Tag Archives: Trader Joe’s

Oct 17 2012
15 Comments
2011, Food and Wine Pairings, Hungary

Trader Joe’s 2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner

2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner

Just a short tasting note today.

I picked up this grüner veltliner a couple of weeks back at Trader Joe’s where it retailed for $5.99. Grüner Veltliner is a white grape that is mostly grown in Austria, kind of the dry sibling of riesling, and maybe even vinho verde (notice the word “green” in both wines). I cannot recall ever having had a grüner veltliner before, so I figured I should give it a try. This particular 2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner was made in Hungary. Given Hungary’s and Austria’s common history (they once formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire), I gathered that Hungarians should be capable of making decent wines out of this grape. The wines are generally perceived as food friendly.

I made schnitzel last weekend. My friend Tracy and her husband had prepared an amazing and detailed instruction manual for me, because Nina loves schnitzel and I wanted to be able to recreate them here. In my case the schnitzel was a thin, crusted and then fried pork steak. I had read before that grüner veltliner can be a good companion to this traditional Austrian dish (the true classic is Schnitzel Vienna, but that is made with veal).

2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner poured into the glass in a very light color. On the nose, there were prominent apple and citrus aromas. On the palate, it is dry, with apple and citrus persisting, but eventually herbal aromas coming in, which made it a really nice partner for the schnitzel, which is traditionally served with some lemon to squeeze over it and a salad as a side. The wine was light and refreshing. It did resemble the Trader Joe’s vinho verde in its freshness (but without the fizz). The herbal aromas did give it a different feel, though. Definitely worth trying if you are looking for a refreshing dry white.

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Oct 08 2012
15 Comments
Portugal

Trader Joe’s Espiral Vinho Rosé

Espiral Vinho verde’s blush sibling

I know, I know, summer is over. It really is. It is dreary out there, raining and cold. But I found this rosé or blush wine two weeks ago at Trader Joe’s (yeah, right, why do they only start carrying this one now, when it gets colder?) and had to give it a try.

I am huge fan of its sibling Espiral Vinho verde, so it seemed natural to give this one a try. Just as the vinho verde, vinho rosé is meant to be a young, fresh, slightly bubbly drink, uncomplicated and fun. For more info on these young wines from Portugal check out my vinho verde post mentioned above.

This non-vintage wine has 10% ABV and I paid about $5 for it at Trader Joe’s.

The color is intriguing, a rather bright, slightly darker pinkish red. On the nose, I immediately got bubble gum, then strawberry and melons. Except for the bubble gum, it smelled like fun. On the palate, there was lots of strawberry, a certain creaminess to the wine, and it had a nicely lively acidity. It had some hints of bubbles, but had clearly settled, and at some point the wine reminded me of the Espiral vinho verde with its pear and apple notes. It was definitely a nice, easy to drink wine and I am looking forward to having more of it next summer…because, while it brought back memories of summer, it was definitely not a season appropriate rosé (which in fact exist!).

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Sep 21 2012
6 Comments
2007, Apulia, Food and Wine Pairings, Italy

2007 Epicuro Salice Salentino Riserva

(This is a review of the 2007 vintage. The current vintage on sale is 2009, which I reviewed over here.)

Epicuro’s wines have been my go to Italian reds since I moved to Ann Arbor. They are reasonably priced ($5.99, I believe) and easily available at Trader Joe’s. I actually had my first sip of an Epicuro during my last weeks in Germany, when  my friend who gave me the Scharzhofberger, brought this wine for a dinner I had cooked. I had seen the bottles before, but it being such a mass label, I never tried it. They have a row of wines, differentiated by the color of their labels:

Red is a primitivo; blue is a nero d’avola; silver is an aglianico; and gold a salice salentino. They also produce a white, a vermentino.

I am not fond of their aglianico and nero d’avola, but I thought the 2008 vintage of their primitivo was great. A nice table wine, chewy and interesting, we had it for many BBQs and other evenings of just drinking wine. The currently available 2010 vintage, however, does not fit my taste. It is quite sweet, something that 2008 did not have to that degree. I don’t think I will keep buying that wine. But there still is the 2007 Salice Salentino Riserva…

Salice Salentino is a red wine from Southern Italy and has had DOC (denominanzione di origine controllata) status since 1976. The village it is named after is in the heel of the Italian boot. The main grape in a salice salentino is negroamaro, which is generally described as a rustic and earthy grape.

This red has 80% negroamaro and 20% malvasia nera in it. It has 13% ABV.

It poured as a medium to dark red. The nose was alcoholic and perfumy, with hints of leather. On the palate, I first noticed how nicely chewy this wine was. I then got cherries and herbal tastes, as well as rather strong leather and tobacco notes, which gave the wine depth. It had good acidity and the tannins came through well. A long finish made it a really enjoyable wine on a later evening. To me, this is definitely the star of the Epicuros.

As I indicated in Wednesday’s post, I had never had red wine with my risotto, so I gave it a try. And oh man, this really worked very well with the earthy flavors of the mushroom risotto. I wish I had paired them to begin with, but by the time we opened this one, I was already stuffed…

I will definitely be stocking up on this wine. Who knows how long it will be around, being a 2007 vintage? At $5.99, there is hardly anything wrong with it. It definitely tasted like a more expensive wine.

Photo taken from leftovers the next day. That said, I do like my risotto less creamy than most American chefs.

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