Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2007

One thing I've learned about wine over the few months we've been doing this blog is not to believe everything you read. Especially here. I mean, I can always be counted on to give you an honest opinion, but I'm very democratic about things and am far from being a possessor of any sort of knowledge alien to the average consumer. While I drink wine, I do not purport to know any more about wine than anybody else out there, especially you, dear reader. What I'm saying is this: Don't get all carried away following me to the Kool-Aid stand. Your taste is what matters most when choosing wine, and what we express here are merely our opinions. I don't think they are either right or wrong, they're just opinions. And we hope sometimes we're funny.

Before I move on, though, I need to make this disclaimer: Joy is brilliant and always right about everything.

Okay, anyway, I state this to make a point. I am one guy with an opinion, and whenever I am looking to post a review I look for some other opinions out there to try to get a sense for what people are saying. What I find is that I frequently disagree with lots of opinions that are out there. And with good reason. Consumer guidance about wine is, on some level, ridiculous. It changes year to year to year. While some houses may be better than others, they all can frequently suck, and when a wine is reviewed, I firmly believe half the time the reviewer is critiquing the wine's reputation more than its drinkability. Names matter. Reputations matter. But nothing matters more than your nose and taste buds. If you like something, like it. If you don't, I find spit-takes always make for hilarious fun at wine-tastings.

Today I'm reviewing Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2007 from New Zealand. Doing some research, I've noticed Villa Maria has won a few awards in the past. But I don't like this wine that much. Granted, as whites go, it's infinitely better than the burnt-rubber Floria Joy just reviewed, but it's nothing spectacular. It's quite earthy, with a leafy aroma that brings an image to my mind of boiled cabbage. I should be smelling gooseberry or passion fruit, according to the label, but no, I smell boiled cabbage. What does a gooseberry smell like, anyway? Boiled cabbage? Blech, I'll pass. It does get a little fruitier once you take it into the mouth, but it's nothing spectacular. A little sour, but basically pleasant as new-mown grass.

Unfortunately, Joy gave the Floria a very benignant 5 in her last post, so using the scale she apparently used, this wine is about a 15. But no, wait, let's be realistic here. I give it a 6 out of 10.

Wine.com, $9.99