Vega Sindoa 2005 Rose Wine, Bi-Rite, $11.99

I got sucked into the world of Rose. And it’s really not a bad thing. Forget that sweet and sticky White Zinfandel from the early 90s, the one that your white-trash aunt drank to look sophisticated. The aunt that had the bad bleach job and the enamel earrings that dripped down her shoulders.

I don’t remember what it was that I drank to start the obsession. I suspect I was buying a bunch of wine and ran across something with a shelf-talker that told me to buy it. It sat around for a while. I must’ve been out of Sauvignon Blanc, or maybe was going out to a picnic with Trailsy and thought “Variety. That’d be nice.” So it came out. I don’t remember what it was, but I remember thinking “Jesus god that’s good.” Bone dry and a little tanniny but crisp. It was like white wine made out of red wine. I wanted to eat Tri-Tip with it. I don’t remember what it was.

I must’ve broken down and bought several more, ‘cause Trails (she’s the only one that puts up with the obsession) and I drank 2 bottles of it at the World Cup. Which led to much drunken dancing in Dolores Park. And another bottle one last weekend. Sometimes they’re a little thin, but I have hopes for this stuff.

I thought that first bottle was something like half Tempranillo and half Garnacha (Grenache, to you who only speak the language of the World Cup Losers). This one’s half Garnacha and half Cabernet. I have high hopes.

It’s a little sweet. The nose has faint notes of cheap ‘70s Gallo jugs, but a nice finish. A nice long finish on it, with notes of honeydew and kiwi. A tiny bit of tannins (not nearly enough in my opinion, but…). It goes much better with food. This is an easy-to-drink rose, but it’s (unfortunately) hearkening a bit too closely for my taste back to the el cheapos of the early 90s.

It went better with food. I made up my home-version of Zantes using a prebaked corn crust (thanks, Viccolo’s), a tasty bite, and some cheese. A little spicy, a little warm, a little crunchy, and the rose handled it well for a balmy night.

So this wasn’t the rose to talk about in my new obsession. It’s not bad, but neither is it anything to get excited about. There are better ones out there.

“Turtle wine” Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Golden Eagle Market (20^th/Valencia, SF), $8.99

Disclaimer: OK, I can’t remember what this wine was, but it had turtles playing violins on it. Cute. Not.

I don’t know why, but I had some hopes for this wine. Not particularly high hopes, but some hope nonetheless. I bought it on a total lark one day from my corner store trying to break out of my propensity for hitting up Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods (both of which are, technically, on a corner, just not really where people really live, nor wander over for a last minute bottle. And they have a selection).

In any case, my favorite ever corner store is the Golden Eagle Market. Sam, the Jordanian émigré and his wife are fantastic and nice and friendly and everything you want in corner store proprietors. And they have a pink original iMac. How cool is that? I’m sure they bought it for their daughter or something.

Anyway, I was suckered in by the odd little turtles on the bottle and by its presence at a corner store and by the fact that it was a white wine; it had been pointed out that I’d been quite red-heave. Well, summer’s here and whites (and even pinks) are getting their fair share passing down my throat.

So I have to confess: Sauvignon Blanc is one of my all-time favorite whites. It seems like it’s hard to mess up. Chardonnay, however, doesn’t sit so well with me. I can appreciate them all, but I’m just not terribly interested in drinking them on anything like a regular basis. But this intrigued me.

Unfortunately, it turns out that we get the worst of both worlds. There’s a big fruit front-end that doesn’t have any of the subtlety of a nice Sauvignon Blanc—the citrus is overwhelmed by all the oak in the Chard, for instance, and there’s no minerality to speak of. You just get this lame-nosed buttery fruit bomb. And none of the elements are particularly good. This is a perfectly serviceable wine to, say, make white sangria out of. Or to (As I and the Puffin did) sneak onto a Southwest flight and make white spritzers with Sprite. Other than that… I guess you can follow up several Pacificos in it in a cut-rate motel in Mexico DF while alone. Just not with a friend. Skip this one. Get something else.

Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004 — The Wine Vault, SSF. $16

Joel Gott is one of the Three Thieves and I had high hopes for his wine– supposed to be a step above the Three Thieves’ wines. You-Me had his Zin, and really liked it.

My reaction? Thin nose. No legs. Thin flavor. Minimal fruit, no tannins, Notes of watery blackberry and the tiniest hint of pepper. Drinkable and OK, but I felt like:

• I knew I shouldn’t have spent more than ten bucks on wine.
• I was a French schoolboy, drinking watered wine with lunch

I’m really dissapointed in this wine. I only made it to South City ’cause my IBM guys sponsored a wine tasting (read: they bought out the wine shop and I got to drink a bunch of really expensive wine– which was super tasty and drinkable and a nice excuse to sneak off from work earlyish on a Thursday). The wine shop guy highly suggested this wine as a steal at sixteen bucks.

I’m thinking I should maybe bring him my card and my blog and tell him to read up if he’s looking for wine values. There’s loads of stuff that’s way better.

Not that I’m not going to drink it– it’s a perfectly acceptable fourth bottle of wine to open late at night or to maybe drink with a burger. I’ve had better table wine under a Euro in Spain. Unfortunate. It’ll probably age OK, and might develop a little but, but I’d look for something else.

Maybe his Zin.