Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Catching Up Part II

See, I told you I would be doing this more regularly. I do it for myself as much as anyone else so I can use it as a reference because God knows with Mommy brain, I can't remember anything.

My first wine today is another Chardonnay. Like I said, I am giving them another try after not really being much of a fan. This one is a 2008 By Star Tree. It's from the North Cape of South Africa and my trusty Total Wine had it for around $8. This particular Chardonnay is unwooded. It was a lovely cleat slightly deeper yellow. The aroma was that of tropical fruit and the taste was light and crisp with hints of pineapple and citrus. It had a long, smooth finish. I drank it alone but I think it would be perfect with chicken or shrimp.

My next wine is a Pinot Grigio which is another wine I kind of got away from for a bit. It wasn't because I didn't like it I just didn't think to buy it. This one was a 2009 by Kiwi Cuvee and came from Germany although it seems their different varieties come from different countries (although none from New Zealand despite the name). The color was a medium straw yellow and it had bright aromas of apple and pear. It was slightly sweet at first and them became slightly acidic which balanced out the fruit flavors. I drank it alone but I think it would go well with spicy or Asian food.

A few weeks later, we also tried Kiwi Cuvee's 2008 Pinot Noir which was from the Loire Valley of France. It was deep garnet in color with aromas of berries and a hint of cherry. It was well balanced with a hint of sweetness with light tannins in the finish. We drank it with flank steak and it was lovely pairing.

My last wine for today is also a red. It's a 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon by Brisandes which is located in the Colchaqua Valley in Chile. It cost just around $10. It was a deep burgundy with a lovely aroma of dark berries and currants. It was fruity and well balanced with flavors of cherry and a soft tannin finish. I drank it alone but pairing recommendations included barbecue and red meats.

OK, enough for today. My kids are making me buts and I think it's about time to pour a glass of wine!

Monday, August 9, 2010

I Have Some Catching Up To Do

Yes, I'm back. I apologize for the extended absence but life gets crazy at times. I have tried MANY new wines since I last posted. I have tried to journal as many as I could so I could blog about them and I have quite a list so I guess I better get to it!

The first one is a white from Argentina. Maipe winery is in Salta, Argentina which is in the Lerma Valley in the foothills of the Andes. The winery is named for the Lord of the Winds in ancient Andean Indian Culture and the bottle label reflected this. The variety I tried was their 2009 Torrontes (I blogged about another Torrontes below) and it was about $10. It was a pale yellow with wonderful floral aromas. It made me think of summer. I also detected hints of citrus, mainly lemon and orange as well as hints of peach. It was refreshing with a bright acidity, and plenty of body. It was pleasantly fresh with fruit and citrus notes. I drank it alone but it would be wonderful with seafood such as shrimp or scallops. It would be lovely with spicy food as well.

The second one is a red by Anakena in the Aconcaqua Valley in Central Chile. I often drink the Sauvignon Blanc (which I blogged about below) so I thought I would give their 2008 Carmenère a try. It was VERY reasonable at around $9. The color was a beautiful deep read...almost a dark cherry color with aromas of dark berries and chocolate. It had a fruity palate with a nice, spicy finish. I drank it with steak but other recommendations were game, pasta and cheese. It went very well with the steak.

The last one for today is a Chardonnay. Now, I was never a real fan of Chardonnay but I decided to give it another try. I picked up 2008 Muirwood Chardonnay from Monterey County at Total Wine for around $10. It had aromas of citrus and was bright and acidic with tropical fruit flavors and hints of butter. It had a nice smooth finish. I drank it alone but it would be wonderful with grilled chicken. It renewed my faith in Chardonnays so I will definitely be trying more.

I have tons of other wines to catch up on so there will be more very soon!