2010 Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio Friuli, Italy

A seven dollar house label Pinot Grigio - how good can this be?

Apple and pear on the nose.

Excellent balance, solid acid, vanilla, pear, and a bit of peach.

More vanilla and pear on the finish.

Good Pinot Grigio is hard to find and pricey. Cheap ones tend to be flabby and dull - this one isn't great, but it's not flawed like one would expect from one of the level. Well done, Costco.

Score: 86

N/V Emeri de Bortoli Sparkling Pinot Grigio

I stumbled across a display of a bunch of Emeri sparklers each for $13 each, so I snagged a couple - one doesn't see Sparkling Pinot Grigio often, especially from Australia.

This smells vaguely like white grape juice - in fact, this could totally pass for sparkling Welch's white grape juice.

Shock of the year with this one - this tastes like sparkling Welch's white grape juice on the attack and then once you get to the mid palate, some alcoholic heat as if some vodka were mixed in.

Yep...fizzy white grape juice on the finish, maybe some grapefruit as well.

While I suppose it doesn't taste that bad, it barely qualifies as a wine....I'm not about to dump it down the drain, but I will dump into a glass of ice with a dash or two of maraschino cherry juice.

Score: 70

2009 Two Lads Pinot Grigio

This retails for $16 at the winery.

Pear and vanilla on the nose.

Solid acid, a touch of sugar, golden pear, green apple, even a bit of green grape, with a bit of vanilla, and even some tropical fruit - mango perhaps.

A solid length to the finish with pear and apple at first fading - way off in the distance - to pineapple.

Pinot Grigio is a tough wine to describe because most of them taste similar, the differences between a good and a great one is in finesse and subtleties. I like this one a lot, I think I may have liked the 2008 a bit more, but regardless I'll probably be buying a fair amount of this next time we're in the tasting room.

Score: 90

2009 Chateau Chantal Pinot Grigio

This retails for $14 through the winery.

Big nose. Almost Sauv Blancy - grassy and grapefruity qualities dominate.

Somewhat lighter than I expected based on the nose - more grass and grapefruit. Fascinating - in a blind tasting this almost certainly would've thrown me off. A good amount of fruit and acid. In the mid-palate I get a bit of vanilla and more tropical sort of qualities.

More grapefruit - where I was getting a bit of a white grapefruit thing on the palate, this is morphing more into the pink category - a bit sweeter, a bit heavier, a bit fruitier even.

An argument can be made that this is simple, but at $13 it won't hold much weight. Serve this blind to your wine snob friend and see what they say.

This bottle was comped as part of the Tweet and Taste Michigan virtual Twitter tasting which took place on Monday, June 7, 2010. All attempts have been made to be honest and unbiased.

Score: 88

2008 Left Foot Charley Pinot Grigio

This is $15 at the winery. When we return to Traverse City, Left Foot Charley is going to be one of the first stops as I feel we haven't given them the love and respect they deserve.

Mostly pear on the nose.

This is interesting in that it's one of the heavier bodied PGs I recall having in sometime - it's nothing like a Chardonnay or anything, but it's not terribly "light." Good acid/sugar mix with some spicy qualities, pear, green apple, even pineapple.

A pineapple and vanilla thing lingers on the finish.

I was gaga stupid over the 2007 but this one I'm less excited about. I actually waited until the second bottle to jot down notes just to make sure I wasn't going in with too high of expectations. It's good - damn good - and a certain recommendation, but if you're poking around and see the 07 or the 08 - grab the 07.

Wine: 8
Value: Yep

2008 Two Lads Dry Sparkling Wine

On the one hand, one should not think of sparkling wine as something to consume only for celebration. On the other, why not celebrate the little things? Today, for example, Kiss released a new album. Is it good? Well, it's better than it has any right being so for that, my friends, I Just Wanna celebrate. $25 at the winery, cool looking bottle, with a bottle cap enclosure.

To be blunt, I came to this wine expecting to dislike it. I suppose because my experience with sparkling Riesling has been iffy (and don't get me started on the vegemite of wine, sparkling Shiraz) so this fairly atypical varietal for a sparkler gave me pause. In a word, crisp. In many ways, this hits me like a damn good Blanc de Blancs - more of that pear and apple with a bit of citron - the palate is mostly fruit, nothing in terms of toast and maybe, just maybe, since I'm looking, a suggestion of yeast.

More golden apples on the finish as well as a vaguely tropical thing - can't quite place it, but something here makes me think of papaya.

No complaints - in fact, much praise, far better than a bottle of Cold Gin. A quality wine in a funky looking bottle - if you'd be willing to let it leave your hands, this is the definition of the ideal party and/or gift wine, but pick some up because it won't last Forever.

Wine: 7.5
Value: Sure enough

2008 Two Lads Pinot Grigio

Alright, Two Lads - Pinot Grigio. Retail this goes for about $16.

A big ol' Pinot Grigioy nose, which is an obnoxious descriptor, but good PG smells like PG. It's mostly a green apple thing with some vanilla.

Michigan Pinot Grigio is, in my humblest opinion, some of the best on the planet. You can get some cheaper bottles from Italy, but for this price - $18 which is right around Santa Margherita territory - places like Two Lads and Left Foot Charley annihilate the pasta makers. Excellent blend of acid and sugar, mostly green, or maybe golden, apple notes. There's some nice spicy qualities, more vanilla, just the slightest touches of green grape, pear, and even banana (usually a quality I'd consider a flaw, but it works well here). Way on the back palate bring lychee. Something was lingering here that totally stumped me - I recognized something distinct, but could not place it. After about 90 minutes, it hit me - Juicyfruit gum

I keep getting vanilla in this one - even on the finish as well as more pear and lychee.

2007 Left Foot Charley was the best PG I've ever encountered. Two Lads owns 2008. If a more interesting Pinot Grigio exists at this pricepoint I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a bottle today.

Wine: 9.5
Value: Hell to the yeah

2007 Two Lads Winery Off Dry Pinot Grigio

I've been sitting on this one for a while. We visited this winery over the summer and loved it – so much so that we'll most likely be heading back to the area with the intent of visiting these guys, L. Mawby, and the Bad Dog Deli – anything else we hit will be nothing more than gravy.

A mildly peachy nose with nectarines and a bit of green apple.

Fantastic – this is definitely off dry, the sweetness is present throughout but there's enough acid to balance it out. Loads of peach, red apple, a bit of spice – serve this to me blind, I'd probably guess this to be a Gewürztraminer.

Spicy peach pie filling on the finish.

The depth, my friends, the depth. I wrote not long ago that another Michigan Pinot Grigio made by Left Foot Charley was my favorite PG ever – this is a close second. Pinot Grigio from Michigan - who would've known?

Wine: 9
Value: Hell yes

2006 Left Food Charley Pinot Grigio

We hit this winery on our trip to Michigan and wanted to be in love but it was at the end of a long day and our palates were blown. I had a feeling while there that it was a place we would've positively loved six hours earlier so we did a tasting and I snagged a bottle of something that seemed promising. The website said this is $16, which strikes me as higher than what I'd pay, but who am I to question?

The nose is fairly bold – Asian pears really come though with some interesting berry – blueberry mainly – notes with some orange blossoms.

Golden apples, golden pears, golden apple pears – all these dominate. Also poking their heads in: orange blossoms, chamomile, key lime zest, and just a bit of vanilla bean. Fantastic acidic balance, a near perfect level of sweetness – everything here is right.

Berries, and I almost get a slight golden raisin suggestion, on the finish.

We like Pinot Grigio, but it's a varietal I've long found dull – even highly rated PG's struck me as fine for a quaff but ultimately boring – this, my friends, is the first Pinot Grigio that has excited me. Hands down, the best PG we've ever had.

Wine: 9
Value: Exceptional - yes.

2006 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio

You know, I've seen this wine around for some time and I finally broke down and grabbed a bottle. This one goes for between $16 and $25 depending on where you shop – I have no access to sales figures and the like but my assumption is this is probably the most popular Pinot Grigio in the United States – from serious wine shops to Costco to the local grocery store, to almost any Italian restaurant's wine list, this one seems to everywhere.....but does it deserve to be?

Ultra tart apples and a little bit of pear on the nose with the slightest hint of gasoline.

Fruity, yet ultimately fairly dry. Apples, a little bit of grape jelly, some very dry stone fruit, maybe a bit of lime, and there is some decent mineral character here.

The finish is fades quick and is mostly lime.

I'll call this absurdly mediocre – there's nothing here, other than perhaps some less residual sugar, that you can't get in any number of cheaper Pinot Grigio out there.

2005 Tutu California Pinot Grigio

This was about $13 a while back, I admit it, I thought the label was amusing.

A weird, funky nose – almost cheese like.

Interesting. Crisp green apple, some minerality, a strange balance of acid and fruit, and a bit more of that weird soft cheese (I'm thinking Brie) – a somewhat unpleasant profile. What I dislike about this wine is somewhat new to me, so I'm struggling to put my finger on it.

The finish fades fast but leads a thick coating on the palate.

Not good....not good at all. I've said before it's hard to screw up Pinot Grigio – this proves it can be done....screw this, save your money and buy Gabbiano.

2006 Lynfred Winery Pinot Grigio

When we closed on our condo, our mortgage broker gave us this bottle as a gift – a nice gesture though after I saw the cut he was getting after signing my name a hundred times, all I could think was: “yo goober, where's the Dom?”

I hate describing the nose on Pinot Grigio because it's distinct...it smells like Pinot Grigio.

I'm used to a touch of sweetness in Pinot Grigio but I'd call this one bone dry...to the point that if you gave it to me blind I'd guess it was some sort of PG blend with Sauvignon Blanc. Stone fruit of all sorts – white peach mainly, but a bit of nectarine. A lot of mineral qualities that I'm bad at describing – slate?

A short finish suggesting more of that slate.

This one runs for $17.50 which I think makes it one of the pricier Pinot Grigio's that we've had – I'm sure there are better bottles out there, but I can't argue with this one. If you like this varietal but wish you could find a drier than usual bottle I'd say give this one a go. Recommended.

2005 Coppola Sofia Carneros Pinot Noir Rose

We were having some Indian takeout on a nice summer day and I figured I'd grab a bottle of rose. I stopped by a local shop who had very little in terms of rose, so I was stuck with this one for about $9.


Perhaps a bit of earth on the nose.

I get some strawberry, some earth, just a bit of tannin but certainly still smooth. Fruity, but not sweet at all.

Not much finish really.

As with just about all the Coppola wines I've had, it's certainly not bad, a decent wine for the price, but by no means groundbreaking.

2005 Redwood Creek Pinot Grigio

I had another coupon so I picked this one for under $5. I figured it was worth a shot.

A bit of grapefruit, but really not a whole lot on the nose.

The palate brings lime zest, a touch of honey, and a fair amount of white grapefruit.

A lemon-lime finish fades quickly but not before a somewhat astringent unpleasantness takes over.

Probably the worst Pinot Grigio I can recall drinking...still palatable, but there’s no reason to pick this up when there’s so many decent bottles in the same price range.

2005 Voga Pinot Grigio

Check out that fancy bottle - I never claimed to not be a sucker for a marketing ploy, but I’ve been putting this one off, alas the allure of an $8 light white to pair with enchiladas convinced me to grab a bottle.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a terrible Pinot Grigio, but I know I’ve never had a phenomenal one....this one is no exception.

Fresh citrus and slate on the nose.

Lime and mineral notes on the palate. A bit of sweetness and slight acid - no complexity, but I certainly didn’t expect much.

The finish fades quickly but is all lime.

Not bad, certainly not great, but a fine quaffer for spicy faire. For a chic bottle, perhaps for a party with casual wine drinkers - this would be a fine bottle to bring.

2005 Glamour Puss East Coast Pinot Noir

A $10 Pinot Noir with a cutesy label....how good can it be? I intended to find out.

Earth and raspberry on the nose.

The palate has some mild tannic backbone, with raspberry, cherry, earth, and chocolate.

The finish brings out some sassafras notes.

This is probably the biggest shock I’ve had since trying The Little Penguin - this is not only not bad, it’s actually pretty good...sometimes people ask why I bother with "obvious" bad wines: I present you with why I do.

Some distinct Pinot notes and nice structure - I would recommend this firmly. Certainly the best under $10 Pinot I’ve had and better than many at the $15 range.

2005 Delicato Pinot Grigio

A while back we went to a wine tasting and there was an excellent Shiraz that was something along the lines of $12 a bottle, but a box which equaled four full bottles was a mere $20. The guy working the table was talking about the fact that great box wine now exists and is becoming easier to find. This one was–a four bottle box–was on sale for mere $15 so I figured I’d give it a shot. I bought it thinking it was the one we tried at the tasting.

It's not.

The whole thing just smacks of pineapple...the nose, the palate, even the finish.

The nose has vanilla, pineapple, even some butter....to me, it reminds me of lousy Chardonnay. No acid...in fact, it almost tastes watered down.

The finish has some butter and a bit of pineapple, it fades quickly.

If you are a wine drinker, I can't recommend this. Maybe it will work in a spritzer. Bland, generic, not unlike something from Sutter Home.

2005 Ditka Da Coach Pinot Grigio

Thought I’m not a football guy, I am a huge fan of Bill Swerski. So, when I heard Ditka was putting his name on a series of wine, I didn’t hesitate picking one up. I figured a good place to start was a wine that’s tough to mess up, Pinot Grigio. Of course, it’s also the cheapest Ditka wine at $9. There’s a “Kick Ass Red” blend going for $40 and I think the others push the $20 line.

On the nose–well, it smells like Pinot Grigio. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but once you try a few Pinots, you know it—grapes, maybe some minerals, and a bit of citrus.

Lots of fruit, not a lot of acid–about what I’d expect at the price. The palate is mainly lemon...lots of lemon. There’s also some grapefruit, apple (think Golden Delicious) and I’ll even say a bit of citron. For all intensive purposes, there is no finish.

I’ll say this: this wine does not have any sort of “alcohol” taste, it’s incredibly smooth—the translation of that is that it’s dangerous wines—you can finish the bottle and not even notice it. It’s simple, easy drinking, and quality-wise what I’d expect from an under $8 wine you can find in any grocery store across the country.

My prediction: After Ditka wins a one on one brawl with a hurricane in Las Vegas, he will spend all of his money buying every vineyard on the planet and all the wine you know and love with be preceeded by “Ditka’s”—Ditka’s Silver Oak, Ditka’s Chateau Margaux, Ditka’s Mollydooker, etc.

The final verdict: I didn’t expect to have my socks blown off and I didn’t. It’s not the best Pinot Grigio, but no one claims it is. It’s decent and while I’d sayt the price may be a bit high, you’re buying a name, and if you’re going to pay for a name, it may as well be DIT KA.

Cheap wine roundup--Sutter Home, Glen Ellen, Frontera

I was browsing the aisle at my local supermarket and found a bunch of these little bottles on sale–$1 each. I figured it would make an interesting post to go through these “lower end” wines and see what they’re like.

2005 Sutter Home White Zinfandel

Many wine people hate White Zinfandel on principle...they will say it’s not wine. Being literal minded–it’s fermented grape juice, so it’s wine. But here’s why we hate it: no acid, no complexity, no finish. It’s a Kool-Aid like product, just sweet—and I like sweet wine—but that’s all it has going for it. It’s ultimately bland and uninteresting. I’m not repulsed, but if all I want is sweetness with some mildly fruit flavor I’d get a Cherry 7-Up...do they make that stuff anymore?


2005 Sutter Home Pinot Grigio

Fran claims this and the White Zinfandel taste like vinegar. While I disagree I see where she’s coming from–sugar and alcohol are really the only things here. There’s a little bit of honeydew that one would expect, but really it’s watery and bland. A full bottle of this is $5--for $8 you can get Ecco Domani or Gabbiano which are light years ahead in quality.


2002 Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon

If you had $5 and needed a red wine and were at a grocery store...well, this is your option. The nose is all alcohol, with what seems like wood, but there’s none on the palate. No tannins, but a strawberry flavor that’s pleasant enough and comes out in Twizzler fashion on the finish. Inoffensive, better than anything Charles Shaw, but for a few dollars more you can do so much better.

When I talk about red wine with people who don’t like red wine, I actually will push things like this—many people who dislike the tannins and oak in red wine I think need a stepping stone and this would be a reasonable inexpensive place to begin your journey from White Zinfandel to Chateau Margaux.


N/V (?) Glen Ellen Cabernet Sauvignon

The second I took a sip I thought this was far ahead in quality of the Sutter Home but it really died mid-sip. The nose has some earth and wood, but mainly just has alcohol. On the palate, this starts off almost like a Cab should–a bit of spice, oak, and berry but just dissipates after two seconds. No finish. On the tongue, it’s not half bad honestly...lots of fruit and spice. There’s a sweetness in this that needs food to minimize it....almost reminiscent of cherry pie. ....this one does not taste so good it’ll bring a tear to your eye though, nor will it put a smile on your face ten miles wide. Think Bobbi Brown 2006 versus Bobbi Brown 1991–it’s not exactly what you want, but you’ll still drink it.


2005 Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

Anyone who knows me and likes food knows that may favorite restaurant is Frontera Grill. How does the wine Frontera, which has no affiliation with the restaurant, compare?

The nose–oak.

The palate has some nice oak flavors with a bit of cherry....smooth tannins and a decent finish. Of these five wines this is the best hands down. The others relied on a sweetness to cover up the lack of complexity. This actually has something going on it...nice flavors, a finish, minimal sweetness...this isn’t bad. For a 187ml bottle at $1 this is perfectly acceptable.

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.