Best Wines For All Day Drinking

Well, hello. I just returned from a girls’ getaway weekend in Arizona, where my friends and I sat on the porch and visited so of course it was the perfect opportunity to have a My Wine Tribe tasting. Because we knew we were going to spending a lot of time sitting on that porch, we decided to investigate the best wines for all day drinking as our tasting theme.

While only Balanced and Developed Tribe members were present, my friends were happy to drink as much as necessary in order to represent all four Wine Tribes. I explained that’s not quite the way it works, but regardless, they were gung ho!

Wanted: Light and Low-Alcohol

After leaving the airport, our first stop was the Whole Foods grocery store in Phoenix. I explained my needs to the wine guy: low-alcohol level, light enough for all day drinking, and can be enjoyed with or without food. He recommended two types of white table wine and two different Pinot Grigios with representation from Oregon, California, Washington and Italy:

• Evolution White Wine, 18^th edition: $19.99
• Conundrum 2012 White Wine: $24.99
• Charles Smith Vino 2013 Pinot Grigio: $12.99
• A Giuseppe e Luigi Stella di Anselmi 2012 Pinot Grigio: $12.99

Divisive, with Hints of Violet and Melon

The Evolution has a cool label and an interesting story. The wine is produced by Oregon’s Sokol Blosser winery and is a blend of nine white wine grapes. On the label the winery asks, “luck vs. intention?” That’s a nod to the question blended wine buyers must ponder: is this a blend of leftover wine bottled up randomly, or was it blended purposefully to delight?

Well, according to the Balanced Tribe members, the Evolution definitely was designed to delight. They LOVED it. With scents of violet and melon, flavors of flowers and a slight hint of bright effervescence, the Evolution was yummy with and without food.

The Developed Tribe, however, weren’t fans. Here’s one representative comment: “tastes like a sweet tart.” Although the Developed tasters liked it better with food, I wouldn’t recommend this wine if your pals are in the Developed or Complex Tribes.

The Real Conundrum: Why So Pricey?

Next up was the Conundrum, a California wine that’s marketed as nontraditional. Its “puzzling blend of varietals” is never revealed, hence the conundrum. My conundrum was why I paid so much for it considering no one loved it. It scored higher with the Balanced Tribe, who appreciated its fruity taste, clean finish and ability to hold up well to food. But the Developed Tribe panned it, describing it as “thick,” “tart,” “puckery” and, most succinctly, “yuck.” I would stay away from this one.

The Ralph Lauren of Wine?

Moving to the Pinot Grigio, we started with the Charles Smith Vino. Charles Smith is a Washington- based winemaker who, like Ralph Lauren, is a marketing whiz. He has a zillion different wine brands, ranging from high-end K Vintners to the Vino wines on the lower end. You can always recognize his stuff by the cool black and white labels.

This wine scored fairly well across both tribes. The Balanced Tribe appreciated its lightness and ability to hold up to food. They also lauded its stamina, commenting that “this is the wine you put in a Solo cup for all-day drinking.” The Developed Tribe, meanwhile, found it to be light, with tastes of pear, wet stone and sugar. Overall, everyone found the Vino drinkable, but it was nobody’s favorite. This wine is good, not great so this isn’t a strong recommend.

Developed Tribe Finds a Fave

Finally, we hit the Anselmi Pinot Grigio. The Anselmi winery began in 1928 in Pocenia, Italy and is now run by grandsons of the founder. This wine was the fave of the Developed Tribe, who detected aromas of honey, clover and springtime. As for taste, they found hints of green apple and almonds. Overall, they found the wine to be dry, spirited and highly drinkable.

The Balanced Tribe didn’t dig it so much but this one is a strong buy for you Developed folks out there.

Know the Palates on Your Porch

I learned from this experiment that to please porch sitters, you really need to know their palates. If they are in the Balanced Tribe, give the sweeter Evolution White a whirl. If they are in the Developed Tribe, the drier Anslemi Pinot Grigio is the answer.

While we didn’t have any Accessible or Complex Tribe members with us, my guess is that the Accessible folks would like the Evolution. As for the Complex Tribe, that’s a mystery that must be resolved soon via another tasting. Lucky me!

In the meantime, what wines do you prefer for all day drinking?