The theme this month is from Beau at basicjuice who picked off-dry wines. I picked three from the wine store and one from the cellar to fill the bill. What I looked for was a bit of sweetness, but not enough to be confused with a candy bar.
The first selection is from Josef Friederich, a Deidesheimer Hofstueck Spätlese 2003 ($8.50) - From the Pfalz region of Germany, this wine is made from the Kerner varietal. Clear leaning toward straw in color, lean citrus nose, interesting herb, green apple and honey flavors with a dose of acidity and slightly mineral finish. Nicely off-dry and quite similar to Riesling in flavor. A good choice for a warm day on the patio that would benefit from some food. Score: 8/10
My second selection is from the Sokol Blosser Winery, their Evolution, “Lucky No. 9� NV ($14) - A great label that plainly states it’s “off-dry� flavors; I have wanted to find an excuse to pick up a bottle. Light straw color, peach and pear nose, pineapple and peaches with noticeable acidity make this a good choice with food. Seems dryer than the Deidesheimer Hofstueck Spätlese, but qualifies as off-dry I guess due to it’s high acidity stealth flavor thing. Score: 8.5/10
Further investigation found this wine to be made from 9 grapes: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muller-Thurgau, Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Semillon, Pinot Blanc, Sylvanner and Chardonnay. Damn, I would have guessed a bit of Viognier in this blend 
Check out their website at: http://www.evolutionwine.com/
The next selection is from Beni di Batasiolo, the Moscato d’Asti 2004 DOCG ($9) - The shelf stuffer said, “perfect for the patioâ€Â?, so I thought it would be great for this off-dry event. I should have read the back label, which refers to it as, “Excellent with all deserts.â€Â? Oh well, it was open, so I had to taste anyway. In fact, I had a heck of a time extracting the cork from this baby and found out why once I poured my first glass. Nice lemony straw color with creamy bubbles, yes, bubbles. I have had many wines with spritz in my day, but this one rivals some low carbonated sparkling wine. The nose is classic muscat: melon and peaches. Very spritzy melon and peach flavors with enough sweetness to rot your teeth without going over the top (I’m not going to drop “cloyingâ€Â? here DISQUALIFIED as an off-dry wine, but quite nice in it’s own right. Score: 8.5/10. Note: don’t store these in a warm room or in your car for fear of explosion; I’m serious.
My alternative selection (to make three for Winecast norms) is from the Snoqualmie Winery, their Columbia Valley, Chenin Blanc 2002 ($5) - Light straw yellow with a bit of green color, lean nose of apple and pear, green apple, peach and watermelon popsicle flavors which finishes off-dry. Pretty good, but one-dimensional. Score: 7.5/10
Best of tasting: Sokol Blosser Winery, Evolution, “Lucky No. 9� NV ($14)
Best value: Josef Friederich, Deidesheimer Hofstueck Spätlese 2003 ($8.50)
Thanks to Beau at basicjuice for the theme and Lenn Thompson for the original inspiration (best wishes to Nena and you on Friday!). See you next time…
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Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
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