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Trader Joe’s Wine: Grower’s Reserve Chardonnay 2009

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A wine moment with Delaina…the sipping continues….

After the success of the Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel (yes this is another plug for that Zin), I decided to give the Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Chardonnay 2009 a try.

I was very impressed. Sometimes Chardonnays are just too dry for me. As a rule I like Chardonnays that have little bit of “oakieness” but not so much they lose their buttery smoothness. It is true I expect the same complexity from white wine as I do reds.

Too often I feel that white wines have little complexity. This is not, I repeat, not the case with Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Chardonnay.

This organic Trader Joe’s wine find has complexity, at least by my white wine standards. The label talks about this Chardonnay’s straw coloring and apple, pear, and melon flavor.  Personally I think it is the melon flavor that  gives this wine its complexity, but I might be biased.

Trader Joe’s Chardonnay is from ASV Wines out of San Martin, California (just like the Zinfandel).

This wine would pair nicely with salads, fish, lightly buttered pasta, and anything really that you would drink white wine with. In fact, depending on your own tastes, this could be one of the rare white wines that could be fancied/ drank  on its own. Alone there is a bit more of a bite but the bite is more like a nibble.

I hope you enjoy this wine as much as I did. Drop me a comment below to let me know what you thought of this wine…

Cheers!

Delaina

Trader Joe’s Wine: Vola Trebbiano Pinot Grigio

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A Wine Moment with Delaina, the sipping continues….This wine moment with Delaina, is featuring a wine from Trader Joe’s May 2010 Frequent Flyer, Vola Trebbiano Pinot Grigio.

Trader Joes featured quite a few wines in their recent Frequent Flyer, so of course I had to try two of them.  I am, at all times, open to trying new wines, and I especially like to try those that Trader Joe’s promotes in the store and in their advertising.

The first one I tried is a Pinot Grigio blend that offers a refreshing taste. For those of you that do not know, Trader Joes is featuring this great wine for only$1.99. WOW-  Vola which is a happy blend of Trebbiano and Pinot Grigio grapes.

I usually like Pinot Grigio grapes and wines’  in general, but I have to say that this one is just fabulous. This wine has an almost fruity-pine taste to me which pairs nicely with salads, and strong cheeses like the Dubliner or smoke Gouda, both of which can also be found at Trader Joes.

And let’s not forget the value! For the price of $1.99 I can even imagine myself buying a case of this wine and then sharing it with friends on a warm summer evening on my patio. Oh wait I don’t have a patio. Well then I would give some bottles away as “just thinking of you summer gifts.” And hope that my friends will invite me to their patios to sit under the stars and enjoy this wine (Hey I will bring the cheese and crackers, OK?)

So if you were curious about Vola Trebbiano Pinot Grigio and wondered what it was like, or if this wine was any good, we say relax and buy a bottle today ( or actually,  the next time you are at Trader Joe’s).

Cheers!

Trader Joe’s Wine “Big Day” from Pancake Cellars

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Pancake Cellars Big Day Wine

Pancake Cellars Big Day Wine

This wine moment is special because it is one of the few that that will feature a white wine. Yeah I still will post about white wines but they most likely will be overshadowed by the red wine posts.
This white wine came from Trader Joe’s of course and I believe it was $5.99. Big Day is a 2009 white from Pancake Cellars. Big Day is a blend of 5 different grapes: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc; Viognier, Muscat Canelli, and Pinot Blanc.

The first time I had this wine was for a graduation party, Kris’s folks were in town and I knew the liked white wine. As it was a “big day” I thought the name was fitting. Well, it is May again and I found that I was actually craving this wine. I am so glad that Trader Joe’s offers it because now that I have found it, I have new respect and curiosity to try more white wines.

In my assessment this wine is a “big” wine. This is the most complex white wine I have ever tasted. The label says you can serve it with “Thai green curry, turkey sandwiches, chicken apple sausages, or pesto anything.”

I would agree with the label and say it does goe with everything. In fact one night hot night we had a simple late night dinner with just apples and a smoked Gouda cheese (yes we got all of those for Trader Joe’s) and this wine was a very nice complement. Even though it is only May, this would be the perfect summer wine. It is light and fruity and refreshing on a hot summer night. Or even a warm May evening in Tucson, when it is already 90 during the day.

The label further describes this wine as featuring flavors “white peach, apple and cantaloupe, along with orange blossom, honeysuckle and lemongrass.” My pallet is not sophisticated enough to pick up all of those flavors but I would agree with the cantaloupe and honeysuckle as these are favorite flavors of mine.

So give this wine a try the next time you are looking for a great wine for a hot evening.

I hope you all enjoy this wine as much as I have…oops…did!

For more information about this wine, checkout my short video on the front of this blog, or click to view our wine videos and more on You Tube  HERE.