A Good Introduction to Whites

As mentioned in a previous post, we recently picked up two bottles of wine while shopping at Target. While we weren’t that jazzed about Folie à Deux’s red version of Ménage à Trois, the California White Table Wine version turned out to be OK.

The first thing we noticed about the white 2005 Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois was its color. It was a very pretty, clear light yellow. It looked a lot like pear juice. The smell was very pleasant, too. It smelled sweet, like apricots and orange blossoms. Before looking at the label, we thought the wine smelled like a Viognier or a Sauvignon Blanc. Actually, the three grapes that comprise this ménage à trois are Chardonnay, Moscato, and Chenin Blanc. The Moscato and Chenin Blanc grapes explain the sweet smell.

Moscato is a grape typically used in light, sweet dessert wines. Moscatos are often just a hint fizzy and frighteningly easy to drink. We’ll review one of our favorite Moscatos as it gets closer to summer. Chenin Blanc wines are also a bit on the sweeter side, although they are not dessert wines. The first wine one of your Wine Nuts started drinking way back when was a Callaway Chenin Blanc. It was just sweet enough to be drinkable for a Wine Nut in the Making. And this white Ménage à Trois shares that characteristic.

Overall, we would describe the taste of this wine as a bit watery, bland, and lacking pizazz. It’s not offensive; there’s just not a lot to it. On the plus side, it is not harsh or acidic or alcohol-y. For this reason, we think this wine would be great for someone who is new to wine. It’s just sweet and easy enough to be enjoyable if most wines make you pucker your lips and say, “Yick.”

We think this wine is a little steep at $10. For $5-$7, we would keep it on hand for guests who aren’t Wine Nuts but want to join in the fun. Like its red brother, this Ménage à Trois can be found at Target and World Market. And it’s a better buy than the red.