ADVERTISING: Advertorial — New favorites in white
As the COVID generated supply chain issues continue to churn (and with the changing seasons) we have many new favorites in our collection here at The Dinner Party! We will cover the new and delicious white wines this week and reds next week. Here is a part of the lineup. We look forward to seeing you in the shop to introduce you to the rest.
Well-made Riesling is one of the true delights of the wine world, but Riesling can also be met with derision by those who have only had the overly cheap and overly sweet wines that seem to dominate that segment of the market. The 2016 Dunham Four Legged White Riesling ($18, $16.20 Wine Club) is a delicious example of what Riesling can, and in our opinion, should be. The wine shows the signature “petrol” note on the nose. The palate is loaded with golden apple notes and just a hint of sweetness, balanced by bright acid for a clean presentation from start to finish.
Tablas Creek Winery from Paso Robles is the American property of the Perrin Family from the Rhone Valley in France. The Perrins produce many award-winning wines in the Rhone, including their Châteauneuf du Pape from Château de Beaucastel. Their 2018 Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas Blanc ($30, $27 wine club), a blend of Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne and Clairette Blanche is nothing short of extraordinary. Rich with stone fruit flavors and aromas of peach blossom, the wine finishes bone dry with wonderful layering of bright fruit flavors. Truly a special white wine.
We are always fond of a good Muscadet, however the wine is subject to frequent misconceptions and many think it is sweet. The varietal in France is always fermented bone dry. The 2018 Muscadet from Domaine de la Bretonnière ($17, $15.30 Wine Club) is a really fun and interesting wine. It is fermented completely dry and shows the signature saline minerality on the nose. The palate delivers generous texture and flavors of broiled citrus with plenty of acid. This combination of sea salt aromas and high acid on the palate make it perfect with shellfish, especially oysters.
We recently tried and brought into the shop the Fiano from Antica Hirpinia ($24, $21.60 Wine Club). The wine is one of those great combinations of fabulous wine and beautiful packaging. Fiano grows across Northern Italy, including the area north of Venice. Like most European whites, the wine is fermented dry and without any time in an oak barrel. Before we found a spot for the wine on the shelf Mary and I purchased some for home. It is just so good. The wine is all citrus noted, both in the aromas and on the palate. The great depth and texture, though, are what really makes this wine special. The near perfect palate weight makes for a really compelling glass of wine and will highlight dry, salty cheeses.
Another new Italian white is the Toscana Bianco from Fattoria le Pupille ($25, $22.50 Wine Club). The blend is not disclosed, but based on the flavor profile and its Tuscan roots we suspect a healthy dose of Pinot Grigio, perhaps some Chardonnay and either Gavi or Arneis. Regardless, wine is a sure-fire treat. It is another dry and unoaked white, with crisp and zippy citrus flavors across the palate and lovely wet stone mineral aromas backed by more citrus notes. This wine will no doubt be one of your new favorites as an aperitif throughout the fall and winter months. It is just easy drinking- light, crisp and different enough.
Europe is on a run of very good to great vintages from 2015 through 2019, however no reds have yet been released from the 2018 and 2019 growing years. The 2019 Mâcon Villages from Joseph Drouhin ($18, $16.20 Wine Club) is a lovely glimpse into what is yet to come from the much heralded 2019 wines. The wine is classic French Chardonnay showing the butter oak and ripe fruit notes we desire in the varietal but with the restraint we have come to expect from Europe. Grapes are often times picked a bit less ripe in Europe, making for wines with slightly higher acid to balance the opulence of a grape like Chardonnay. The wine shows flavors of lemon crème brulee to go along with aromas of ripe apples and just the slightest hint of citrus on the nose. This Chardonnay from Drouhin is another great shellfish wine, just waiting for the first of the season dungeness crab.
We will take you through the new lineup of reds from around the world next week, but like always, be sure and swing by the shop to check out the parade of new arrivals.
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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of the dinner party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The dinner party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018. George is also published in several other publications around the country. After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop. You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.