decanted

cheap and easy drinkin'

The 2008 Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off. But for $13.99 or thereabouts, it doesn’t have to. We like its lemony tartness and crisp, dry finish, and particularly enjoy sipping it on a warm summer night. (Yeah, our timing is a little off on that one. Happy Halloween!)  

Other plusses: it’s easy to find, closes with a screwcap so will last longer in the fridge after it’s opened (see our 8/17/09 post for more on our abiding love of screwcaps), and appears on the wine list of one of our favorite restaurants, Mandu. If you’re looking for a fun white to drink with light chicken, fish, or vegetarian meals, give it a whirl. Taking its attractive price tag into consideration, we rate it a 6.5 out of 10.

the screwcap letters

Don't be afraid of the screwcap! Many wineries are now using metal screw-on tops instead of corks, which freaks some people out. It's true that uncorking a bottle is a nice ritual, but it's no fun to have your wine ruined by the mold that occasionally grows on corks. (This is known as being "corked", which more specifically refers to the presence of TCA--2,4,6 Trichloroanisole--we know, we know, really interesting.) Screwcaps remove this possibility.

They also affect the aging process differently than corks do, so it's best to buy screwcap wines that don't need to be aged. (Not a problem for us, as aged wines tend to be out of our price range anyway.)

The most recent screwcap we've tried was a 2007 Hirsch Grüner Veltiner #1 from Austria. If you're an avid decanted reader, you'll know that we think highly of this grape. Grüners are great for sipping by themselves or enjoying with chicken and fish. They're complex enough to be interesting, with a slight pepperiness and just a little bit of effervescence.

The Hirsch delivered. Its lemony flavors didn't overpower the pepper notes, and its glycerin-y texture and fatness on the tongue were both classic Gruner Veltliner. Plus, its screwcap would have made it easy for us to keep it in our fridge for a couple of weeks without a noticeable change in taste. It didn't last that long, though-- we polished it off the next night. Taking its $14.99 price into account (inexpensive, but not as cheap as the Hugo Grüner Veltliner we reviewed a couple months ago) we give it a 7.5 out of 10.

groo nah velt lye nah

Part of the fun of drinking a Grüner Veltliner lies in saying the name of the grape. (It works best if you give it a little Ah-nold spin. Try it!)

But another great thing about this white wine most commonly made in Austria is its refreshing taste and often low, low cost. Even the best Grüners are rarely priced above $50, and most of them can be found for $25 and under. In fact, we snagged this 2006 Huber Hugo Gruner Veltliner for $8.99. Designophiles will be seduced by its clean, colorful label, and those suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder won't exactly mind its summery, lemony flavor. The Hugo's yeasty scent resembles champagne's. It has some of the dryness of a Sauvignon Blanc. And there's also a bit of minerality lurking within its fatty texture.

This wine doesn't quite have the depth or pleasant pepperiness of some of the Grüners we've enjoyed in the past. But for $8.99, we'll take it, and give it a 7.0 out of 10.