Uncorked #11: Rene Barbier Catalunya Mediterranean White

Welcome to Uncorked! Where I feature a wine that I've tried and let you know my thoughts on it. There is a little disclaimer: I am by far no wine expert --I am just going to tell my thoughts on a wine. Some wine snobs out there might turn their nose up at my opinion and that's fine with me! Wine is meant to be savored and enjoyed! I might throw out some wine terms here and there and if I do, I will make sure that I give you the definition and try to explain them to the best of my abilities. My goal is to share some tasty wine picks with the world and hopefully encourage some of you out there to try a new wine. No bottle shall be discriminated against, price is no matter (with in reason), and this is just going to be all about exploring the world of wine.

This week's wine is:
Rene Barbier Catalunya Mediterranean White

Description: For hundreds of years, wine has been a part of everyday Mediterranean life. This temperate area of warm, sunny days and cool evenings has produced some of the world's finest wines. Among the most celebrated are the wines of Rene Barbier. These wines are made from the same indigenous grapes the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans cultivated here over 2,000 years ago. Mediterranean White is crisp, dry and lightly refreshing. Serve chilled as an aperitif or as a wonderful complement to seafood, summer salads, pasta, poultry or shellfish.
Price: $4.99 per bottle
Region: Spain

This is another World Market find. I was on a quest to try different wines and this one had such a tempting price of $4.99 I thought, better give it a go! And I am so glad I did! This is a coupage* wine, with blends of 40% xarel·lo, 30% macabeo, and 30% parellada. I don't know about you, but I have never heard of these grapes. I really liked this wine and for the price you just can't get a better deal. With the onset of summer, this is a great spring to summer wine. It's bright, refreshing, and has a nice fruity flavor of apple and pineapple. It's not too sweet and it's not too dry. I learned something new with this wine. The company describes the wine as "elegant, greenish tones" which I had no idea what that meant. Turns out green wines are wines made from under ripe grapes; they lack richness of full mature grapes. Who would have known?

Would I buy it again? Yes, for sure. This is a great wine to get you out of the same old, same old white wine shell. It's not the standard pinot grigio or chardonnay but a nice choice that is a balance between the two.

Fun Wine Fact: Did you know that white wine is preferred by more women than men? Supposedly it’s because white wine is more delicate in flavour and scent, and red wine’s rich, full qualities may lead the gentlemen to hard liquor like whisky, brandy or cognac.

Pairs Well With: Seafood, summer salads, pasta, poultry or shellfish.

Never, never trust anyone who asks for white wine. It means they're phonies.
-Betty Davis

*Coupage - derives from the French word "couper," meaning "to cut." In the world of wine, coupage refers to a blending wine or a cutting wine that is used to change the taste or color of the primary grape.

~Beth