A great blend of wine and wisdom
Hello All – been a while. I’ve been drinking wine but not blogging. I drink wine then forget to blog. I’m not the first person with this issue. I drank a glass or two of the 2014 Mer Soleil Chardonnay. Mer Soleil represents the sea and the sun. This was a good Chardonnay with notes of butter, apple and melon. This is from the Monterey area. I’d recommend it and you can find it in many stores. You can find it for $20.00 or so. I hope you all have a good rest of the week and weekend.
Hello All and Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Patriots or Eagles? Shall we, as Patriots, ride out on horses to alert of the British or fly free on the wings of Eagles? Over the top? Yeah I think so too. I can’t find the passion for this particular Super Bowl match up so made up for it in a fictional reference. I dare say I’m deflated about this game. I did have a great dinner with friends last night and we enjoyed wine of course. We tried the 2015 Alexander Valley Cabernet Franc. It had pepper on the nose and then slight hints of cocoa and vanilla. There was a mineral quality about it. The decision was split on this wine. My sister and I liked it but our friends didn’t like it as much. I thought it was a nice medium-bodied wine without heavy tannins. You can find this wine for around $20.00 per bottle in grocery stores. Everybody has their preferred winner. I hope your preferred winner comes out on top no matter which team it is. Have a great week!
Hello Everyone! I hope you all have had an outstanding week and weekend. I was able to catch up with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while a few weeks ago. As is typical with the three of us, we closed the place down. No swinging from the chandeliers or anything, but more just talking and lots of laughing. Those are the best kinds of crazy nights, right? I decided to try a Bordeaux, which is not one of my standard orders. It was the 2014 Chateau Blouin Bordeaux. This is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes from the Bordeaux Contrôlée in France. This area is made up of seven different appellations that are certified as protected designation of origin where a given product must be manufactured and must be done so within a defined set of standards. Enough of the official review, now let’s get to how this wine tastes We ordered a charcuterie board and this wine went well with it. The wine has a slight sour or earthy note to it at front, but really blends into a dark cherry and slight pepper taste on the back end. Those notes make it compliment the sharper cheeses and richer meats, but I’m not sure I’d drink it on its own. This wine might not be for everyone given the initial taste, but it paired well with the richer items. I conducted a search online and discovered you can find this wine through Vivino or Wine Searcher, but it isn’t widely distributed. That will just mean that I need to find another Bordeaux that folks can find in stores and review it. Darn the luck. On that tasting note, have a great week!
We’re officially into the new year, so back to work, exercise, and budgeting. January is not my favorite month. It’s after the holidays, it’s cold and full of resolutions. Resolution has a few meanings per Merriam-Webster. It can mean “the act of determining” such as a when someone makes a New Year’s Resolution. It can also mean “the point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out”. The resolution to my resolution has been worked out – I’m not making a resolution and saving myself from a “chief dramatic complication”. I want to talk about something more exciting anyway. I want to talk about wine. Shocking huh. I tried the 2016 Old Cannery Row Monterey County Chardonnay over the holidays. This wine is from the Wagner Family who also make Conundrum wines. I caught a slight musty smell to it, but that smell didn’t reflect in the overall taste. I tasted notes of apricot and apple. It was a medium-bodied, oaky Chardonnay which is what I enjoy. I would recommend this wine if you like an oaky Chardonnay. It went well with a chicken dish as well as cheese. You could drink it on its own as well. You can find it at Total Wines for $19.99 per bottle.
Hi All! I hope you enjoyed an outstanding Christmas with your family and friends. We’re now coming up to New Year’s, so I thought I’d bring in a sparkling wine to review. I chose the Louis Bouillot Perle d’Aurore Sparkling Rosé. This particular wine is a combination of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gamay grapes out of the Cremant de Bourgogne region of France. This is a larger appellation within France and can reflect many different terroirs. Terroir is the environmental conditions, especially soil and climate, in which grapes are grown. This diversity as it relates to the grapes within this sparkling rosé give it a bit more character. This rosé is a brut, so is a bit drier, but not too much so. It had notes of dark cherry, apple and maybe even kiwi. The dark cherry may be driven from the Pinot Noir and Gamay with the apple and kiwi originating from the Chardonnay grapes. Their website mentions notes of raspberry and I could denote that as well. This is a good wine on its own, but I decided to try it with my meal last night. One might think my meal included escargot or paté. Nope…my meal was chicken wings. Yeah…I took it there. I’ve gotta say…the sparkling rosé and chicken wings pairing was a white trash/snooty snoot combination delight. The slight apple/kiwi fruitiness complimented the spicier hot wings. Some folks might say I’m too countrified to drink French wine, but I say I’m a renaissance woman combining a global tapestry of flavors. I am not normally a sparkling wine or champagne drinker, but it is New Year’s so want my readers to be prepared for the festivities with a good beverage for celebrating. I would recommend this wine, that you can find at Total Wines and some grocery stores, for around $19.00 per bottle. Have a safe and Happy New Year!!
Happy Holidays!! I hope you have completed all of your shopping and are not encountering the masses at the mall. If, however, you’re just now getting out to complete your shopping effort, here are some recommendations that might spur you along to gift-giving glory. I’m going to list wines of various varietals and price points as well as make a couple of wine accessory recommendations to help you along your merry way.
Whites:
Reds:
You could always give wine accessories too. I hear that some people don’t actually finish a bottle of wine in one sitting. For those folks, a wine stopper would be a great addition to their kitchen or bar. The best wine stoppers are the functional ones. The truly functional ones will allow a person to lay the wine on its side in the fridge without its leaking. The decorative ones are great to look at, but many do not really seal that well. A second wine accessory option is just a really good wine opener. You can find good ones without having to spend $50. However, the battery-operated or electric openers would have probably saved me from carpal tunnel. A third option for those who love reds would be a nice decanter or wine aerator. Letting a good red breathe makes a big difference…for those with patience. Finally, the gift of yourself can make the biggest difference of all. The holidays are a great time of year for many, but not for all. Spending time with those going through difficult times during the holidays can be the most special gift you can give. Merry Christmas and blessings to you and yours!
Hello Everyone! I hope you’ve had a great weekend and were able to enjoy some colder, more appropriate temperatures for this time of the year. I’m going to review a wine that really accents lighter foods you might enjoy in the summer months, but can accent some good food for this time of the year as well. I’m reviewing a Pinot Gris. A Pinot Gris utilizes the same grape varietal as the Pinot Grigio, but the wine can differ in body and taste. The grape varietal is part of the Pinot family with this grape typically being a bluish-gray color. This mutant of the Pinot family originated in France where the French called the result Pinot Gris. Gris is the French word for gray. The Italian word for gray is grigio resulting in their calling it Pinot Grigio. There is a variation on how the French and Italians treat the grape after harvest. The French created a bit more of a full-bodied wine, but the Italians helped shape a lighter-bodied wine. Now that I’ve queued that up, I’ll globe trot a bit and talk about a Pinot Gris from Oregon. The 2015 Joel Gott Oregon Pinot Gris is a light to medium wine with some acidity you might find in the typical French wine. It has hints of apple, some lemon essence, and overtones of grass. It paired well with salad, raw vegetables, Swiss cheese, and a lemon bar. The lemon bar was thrown in there because mom made some earlier and I can’t resist them. The pairing worked really well though. Happy accident there. I would recommend this wine with some lighter appetizers, cheeses, and desserts which you might find at some Christmas parties (see above for this being a good accent for some foods this time of year). You could also pair it with some lighter chicken and fish dishes. I enjoyed this Pinot Gris and would recommend it. You can find it at some grocery stores for around $14 per bottle. Have a great week!
Hello Everyone! I hope you all are having a good week and preparing for a great Thanksgiving with family and friends. When I think Thanksgiving dinner, I think wine. Let’s face it…I could think cardboard recycling facility and I could think wine. Nonetheless, if you are looking for varietals that pair well then dry white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier or Chardonnay are good choices. If you’re more of a red wine drinker, then a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, or Beaujolais would be good. You can find any of those wines at your local grocery store at any price point. Whatever wine you drink this holiday, drink it with the people you love. Giving thanks while in the presence of people you love is the best pairing of all. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
Hi All. I hope you have had a great couple of weeks. Fall is definitely upon us, so here in Texas that means seventy degree weather. I’m not sure the leaves know it’s Fall, but they’re just tired. I tried a 2013 Willamette Valley Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir to celebrate the jump into Not-So-Fall. I opened it and took a taste prior to letting it breathe and found it to be…meh. It then breathed a bit and I tried it again, but it remained about the same. It is smooth, but there is really no distinct taste to it. It isn’t peppery like a Pinot Noir which is one of the things I like about Pinot’s. There was a blackberry essence on the back end, but that’s about it. I tried it with some spaghetti and meatballs and it did complimented it pretty well though. Fall in Texas…you just sort of look around and realize it’s Fall. With this wine, you just drink half a glass then realize you’ve had some wine. Like I’ve said before, everyone has their own tastes, so someone who likes a milder red, might enjoy this. You can find it at some grocery stores for around $27.00 per bottle.
Bonjour mes amis! And that’s about it for my French-speaking abilities. A group of friends and I decided to have a French-themed dinner party last night. We all found our inner Child…get it… Julia Child?? I attempted a Beef Bourguignon and it wasn’t too bad at all. The most impressive thing is that I didn’t burn down the house when I lit it on fire to burn off the Cognac. When I go in, I go all in. The French Onion Soup, Spinach Soufflé and Chocolate Mousse were really good….thanks to Elizabeth, Martha and Jenna. If we’re going to have French food, then we need good French wine, so that brings me to today’s review. I took a 2014 Chateau De Segries Cotes du Rhone Grenache. The Cotes du Rhone region is an appellation in the Rhone Valley in France where they make some really good red, rosé and white wines. This label just highlighted the name Cotes du Rhone, as do some of the wines from this region, and may be a blend of grapes. The red wines, in particular, can originate from Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Carignane, Counoise and Mourvèdre grapes. The Chateau De Segries had hints of raspberry and black cherry, but wasn’t too fruit forward. There was a hint of pepper up front with a smooth transition into the slight fruit on the back end. It paired great with Raclette and Manchego cheeses as well as the meal. We paired it with a very strong cheese that tasted like what a rancid toe smells like and it did the best it could there. I would recommend this wine for anyone who enjoys a good peppery red and wants to step out and enjoy this good French wine. You can find it at Total Wines for $16.49 per bottle. Have a great week!
