Hello -- this is Gerry, and Gigi let me barge into her Wine Shelf to talk about my new favorite wine: Castello Del Poggio Moscato.

Readers, as well as Gigi in the 561 listeners, know how our tastes differ. While Gigi likes savory, I like sweet. If you want to get technical, Google AI tells us:

"Humans do not have individual 'sweet taste buds' but rather taste buds that can detect sweet taste. The number of taste buds on the tongue varies, but an average human has between 2,000 and 10,000 taste buds. Each taste bud contains around 50-100 taste receptor cells, which detect different tastes, including sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami."

​When it comes to describing the subtleties of the taste -- are there notes of peaches and melon, acidity, oakiness, tannins (whatever that is -- I'm not sure I want to know) -- I'm like Jack in "Sideways": 'When do we taste it?"

If pressed, I would say the Castello Del Poggio is sweet without being overbearingly sweet. It's crisp, and full-bodied. Like all white wines, it is best served cold. They recommend a temperature in the low 50s, but I'm fine to go lower. The colder the better, in my book.

We have found it in the Walmart wine section for $9.99, and Total Wine has it for a dollar more. Very affordable, which I think qualifies it for Gigi's Wine Shelf, and mine.

The motto for Castello Del Poggio is "enjoy the sweet life" -- La Dolce Vita.

I'll drink to that.

Wine snobbery is not my thing, but discussing good buys on good wine, now that is my thing. So, let's get cheap, winely (yes, I'm not too proud to make up words) speaking.

It seems there are conflicting opinions on the Marlborough wine growing region in New Zealand. If we ever go there, I will decide for myself what they are really famous for -- red or white.

However, for today let's focus on the Costco brand, Kirkland, and more specifically white, Sauvignon Blanc (translation: Wild White).

This store brand lands near the $10 price point, so I decided to give it try. The green bottle and generic label are not what peaked my interest. My shelf was calling.


So, first, let's stop for a brief moment and discuss the Marlborough region. It seems this region is know for soils and climate enabling growers to create very fine wine.

Now, red wine drinkers will probably chime in here and say New Zealand's most famous wines are Merlot and Syrah. Well, I love a good debate, but living in the warm clime of South Florida, a very chilled white Sauvignon is my choice. I will sip a Chardonnay, to be pleasant in a social setting, I mean manners matter.

Although we have a wine chiller, I prefer to pop white wine directly into a full-on refrigerator to generate a bold-cold that is perfect for my taste.

Popping the screw-top off, I poured this Kirkland Signature Ti Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blance into a properly chilled stemmed (don't get me started on stemless wine glasses) white wine glass, and sipped. My first impression was about the color, which was light and bright. As I sipped, the fruity aromas were instantly present. This varietal was brimming with lemon, pineapple, melon, with a touch of apple and guava. What's not to love, right?

Actually, I found this wine very similar to Nobilo in both taste and price, but this one has a hint more acidity.

There are over 150 wineries in New Zealand. This Sauvignon Blanc is produced by Ti Point wines, creating grape-goodness for over 30 years.

So, is it a Chill or Swill?

#Chill.