Tasting Notes: Charity Case Wine

As you know Hubby and I like to drink for a good cause. Okay, we like to drink period, but when we can do so for a good cause, even better.



We recently had the opportunity to try the current offerings of Charity Case Wine (their image, cropped, above). Founded in 2008 after a rainy season caused a surplus of juice from the grapes, it's made from a variety of grapes across Napa Valley. All the juice, labor, and shipping are done by volunteers, which leaves the proceeds to go to a variety of Napa family- and child-focused charities.

There are currently two types of wine available, a Rosé and Sauvignon Blanc. We took the opportunity afforded by the warmer weather to try both.

The 2008 Rosé has a lovely color and plum-cherry nose. It's on the dry side and tart with berry flavors, mild tannins, and a fruity finish. We originally paired it with a spicy honey chicken thigh recipe from Cooking Light, but the chicken killed the wine. A much better pairing was a Chicago-style pizza with roast tomatoes, coppa, and basil. I liked it with food and on its own. Hubby, who is very picky about rosé, didn't find it to his taste.
Rating: Good

The 2009 Sauvignon Blanc surprised us at first with its smoky vanilla nose, and Hubby asked, "Are you sure this isn't a Chardonnay?" Obviously we hadn't looked at the tasting notes, which indicated that it had been aged in new French oak, first. The vanilla continued on the palate with pineapple/melon as the predominant flavor with others around the edges.

We didn't have this one with food. Its perfect pairing was a warm spring afternoon on the back patio, which is how I like to drink oaked whites.
Rating: Good to Very Good

The bottom line is that these are both good spring wines and worth a taste now that it's warming up. At $11.99 a bottle, they're a great value. Now if only their retailer would ship to Georgia…

Disclaimer: These bottles were sent to us free for review purposes. This did not influence our review.