Bargain whites hint of summer just around the corner

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2013 (4809 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I have no way of knowing what the weather’s like outside as you read this column.

Submission deadlines for special features are always well in advance of publication. So if it’s a glorious 23 C outside, the above headline might seem ridiculous, although I’d hope folks might be open-minded enough to realize this is still April, and anything can happen. I remember the occasional May blizzard, which, while unwelcome, always served to remind us where we live: Manitoba, where saying ‘the weather is unpredictable’ is always a massive understatement.

If, however, the temperature is below zero, or at least below what’s normal for this time of year (which is what the forecast is predicting as I write this), or, if (heaven forbid) there IS a snowstorm raging outside, well, the headline will hopefully make you think of the balmy months that are yet to come.

As an aside — as if this introduction wasn’t already ‘aside’ enough — reporters don’t usually write the headlines for their stories. The editors do. When I worked full-time in the Brandon Sun newsroom for 12 of the happiest years of my professional life, my fellow reporters and I always said, ‘If I/we ever write a book, the title’s gonna be, “We don’t write the headlines!”

But I’ve found for this column, the editors have been very gentle and generous, and have almost always run with the headlines I’ve suggested, for which I’m very grateful. And hopefully this is one of those times, or the preceding paragraphs will make no sense at all.

But I digress. I think the whole column thus far has been a digression. And again, I digress!

ANYWAY, as indicated, I’ve had some lovely bargain-basement whites lately that have got me thinking about summer. Let me be clear: I want to drink great, quality wines in the summer months, too. But I always embrace a bargain, and when the sun is shining and it’s warm outside and perhaps there’s a body of water nearby, I can compromise a bit on my wine since wonderful weather makes most things taste that much better.

Enough dithering. These whites are good, cheap, and it would be well worth your while to check out.

The first goes by the unusual name of The Smart Grasshopper. From Hungary, it’s almost — almost — spritzy. It has what my friend Ann calls the ‘psssht’ factor. There’s just a tiny tingle, a twinkle on your tongue, if you will, as you sip this little gem. A Gruner Veltliner, I’ve had three of these before — one I really liked, the two others not so much.

But the 2011 vintage of The Smart Grasshopper is very pleasant. With lemon and green apple flavours and aromas, it really surprised me. Especially for its price tag — $9.99. That’s one Smart Grasshopper indeed.

I came across this next one in the refrigerator at the 10th and Victoria Liquor Mart. (I’d really like to convince them to keep a couple — OK, even just ONE — of my favourite Chards in there for those occasions when somebody says, on the spur of the moment, “Come over for a glass of wine,” and I’m not at home and I don’t want to arrive empty handed and I need to pick something up on the way and it needs to be chilled for fairly imminent sipping. But I digress. Again.)

Since there was no wine I was familiar with that also appealed to me in just such a circumstance recently, I grabbed a bottle I hoped would be decent. I was a bit concerned because of the price — $12.36 — since I always like to take something good, and it’s difficult to get a bottle that qualifies as such for under $15. However, I like Chenin Blanc, so I took a chance.

And the 2011 Babylon’s Peak Chenin from South Africa was lovely. The palest of whites, so clear it was just this side of water, the Babylon’s Peak was pleasantly acidic, and had hints of citrus and pineapple. It may even have turned slightly sweet on the finish — I’m honestly not sure. All I know is, I liked it a lot, and Ann did, too. Even a day later, although it had been protected by the amazing VacuVin (more on that in an upcoming column), it had retained much of its ‘psssht,’ and was lightly delightful.

The third white, the Aveleda Vinho Verde from Portugal, was recommended to me at the new Liquor Mart Express in Sobey’s West by the always jovial and charming Rod Foster on March 27th, the first day the new store was open. Vinho Verde is not a grape varietal, but is, as the name suggests, “green wine.” It reminded me of the “new wine” I had in Germany during the New Wine Festival there in 1988, although I was NEVER enamoured with those usually sweet and definitely unfinished concoctions. But as they say, when in Rome … And even though I was in Rudesheim, Koenigswinter and Essen, new wine was the thing, and had to be sampled again, and again, and again.

While Aveleda’s Vinho Verde has that same youth factor, which is why it was reminiscent of that trip 25 years ago, it’s much more refined and way better than were those yeasty German wines.

Young, smooth, delicate, fresh, and vibrant, this wine sings with lemon and lime flavor — mostly lime, I think — and turns a little toward pineapple and green apple on the finish. Then comes something floral and vegetative — I’m at a bit of a loss, but it was really quite a surprise, especially for the price.

Did I mention it was $10.62 a bottle?

Since Vinho Verde is meant to be consumed within a year of bottling, it’s likely to become an on-the-deck staple at my house this year.

So pick up one or all of these bargain bottles, all with lots going for them, all with the ‘psssht factor,’ and enjoy. Think summer. If we haven’t got it already, it should be here soon.

I hope.