20 Oct Weeknight Pinot Noir – 2019 Underwood
Weeknight wine.
The connotation might be negative. But let’s clear that up now.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a wine
that’s inexpensive and unpretentious.
Eric Asimov, the NY Times’ wonderful wine writer, says it so well.
There are times when we gravitate toward “wines that do not require
rapt attention or prolonged contemplation.”
Weeknight wines are fine…as long as they are palatable.
Every week in our Wine Thursday! feature,
we bring to your attention a wine that is
a good value and is easy to find,
either at your store or online.
This week, we’re checking out a Pinot Noir
that epitomizes what the weeknight wine concept
is all about.
Union Wine, the parent company of the Underwood brand,
is big into cans.
How big?
When their production line is rolling full speed,
Union cranks out up to 700 cans of wine per minute.
Underwood is now one of the largest brands
of canned wine in the country.
Underwood’s bottled wine can (no pun intended) get lost in the shuffle.
That’s unfortunate since the 2019 Pinot Noir is a viable player
in the low-end bottled Pinot category.
Let’s get this straight.
You aren’t going to save this for a special occasion.
It’s a little on the light side.
Nonetheless, this Pinot is juicy, full of fruit flavor
and carries bright acidity and a satisfying tanginess.
It’s 100 per cent Pinot Noir, a mashup of grapes
from several different vineyards.
The blend works…not with Chateaubriand on a Saturday
but with macaroni and cheese on a Wednesday.
We found Underwood 2019 Pinot Noir at Total Wine for $8.99.
Safeway carries it for $11.99.
Fred Meyer and QFC both list it at $12.99.
You can order it from Luekens Wine for $11.99
https://www.luekensliquors.com
The price at Wine Deals.com is $12.99
Wired for Wine’s price is $15.97
and Vivino lists it for $15.97