Went out for apps last night, at a stylish spot called Ten Mercer… just up the road from the Opera House… lots of well-dressed opera-goers doing the pre-theater thing.
Asked the bartender if he poured a sauvignon blanc by the glass, and he cracked that “good choice” smile before offering a beaut from New Zealand… this isn’t the first time a server has been “impressed” with a request for this steely white… which made me wonder if it had become the pinot noir of the whites…
Not that I’m counting, but it was the second time in two days I had received an “all right” from behind the bar… at the Elvis Invitational at EMP Friday night, my order of a shot of Jack’s prompted the man holding the bottle to do a little show-and-tell… pulling up his shirt and flashing me a pie-pan size belt buckle featuring the logo for the Tennessee sour mash. OK, cowboy, just hand me my drink…
Back to SB, anyone have a particular fave of this food-friendly wine? The name of the lovely selection bartender Brandon poured at Ten Mercer was hard to forget:
The wet bar
Responses to “Is sauvignon blanc cool?”
January 14th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Ha ha, those New Zealanders…what a bunch of kidders! Seriously…I guess they get a lot of curious folks when they see the name on that particular bottle. Good thing you have a sense of humor & an inclination to try anything once, Leslie! Or did the bartender show you the label first…
January 15th, 2007 at 7:13 am
This is going to sound like a horse and buggy suggestion. There are a lot of POPULAR Aussie, New Zealand, and South African wines out there for the consumer. I’m even grabbing Aussie Shiraz. Maybe its the name, maybe its the price and mabe its the tast, but I am a big fan of those Aussie wines.
Anyway, back to my comment. In the late 70’s (when I was in Grad school) Robert Mondavi had a local Memphis talk show on the now defunct WWEE Radio. I guess I learned more about wine from listening to that show than anywhere else. At that time I was in my early 20’s and trying to graduate from the teenaged Mad Dog 20/20 choice of wine.
Anyway testing different wines and trying different years made a great fan of Mondavi wines. I guess Mondavi was the first “dated” vintage wine I ever bought.
As far as Savignon Blanc, you can’t go wrong with a Mondovi Savignon Blanc or his specialty, Fume Blanc. I’ve found sone great deals in stores for the Woodbridge (by Mondavi) brand of Sauvognon Blanc (even better deals if I could ship it into TN). Woodbridge also has a great Port wine (portnacino 97) as well.
btw, I borrowed this recipe a couple of years ago from the Mondavi Web Site, and it will make you an expert in cooking with wine:
Cooking Fish with wine:
Bring
1 cup of wine,
a handful of fresh dill leaves,
chopped shallots
to a boil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the seafood of your choice and
season liberally with
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
Cover and cook 10 minutes per every inch of thickness for fillets, or until the selected fish becomes opaque and firm.
Personal note: I added both ground red and ground black pepper to the recipe. I also added rubbing the plate with an lemon wedge before laying the fish on the plate.
The above recipe makes me look like a great cook. My wife loves it!!
January 15th, 2007 at 10:27 am
I think I might order that wine, just because of the label. They do have a good sense of humor, those New Zealanders, don’t they? 
January 15th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
The Mondavi winery tour was my favorite the last visit to Napa. They had a wonderful poster of a wine & jazz festival w/a stylized colorful group of picnic-goers seated around a quilt listening to a jazz ensemble. I had it framed in Chinese red lacquer & it adorns my dining room wall. My sister covets it to this day
January 16th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I had an NZ SB years ago named “SPY VALLEY”. Have had various years production & have found it to ALWAYS be good. Has lots of flint, grass & grapefruit. 9-12$$ last I bt.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Talking about Mondavi Wine, I just hit the liquor store and purchased a Woodbridge (a Mondavi wine) 2005 Chardonnay for 7.99.. I probably could’ve bought & gotten it shipped (if shipping was legal in TN) for 5.99 easily.
Woodbridge is as good as you can find, and its popular priced for any budget!
We are having orange roughy and boiled red potatoes with our Wine tonight!
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