Get your mouth ready for Covela Escolha Branco

"I don't like white wine." How many times have I heard this from my wine class students or regular folks when discussing vinous preferences?  What I always want to retort is, "You probably don't like Chardonnay." It's that old reliable, widely planted, flourish-in-so-many places grape that's made into the white wine Americans know best.

Because of this attitude, I love when I find a game-changing white.  At a recent David Bowler portfolio tasting in New York City, I had an eye-opening, palate-wowing, nose-pleasing wine that got me excited.

It was a tip from my Portuguese Facebook friend, Vitor Mendes, that led me to the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan. I zipped out of my day job, crossed the Hudson, and hustled over to 18th street. "Where is this tasting?" After a confusing few minutes trying to resurrect the FB conversation with Vitor on my phone, I remembered: he told me 19th Street! Time was wasting. I took the stairs at a fast clip and reached check in at 4:58 p.m.  "The tasting is closed."  In my early blogging years, I would have slunk away.  But I was a veteran: "I just want to see Covela."  It was a legitimate request, and the gatekeepers acquiesced. I grabbed a glass and ran to the table where I met the energetic and charming managing partner of the winery, Tony Smith.

When Tony poured the 2012 Escolha Branco, he explained that it had been revolutionary when it was first made because it  combined native Portuguese with foreign grapes. The blend includes Avesso, Chardonnay, Viognier, and Gewurztraminer.  As I lowered my nose to the glass, I was seduced by strong aromas of white flowers and lychees.  I was not entirely sold, however. I've had many wines that promised worlds on the nose and disappointed on the palate. But as soon as the wine touched my tongue, I knew this was not one of those wines. I immediately sensed a crisp acidity.  Thank God, as Viognier itself can go flabby, as I saw far too often in Virginia during WBC. The Portuguese grapes gave this blend a shot of acid, the aromatic varieties added beautiful fruit and flowers, and the Chardonnay gave it heft. This unlikely combination of varieties formed a harmonious, unique Portuguese wine from the historic Quinta de Covela estate in the Douro Valley.

Wine geeks might enjoy analyzing Escolha Branco, which Tony called "iconoclastic" for the winery, but that would miss the point - that this is a wine for unabashed enjoyment.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #46 -- Rhone Whites

Wine Blogging Wednesday is here and the electricity isn’t, thanks to a fire at the transformer station and a nasty thunderstorm. In fact, my county declared a state of emergency today. So I’m out on the grass of my front yard (it’s getting dark in the house), draining my laptop’s battery as well as my wine glass. The posting will wait until Thursday, because the blackout knocked out my WiFi.
I actually visited the Rhone River, and really tied one on with some red CDR (talk about rustic!) at a youth hostel in Avignon (but that’s another story). However, I never tried a white, so I turned to a really helpful employee at the Wine Library (Gary Vee’s domain), who pointed me towards the Domaine Philippe Plantevin 2005 Côtes de Rhone for $19.00. In a departure from the usual French labeling, the back label provided detailed information about the blend: 40% Viognier, 30% Grenache, and 30% Marsanne.
I opened the bottle two nights ago and was knocked out by the high acidity. Tonight, I wondered if it would have softened a day after opening. It did, barely. I can enjoy many wines on their own, but to me, this is definitely a food wine. I took out some creamy goat cheese and the acids were tamed by its richness.
On the nose, there are a lot of interesting things going on. I get a little bit of lemon, a hint of peach, the barest amount of floral. It’s a pleasing aroma and quite full. The color is mid-range for a white wine, not quite golden but darker than straw. For a wine that’s three years old, the Domaine Phillipe had a tremendous amount of fruit. The acid was so high that it really left things a bit unbalanced, although I did enjoy the wine’s fresh fruit. The finish was scant. This wine isn’t my style, but I’m curious about trying other white Rhones now to see how they compare.