Better chilled than room temp, this Sauvignon Blanc has a potent aroma of cat piss — er, cat urine, pardon my French — that intensifies as the wine warms. That’s an aroma I associate more with Gewurtztraminer and I find it kind of distasteful in an SB which is kind of strange I guess. It’s mixed with an equally strong grapefruit scent which is more characteristic of the varietal. The flavor is crisp and acidic with citrus and grassy notes. I like SB, especially in the summer, but this one strikes me as overpriced due to the compromised nose and simple flavor.

It’s a good day for Pinot Grigio. The mercury hit 95 degrees here and that’s perfect weather for a cold glass of wine. It’s terrible weather for anything else, but good for cold wine. I like my Pinot Grigio right from the fridge, which is too cold for purists but you like what you like. This Cupcake version is straw colored and smells clean with citrus aromas. It’s very nice, maybe my perspective is skewed by the temperature today but it tastes crisp and refreshing with a little acidity before the short finish. Just as a Pinot Grigio should be I think. Not as complex and interesting as the one by Kris, but perfectly acceptable.

This one held some promise because it’s a Pinot Grigio, which I often like, from the Friuli region of Italy, which I also often like. And the bottle has a screw top, which I always like. The color is very pale yellow, a typical hue for Pinot Grigio. It has a crisp citrus aroma, primarily of lemon. The flavor is clean and dry with tart fruit flavors and some mineral notes. Not bad and pretty refreshing on a day like today but it’s a little dull overall compared to some of my favorite Pinot Grigios like Kris.

This is a new grape for me, I’ve never had Pecorino before. It’s a traditional Italian grape, so named because the grape cluster resembles the head of a sheep. It has very distinct characteristics, well, this one does anyway. The color is a dark yellow, not a color you see often in wine. It also has a strong aroma, mostly of honey. The flavor isn’t nearly as sweet as the aroma promises, I think I’d describe it as off-dry. A little sweetness but not much. There is some acidity and somewhat less than ripe fruit on the flavor. It’s a very interesting wine, not really complex, but interesting. Not like much else I’ve had. My only real problem with it was that it attracted flies like, well, flies. I had to dig several out of my glass at various points.

I’m a sucker for a sweet wine so I saw this on sale and went for it. It’s a screw top too, which never hurts (IMHO). Has the color of a Pinot Grigio, looks like it in the bottle too, if you weren’t paying attention you’d mistake it for one. The smell is all Moscato though, apricot in full. It’s a bit sweet and definitely fruity, also apricot primarily, though not as sweet as other Moscatos I’ve had. The flavor also quickly turns a bit more tart and drab towards the quick, crisp finish. It’s not a bad wine overall but it’s not the best Moscato I’ve had by quite a stretch.

Smells like rotting garbage and the flavor is truly, truly disgusting. This is one of the cheapest wines I’ve ever tried (no small feat) and it’s 5 years old which is a long time for a Pinot Grigio to sit on the shelf so that explains the price. Still though, if you see this wine in a store RUN, do not walk, in the other direction as fast as you can. Seriously.

This one is very light yellow and smells like garbage, and maybe a touch of melon. The flavor is so light as to be watery and just ever so slightly sweet and tart. Not much of a flavor to tell the truth. I have not had good luck with the Slovenian Avia wines in general, I think I may avoid the brand moving forward.

Type: White

Grape: Riesling

Origin: Argentina

Year: 2007

Producer: Fecovita

Price: $3.99

I have a couple of dueling $4 Rieslings here and this one is light yellow in color and smells of apple. The flavor is semi-sweet and has tart notes of Fuji apple. It isn’t a bad for a super cheap Riesling but it contains virtually nothing of what I love about Rieslings.

A relatively cheap Sauvignon Blanc, this one is straw-colored and has a grassy aroma. The flavor is dry and fairly thin with distinct herbal notes. I expected more honestly. It’s cheap Sauvignon Blanc but not super cheap so I expected a bit of depth and there’s none to be had here.

Nice color and grassy aroma. Clean and crisp flavor with melon and herbal notes. It’s more or less what an inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc should taste like. Recommended.