X and Z! Where's the Y?

I only have 2 letters left, "X" and "Z" as there aren't any grapes on my list that begin with the letter "Y". I wonder "why"? I'm too close to the finish to worry about "Y" grapes..perhaps on my next 100.

Xarel-Lo is a white grape variety blended with Macabeo and Parellada in the Spanish sparkling wine Cava. For this wine, I shared a bottle of 2008 Cava Mistinguett with my wine buddies, Steve and Virginia. Great wine and even greater friends~

Now for end of this adventure, two "Z" grapes, Zinfandel and Zweigelt. The red grape Zinfandel produces some very powerful red wines with high levels of alcohol. Zinfandel is also called Primitivo in the Italian "heel" region. The wine that I explored this grape in was a bottle of Ridge Zinfandel Pagani Ranch 2006 from Sonoma. This was an earthy, spicy blend of 88% Zinfandel, 3% Petite Sirah and 2% Carignan. This yummy bottle of wine was shared over a delicous dinner with my friends, Julie and Hal. Waiting for the next invite~

My final 100th grape was Zweigelt, ( also known as Rotburger) the most popular red grape variety in Austria. The wine which featured this grape was a 2008 Berger Zweigelt, a dry, red table wine with a bottle cap. The wine had a distinct aroma and a taste of dark cherries, rasberries and some spice. Definitely not my favorite nor the worst wine that I have sipped.
Just an end to a very interesting and tasty project!

Uva di Troia, Verdicchio, Vermentino and Viognier

I now have 7 grapes left to complete my project of sipping 100 grapes from A-Z ! Only one "U" grape, Uva di Troia, a red Italian grape. Finding a wine with this grape was challenging however when I was visiting my son Rob and his family in Los Angeles we decided to tackle the challenge. We found a bottle of 100% Uva di Troia, 2007 Torre Quarto Bottaccia from the Puglia region of Italy. It smelled like a $15.00 bottle of Kool-Aid full of aromas of plum and cherry.

The "V" grapes were much easier to find. A bottle of Falesco Verdicchio-Vermentino Vitiano 2007 is a dry, medium body, tropical fruity white wine with the grapes Verdicchio and Vermentino. Not my favorite wine however I was able to mark off 2 grapes from my list~

My final "V" grape was one of my favorites, Viognier. This white grape was highlighted in an incredibly delightful bottle of 2009 Domaine de Couron, a Cotes du Rhone white wine that I purchased at Corner Wines in Plano owned by my cute friends Linda and Jim. Viognier has a distinctive perfumy aroma with rich, intense tropical fruit flavors. An excellent wine!

Tannat, Tinta Barroca, Torrontes and Trebbiano

It's amazing sipping through the alphabet how many grapes begin with the letter "T". Even though I only explored 4, I am anxious to return to my list and try the other 7. The four "T" grapes that I chose to taste were two reds and two whites. I tried a bottle of Don Rodolfo Vina Costas Tannat 2007 from Argentina with the highly tannic black-berried red grape Tannat.


The second red grape on my sipping list was Tinta Barroca in a bottle of Mural Douro Red Wine 2004 that I found at Central Market. The wine was a blend of 45% Tinta Roriz, 30% Touoriga Fanca grape and 25% Tinta Barroca, all Portugese red grapes.

Torrontes, a white wine grape that has been described by Eric Asimov of the New York Times,
"Torrontes has been touted as the hottest thing to arrive from Argentina since the tango", a fruity, floral and highly aromatic wine. I enjoyed this grape in a bottle of Crios de Susana Balboa 2009 Torrontes.

My final white wine was La Vielle Ferme 2008 Cotes Du Luberon Blanc with the white grape Trebbiano. The grape is called Trebbiano in both Argentina and Italy, Ugni Blanc in France, White Hermitage in Australia and Thalia in both Bulgaria and Portugal.

Now that I have finished the "T" grapes I only have the "U", "V", "W", "X", and "Z" left to taste!

Sipping S's

Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are just some of the grape varietals on my "S" list. Sangiovese (san-joh-VAU-zeh)is a red grape and both Sauvignon Blanc (SOH-vihn-BLAN) and Semillon (say-mee-YOHN) are white grapes. Sangiovese is one of the top red grapes in Italy and a great way to explore this grape is in a bottle of Querciavalle Chianti Classico 2005.

Leslie Scrocco in her book, Wine for Women, humorously describes the Sauvignon Blanc grape... "It seems appropriate that Sauvignon Blanc tastes a little untamed since it takes its name from the French word for "savage". Naturally high levels of acidity are responsible for Sauvignon's sassiness and delicious fruit flavors for its friendliness, but its personality is multifaceted". A bottle of Chateau de Parenchere Bourdeaux Blanc Sec 2009, is a tasty way to enjoy both the "sassy" grape Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, which often tempers the grassiness of Sauvignon Blanc.