2007 White Wine Values for Summer 2008

One problem we wine buyers have had here in Maine is that white wines - many of which are properly vibrant and vital only for a comparatively short time - sit on retailers' shelves too long. (In the summer of 2008 no one wants a 2005 Pinot Grigio. At any rate, s/he shouldn't.) With this in mind, it's always a thrill when the previous autumn's wines start appearing in the market. They have now begun to do so. Here are two good ones that we've been drinking lately.



"Kung Fu Girl," from Washington state, has a package that blares Madison Avenue. I got a chuckle out of it anyway, but mostly it is just darn good wine: Honeysuckle and cider on the nose; with crunchy, juicy apple and pear fruit. As Rieslings from the Northwest often do, this one hits a stylistic point somewhere between Mosel and Alsace bottlings. A balancing hint of sub-Kabinett-level sweetness is held very much in check by bright but not false acidity. At $12 this is a good deal, particularly when you consider what qualitatively equivalent wines from Alsace or the Mosel are selling for now ($20).

The second white wine is a Verdejo from Spain's Rueda region: Javier Sanz's Villa Narcisa.



Steph and I became attached to Rueda's wines about ten years ago, when we started drinking the Marques de Alella (which seems no longer available here in Maine). We love its clean, refreshing, go-with-anything qualities that nevertheless are not so neutral as to be boring. The Villa Narcisa has a lemon grass and air-dried laundry nose and a snappy citrusy palate that has enough softness and weight to it to make it delicious as an aperitif as well as with food.