To go with the last 10 courses at Alinea (well, we seemed to lose count) and having loved the white, we were going to go white again but why not mix it up? So Jason came up with another biodynamic, another weird one, and a Barbera d’Asti, which I think I blogged about a nice one a few weeks back. So now we’re talking, this guy gave up the big barnyard on the nose, although my brother in law described it as roses. Perhaps conceptually a problem for me, but I suppose that fertilizer, perfume thing can throw one off. On the flavor just lovely balance of sour cherries and mud, so its burgundian in style. Again, no one complained, this one seemed to have more fans of the nose, which I concur, but another winner, and I think this goes for 50 a bottle, which puts it right out there in the stratosphere.

Ah, Alinea. A big night out, and we had planned to forego wine since the food was determined to be too ‘weird’. However, we showed our true wine geek colors by trying to pick out some sort of Alsatian Pinot Blanc or something from the list to go with most everything. I give credit to the Sommelier, Justin Leone, who talked up a Savenniere that was biodynamically produced and something not to be missed. At 160 a bottle, I was pretty skeptical, and having a weird experience with one of this region’s offerings make me even more wary. However, hubris took hold and we went for it. I can say it was an overpowering nose, full of honey and marzipan. A deep orange color, and a taste like white tea with a shot of Jack Daniels afterward. Although not ‘hot’ in a bad way. I can say we were all ecstatic about it, which proves one point that white wines are far more enjoyable and worth paying money for than red. I think people feel red is harder to make or something, or more complex, but this, like the restaurant was doing it’s own thing its own way, which I appreciated.

After the huge meal at Alinea, it was fun to open a dessert wine at home. A category that I imagine most people would be completely puzzled by. I think liqueur or brandy may have the edge in most minds as a hedonistic after meal drink. Still, I have found more excitement in these wines, which of course have sweetness, but often not as much ’sugariness’ as any aperitif. Of course, it lacks the heavy alcohol that can be a bit more palette ruiner. This wine has a nice match in the Savennieres we had earlier, a good flinty, peachy, carmel flavor. A bit sweeter than some of my other experiences, but super enjoyable.

Oh boy, oh boy. I’ve been meaning to go on some rant about Sauvignon blanc. Normally its not my favorite. I find it has out of control acidity that is just unpleasant, secondly, it can have that rubbishy grapefruit thing that I feel like just buy grapefruit juice. However, it can have other neat qualities, namely the armpit / cat pee nose, which while somewhat gross, is normally a sign of some more complex flavors. This wine delivers that nose along with a rich, flinty mouthfeel, no wateriness at all. Add to that a tiny bit of Jalapeno, which is another nifty quality of this grape and its a complete winner.