Tuesday, March 4, 2008

A Vermentino Closer to Home

Yesterday I posted about a Vermentino wine from Sardinia. I bought this bottle on the weekend. The next Wednesday, an article came out in my local paper about a local Vermentino (Dunne on Wine, 2/27/2008.) According to the article, there was a bottle of the local wine at the same store I bought the Sardinian, Corti Brothers. This was a rare opportunity for me, so I went back to Corti Brothers yesterday and bought the local sample to have a side-by-side comparison.

First, a little about the local wine maker Jim Moore. Jim was a specialist in Italian varietals at Robert Mondavi. He went on his own in 1998 and created L'Uvaggio di Giacomo (now just Uvaggio.) Jim makes afforably priced Italian varietal wines made from grapes grown from all over California. The grapes for his Vermentino come from the Lodi area. (For another recent article about Jim Moore, follow this link: SF Gate.)

The Uvaggio Vermentino was lighter in color than the Sardinia sample I had. The Uvaggio had more of an appearance of a Sauvignon Blanc, but with a little cloudiness, similar to the Sardinian. I found from the article that the cloudiness is actually a “gentle kick of carbon-dioxide for a touch more vibrancy without turning it into a sparkling wine.

The Uvaggio was more like a Sauvignon Blanc than the Sardinia wine was. I missed the nutty flavor that made it stand out from an SB for me. However, when I tasted the two wines side by side, I could detect the nuttiness in the Uvaggio. Clearly, this palate needs more training!

What made this wine more special for me was that I cooked a meal myself using the wine. I’m a bachelor this week as my wife is off on a trip. I read a simple recipe last week on the blog Smells Like a Grape for chicken and white wine. This recipe seemed perfect for my skill level. I used the Sardinia Vermentino instead of Pinot Grigio that the recipe called for. I really liked the nuttiness that the wine imparted. The Uvaggio Vermentino went excellently with the dish.

I really like the Vermentino grape. Both wines I had were good, but I like the Sardinian wine a little better because it is distinctly different. As my palate grows, I may like the subtlety of the Uvaggio better. It would definitely be a nice sipper in place of a Sauvignon Blanc.

Tasting Notes:

2006 Uvaggio Vermentino Lodi ($9.99)

Color:  Light golden yellow with tiny bubbles

Aroma:  Sauvignon Blanc like, lemon

Taste:  Mellower then the Argiolas Vermentino, less nutty

Finish:  No tannins, flavor lingered a little

2 comments:

Taster A said...

Excellent wine substitution! All of my recipes start with “Pour two ounces of wine into the cook” with the second line, “Open the refrigerator and see what you got to work with.” Glad that you found the recipe useful. I’ve had white wine from Sardinia. The growing conditions do impact the wine. I had the same experience.

Taster A said...

Excellent wine substitution! All of my recipes start with “Pour two ounces of wine into the cook” with the second line, “Open the refrigerator and see what you got to work with.” Glad that you found the recipe useful. I’ve had white wine from Sardinia. The growing conditions do impact the wine. I had the same experience.

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