Sokol Blosser Evolution 12th Edition White Wine

*Bottle #68: Sokol Blosser Evolution 12th Edition Dundee Hills White Wine
*Price Tag: $18
*Running Tab: $911

In spite of the fact that I am running a marathon tomorrow – yes, I am crazy – I managed to do a little bit of lushing this week and taste some wine. I know, I know, I have a problem.

I wanted to keep it white because of some weird notion that it’s better for me than red when I’m needing to stay hydrated… More sugar so more sodium so better hydration? Keep up with me, people.

When I started working in restaurants some odd years back, one of the labels I used to love to sell was Sokol Blosser. The label is quaint and simple yet refined and distinctive. Good taste – literally and figuratively. Sokol Blosser, with a hefty case load of 85,000 a year, is not my traditional root-for-the-little-guy garagiste that I usually like to push but it is an age-old classic for me.

Evolution, a side label for Sokol Blosser, was one of the first white wines I was introduced to, courtesy of my madre.

Starting out, I loved BIG. Big tannins, big fruit, big mouthful, big hangover. Now after consuming wine legally (and not so legally prior to that), I still have leftovers of and inklings for my old favorites but am open to trying most things alcohol. Evolution was one of my first “outside the box” wines.

Blend: Muller-Thurgau, White Riesling, Semillon, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner.

Origins, respectively: Germany, Germany, France, France, Germany, Mediterraneanish/everywhere, France, Germany/everywhere, Austriaish.

Year: The “12th Edition” of the Evolution indicates a possible multi-vintage of juices used for this blend, but no source can quite confirm this.

Take that for outside the box.

Unique and a multi-tasker, one might compare this wine to a certain wannabe wine critic… Attempting to juggle different varietals from different regions, all the while maintaining balance between prominent characteristics and qualities of each grape. Likewise, said critic might have something big coming up soon but also has to work bill-paying job, write about and consume wine, perpetuate social life and relationship… Just a random parallel one might suggest…

Reasons why I love this wine, just the way it is:
1) Price is around $18: Follows my cardinal white wine rule: White wine should never be more than $22 (ish) unless it’s a ridiculously rocking French Chardonnay. Disclaimer: There’s always exceptions and I usually contradict myself.
2) Multi-varietal blend: Which means it can’t be simple and should be easy to toss a few back.
3) From Oregon: Which isn’t California.
4) 12% Alcohol: More booze, less sugar. It’s off-dry, so not a mouthful of salt but not a mouthful of sugar either
5) Pair away: Super food friendly and Sokol Blosser not only recommends culinary options to pair with but they include recipes… Very smart, Sokol Blosser family, very smart.

The 12th Edition Evolution had great citrus and acid on the nose, which I think is a great combination because it’s what you’re used to. Brings the ostentatiousness of wine aroma-descriptions down a notch when you can identify a scent to that one time when you squirted yourself in the eye with a lemon. More than that, this nose has layers. Again, how can nine battling varietals ever be subtle?

Apricots, pears, apple and even a slight gravel-like minerality dump out the glass and unfortunately onto my lap.

A swig of tropical fruits causes a bit of nostalgia to those warm days at the end of May that you pray will come back for the 4th of July slash your birthday (which is the 3rd…). Those pears and apple are sturdy and true in this blend, popping out not only in the nose but savoring strong on the palate.

This is the Seattle Rock n’Roll Marathon endorsed wine. Kind of, I endorse it for pre-race nourishment/take the edge off booze because you’re freaking out that you’re going to pull your hamstring and crawl, sobbing and dirty, across the finish line.

Score: 8.