Riesling vs Bonarda?

Fellow Americans or Earthlings, I welcome you to this battle of two cheap wines. In the north we have the Chateau St. Michelle 2006 Dry Riesling from Columbia Valley (also known as anywhere grapes will grow in Washington. No offense Puget Sound, but hybrids don't count. Ouch. That's going to get me in trouble.) And in the south is the 2005 Amaicha Bonarda hailing from Mendoza, Argentina. (Has anyone had a wine from Argentina that wasn't from Mendoza? It's the Argentinian version of Columbia Valley.)

These wines will be fighting over frozen pizza, only it's frozen pizza which has been sufficiently unfrozen. The Bonarda takes the first punch, bringing loads of... horse sweat and some pepper to the nostrils. It's a pretty weak punch that's nearly below the belt. The Riesling is obviously unfazed, and it counter-attacks with a heavy dose of... exactly what a Riesling normally smells like. There's no lack of fruitiness in this guy, he screams Pina Colada with a green apple slice and the Bonarda is suddenly looking dazed.

With a bite of the pizza the Bonarda finds new legs. Suddenly some fruit is coming out of the closet. The Bonarda weighs in at 200 lbs, while the Riesling packs a meager 129 lbs. Down to the last drop they trade jabs, through 6 slices without a clear winner. The judges debate, and in the end the crowd throws beer bottles (and a few wine bottles) into the ring: it's a draw.

It's clear that the pizza was an advantage to the Bonarda here, but the Riesling refused to let it's overall superiority be outdone by the homefield advantage. Of course many people are a sucker for a good dry Riesling, which is the best white wine in the world (don't tell California), and he was clearly the crowd favorite. The Bonarda has only been known in the USA for a short time, and many people have yet to hear of him. Perhaps in the future he will be able to chip away at Malbec's Argentinian import dominance. Clearly his harsh behavior and aftertaste turn many Americans off, and with good reason. But for $5 the show was a steal, and those who paid $6 to sit in the Riesling section were also happy about their purchases.

All this battle has amounted to is shiny happy people holding hands, and 3/4 of a bottle of Riesling for me to finish tomorrow. (The Bonarda was already half gone) If in the future I'm ever looking for a nice cheap wine to satisfy my liver, I might turn again to the Safeway down the street for some Chateau St Michelle Dry Riesling (the Bonarda was a 4 hour drive).






















Dueling wines (I hope I don't have to say which is which (and who is who...))