The Best White Wines of the 2013 Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival

While we tend to focus on reds, there is this whole sub-culture that drinks white wines and seems to enjoy them.  We do too of course, though we do drink a lot more red.  There were some excellent white wines at the recent 2013 Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival.  Listed below are some of what we liked, in no particular order.  All of these wines are worth buying in our opinion.

Stella CIDRE Apple Cider – OK, so this is not actually a white wine, or a wine at all.  It is delicious however,and was served at a wine and food festival so we’re counting it.  This is really good, and is not as fruity or sweet as you might think.  It also goes great with aged cheddar, which is what they were serving it with.  Both Cheri and I really liked it, and we’re going to buy some to see if Alex agrees when he gets home on his next college break.

2012 Ken Forrester Old Vines Chenin Blanc – this wine is very dry and crisp, presenting beautiful melon aromas and flavors.  It strikes you as a quality, well made wine and would be excellent with food.  We really enjoyed it and would buy this.

2011 Ken Forrester “The FMC” Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc – there”s some residual sugar here, and this finishes off dry.  It’s smooth, crisp and delicious with bright citrus and melon flavors.  It was suggested this would be excellent with rich seafood dishes, and I have no reason to disagree.  I would buy this as well.

2012 Antinori Vermentino – this Italian white is from Bolgheri, a region I am gaining a new found appreciation for.  It was the home of our second rated red wine from the festival.  This particular wine presents amazing aromas of pear and mellon that translate to the palate.  It’s really good and screams for some serious cheese.  This might be a bit too much for delicate foods but would pair well with many.  We would buy this too, and probably should stop saying that.

2011 Joseph Phelps Freestone Vineyards Chardonnay – while we are not big Chardonnay fans this really surprised us.  There is very little to no oak here as it presents and finishes clean with nice citrus aromas and flavors.  This is one of the best Chardonnays I’ve had in a long time.  Really, really nice.

2011 Leirana  Albariño – from Northwest Spain, this wine presents surprising complexity and structure.  It was from the “New Collectibles” seminar.  Golden straw colored it had bright citrus tones and is obviously a very well made wine. This was judged as the #1 Albariño by the New York Times recently.  It is not, as one of the seminar panelists put it, a “chill and kill”.  Very classy and not cheap at roughly $30.  We might not buy this at that price, but I really liked it.

So there are five whites and a cider we would not only drink but we would actually buy (although $30 on a white is a bit much).  We don’t say that every day.  Maybe there is a little something to this white wine thing after all.  But now I’m getting crazy.

A votre sante!

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