Washington State – $12
First thing first: What the hell is Aligoté?
Well, it’s a “lesser” white grape from France’s Burgundy region. In other words, they grow a ton of this stuff in an über posh region, but it’s not good enough to make any famous $300, fancy pants wines so they don’t really export much of it. The French mainly use it in a wine cocktail called a Kir (cassis + Aligoté). The sweet, syrupy cassis mixes well with this crisp and more acidic wine.
Second: Washington State? How the hell did it get there?
It turns out, Washington State is the perfect place to grow very cold-tolerant grape. It’s been planted here for generations, but is usually blended in with Chardonnay. That is, until Jed Steele, owner and winemaker at Steele Vineyards from California, who loves to play with unique grapes, made the Shooting Star Aligoté.
From expert hands, comes a unique grape from an up-and-coming region that turns out to be absolutely delicious. It’s very crisp and clean with a great, strong acidity. Flavors of apple and minerals are present without being overwhelming. It’s kinda like if a New Zealand Sauv Blac and a French Sancerre had babies.
Drink this wine with hot dogs (seriously, it goes REALLY well with hot dogs), fish and chips or make an all Pacific Northwest Kir with some Clear Creek Cassis.
