Thursdays are a crazy time chez le Drunken Cyclist. My wife and I both work all day (at least in theory). My wife has to race out to the ‘burbs to pick up the boys from school and then whisk the older off to piano lessons (insert Asian joke), eventually, they get home around seven. On my side, I teach a Spinning class on Thursday nights, and even though the gym is right around the corner, I do not get back before 7:30. Thus dinner is a bit of a challenge. Often we opt for some sort of ‘order in’. When the kids have worn us down and we can no longer fight, this results in pizza.
My wife assured me, however, that tonight was going to be different–she was going to order Chinese food (insert Asian joke here). Great! I had a few Sauvignon Blancs that I had planned on getting through before the end of the summer and since that did not happen, Chinese food seemed like a good outlet for the wine. I have to say that outside of the Loire Valley and maybe some Bordeaux, I really do not ‘get’ Sauvignon Blanc. I mean, I can see the occasional New Zealand SB on a hot day with a bit of charcuterie (snob term…), but other than that I just don’t get it. There are few pairings, in my opinion, that uniquely call for Sauvignon Blanc. Everyone can be replaced with either a Chardonnay or even better, a champagne. Let me know if I am wrong on this. My response to Sauvignon Blanc is usually just one syllable:
Meh.
It was also the night of the Vice Presidential Debate, which I don’t really get either, but being a political junkie, I figured I had to at least give it a try and watch it. I figured a California Sauvignon Blanc would be perfect—not in the usual sense of the word ‘perfect’ (a perfect day, a perfect game, a perfect square). No, I felt the Sauv Blanc (cool, hip, wine guys like to abbreviate so there is more time for drinking) was ‘perfect’ in the sense of a perfect storm—I don’t get the wine, don’t get the need for a Vice Presidential debate, don’t get the ‘gluten free’.
I went to my Spinning class and crushed them. Not exactly the best approach to fitness, but the method that seems to get the best response from the attendees. At least I think it was a challenging class. The way I gauge it is based on the number of groans I hear–and there were a bunch. Not the most scientific method of determining exertion, but it seems to be rather accurate. As I got home and walked in the door, I anticipated the pungent smell of ginger and soy. Instead, I caught wafts of pig and broccoli. I was confused, but then that is pretty much my normal state. I made my way upstairs for a quick shower, wondering both what kind of Chinese food produced the somewhat inviting aromas that greeted me upon entering and which of the candidates would say something that would cause me to spew that Chinese food all over the T.V. screen. Along the way I saw the boys and asked them to recite me their three things that happened at school (a nightly dinner ritual). They looked at me as if I had three heads and stated matter of factly: “on a déjà mangé (we already ate).” A battle for another day….
Getting back downstairs, I searched for the little white boxes, but they were nowhere to be found. My wife informed me that she decided against Chinese take out and instead opted for pork chops. Well, this shot my whole SB (a further abbreviation–more drinking!) plan straight to hell. I immediately thought of a way to rescue the evening–Sauv Blanc will work with Chinese, but a pork chop? Come on, that’s pushing it. I contemplated going down into the cellar for a Pinot, but strangely I was looking forward to the SB. Maybe since I knew the debate was going to be a mess, I figured I needed additional self-inflicted wounds. Or maybe I was just lazy.
I flipped on the debate of the #2s for which I chose my second favorite wine glass–it seemed appropriate. Just moments into the verbal barrage, I thought of the title of Al Franken’s book from a few years ago: Lies and the Lying Liars who tell Them. I gave the debate my best shot, but I really could not stomach it for long. There was no interest in discussing policy–just a desire to tell the other that they were full of crap. I think both were right on that score.
Luckily, I still had the Ohio State football game on the DVR from the weekend–I had been out of town and missed most of the game. While the Sauv Blanc is certainly not a great pairing for a Big Ten football game, no one else was around and therefore no one will ever know….
2010 Bernadus Winery Sauvignon Blanc Monterey: Retail ~$16. Great lemon, grass, and honeysuckle on the nose. Tangy and bright on the palate: Nice acidity with a bit of roundness and a medium finish. Would have been a great pairing with mild Asian food which is what I thought we were having. Very Good 87-89 points.
the drunken cyclist 
I love your writing 🙂 Fun to read!
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Grazie! Made my day!
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I happened to like NZ and Chilean Sauvignon Blanc… Sancerre is great, but good ones are expensive, and cheap ones are often not that good. Also lately I had been amazed with Italian renditions of that grape. I have few favorites among California SB, but I find a lot of them simply overdone…
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I am with you–I think that SB has not found it’s groove (yet?) in Cali. We were in Sancerre this past summer and I can’t get enough of them. NZ SB is just too tart and cat pee for me to have all that often. Will have to try more Chilean….
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For California, I like Mara and Flora Springs, also Honig is not bad. I also have a bottle of Peter Michael, but this one will have to wait…
Chilean are similar to NZ, but a bit more round overall, I think…
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Peter Michael? I like how you roll. If you like his wines, you should really try Morlet as well. Ain’t cheap, but top notch…
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I swear to God, your life is one of the hardest ever lived…:)
And, you and Nina are on the same page when it comes to Sauvignon blanc. I like them a lot.
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Tell me about it…. And it sounds like Nina is one smart cookie!
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For me, it’s the Chardonnay that I don’t get. I don’t like very many and I find the ones I do like to be the unoaked Chards. That’s probably why I like the SBs much more – they usually aren’t as oaked. Now I’m craving a crisp NZ Sauv. Blanc! It is only 7 am, but I already know it is going to be a rough day! Too bad I can’t have it now.
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Yeah, I get that. You need to try a few really good white Burgundies–they rock my world. Now, I look for Cali chards made in the same style and they can be awesome…
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Do you have some recommendations for a few that are more readily available?
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What is your wheelhouse when it comes to price?
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DITTO. I dig a nice Sauv (hip version 🙂 ) blanc but I can’t really get into Chard. Had way too many bad ones I guess. I think 1/30 chardonnays I had were really good, and it was probably a blend or a pouilly-fuisse or the like. I know my ABC’s – ‘anything but chardonnay!’
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Alright, that does it! All you chard haters are invited over and I will convert you all to chard lovers!
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Love SB with shellfish- oysters, crab, shrimp, lobster. unoaked chard can work but good ones are 3-4x more expensive – Montrachet, etc. same with Champagne. There are some good ones for under 20 from NZ. Some Sancerres are reasonable. Hate the Cali ones.
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Yes, I will agree, my tastes to not come cheaply, but I figure I am almost worth it…
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I would pair anything with that game. Go Bucks!! O H…
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— I O !!!
You said it “Go Bucks!”
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I’m not an SB fan…when I used to eat meat, I was definitely not an SB fan with Charcuterie…maybe your charcuterie weighs heavy on the cheese side rather than the meat…so I went red….which I shouldn’t really have an opinion about anymore anyway..(insert since now I am plant based lol)
It’s awesome you kicked those spinners butts, Was that pre or post a glass of wine (insert I hope it was post) 😉 Hands down awesome
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Even though I am tempted every week to start drinking before the Spinning class, I have yet to cross that line. There’s always next week!
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You know what’s so funny is I meant to type above ‘I hope it was pre’…not post. Either way, you kicked butt and I look forward to hearing about how you continued to kick butt even with a pre glass 😉
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sb (no caps – even more drinking time) goes really well with sushi. Having said that, champagne goes just as well. Having said that, champagne goes with everything and even nothing.
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Preach it sister! Champagne has no rival in my book!
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A good sauv blanc is fun … although I seldom buy one.
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Quite the contradiction!
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Well, I tend to be a contrarian.
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Ha! but you hide it so well on your blog….
😉
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