Conundrum
White Blend
California
As the weather still is peaking up to 65 and 70 degree days, let’s enjoy one last white wine before red wine season shows up fashionably late for this fall party. Conundrum. No, this Conundrum is no problem. Maybe the name is because you are supposed to drink it to melt all your problems away…because it is just lovely. This wine is perfect for all wine-drinkers. It has a hint of light sweetness so the not-so-wine-drinker will love it just as much as the wine-drinker will appreciate it. Their goal is to be a white wine that a red wine drinker and white wine drinker can enjoy. Well, I am no scientist that did a study or anything, but I enjoy red and white…and this is one of my favs! So....success!
Many of my friends love this bottle and I have turned a few others that didn’t know about it, on to it. This is one of those bottles that no matter how ridiculously marked up it is on that wine list… without hesitation there is a bottle chilling at my table in seconds. A restaurant I go to a lot even keeps a bottle for me chilled. Of course, there is always that ever-so-charming eye roll of my “only red wine-drinking” husband when I order it. He gets a bottle of one of his favorite reds and it becomes one of those “laughing too loud at the table & reminiscing on how we first met, even though we have told the story 10,000 times” kinda nights.
This “anti-conundrum” leaves you scratching your head when you taste it. Honeysuckle!...no, no…apricot….no perhaps a fruity, vanilla? This is the best part! Why does it leave you scratching your head? Because there are about 5 very different white Californian grapes blended in the bottle. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Canelli, Viognier and Semillon. I recently tried the 2009, being a fan of the 2005-2008. I know that Conundrum’s vintages always taste a bit different. They use what nature gave them to make the best wine in that bottle. Sometimes the amount of each varietal is a bit different in every vintage, but always very similar and always a delish surprise. In my opinion, the 2009 has a little more sweetness than the 2008, which some seem to enjoy. If I had the 2008 and 2009 in front of me, I would go for the 2008. Of course, if all I had was the 2009 in front of me…bring. it. on. baby.
[fair warning: This is not one of those wines you can have A glass after work. Sure, go ahead and try, but I guarantee an hour later you will be throwing that empty bottle of Conundrum in the recycling bin.]
