2010 BV Coastal Estates, Pinot Grigio, California

Terry post:

Poetry is a lot like wine. Some like it and most don't and everyone has an opinion about it. And like opinions about wine they are equally valid because if you like it - it is good. Anybody who tries to tell you otherwise has an ax to grind. My opinions about wine and poetry are just that: my opinions.

"Barking" by Jim Harrison.

The moon comes up.

The moon goes down.

This is to inform you

that I didn’t die young.

Age swept past me

but I caught up.

Spring has begun here and each day

brings new birds up from Mexico.

Yesterday I got a call from the outside

world but I said no in thunder.

I was a dog on a short chain

and now there’s no chain.

I like Jim Harrison's poems a lot. They all are rich and crisp and pair well with my favorite foods. They are inexpensive and easily found. They are deeply hued and smell of flowers, citrus, grapes, loss or love.

My Impression:

Pale straw in the glass.

Light bodied with floral nose. A little more acidic than I expect from a Pinot Grigio making it a better candidate for food paring. Short green pepper finish.

Recommended, but only because of it's price. Were this an $10 Pinot Grigio I'd take a pass on it. But being a value shopper I am willing to endure its timidity.

$4.99 at the Fort Belvior PX.

~Terry

NV Muscat de Beaulieu, Beaulieu Vineyard, California

Terry post:

What is a dessert wine? The obvious answer is that it is a wine one enjoys as dessert and I would speculate that very few people have enjoyed dessert wine for that purpose.

My personal preference for after dinner sipping is a vintage Porto (along with a good cigar if at all possible). That said, there is just something classy about ordering a small glass of dessert wine in place of that slice of double chocolate cake.

My impressions: Medium bodied with a strong alcohol presence - almost overpoweringly so. The alcohol is the predominant characteristic of this wine. Not well balanced. It is a simple sweet wine giving apricots and raisins to those with patience. Needs to warm up a bit to get the most out of this wine - it is far superior at room temperature than when slightly chilled. A hint of oak on a surprisingly brief finish.

Perhaps I expected too much from this wine: Always been a fan of the BV brand. Rather like the Porto's that my brother and I sampled earlier this year with far too many clunkers found en-route the fantastic 2007 vintage.

Is it a bad wine? No. Is it a great wine? No.

Like so many other wines I have sampled, it is a competent offering from a dependable winery which will reward the drinker with a few moments of pleasure - but is not the wine dreams are made of and its pleasure is short lived.

18% alcohol

$11.99 for 375 mL bottle from The Wine Seller, Herndon Virginia

~ Terry