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???