Modesto wine columnist on Friday wines and perfect house selections

This is my last Wine Line for 2021. Or to be more exact, I call it number 336. Just as things were getting better, now we’re told to mask-up again. Hopefully, this round won’t be as bad as the first one, which is still lingering. So please be safe during the holidays, enjoy what you have and keep that corkscrew working.

I love Friday wines. They either celebrate the end of a tough work week or the start of a relaxing weekend. Priced in the $10-$20 range, Friday wines can be very flexible. They can easily slip down into that daily wine group and on some occasions, even sneak up into that elite Sunday list. Example: I wasn’t thrilled when the Navigator said we were having leftover salmon for dinner on Wednesday. Fortunately, I found a La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (SRP $21 sale priced $16.99) in the wine closet and just like magic, the salmon dinner was delicious. Pinots rock!

Here are some readily available award-winning Friday white wines, all priced under $20. Sauvignon Blanc/Fume: Dry Creek 2019 Fume Blanc and Hanna 2020 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc. Chardonnay: J. Lohr Estates 2019 Arroyo Seco Riverstone, Raeburn 2019 Russian River Valley and Edna Valley 2018 Central Coast. Pinot Grigio: Ferrari-Carano 2020 Sonoma County and J. Vineyards 2019 California. Rose: Oak Farm 2020 Lodi and Raeburn 2020 Russian River Valley.

Here are a few Friday gold medal-winning red wines under $20. Pinot Noir: Hahn 2019 Central Coast and Benziger 2018 Monterey County. Merlot: Rodney Strong 2017 Sonoma County, Ferrari-Carano 2018 Sonoma County. Zinfandel: St. Amant 2018 Lodi Mohr-Fry Ranch and Ancient Peaks 2018 Paso Robles Margarita Ranch. Petite Sirah: Michael David 2018 Petite Petit and Boeger 2017 El Dorado. Cabernet Sauvignon: J. Lohr Estates 2018 Seven Oaks Paso Robles and Imagery 2018 California.

A perfect house wine

Worthy daily house wines need to have the following: 1. The ability to stay fresh; 2. Easy to store; 3. Easy to recycle; 4. Never be empty; 5. Both a red and white that are food friendly; 6. Delivered to your door on your schedule, taxes and shipping included; 7. Interesting types of wines that shouldn’t be intimidating or expensive; 8. Easily accessible; 9. Require no tools to open.

If you agree, then check out gratsi.com. It produces a Country Red and Country White in three liter boxes (each equals 4 bottles). The red is a Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Washington’s Columbia Valley-Wahuluke Slope. The white is a Sauvignon Blanc blend from the Columbia’s Horse Heaven Hills. I gave both a two thumbs up. Cheers!

Questions? Comments? Find me on Facebook or at rgwinton@yahoo.com.