November 1 is the Feast of All Saints and in Mexico and some Latin American countries, that means it’s Día de los Muertos season (or Day of the Metros, if your name is Spell Check).
Appropriately, I am dead tired and ready to be named the Patron Saint of the Stressed Out, if no such saint exists yet.
As a saint, my first miracle would be to make Chenin Blanc as ubiquitous as Chardonnay. In today’s Vino in a Minute, I’d like to take a first step toward sainthood by sharing a lovely South African Chenin Blanc I enjoyed last night at Halloween.
[El Full Disclosure: I discovered this wine on my own. It was not a sample, nor was it endorsed by a publicist or importer.]
WHAT: M.A.N. Family Wines Chenin Blanc is crisp and easy to drink, with some dreamy tropical fruit aromas–think guava, pineapple and some juicy lemon thrown in for good measure. It hails from South Africa’s Agter-Paarl region. The soil there is flinty, so you’ll pick up some distinctive minerality on the palate.
WHY: Unless you’re in a wine shop, Chenin Blanc is not easy to find at the grocery store. Consequently, I don’t drink it as often as I’d like and it’s a shame because this is such an easy wine to love. It pairs with just about anything (I had it last night with mushroom pappardelle in a truffle sauce) and it’s one of the wines I recommend to people who ask me about a good white wine that’s not Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. This particular wine hit the spot because of its beautiful bouquet and balance.
¿CUÁNTO CUESTA? I paid $12 for this bottle. Troll the web and you’ll see it for plus-or-minus a few dollars.
WHERE: This was a featured wine at Cost Plus World Market, where I’d gone in desperate search of navy blue cotton napkins for a dinner party and walked out with a case of wine, the napkins and, to come full circle, a Day of the Dead cookie for my husband.
So go forth, be saintly and drink lots of vino.
