The Twentysomething Sommelier

As we approach Wedding Time, it’s time to start thinking about wines to serve at the reception.  Our criteria is inexpensive, tasty, doesn’t need to breathe.  A local liquor store provided us with an alcohol quote, and included a Cable Car Chardonnay.  We hadn’t heard of Cable Car before, and decided to give them a shot.  We weren’t feeling a chardonnay tonight, so decided to give the pinot grigio a go.

It’s a 2006 pinot grigio, $8.99 at Davidson’s.  Red White and Rose gave this bottle 91 points–if you have no clue who Red White and Rose is, which I didn’t, it is apparently an ‘adult beverage guide for the Colorado market.’  I haven’t had a lot of luck finding any information on Cable Car, other than the fact that they are not a vineyard, but we figured it was worth a taste.

We were making chicken quesadillas for dinner, so I wanted something sweet and slightly acidic to pair with the spicy meal.

I had a glass before the meal, and was surprised at how sweet it was.  The taste of apple was incredibly strong, with a hint of citrus–not nearly as dry or sharp as I’d expect from a pinot grigio.  It was much better with dinner–the sweetness paired nicely with the spicy green salsa, tasty without trying to compete.

This was unlike any pinot grigio I’ve had.  The sweetness complimented the spicy meal nicely, but was not what I’d expect (or seek out) from a pinot grigio.

The bottom line:  Sweeter than it should be.