Lois” because they are making me laugh.

Instead of buying a bottle of this, I will give you a recipe to make a very similar tasting drink: Take 16 ounces of water, one ounce vodka, and one half ounce white grape juice. Shake with ice, strain, and serve in a wine glass.