As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a red drinker (it didn’t even stop me at my wedding, where I drank red wine all night in my white dress!). That’s not to say that I won’t venture to the lighter side, but I may put up a bit of a fight. I was recently perusing the Wine Folly site and found a ridiculously cool post which recommends wines for beer lovers. When you scroll down to the very first section, you’ll find the beloved, Wisconsin-brewed Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewing Co. I took this as a sign that this week should be dedicated to a white and test this theory out.

The article goes on to recommend replacing Spotted Cow, or another cream ale, with a Muscadet et Sur Lie, which means the wine has been aged (sometimes for a year!) on dead yeast particles. Sounds weird, but let’s be honest, when you drink wine, you’re essentially drinking fermented grapes which have been hanging out in barrels/vats for months. I don’t even drink or eat anything that’s been opened in my fridge beyond a couple of days! Because of the light, but yeasty flavor, you can probably see why it’d translate well for beer lovers. I’m going to go ahead and leave you with a link to Wine Folly’s page about this type of wine, as there’s a lot of info there that I thought was amazingly helpful.

Here’s another reason this particular varietal appealed to me – it supposedly pairs well with what I, personally, find challenging to pair wine with: garlic, shallots, onions, turmeric (for when I make my Indian dishes). And of course, as is the recommendation for many whites, it pairs well with seafood.

When you find a wine like Muscadet (aka, Melon de Bourgogne) et Sur Lie that is highly acidic, you can expect it to be a great palate cleanser, which is why I think it works well with greasier foods (french fries anyone?), and creamier cheeses like Brie, or ones that are melted like fondue or yummy grilled cheese. My mouth is salivating, how about yours? (Anyone immediately think of that FRIENDS episode where Rachel and Chandler eat their neighbor’s cheesecake, and Rachel says, “Wow, my whole mouth just filled with saliva!”? If not, you’re missing out, check out Season 7, Episode 11.) You know what, why don’t we just eat cheesecake with this wine?!

Anywho, I went to a local supermarket and picked up a bottle of the 2015 Domaine Salmon Riserve du Fief, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie from Loire, France for about $12. I opened the bottle with my friend, Sarah, after we sweat our asses off at a cycling class, and poured the pretty pale, yellow wine into our matching cups…..hopefully I’ll be sharing some more details about what #DBP is in the future!

Pass the wine, please! This ‘platinum blonde’has is 12% ABV.

Onto our tasting notes: beautiful color, truly. On the nose: heavy citrus with lemon coming through, and a light scent of grass or flowers. No joke, after a big sniff, the aroma ended with a yeasty note! Wine Folly was right! This was such a light-bodied wine that had a super clean finish (as to be expected with a highly acidic choice) and lots of citrus flavors with green – or a slightly tart red – apple. As described above, this had a saline quality, which would have definitely gone well with oysters. Fortunately or unfortunately, we had to “suffer” with sushi. 🙂

The best part about this wine – it wasn’t sweet!! It would be a great wine to drink with seafood, as recommended, but also a great wine to sip in summer months. We were able to polish off the bottle fairly quickly, which is saying something for two girls who love a good red.

Now do I think it’s a comparable substitution for Spotted Cow? Eh, you definitely miss the carbonation, and sometimes a beer is just what you need. But they’re both light and refreshing, so I’ll ’em that!

I think next time we’ll be back to the dark side, but you can be sure I’ll be trying out new whites, as I try to broaden my palate and refine my taste buds, in preparation for that warmer weather that I’m sure will be here soon….right? Wishful thinking?

Cheers!