Fancy Pants Pinot Grigio

Origin: Napa Valley, California | Year: 2012 | Rating: 9.25 out of 10 | Price: FREE (for me) | ABV: 13.15%

This one goes out to Amanda, the financier of this particular bottle of wine. I am watching her baby child, aka her dog Zelda who is a wine lover in her own right, as shown in the picture. I found it along with a note that said "Fancy Pants wine for your fancy pants wine blog!" Thank you for that!

Now, I've had pinot grigios before, but this is by far my favorite. Keep in mind that the other ones I've bought were <$9 not on sale because my cheap ass self decided that it was better to try a cheap one and see if I like the style first. Those of you with decent taste buds may scoff at that, but those of you with bargin bin taste buds like myself may fall into the same line of though. 

But yes. It's ridiculous. Obviously you are going to think that you don't like a style when you try the cheap nasty ones. Everyone hates the cheap nasty ones, especially people who like the style. It's not very indicative of the style when it has an acetote after taste.

Up until now, I did not know if I liked this style, but man, this is tasty. It's so light and fresh, and for a drink with 13% alcohol, this isn't boozy at all. 

It's not like my normal overly sweet go-tos, but I'm okay with that. Truely! It's not overly sparkling either, making it a good wine to pair with food. The internet says it's good with chicken, cheese, and fish. And as we all know, if the internet says it, it's true.

I'll admit that I read through other reviews of wines to see what they are tasting in the wine because my palate just says, "Me Katie. Me likey." and that's as in depth as it gets. So whether this is placebo or not, I'm not sure, but in a couple of reviews, I read that the tasters smelled citrus notes on it and tasted peaches or mangos slightly in the middle. And you know what? I can totally see what they are talking about with the peaches. There is just a light hint of fruitiness right there in the middle. 

I really am enjoying this. Pinot grigios are right there in the middle as far as dry or sweet wines go. It's a happy medium between both sides, and I dig that. As you can see from the picture, it's really like in color, which is cool to me. It's a lot lighter than the sparkling moscato that I just had. That surprised me. 

Overall, this wine makes me feel like more of a grown up, honestly. I'm not a badass who drinks chardonnay yet, but I do feel like this is a step in the right direction for me!

Pizzolato Moscato Dulce

Origin: Italy | Year: 2011 | Rating : 9 out of 10 | Price: $14 | ABV: 5.5%

To start with, I'm going to go ahead and warn you that I am no expert taster. My taste buds have long been numb. I blame it on a childhood full of frozen dinners and my family's cooking. My taste buds nobly sacrificed themselves to prevent future trauma.

I (errr....my boyfriend) bought this wine at a Whole Foods in Charleston, SC on vacation. I selectively chose this wine the most educated way that you can: I liked the label. 

I'm a huge fan of this wine. As I've made clear, I am a moscato junky. And while I may be trying to expand my horizons to include more than moscato, cut me some slack. I'm taking this one step at a time! No moscato cold turkey for this girl!

Alright, down to business. This wine smells crisp and light. Not the same sickly sweet that you get from cheap moscatos. It almost smells like a cider. 

As far as the taste goes, this wine is a great summer wine! Just like the smell, it is light and crisp. It's very much an easy drinker. It's lightly sweet, but in a fruity way, not a syrupy way. I'm sipping on this wine while I work on projects/quizzes/finals studying. I'm having to focus on not gulping it down. Thankfully, it is only 5.5%, so even if I finish the whole thing, I'm not going to be smashed. 

This wine is pretty bubbly. From what I've read, this wine is just a little bit shy of being classified as a sparkling wine. Because of that, it is classified as a moscato, but it is one of the more bubbly moscatos that I've ever had.

Word of warning: have a wine bottle topper, a friend to share with you, or the motivation to finish the whole bottle because this wine has a bottle cap instead of a cork or twist off.

All in all, this is a win for me. While it is twice as expensive as the cheapo brands of yore, it isn't going to break your bank, and it is super yummy.