Bottoms Up

Busy day but wanted to share a great Verdelho I had over the weekend at a dinner party. It was a 2005 Expose from South Australia. Tropical and crisp with a full body, the Portuguese white is, for me, quite the welcome and lively alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. I’m having trouble locating a bottle, but I’ve seen it online for anywhere from $10 to $25. Let me know if you score some.

Briefly: Verdelho is widely grown in Spain, Portugal and Australia, where warm weather yields small bunches with hard berries and highly-acidic must. Some blend it into white port (in the Douro) as well as crisp dry whites in Dão. Our warm weather is making California the next hot spot for Verdelho both along the coast and in regions like Lodi and Amador County.

Try Twisted Oak Winery (Calaveras County), Burford and Brown Wines (Alexander Valley) or Vezer Family Vineyard (Suisun Valley).