Stay Rad

A few weeks back, the fine folks at Trione Vineyards & Winery contacted me to see if I wanted to sample their wine.

I was all, “Heck yeah!”

Early last week a package from TastingRoom.com arrived at my door.  Inside were six 50 ml samples from Trione.

Trione via TastingRoom.com

Surely, when a grand total of 300 ml (less than half a bottle) of wine is placed before you, one could be tempted to taste them all in one sitting.  However… with the diversity of styles, I figured it would be a better idea to taste them two at a time.

So…

The other day, Kara came home with a wicked cold.

In the Rad house… when you’re sick… there’s only one cure…

Pho!

While Kara was nursing herself back to health with her Vegetable Pho, I paired my Spicy Beef Pho with the first two wines from the Trione set.

First up…

Trione 2010 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc

The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was tank-fermented and barrel-aged.  It used a mixture of three different yeasts for fermentation, including the South African Alchemy II in order to impart a grassy characteristic.  It retails at $23.

Color: Pale.  I mean… look at it.  It is a Sauvignon Blanc after all.

Nose: Crisp lemon and grapefruit notes to go with a nice minerality.

Palate: There’s a good viscosity to this wine.  It is grassy, but not in an over-the-top type of sense.  Nice tropical fruit flavors transition into a crisp acidity.

With the Pho: This wine begs for spicy Asian food.  The heat from the Pho helps in highlighting some big grapefruit flavors and minerality in the wine.

Score: 89 points for this one.  Nerdier than your average Sauvignon Blanc… At 23 bucks, this wine is just interesting enough to make it worth it.

Next up…

Trione 2008 Russian River Valley Chardonnay

These grapes were hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed before transfer to new and used French oak.  They used the lees from the previous vintage to get fermentation started.  I’m pretty sure that’s the same process that Dave TheVegetarian uses to make bread dough.  It retails for $30.

Color: On the pale side of golden-yellow.

Nose: This wine is straight up butterscotch and popcorn.  Depending on who you are, this could be a great thing.

Palate: To those of you that love buttery Chardonnays, this is the wine for you.  All butter, but not in a goopy sort of way.  There’s a nice, crisp green apple frutiness and acidity.

With the Pho: Upon tasting the wine, I was fearful that the pairing would be a disaster.  When’s the last time you had Pho with a side of buttered bread?  That being said, the wine did not overwhelm the Pho.  The soup actually highlighted some surprisingly enjoyable green caramel apple flavors in the wine.

Score: More and more, I find myself seeking out Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley.  Always balanced.  Always complex.  Always enjoyable.  This wine falls into my wheelhouse.  It’s definitely a croud-pleaser, and a solid effort from Trione, but I could find you something just as enjoyable in the $20 range.  88+

Two wines down.

Four to go.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

Have you ever had Trione before?  What’s your favorite wine and Pho pairing?  Who makes your favorite Californina Sauvignon Blanc?  What’s your go-to wine region for Chardonnay?  Have you ever used TastingRoom.com?  Leave a comment, and let us know.

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