by Ethan Johnson
October 28, 2006

One of the joys about wine appreciation is that every buying decision you make will be refuted by scores of other wine drinkers. Take Wolf Blass... please! Sure, the bottle looks "classy", the price is right, but the contents? "Swill!" "Plonk!" "Overrated!" With these sorts of clouds hanging over my head, I reached into the wine fridge and withdrew:

Producer (Vineyard): Wolf Blass
Varietal (Grape type): Riesling
Vintage (Year): 2005
Country: Australia
Color: White
Cost: Inexpensive ($10 USD)

Swirl and Sniff: Pale and clear. Grapefruit on the nose (if not on the brain), and a mysterious second scent that defies description. I thought it smelled like piles of cotton clothing at the department store. Mar simply described the mystery scent as "fresh". Ah, wine.

Taste: Mmhmm. Nicely acidic, but not terribly so. The grapefruit-y taste persists (as expected), however there was a bit of a "hot" alcoholic finish. Again, not overly so, but I noticed it.

Pairing: I paired this with pizza, baby. I have been dying to get this bottle out of my rotation to clear room for other things, and the acidity in the wine matched neatly with the tomato sauce.

Rating: When it comes to this wine, I would (and you may):

• Buy three or more bottles for regular enjoyment
• Buy a bottle or two for occasional enjoyment
• Ask for when dining out or at a party
• Settle for if your preferred wine is not available
• Politely decline and never drink again, ever

On balance, if I rated the Yellow Tail 2005 as a good "utility" riesling, then I have to say the same about this offering. The difference is, besides the price, the Wolf Blass bottle really looks "classy" compared to the ubiquitous Yellow Tail bottle. If you're trying to bring a classy air to your party, or want to feel classier about your wine drinking habit, reach for this. If you can drown out the cries of the haters.

If you do give this a try, please let me know how your experience compared with mine. Thanks! <EM>

(The Totally Unpretentious Wine Reviews Index may be found here.)