The Jusselys Go West: July 2008

Saturday, July 26, 2008

July "4th" concert

On Saturday, July 5th, we saw The Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Robert Mondavi Winery. It was great and they played great songs like "Tiger Rag" and "When the Saints Go Marching In". The summer concert series at the Mondavi Winery is 30+ year tradition, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was a favorite of Mr. Mondavi since the beginning. It was an awesome experience. Since then, we have been busy at work but not play. We're waiting on Daniel and Lucy to come visit.

We love and miss you all,

Kim & Jonathan

Gallo Fine Wine Pick

Wine Pick - 4/30

Since the weather was in the 90's this past weekend, I'm continuing with the white wine suggestions this week. My Gallo pick is Polka Dot Medium Dry Riesling. You may have seen Polka Dot at your grocery store or at World Market. It is a blue bottle with a white screw cap and a pink polka dot on it. That one is a more typical Riesling. The Medium Dry Riesling is the same package but a green dot. It's not as sweet and goes great with spicy meals like Thai food. Yes, this is the second week for a screw cap wine, but it's great! I think it retails for $10-12.
My non-Gallo pick is Bantam Cellars Vermentino. It's a small winery in Amador County, about 45 miles east of Sacramento on the way to Lake Tahoe. Vermentino is an Italian varietal that is really nice. I'm not sure where you can find it, but you can order the wine directly from Bantam, depending on which state you live in. Amador County is another wine region of California that has great zinfandel and barbera. I will have recommendations for those later on.

Did anyone try the ones from last week? If you haven't, here they are again.
Gallo: Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand
Non-Gallo: St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc - Napa, California

Wine Pick of the Week

I thought I would add a new section to our blog. As most of you know, I work for a Gallo-owned company, as in Ernest & Julio Gallo. Before I came out here, I didn't know which brands belonged to Gallo. So I'm going to try and recommend one Gallo and one non-Gallo wine each week.
My first Gallo pick is Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc. It's a screw cap, so no corkscrew needed. It's different because it's not fruity. When you smell or drink it, see if you smell something like grass or green bell pepper. I know it sounds weird, but try it and see if you do. $18-20.
My non-Gallo pick is St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc. It's awesome, and, if you like grapefruits, you'll love it. I think it's $18-20 too.
I picked 2 S. Blancs because it's almost summertime when whites are more popular. I'll try to put pictures of the bottles next time.