http://www.pellegrinivineyards.com

December 21, 2021

It was time, we were reminded in a phone call, to pick up our wine club selections for December, so we popped over to Pellegrini on a gray, chilly afternoon.  Inside, Teri gave us a warm welcome, remembering that we are in the “red only” category.  We decided to do a tasting, mainly sampling the wines in our box to see how we would use them, or whether we wanted more.

We also decided to try this iteration of the gewürztraminer for two reasons:  it is a grape I sometimes like and sometimes do not, depending on how sweet its wine is, and they were offering a special, that if you bought two bottles at $24.99, you got a third one free.  We did, and also bought a three-pack of the North Fork Project Merlot, the best wine bargain on the North Fork:  three big bottles of a very nice merlot for $30.

There were two other small groups in the tasting room, quietly enjoying their tastings, so social distancing was not a problem, and we all wore masks when away from the tables.

Since Teri had some free time, I asked her about a name for one of the wines, a white blend called REJOYCE.  I asked the right person!  It used to be called White Medley, until a winery in California got in touch and informed them that they already had a patent on that name.  Uh-oh.  What to call it?  So Pellegrini had a little contest to come up with a new name.  Teri thought of REJOYCE as a play on words, since Mrs. Pellegrini’s first name is Joyce.  She won three bottles of wine, and a bit of local fame.

•  2019 Gewürztraminer $24.99

Delicious!  Sweet floral aroma, and tropical fruit tastes, with pineapple and mango predominant.  It would be great with spicy food, and it is not too sweet at all.

• Steakhouse Red               $19.99

A non-vintage (so they can blend it for consistency) blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot red, this is a tasty though somewhat light wine, with mouth-watering tannins.  We discuss whether or not this merits the name “Steakhouse,” since it is not the kind of big intense red one often thinks of to go with steak, but I think the tannins might do well to cut the fattiness of meat.  Maybe it would complement lamb chops.

• 2015 Richmond Creek Cabernet Franc    $29.99

“Serviceable” is the term my tasting buddy applies to this pleasant, but not big red.  “Itsy-bitsy” is his next comment.  Nice tastes of fruit and spice.  We’ll be happy to drink it, probably with pasta. (After we got home, I remembered that Osprey also labels wines Richmond Creek, so I’ll have to ask about that next time.)

• 2015 Regalo       $49.99

“Regalo” means gift, a good term for this blend of 50% petit verdot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% cabernet franc, because it is lovely.  We like this the most, and plan to put it in the cellar for special guests.  It is relatively complex, with good tannins and tastes of fruit and tobacco.

Reasons to visit:  what I’ve said in past reviews, plus this time all the wines we sampled, but especially the gewürztraminer and the Regalo.