A COUPLE OF weekends ago I scored a couple of passes to the Trade Tasting at UNLVino. If you’re as into wine as I am, this is like Christmas coming early. Let me say right now there is no possible way any human being could taste all the wines being poured. My friend and I only hit a fraction of them, and we still HAD to take a cab home. (Sure I could have spit like a pro, but that just slipped my mind.)

What did we taste? Well, after a quick lap of the floor, we decided to start with the bubblies. And there were plenty of them, both French Champagne and CA sparkling wines. The standouts were Nicholas Fueliette (which we serve at Red Rock Resort and Green Valley Ranch), Perrier Jouet (especially the “Flower Bottle”), and Lanson. Any of these would be great on our warm Vegas nights.

Get details on Rock n’ Roll Wine Reggae Pool Party at Green Valley Ranch on April 30

And that set our plan of attack for the rest of the night — white wines that would be great for summer. After all, the heat will be here before we know it, right? (Apologies to the Red Wine Only crowd, but that’s what we did.) Like assault troops, we hit the floor, seeking and swilling any interesting white we saw. French, German, New Zealand, Californian (but no big, buttery chardonnays), Australian, even South African.

The standouts? Well, it’s kinda foggy, but the dry German rieslings stole the show, especially those from Robert Weil’s and Phillips Eckstein. They were crisp, vibrant and made my mouth water. There were also great sauvignon blancs from New Zealand that had the same characteristics, but different flavors. And all of them would be perfect summer’s wines. Great with grilled shrimp, shrimp or chicken. Salads with goat cheese and smoked salmon. Oysters on the half, crab, even spicy Thai or Chinese takeout.

Next time you’re in one of our restaurants, try one. We usually have a good NZ sav blanc or riesling by the glass.

Hey, you could discover a new favorite just in time for summer.

Cheers,
Jeff Perry
Sr. Ad Writer, Station Casinos

Link Ups

• Wine list at Sunset Station’s Sonoma Cellar
• Wine list at Palace Station’s Pasta Palace
• More Wine & Dine with jeffstations