10
Sep
2015
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Wines of the Week: Aug. 24-30

Everyday: I recently featured the Höpler Pannonia Red Blend in my semi-regular gig. It wasn’t until later Pannonicathat I discovered that the 2013 Pannonica White Blend ($12) is every bit as fabulous. An unusual blend (40 percent gruner veltliner, 35 percent chardonnay, 25 percent pinot blanc), this Austrian beauty is redolent of perfectly ripe pear, and does that lush/lean, fruit/mineral dance deftly. I can almost still taste this wine, so persistent is its nature. It’s roast pork season in our house (which is actually a 12-months-a-year deal), and this is a stellar wine for that, as well as winter squash and celery root. This wine’s harmony evoked the purity of the McGarrigle sisters, Kate and Anna.

Occasion: Few regions are producing as many downright stunning wines as Sicily. Exhibit A: any vintage of Pomice 2the Tenuta di Castellaro Bianco Pomice ($33), a juicy blend of carricante and malvasia delle Lipari. It’s a physical beauty, with vivid green hues, and leads with a combination of stone fruit and refreshing salinity. It can almost literally transport you to sunny Sicily, but has enough heft to be much more than a summer sipper. This beauty rocked with Tunisian chicken the other day and is a great fit for Mediterranean delights such as tapenade, tuna and caponata. The smooth, stirring work of Stephen Stills’ Manassas makes an ideal soundtrack.

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