BevMo has it for 13.99. Wine.com had it for 16.99 - it’s sold out.
Some review info:
BevMo - 86 PTS WILFRED WONG. Bracing and bright, the brisk '04 La Famiglia Pinot Grigio underscores how exciting this varietal can be; serve with shrimp on toasted baguette.
Wone.com - This is a refreshing wine to sip alone or enjoy with a variety of foods, such as seared Ahi tuna, ceviche or vegetarian spring rolls.
Nomerlot.com - This vintage of La Famiglia’s Pinot Grigio has wonderful weight and complexity on the palate, with an abundance of fruit flavors, including apple, citrus and lemon zest, blended into the seduction of mineral, floral and spice nuances. The crisp, dry flavors (of which I’ve always been a fan) culminate into a burst of tangerine during its rather long, and surprisingly smooth finish. It is imperative to gently press Pinot Grigio grapes immediately after harvesting so minimal color is extracted from the coppery-colored skins, a feat La Famiglia’s 2003 white pinot accomplishes with amazing perfection. The wine’s fresh, crisp character adds to enjoyment on the palate, while paired with oysters or sushi.
Perhaps I’m biased, being a native Califuxian, but my experience with US wines produced outside the CA-OR-WA corridor have been less than stellar. On a recent side trip to Niagara Falls for example, I was forced by my choice of restaurant (an unfortunate choice, as it turned out) to pick from locally-produced wine (it was the only wine they carried!). I asked for the “Best red the area produces” and was steered toward a Pinot Noir, which the waiter proudly held up as the finest example of the region’s best efforts. Well, perhaps the locals are a bit too fond of their own juice - to me it tasted like watered-down concord grape juice with a bit of dirt thrown in for “complexity”. The 9.5% alcohol content should have been my first hint…
In all seriousness, I embrace diviersity of choice in wines - I’d love to see some interesting regional wines from areas outside CA-OR-WA, so I actually agree with the sentiment of your post. I just couldn’t resist the temptation to share my recent experience with non-CA-OR-WA wines…
I liked the part of the description where it talked about beans! (2004 Pinto Grigio)
As far as woot offering wines from CA, check the “what is woot?” link on the top of your page, and read the part a couple of paragraphs down about where they find these deals (and check Wine Country Connect’s link). This will explain it all for you.
I would also like to see deals from other areas, but until they find another source like Wine Country, we will all have to settle for CA wines! (Not that I am complaining… )
IANAA (am not an admin), but I think it has to do with the fact that woot doesn’t actually ship the wines – they only facilitate the sales. The wines are actually shipped by the wineries and their distributors, and they all have different permits, etc.
Grand scheme of things – blame your state’s congress
Love the site; my ‘Little Vineyards’ order arrived here in Norfolk, VA about fifteen minutes ago - the selection from week-before-last.
The wife has forbidden me to participate this week - something about prioritizing… She wants to first pay for repairs after a branch dropped through the roof of our house and through the living room ceiling during Ernesto; are her priorities messed up :>/
I’m always looking for suggestions - lol, I’m the guy that wanders aimlessly through the ‘Wine Barn’ for thirty minutes and usually winds up getting the same bottle of ‘Fetzer’. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… I like Fetzer, damn it.
A friend recently suggested a couple under $10 wines; I’m wondering if anyone here has tried them: One was Ravenswood Zin Vintner’s Blend. The other was a Chilean wine (actually he said several were quite good), but iirc he liked Conch y toro.
It may be that I’ll have to hunt the bargain bin for a while until I put my house in order, err, literally.
Hi gang, thought I would chime in. My brother, Bruce, and I are the proud owners of La Famiglia which we purchased from Robert Mondavi early last year. Like the Mondavi’s we are of Italian descent and thrilled with the opportunity to own and market this delicious Pinot Grigio. We are a small family owned and operated business and you can check out our “roots” at www.armida.com. The La Famiglia wines are now produced here at Armida Winery in Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County. Let me know if you have any questions and we’ll do our best to answer them. Cheers! Steve
Based on reviews online, I picked up one set yesterday and I’m looking forward to trying it. :0) From what I’ve read, your wine speaks for itself and I’m looking forward to the new line.
Honestly? Here’s my problem with buying cheap wine at random at a store. It typically sucks. Several years ago I was on a wine kick and had found a wine that I loved. Bought and drank a ton of it. From that point on, however, it was hit or miss as to whether what I was getting was good or not. (I like heavy reds.) What I discovered is that I was wasting a ton of money by pouring crappy wine down the drain. Ultimately I left wine and went to 7&7 and finally settled in on Gin & Tonic.
Ok…So in the last year or so I had been trying wines here and there and never really found any that were consistently good…I don’t know why it is so hard, honestly. I had started to give it up again when I went to a really nice steak house (I think it was Mortons) and tried some different wines and the water was awesome at choosing ones he thought I’d like based on what I told him I liked about them. That was it, I was hooked again.
Then, at about the same time I got hooked watching Woot.com and one day saw wine.woot.com after having the wine at dinner. My first Wine.Woot was the Macrostie Syrah and I’ve gotten every red since then. All of them have been excellent and I expect the Noceto from last week to potentially be the best thus far.
Anyway…I guess the point of all this is that I have wasted a ton of money by randomly buying wines and then dumping them out. So, I consider the fact that Wine.Woot has tasted and deemed these wines good enough to sell the perfect benchmark for me to go by and so far they haven’t let me down. AND, not only are we getting good wines, but they are priced well, too. It literally is the perfect combination (oh, and top notch customer service) to make Wine.Woot my biggest addiction. But, I guarantee you this…Those wines I have sitting in my wine cooler are fricking awesome. So, now when I want some wine with dinner or just to drink, it’s like walking over to my own personal wine consultant. I can think back to what the wine producers have said about their wines and what I have put in my tasting notes on www.cellartracker.com and get a perfect bottle for the evening.
I’m just another Virginian (Richmond), not some salesman for Woot or any other place…Like I said, I’ve just become passionate about wine and Wine.Woot and the service they are providing to the wineries and to the consumers.
I agree by and large, but for those of us who may be poor grad students, 15-20 dollars for a bottle doesn’t always fit the budget. so it could be nice to have some guidance as to whose found some cheaper wines which are pleasantly good.
