Caro Nonno Grenache Blanc, 2018 (California)

“Packs a Punch”

Price at Purchase: $16.99 (on sale; regularly $24.00)

Location: Direct from Winery ; Can be found at Original Joe’s

As you can probably tell from these reviews, we steer heavy on the red varietals, so it’s high time for a bottle of white! And what better way to pretend like it’s still legal to go outside than by drinking a refreshing Grenache blanc?

From the moment we opened this bottle, it made an entrance. Not only from the adorably cute label with a drawing of boxing gloves (I’m obsessed), but also from the loud POP as we uncorked it. You just don’t get that with red wine. It may be light in color, but damn, this is a wine that will draw attention in any crowd, so keep it stocked for your next picnic or boozy brunch in the park.

Once opened, I got a great scent of lemon and pear, mixed with some floral notes of rose. Just as the label is an homage to the winemaker’s grandfather, this bottle reminded me of the good times before quarantine. All of the sudden, I was transported back to the days of watching the sunset (remember those?!) out on the vineyard (remember what fresh air felt like?!) with a group of friends (remember when we were allowed to have them?!). Yep, I got all of that within the first two minutes of opening the bottle. It’s that powerful.

My true “red wine snobbery” was then exposed, since I was assuming this wine would be just as mild as its color. WRONG. This has much more flavor than I was anticipating. But even with the fruit-forward scent, it wasn’t sour at all! Once I did my due diligence of research, it turns out that grenaches are intended to be more full-bodied, so this one definitely delivered.

The other great thing about this wine is that it’s refreshing enough to go well with a wide mix of food options (I paired it with pizza, because I’m classy like that). But it’s light enough where you can 100% drink it on its own, as demonstrated by my sister. Actually I haven’t heard from her in a while so I might need to check on her…she may have taken “punch drunk” literally.