The Kind of Day that a Bad Wine Can't Ruin

The glass of wine next to me on the desk tonight is a 2008 Pinot Grigio Delle Venezia, purchased at the supermarket for $8.99. I have had many fantastic wines for $8.99 a bottle, but, sadly, this is not one of them.

The producer, Primaterra, is one whose red wines I am familiar with and have, in the past, considered them a good value for the price. Either the whites are not as good as the reds or their quality-for-price ratio has slipped a little. In any case, this wine feels thin. On a hot summer night like tonight, thin isn't necessarily a bad thing. But the nose is TOO thin (can I catch a whiff of anything??) and the flavors on the palate are nondescript. The finish is short and metallic. It's one of those wines best served chilled. VERY chilled, that is. All that said, however, the bottle is now empty. It's still worth drinking.

Today was one of those days when it's hard to choose which wine to drink at the end of it. It was a hard day--Ryan had a crazy day at work and I had a rollercoaster day at home with the kiddo, so we could both use a little something to take the edge off, as they say. These are typically not the days when I pull something special out of the cellar to celebrate. Yet it was also a really good day. We paid off our car loan (woo hoo!) and have that much less debt to wrangle. Our daughter is making phenomenal progress in physical therapy and took some serious steps today. I'd love to toast to both of the above. But the cheapskate in me won out, and I pulled the $8.99 bottle from the cellar. It has served its purpose (the edge is off now), and it has saved a nicer bottle for another time.

Pinot Grigio, like Chardonnay, can be done so many different ways. Right now, I prefer the Italian to the French (Pinot Gris) or American (by either name) for its crisp acidity (the northern Italian climate seems best for this grape), refreshing body, and party-friendliness. The $20 bottles are often excellent, the $13 bottles very special, and every now and then, you can find a good bargain for under $10. I'll just have to keep looking.