Need help in selecting a white wine

[stevebody]

Culi,

A lot of the better Viognier does go for $20+ a bottle but a lot doesn't. Doug's little gem, the regular cuvee, is about $16. There is a Beringer that's oaked but very nice at about the same price, and an oaked Montpellier that would horrify IK but is just CRAMMED with authentic varietal character for only $6! There is a lovely unoaked Luc Pirlet from France that goes for around $10 and the list goes on and on. Try some.

NEVER said you can't find the three V's here in Seattle, just that they are not as prevalent as Soave, Arneis, Greco, and most of the other Italian whites. In fact, in tastings at Esquin, they just haven't been liked enough to justify stocking a whole lot of them. The Vermintinos that I've tried have been pretty generally insipid, really.

KC-
Fume - without the T - is indeed both a sauce and a sauce base. My own culinary education included an early stint with Paul Prudhomme at K-Paul's in N.O. and we used said fume every single day. Maybe the lack of consensus is a matter of cultural differences? At any rate, I've yet to meet a chef here in Sea-patch who doesn't know and use fume. I've seen it spelled with the T and I suppose the French would use that term but we's all Americans here and you know how us Yankees mangle the sainted French tongue.

Tip: For anyone who hasn't tried the Botromagno Gravina, DO IT now! At about $7, it's a 60/40 Greco/Malvasia blend that combines a broad flavor palate with a wonderful lightness and delicacy. Parker gushes over it annually and I sell the Bejesus out of it.