“Both of these are eminently food friendly.”

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I finally got around to stopping in at the Novi Total Wine & More outlet that opened in the area not that long ago. It was just a “scouting mission,” intended more to see what they had on the shelves, especially in my “QPR” range ($10-20), than to make any serious purchases. As anyone who’s been to one of these places knows, they are big, well-laid out booze warehouses, with a massive selection of wine, beer and liquor, along with a wide variety of alcohol paraphernalia and related specialty food items. These guys are supposed to be known for their low prices, but a cursory search found only one of the wines already reviewed here, the ‘19 Ridge Vineyards Three Valleys, and it was a buck more than the best price I’m getting it for.

I did find a couple of QPR All-Stars, however (there are plenty more, no doubt, I just need the time to look more closely). One is an old friend, in the form of a tasty Albariño, while the other is a rosé from Provence that’s new to us. Both of these are eminently food friendly.

2021 Burgans Rias Baixas Albariño, 12% alc., $12.49: Light straw in color, with an engaging, mineral-laced green apple and lemon-citrus personality. Medium bodied, with brisk acidity and a mouth-coating, lingering finish. It’s been a while since we last had some of this, maybe as long as five years or more, but it’s just as good as I remember. Like Muscadet Sevre et Maine, Rias Baixas is right on the Atlantic coastline, and like the wines of Muscadet Sevre et Maine, Albariño is a match made by Bacchus for seafood. Find this wine

“A custom cuvée made for European Cellars by Martin Codax, the Burgans Albariño is named after the hill on which the cooperative is located. Burgans is a cuvée made from a small selection of vineyard plots in the Salnes sub-zone of Rias-Baixas, which have a characteristic pit-fruit quality and richness in addition to the bracing minerality for which the sub-zone is famous.”

Imported by European Cellars, LLC, Charlotte, NC

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2021 Chateau Gigery Cotes de Provence Rosé, 13% alc., $15.99: A hefty dose of gravelly mineral settles down quickly to take a harmonious supporting role in this pretty-in-pink’s strawberry character. A little more than medium-bodied, somewhat dense in texture and animated by brisk, yet balanced acidity, this hits all the right notes for me when it comes to dry rosé. To describe it as food-friendly would be an understatement, to say the least. I’m thinking that it would be especially nice with something shrimpy, like a shrimp ceviche or even shrimp on the barbie splashed with lemon. Find this wine

Imported by Advantage International Distributors Inc., Miami, FL

A lot of area retailers weren’t too happy when this Maryland-based operation appeared in four locations in southern Michigan in the last few years, but Total Wine and More appears to be here to stay, for better or worse. The Novi store is the closest one to me, and while I won’t be making regular visits, I do plan on stopping in from time to time looking for more good values like the two wines reviewed here.

Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo

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