Part two of our three-part round-up. See part one: reds under $20.

From Earthy:

2010 Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home Sauvignon Blanc, Northern Sonoma ($10.99 Total Wine and ABC)

A pale yellow color with aromas of lime and grass, it actually smelled juicy. It’s got a bright, yet tame acidity with citrus flavors, predominantly grapefruit. This is a friendly, appealing wine, and while its subdued acidity makes it a great match for food, it’s just as good for sipping by itself. And that price makes it an even better as an everyday sipper.

2010 Biltmore Reserve Viognier, North Carolina ($15.99 online at shop.biltmore.com)

Its color is enchanting: a pale yellow body with a pale green cast that shimmers in light. An aroma of pear, honey, and a little bit of orange that’s so elegant, it’s reminiscent of the intrigue of early evening scent of a woman who walks by and just a few seconds later you catch the air of her perfume.

The Biltmore has an almost airy feeling on the tongue, but finishes long with citrus and unripe pear; it’s almost sour here, but not in an unpleasant manner. It’s not as rich or honeyed as other viogniers I’ve tried from France and California.
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Time again for another round-up of wines. This time, the wines come from regions in the New World, mostly California with a few wines from Argentina and the Pacific Northwest. Most of these wines were sent as samples for the Swirl Girls to review.

Non-vintage Sokol Blossor Evolution – Oregon ($14.99 at Total Wine, $15.99 at ABC, $16.95 at Crown)
It’s sort of like throwing all the grapes you can at a wall and seeing what sticks. This blend of well, basically everything is a bright lemon color and has a sweet, candied pineapple aroma with lychee, peach, pear, and white flowers. On the palate, it’s fresh and slightly sweet with a medium body. It paired nicely with a spicy Thai red curry with duck.

2010 Michel Torino Estate Cuma Malbec – Cafayate Valley, Argentina ($11 online)
Made with organic grapes, this deep purple/magenta-colored wine has a juicy, berry-filled nose of blueberry, blackberries and spice. There was a strong whiff of alcohol in the nose as well. On the palate, the wine had a grapey, bubble-gum fruit flavor that was reminiscent of a Beaujolais. It has a medium-bodied, slightly thin feel in the mouth. There was a nice level of acidity and soft tannins. This is a simple, one-dimensional wine that would be nice for a casual party.

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There’s just something comforting about fall foods. Warm, soothing soups, fragrant apple desserts, hearty pasta dishes that make you wonder exactly why no-carb was ever popular.

Wanting to take full advantage of fall foods, I invited Dry and Mr. Dry over for an Autumnal dinner. The goal was casual and easy food and the pairings weren’t too planned out. All the wines but the Burgess were sent free for review.

We started with a roasted butternut squash soup with sage croutons and a 2009 Honah Lee Viognier, a single-vineyard 100 percent viognier from Tarara Winery in Virginia. I had tried this wine while on a trip to Virginia last week and loved it so much I bought a bottle to bring home. While Virginia might not be the first wine-producing region you think of, they’re making beautiful wines and have a rich history of winemaking. It’s a wonderful area to visit and the wines have a breathtaking acidity. It smells like a tropical oasis – bananas, lychee, pineapple and coconut. Almost as if you were sniffing banana boat but in a much more delicate, refined way. It’s a round, luscious wine that has beautiful balance. This was my personal favorite of the night that I kept sipping on, even as the rest of the company turned to red. This wine is available online from Tarara Winery for $30 a bottle.

We also tried out the 2010 White Blend Incognito from Michael David Winery. The wine is a blend of viognier, chardonnay, muscat, sauvignon blanc and roussanne from Lodi, California. This wine didn’t agree with me. I found the acidity too strong and Dry agreed that it smelled and tasted as if perfume had been dumped into the bottle, it was that floral. While the acidity didn’t bother the rest of the table so much (I’m very sensitive to acidity) it had an alcohol level of 14.5 percent, which is quite high for a white wine and that also contributed to the perfumeyness of the wine. The Incognito sells for $18 at MicahelDavidWinery.com. Read the full story

It’s a rare round-up when I have nothing bad to say about the wines I recently tried, yet here I am, in that most excellent place to be. All of these wines reviewed were samples and all were wines I’d drink and buy again.

2009 Emma Pearl Chardonnay, $18 available online at emmapearl.com
I first heard the buzz about the Emma Pearl chardonnay when I attended the Wine Bloggers Conference in Virginia last summer. I didn’t get to try it until recently though and was thrilled that the wine lived up to the hype. It has a nice smell of apples, caramels and pear and a succulent richness. There were beautiful butter and caramel notes without being too oaky. It’s lush, round and rich but very ladylike. At $18, it’s a nice chard for all sorts of white wine lovers. It’s ladylike and elegant, the sort of wine you expect decked out in pearls and long gloves.

2008 Clos de los Siete, $18 available at Crown, $16.99 at Total Wine
This lively, interesting blend is made of 56 percent malbec, 21 percent merlot, 11 percent syrah, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon and 2 percent petite verdot. It smells of raspberries, dark cherries, and juicy, ripe blackberries. It’s pretty and lively. There’s a taste of black pepper and a kick of spice at the end. It’s very nice, drinkable and pleasant and somehow manages to be both smooth and spicy. I really liked it and the price is nice, too! Read the full story

We Swirl Girls love to shop for wine. Whether we’re perusing the aisles of a local wine shop, buying online or even bidding at  auction, there’s always a bottle or two in our basket.

But sometimes the best place to pick up a great deal is right in our neighborhood grocery store. It’s quick, convenient, and often has a surprisingly good selection. So for those of you wondering what to buy while on the weekly food trip, here are a few of our  selections:

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The last few months, I’ve been sampling wines from every end of the financial spectrum – starting with an eight-dollar wine and drinking my way to a $69 bottle (it was a special occasion). Overall, I found satisfaction in almost all of the wines, which were all sent for review.

2009 Seghesio Rockpile Zinfandel ($37.99 at Total Wine)
This chewy, cheeky wine proudly displays how a high-alcohol zin can play nicely by keeping its alcohol firmly in check and balanced. Still chock-full of ripe, black fruits – so ripe the wine practically turns your fingers black through osmosis on the glass, but still well-integrated, well-balanced and well-enjoyed. At $38, it’s a more expensive zinfandel, but is delicious with some juicy meat. I’d enjoy this again if someone else was buying and I’d likely hide the bottle in a kitchen cabinet if I discovered it at a party.

2006 Raymond Generations ($69.99 at Total Wine)
I saved this bottle for months and finally opened it on my boyfriend’s birthday. At $69, it’s quite a splurge. First thing I noticed was how much sediment it threw. It’s got a complex, interesting smell of smoke, tobacco, sweet and ripe fruits, plumbs, black cherries and some alcoholic heat that emanated. Blessed with nice legs and a long finish, it also carried firm, unyielding tannins. Unlike many cabs, it didn’t coat my mouth with thickness and, while it smelled incredibly fruity, it tasted a bit older-wine style. We enjoyed the whole bottle but I have to say at $69/bottle, I think there are other wines I would buy first OR wait to open this for maybe 10 more years, when it will probably be a very different wine. Read the full story

The swirling continues with some recent sips from Italy and Spain. Like my previous reviews from France, most of these wines are classically Old World in style with subtle fruit, earthy notes and dry on the palate. Most of these wines were sent to Swirl Girls for review.

2010 Lungarotti Torre di Giano – Torgiano, Umbria, Italy ($16 online)
This is a simple but delicious wine that wins my vote for quality and value. The wine is made from a blend of trebbiano and grechetto grapes, both white varietals grown in Umbria’s Torgiano region. Torgiano was the first winemaking region in Umbria to obtain DOC status in 1968.

This wine has aromas and flavors of fresh apple and citrus with some floral notes. On the palate it’s fresh, light and dry with a nice acidity and a clean finish. We enjoyed this wine with a meal of fresh pasta lightly tossed with a san marzano tomato sauce and finished with a bit of brie, fresh mozzarella and basil. Deliziosa!

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My swirling is winding down with my third and final end of the summer round-up. This one includes some wines from around the New World that I’ve tried recently. Many of these wines were sent to Swirl Girls for review.

2009 King Estate Pinot Noir, Oregon ($24 at Total Wine, $27 at ABC)
Let me start by saying that I’ve liked every wine I’ve ever tried from King Estate. The organic and sustainably farmed winery includes almost 500 acres of organic vineyards, plus 30 acres of fruits, veggies and flowers. Whether I’m sipping on one of their rieslings, pinot gris, vin glace or pinot noir, I’m a happy lady.

The 2009 King Estate Pinot Noir is made with grapes sourced from King Estate and other sustainably farmed vineyards across Oregon. It’s a bright garnet color in the glass with tangy cherry, currant, earth and dried herb aromas. It’s got a lovely silky feel in the mouth with a nice acidic structure. The fruity is a bit tart but sweetens and lingers on the finish. It’s a lovely little wine that lives up to King Estate’s reputation. Read the full story

Summer is the season for whites: white sun dresses, white sandals, white linens… and certainly white wines. While you’d probably be hard pressed to find “earthy” white wines, this Earthy has some she’d like to share (with a couple of rosés thrown in for a little color) from the bounty that has been sent to the Swirl Girls for review.

2010 Bodega Tamarí Reserva Torrontés, La Rioja, Argentina ($9.99 at Crown online)

I’m having a love affair with an Argentine that started two years ago and I just can’t quit. With scents of citrus, tangerine and flowers, that make me think of the crisp, early days of spring as they begin to lengthen into summer, is it any wonder I’m addicted to the torrontés grape?
In addition to those aromas, the Bodega Tamarí has a gentle acidity with citrus and apples notes, and more of an off-dry palate than a super-crisp, dry one. Still a dreamy date for a late afternoon spell on the front porch…

2009 Snoqualmie Winemaker’s Select Riesling, Columbia Valley, Wash. ($8 on Snoqualmie web site)

Just like the honey-yellow color in the glass, the ample aromas of this semi-sweet riesling are of honey and peach. The sweet smell of fruit carries over to the palate with more honey and peach. It’s soft and flavorful with a juicy richness, like biting into an overripe peach with juice that drips from your chin. There’s a slight crispness in the mid-palate that helps balance the candied flavor. White zinfandel drinkers: take note and take a step away from the pink! This one will satisfy that sweet tooth, but also introduce you to complexity in wine and winemaking. Read the full story

Despite working a late shift this summer, I’ve managed to squeeze in my share of summertime sipping and here is a round-up of what I’ve been sampling. All bottles were samples sent for review.

2009 Montinore Pinot Gris, Wilamette Valley ($16 available online at montinore.com)
After loving the Montinore Borealis as much as I did, I was champing at the bit to try their pinot gris, and I was not disappointed. It smells like lemon meringue pie, apples, limes and a bit of flowers. It has a beautiful weight and body (I know, it sounds like I’m describing a woman here) that coats the mouth in a silky voluptuousness. It was blessed with a green apple crispness and finishes with a zip and a skip. It was lovely. I served it with sautéed scallops in a pinot gris beurre blanc and was not disappointed. Buy, taste and linger over this wine.

2009 Estancia Pinot Grigio ($9.99 at Total Wine)
I am pretty much the only Swirl Girl that consistently likes pinot grigio. Half of this love affair has to do with my equally big love affair with ceviche, but that’s another story. This pinot grigio from Estancia is a solid standard or grocery store pick. It’s got a refreshing smell of lime, lemon zest and freshly cut grass and has a nice, crisp acidity. It’s light and pleasant and embodies spring. The high acidity practically cries out for food. And hot weather.
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