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Wine Recommendation
St. Julian Wine Co.
2005 ST. J Pinot Grigio(Lake Michigan Shore)
St. J is a brand tier of St. Julian winery. Bearing the Lake Michigan Shore AVA means that 85 percent of the grapes for this wine were grown in certain areas of Van Buren, Berrien and Cass counties, located in southwest Michigan.
As many Michigan producers do, St. Julian has chosen to label the grape variety as Pinot Grigio to focus attention on the style, which is more Italian with attractive Bartlett pear, Crenshaw melon and a touch of citrus zest in the aroma. Flavors of yellow peach and ripe melon in a wine with medium body, finish with balanced acidity -- again a mark of Italian Pinot Grigio rather than an Alsace style Pinot Gris.
As such, the wine is a good match with chicken Piccata, whitefish with a lemon-caper sauce, grilled shrimp and a variety of lightly-dressed salads, including a grilled chicken Caesar with homemade croutons sautéed in a garlic compound butter.
St. J 2005 Pinot Grigio won Double Gold at the 2007 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest competition of American wines in the world.
Reviewed July 17, 2007 by Eleanor & Ray Heald.
Other reviewed wines from St. Julian Wine Co.
 2005 Braganini Reserve Pinot Noir (Lake Michigan Shore)Eleanor & Ray Heald 8/3/2007 |
The Wine
Winery: St. Julian Wine Co. |
The Reviewer
Eleanor & Ray Heald
The Healds have been writing about wine since 1978 and have focused on appellation significance in many of their world beat writings. They value recognizing site personality (terroir) within an appellation's wines. They praise balance and elegance in wines styled to pair well with food and eschew over-extraction, high alcohol and heavy-handed oak. “Delicious” is their favorite descriptor for a great, well-made wine. |