Year: 2007
Winery: Fetzer Valley Oaks
Region/Country: Mendocino County, CA
Varietal: Pinot Grigio
ALC: 13% by vol.

I really enjoy red wine. I think it goes back to when I used to make my own wines in the early 70s. Whites are really hard to make. Well more specifically, they are hard to make so that they are clear when bottled. Commercial wineries have filters and equipment to make sure the wine that goes in the bottle is very clear and that there is no sediment. Making wine in your basement with some simple glass carboys, grape concentrate, water and yeast it is a little harder. So when I made my wines back then, I gravitated to reds.

This past summer my local liquor store had a Summer White Wine Sale and they were promoting whites because they were the cool refreshing wines for a hot summer afternoon and evening with friends. I picked up about 10 bottles of Pinot Grigio (a.k.a. PG) from different vineyards around Italy. (N.B. You might see Pinot Grigio referred to as Pinot Gris.) All of them were under $10 except for two. I developed a pretty good taste for PG last summer and I thought that when the time was right I would try some of the Pinot Grigio from the US.

I got a couple of bottles of Fetzer - Valley Oaks 2007 Pinot Grigio - recently. I have been drinking Fetzer wines since I was introduced to the Fetzer winery back in the 80s. I really enjoy their wines, but for some reason had not had any for a while. The reds are very good and when I heard that Fetzer had a PG, I got two bottles.

This is the 2007 Vintage. I popped the cork and poured the wine into my glass and took a sniff. This is not a wine to let breathe. Just pop the cork and enjoy, which is what I did. This wine is very typical Pinot Grigio that I remember from last summer. The difference is that this wine is not from Italy - but from California.

I thought I could taste a smidge of apple. The flavor was crisp and it had a nice bouquet. I didn’t smell the earth or the sea breeze off the Mendocino coast. I wish I had. It would have reminded me of my trip to Jenner, CA.

Last summer it was nice to enjoy some Pinot Grigio with light summer meals like a nice antipasto plate of ham or salami with Ricotta, Mozzarella and Provolone cheese with crackers. I cannot wait to try this wine with these foods this summer. I’m glad I have two bottles. And the price was $8.99.

You can visit the website Fetzer Winery

Until next time, let me know what is on your mind, and how you are doing, O.K.?

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Jim Fortune - the Bella Wine Guy