May 26, 2006

2004 Fontana Candida Pinot Grigio

The PIT (Partner in Tasting) popped the cork on a bottle of 2004 Fontana Candida Pinot Grigio ($8.99 Trader Joe's) last night and filled a glass for himself, conveniently forgetting about me, the wine blogger. I demanded a glass, with high hopes, as I like many cheap Italian Pinot Grigio wines.

Pinos grigio is white wine made with the pinot gris grape. Pinot gris is the best-known "white" variant-clone of Pinot Noir, according to the Professional Friends of Wine website. Some pinot gris is grown in Burgundy. In Germany, it is known as ruländer.

I usually drink Pinot Grigio with my sister because it's the only wine that doesn't give her migraines. (Poor girl!) She wasn't missing much with this bottle. The problem wasn't how this wine tasted. No, this wine was pretty easy on the tongue -- crisp and light with nice citrus. My issues were with the before and after: it smelled like cat pee and had a rough finish. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to identify the bitter after-taste. I wound up thinking it might have been rubber mixed with dandeloin greens or something like that.

Score: 1 1/2 stars. I wouldn't dump the bottle, but wouldn't finish half of it either. I drank half a glass, wincing a tad after a few sips.

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