Barefoot - Pinot Grigio

Origin: California
Price: $9.95
Date drunk: February 18th, 2009

This California Pinot Grigio caught my eye in the Australian section of the LCBO--not because it was misplaced, but because there was a big card printed in Comic Sans saying that it won some award from the Toronto Star: Best Wine Under $12. It got 89 points. I have no idea what that means, but 89% is totally an A and that's fine with me.

I picked this because I wanted to have a point of reference. Some other dude thinks this is a pretty decent cheap wine; do I have such refined tastes? I'm going to guess.... probably not. However, I DID like that wine selected by Dan Akroyd. Cred.

Okay, firstly:
- It's not cold enough yet, but I'm impatient.
- I just ate some cheddar goldfish to get rid of toothpaste aftertaste, so my mouth is kind of tainted.

I can get behind this wine. It even conquers those handicaps I ended up creating for it, and it's a seriously tough game to beat toothpaste. It's a lot bolder/stronger than other pinot grigios I've had (which are usually really mild and closer to water than wine), and is really warm and full. There's kind of a grassy/lemony taste on top of the regular sweetness. Like other pinot grigios (I think?), it isn't sharp, bitter, or dry, but I definitely keep going back to "stronger." Full bodied? Or some other wine-jargon I know nothing about.

I like pinot grigio a bit more understated, but this is definitely good and interesting. Nothing about it makes me cringe, and that's always a good sign--if I can get a non-cringer for $9.95, I think that's pretty swell.

I will definitely buy this again. Thank you, Toronto Star, for both your sensationalist reporting and your taste in wine.