Monday, January 25, 2010

All Over The Globe

I have been expanding my horizons and trying more reds. I am partial to cabernet sauvignon but I thought I would expand and try some new varietals. I also picked up a new white wine I want to share as well.

I'll start with a chianti. Now chianti is not new to me but it had been awhile since I had some and I was making homemade tomato sauce and I figured that would be a great addition. So I picked up Fratelli d'Italia Chianti which was $8. I used it in the sauce and then had it later with the dish I made with the sauce (Braciole). It was very good for an $8 wine with an aroma of plums and a fruity aftertaste. It went well with the Braciole.

The second red I tried was one I had actually seen on TV. I am an AVID fan of the show "Three Sheets" with Zane Lamprey. It's on Fine Living and I LOVE it and him. On a recent episode where he went to South Africa, Zane visited a winery that made a wine out of grapes similar to those grown in Rhone. He also had goats that he claimed could pick out the best grapes so as a play on Côtes du Rhône he called his wines Goats Do Roam. I tried the Western Cape Variety. It was $8 at our Total Wine and I was eager to try it. It was excellent...a nice, earthy red with light tannins and a hint of cherry. I drank it alone but I think it would be good with tomato sauce based dishes. The winery also makes a white and a rosé which I can' wait to try.

As you may have guessed from a couple of my other posts, if I see a display with a wine that is, well, cheap, I try it. I figure why not? And so far, so good. This past Friday night Total Wine had a display up front with bottles of Nobilis Vinho Verde from Portugal. It was $7 so I grabbed one. I was pleasantly surprised by how different it was. It was very light, crisp and slightly acidic with a little sparkle. I imagine it would go well with seafood. I drank it alone and could see myself enjoying it on a hot summer night. This will definitely go on my list of regulars. You can't beat the price!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

A Mixed Bag

Over the last couple of weeks I have tried a few wines. I am behind on blogging about them. I need to be better about that.

We tried several new sparkling wines. I picked up a bottle of the Rondel Pura Raza Semu Seco Cava which was a steal at $8. It was very good. Sweeter than the other Pura Raza, as the name suggests which I like better. We also tried the Rosé Semi Seco which was excellent and was also $8. We picked up another rosé cava at the same time as the non rosé Rondel. It was Marques de Monistrol Rosé Brut. It was a little more at $10 but also very good. My husband prefers Brut so he liked it a lot.

My husband is a fan of red wine and as you already know, I like it well enough but I prefer a good white. He picked out a new cabernet sauvignon...a 2005 Steel Creek Cabernet which was $10. We had it with flank steak and I have to say, it was really good. It was full-bodied with a taste of blackberry and hints of pumpkin pie spice. I would definitely get it again.

The last new one we tried was a white by Mendoza Station which is in Mendoza, Argentina in the foothills of the Andes. It was on display at Total Wine and was selling for $6. I thought "What the heck?" They had both reds and whites on display so I picked up the 2008 Torrontes which was a variety I had never tried. It was excellent for a $6 wine. It was full bodied and had hints of rose and orange peel. I drank it alone but it the label indicated it would go well with grilled vegetables or seafood dishes so the next time I pick it up I'll try it with one of those.

Well, that's all for now but I have 2 reds that I will be trying this week and I will try to be blog about as soon as possible. In the meantime, happy drinking!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Red, Red Wine

I will freely admit that I prefer white wine over red but I do appreciate a good red, especially with red meat. I picked up a couple new ones and tried them over the last week and I found both of them to be very good.

The first one I tried was a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon by Lotus Winery in California. I served this with our New Year's Day dinner which was prime rib with mashed potatoes and Caesar Salad. It was very flavorful with hints of berry and cocoa. It was slightly on the sweet side and had a smooth finish. It went very well with the prime rib. It was also a tremendous deal at around $8.

The second one I tried was a 2009 Malbec by Cruz Alta of Mendoza, Argentina. I drank it alone but the recommendation is that is wonderful with grilled meats. It was full-bodied and well balanced with hints of plum. The bottle was around $10. I will definitely get it again and try it with grilled meat.

I slo wanted to pass along this article that I found after my New Year's Eve posting. I wish I had found it before.