2 Guys Uncorked – Wine Reviews & Wine Blog - Making Wine Fun and Easy

When reviewing wines for 2 Guys Uncorked, I usually come home from work, pop the designated bottle for that night, grab a nice thin-rimmed glass and fill it up. I make sure it’s a big glass of wine because: 1)I am thirsty, and 2)I want to see how the wine changes when it gets warmer and is exposed to air. A glass of wine can change a lot over 30 minutes and I want to be thorough in my review.

This week Ted and I reviewed Pinot Grigios from Italy. My usual review method left me unimpressed… until I came home one hot night, grabbed the bottle from the fridge and took a big swig out of the bottle. Now I get it. Italian Pinot Grigio should be drunk like water: cold and gulped.

Pinot Grigio is not complex, but it’s refreshing. It’s not elegant, but it’s clean and simple. Each bottle that I tried tasted slightly metallic. Like mineral water right from the spigot of a natural spring like Saratoga or Calistoga. There’s also some tart lemony and straw flavors. All of these bottles came from the Veneto region of Italy, where Venice is located. It’s coastal and cool there, so the wines tend to be lighter, and the food is more seafood oriented, which calls for white wine.

So here’s my advice. Check out the 5-day forecast. If it looks like it’s going to top 90 degrees, then run down to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods and pick up a couple bottles of Italian Pinot Grigio. When the sun is beating down on you, get some friends together and chug.

As the days heat up, the pools open, and summer travel picks up, you’re going to find yourself in a situation sooner or later where a tasty drink will be a necessity. And what better drink to bring than wine! This week we look at Pinot Grigio, which will serve you very well in all of the above scenarios.

About Pinot Grigio

First off, let’s get the pronunciation down: Vee-ohn-yay

Viognier is not for everyone. This grape has a bundle of strong flavors that most people find strange. If picked at the right time, you get apricots, alcohol and spice. Sometimes its even a little oily on the tongue. It will smell like fragrant white flowers (think Gardenias). If picked at the wrong time, it sucks… a lot. I have poured more than one bottle of Viognier down the drain.

Syrah from California is turning heads recently. Bored and broke from unwhelming $25 Napa Cabernets, people have found a red that’s bold, rich and almost always tasty… and cheap! Given all these great qualities, if you are a red drinker, how can you say no?

Rich, deep and cheap. Australian shiraz is a killer deal. The Aussies grabbed some syrah from Europe, renamed it shiraz and planted it throughout hundreds of thousands of acres in South East Australia. The result: powerful, consistently tasty, affordable wine! Ted and I love it because that’s what 2 Guys Uncorked is all about.

This week we will review 3 well-priced Australian shirazes. At worst, they were tasty. At best, they were impressive.

Last week, Jon and I brought you 3 typical Chardonnays and our reviews of the ones we liked. This week, we step outside the norm and identify 3 unique Chardonnays with aromas and tastes that put a spin on this classic wine.

• Fish Eye 2006 Chardonnay – Well priced

Chardonnay, it’s one of the most widely planted grapes and surely one of the best known ones. Knowing Chardonnay is key to a solid foundation in wine and a great place to start. In this two part series, Jon and I examine 6 Chardonnays—three of which are classic examples of what a typical Chardonnay can taste like and three which take Chardonnay in different directions, giving this wine a nice spin.

This is not a test of the emergency broadcast system. I repeat, this is not a test. Stop whatever you are doing to get your butt to Trader Joe’s. In the South American section, you will see a bottle by the name of Santa Ema. At my TJ’s, they have a cabernet and a merlot. Either one is great. Ted and I absolutely love this Chilean red.

Ravenswood is the “godfather” of zinfandel. It pioneered the grape in Sonoma County three decades ago and has been instrumental in its explosion in popularity. Since its founding in 1976, Ravenswood has been driven by one mission statement: “NO WIMPY WINES”.

Ted and I stormed Whole Foods and bought up their inventory of organic and biodynamic wines. We got 6 bottles (which is a pretty good selection) and set out to work.

Overall, we found the wines to be disappointing. My $10 bill could have gone much further with a non-organic bottle. However, there were a few stand-out bottles which had the grace, flavor and balance of our usually weekly “Best Buy” with the extra bonus of the organic/biodynamic certification. If drinking organic is important to you, make sure to snap up the first two bottles before they are gone.