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| David L. Kahn |
Wine Tasting Club |
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Wine Tasting Summary
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Since this tasting featured six wines from Beringer, all of the information in our handout (including
press reviews) came from the Beringer site.
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| #20 |
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Comparing White Varietals |
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Jan 10, 2004 |
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| Year |
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Producer, Selection |
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From |
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Variety |
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Price * |
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Score + |
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| 2002 |
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Beringer, Chenin Blanc |
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California |
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Chenin Blanc |
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$5.60 |
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92 |
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| 2002 |
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Beringer, Pinot Grigio |
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California |
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Pinot Grigio |
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$5.60 |
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83 |
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| 2000 |
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Beringer, Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc |
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California |
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Sauvignon Blanc |
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$10.40 |
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83 |
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| 2000 |
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Beringer, Alluvium Blanc, Knights Valley |
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California |
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Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier |
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$13.60 |
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83 |
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| 1998 |
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Beringer, Napa Valley Chardonnay, Private Reserve |
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California |
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Chardonnay |
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$32.00 |
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83 |
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| 2000 |
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Beringer, Napa Valley Chardonnay |
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California |
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Chardonnay |
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$12.80 |
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79 |
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This tasting was intended to highlight the differences between white varietals, particularly as
paired with food. Starting last year, we've provided food with our January tasting so we can see
the effect of food on the wine tasting experience. Our menu this year was grilled chicken (brushed
with truffle olive oil and a little curry for grilling), roasted potatoes, onions and carrots and some
steamed broccoli. Homemade mango chutney was served to accompany the food.
I decided to select some very different whites from a single vineyard to give us a good basis for
comparison. Some low-cost selections and a premium selection were included. Overall, we liked all of the wines
in this group. The Chenin Blanc, one of the least expensive wines in this tasting, was a unanimous
favorite by a large margin and went particularly well with the chutney.
The color of the more expensive Chardonnay was much deeper than the rest,
and many of us correctly guessed the identify of this wine correctly. We also noticed that the two least expensive
wines had the palest color.
One of our members brought a bottle of Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc ($3/bottle at Trader Joe's) to the tasting,
and I decided to include it informally. It was served as #7, but excluded from the formal
judging. The tasters were asked for their general opinion of #7, and for their guesses as the the variety based
on comparison with the varieties in our tasting. Four of us knew the identity of #7, but it was completely blind
for the other participants.
I was looking forward to seeing the results, since this label has received a lot of good press lately.
Unfortunately, as a group, we weren't impressed. None of us could find similarities between this wine
and the Beringer Sauvignon Blanc, and no one guessed the variety correctly. Several of us felt the wine had
an 'off' aroma and flavor, and several people guessed that it was a non-grape wine. Had it been rated, it would
have been the lowest scoring wine in this tasting.
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* The Price reflects the club discount for non-sale wines purchased at
Kappy's Liquors
in Sudbury and Wine Cellars of Silene in Waltham. Any purchases at the club price
must be coordinated through me.
+ The Score represents the average rating of the group at this tasting, on
a scale from 50 to 100. We each assign a value of 0-4 for appearance, 0-6 for aroma, 0-6
for flavor and 0-4 for our overall impression resulting in a total score from 0-20. These
are averaged, the result is multiplied by 2.5 and then 50 is added. The resulting 50-100
scale is the same range used by Wine Spectator
though their process may be different.
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