After last night's battle with the wine list, tonight was an evening for something simple. Dinner became a stew of refrigerator vegetables and left over spicy sausage, the recipe called for a white wine. we are proponents of the don't cook with it if you will not drink it school of thought but there was no intent of a spurge this evening. the dish begged for a crisp and floral wine both in cooking and in accompaniment. we always have basic reliable wines around for this multi-purpose use.

we chose a 2008 california white wine with a southern rhone twist: malvasia bianca, muscat, canelli, viognier, and roussanne. only one producer makes something like this, "big house." this formerly was one of the eclectic wine children of randall grahm and his bonny doon winery; they produced unique wines from an amazing range of grapes for years. nothing has been lost since the sale of the "big house" brand.

this wine has an exceptionally floral nose with hints of melon and tropical fruits. its taste is crisp and features apricots and peaches. the finish focuses on the apricot and a hint of lemon. the wine is perfectly balanced. residual sweetness is offset by acidity. the final tanginess leads into a finish of lemons.

this wine is, as are all of the "big house" and "bonny doon" wines, a reliable quaff. they are consistent and predictable and do not break the wine budget. and, it is available nearly everywhere.

for tomorrow, maybe california has a "big brother" for this wine child by a different producer. we will see.