Cue the Music... "Those Summer.... WHITES" - 2011 Sur Lie Muscadet

If I learned anything from watching Grease, its that a cute little blond girl should fall in love come summer, get hot and steamy under the dock at the beach, and then sing about it to the world with some nasal background vocals.

Well...I think I found my summer love in a 2011 Sue Lie Muscadet from Loire.

Sure, its not tall, dark and handsome....and no mother, it didn't grow up going to church... and yes, perhaps starting a romantic fling with something this young may be viewed by some as questionable behavior, but really... who can stop true love?

We met over dinner at a friends house on a hot early summer night and I was instantly captivated by its charming bouquet of nectarine, citrius, and white lillys countered with a dry sensability. Always the gracious companion, it showcased our meal of seafood splendidly while never loosing sight of its individuality.

As it opened up, I learned more about Muscadet's heritage hailing from the western ends of the Loire Valley near the city of Nantes in France. One of the few French pure breads, Muscadet is made from 100% Melon de Bourgogne, but freinds just call it "Melon". I could see why it loved seafood so much as growing up close to the Atlantic ocean, Muscadet gained a crisp quality of subtle salinity combined with a touch of limestone acidity acting as a backbone to its delicate fruit notes.

Oh if only I could find a boy so refined!!

In all seriousness, Muscadet is truely the perfect summer companion as it pairs equally well with seafood & screened-in porches. Spefically, Muscadet is known as the ideal paring for raw oysters and other shellfish due to that slight saline quality whose fruit notes act as a lighter liquified version of the popular tropical mango style "salsa" that is topping fish entrees in restaurants everywhere. 

What separates Muscadet from its "crisp dry white" companions, is an added layer of flavor stemming from the "Sur Lie" process. Sur Lie translates in wine terms to "on the lyees," which then translates in normal terms to "sits on dead yeast cells for an noted amount of time"  While this may sound unappealing, this process raises the level of yeast and bread notes (which is why it is commonly completed in Champagne) while of course, simultaneously raising the price tag as well.

So you can see now why I instantly fell head over heals when this delicate charmer rang in at only $13 dollars a bottle.

Hmm... maybe its good that I haven't found a boy this cheap :)

It's Not a Bottle! It's Not a Box! It's Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay!!!

Today was one of those days. The kind of day that the only thing that keeps you sane is the hope of a glass of wine come 5pm.

....And unless you have a crazy cool cellar - this kind of day also requires quick pit stop by your local grocery store or corner liquor shop...depending on your state of residence of course ;)

So there you are, perusing the wine aisle and among the bottles of frogs & kangaroos, little penguins & generic American chateaus, stands a strange looking bottle made of .. cement?

Yes, that would be Mer Soleil Silver, an unoaked Chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in Monterrey County California! The bottle tells the story of how this wine was made - in cement silos.

Well, I guess this would be a good a time as any to review the different types of fermentation and aging containers that can be used in wine making:

1. Oak - There are two main types of oak used for fermentation & aging of wines: American & French. American lends more pure fresh cut wood notes and French, those frequent flavors of vanilla. Wood is also porous, so it can draw out some impurities in the wine.
2. Stainless Steel - This glorified container doesn't give anything to the wine. Its a relatively non-porous surface that really just holds a wine to "do its thang". It also is very easy to control the temperature of the fermentation process etc. due to the thermoconductivity of this material
3. Glass - Yes! You use a glass to hold wine when you drink it? so why not use it when you make the stuff?! Glass is not used much any more as it results in the roughly the same as stainless steel, but is harder by which to control the fermentation temperature. Plus, whoever thought    glass + alcohol = good idea   clearly never when to a frat party.
4. Cement - This is a mix between wood and stainless steel. It gives small hints of additional minerality and because it is also a porous substance, it can take away some impurities; but not as many as wood. 

   

   Mer Soleil's cement tanks

Mer Soleil Silver is my go to grocery wine grab. Not only is it widely available, but also widely appealing, with a strong under currant of minerality, and citrus zest like lemon & grapefruit. You can definitely taste the AVA in this wine (unusual for an aisle 6 pick) in that the slow ripening provided by the fog of Monterray bay lends notes of green pineapple & young nectarine.

Another reason why this wine is particularly fitting to be found in a grocery store is it is the perfect addition ingrediant. Any recipe that calls for white wine can absolutely be filled with this bottle.

For me? I splashed in the pan for my shrimp linguine with asparagus & a poached egg on top.

Hey? Who said a bad day had to end in bad dinner???