Today Cooper told me he wanted to watch "Meatballs." A few weeks ago we went to the dollar theatre and saw "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs." Cooper did great until the last 25 minutes of the movie, and Noah had to take him out of the theatre. So they both missed the ending. We really hadn't talked about the movie since that day, so I was surprised he remembered. So I made an evening of it, and I bought him the movie and made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I bought a Pinot Noir to pair with the red sauce. I was trying to be cheap, so I bought the cheapest one I could find at target, with was a Barefoot for $4.99.
I smelled like cherry and spices, and tasted about the same. For being named "medium bodied" on the bottle, it was a bit bland. I'm not complaining though, because I don't mind bland! It was just drying enough to make you want to take another bite of dinner. It went well with the meatballs, and probably would have went really well with a red meat like steak. For under $5, I thought it was pretty darn good!
Barefoot just released their Pinot Noir last May (first to those who special ordered cases, and then eventually it was released to the stores). Since, it has gotten all 5 star ratings on their website by visiting guests! I'm pretty impressed.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
2008 Columbia Crest Two Vines Gewürztraminer
Tonight we had already eaten "Linner", so we decided to finish the night with crackers and cheese. And of course, after a very long and busy week at work, I really wanted a glass of wine to unwind. I opened a bottle of Gewurtzraminer, not knowing what it was (nor can I pronounce it). Noah tried to train me in German, but I suck at rolling r's and making u's with an O.
ANYWAY, I really enjoyed it, even if I still can't pronounce it. It basically tasted like champagne without the fizz, and maybe a tad bit less sugar. It was very sweet, and very acidic. It would have paired awesome with fresh fruit, like peaches or pears. It went to our head pretty quickly, and with two glasses I was buzzed and ready for bed. I have a bottle of this wine from Chateau too, and I can't wait to drink it and compare.
I did some research on this wine, and I found that the 2008 was a good year. It scored an 87, and was named the "Best Buy" for the year. Here's the description the winemaker has for it:
"Aromas of spice, lychee and rose petals are followed by flavors of grapefruit and white peach. A subtle sweetness and bright acidity marry seamlessly to create this balanced wine."
I gotta say, the grapefruit and peach makes sense, but I didn't smell roses, and I don't even know what a lychee is.
ANYWAY, I really enjoyed it, even if I still can't pronounce it. It basically tasted like champagne without the fizz, and maybe a tad bit less sugar. It was very sweet, and very acidic. It would have paired awesome with fresh fruit, like peaches or pears. It went to our head pretty quickly, and with two glasses I was buzzed and ready for bed. I have a bottle of this wine from Chateau too, and I can't wait to drink it and compare.
I did some research on this wine, and I found that the 2008 was a good year. It scored an 87, and was named the "Best Buy" for the year. Here's the description the winemaker has for it:
"Aromas of spice, lychee and rose petals are followed by flavors of grapefruit and white peach. A subtle sweetness and bright acidity marry seamlessly to create this balanced wine."
I gotta say, the grapefruit and peach makes sense, but I didn't smell roses, and I don't even know what a lychee is.
So here it is! Apparently a lychee is a soapberry. It grows on an evergreen tree in China, Thailand and the Phillipines. It has a hard outer rind, but is similar to the texture of a grape inside (but less juicy). It's apparently sweet and rich in vitamin C. It has a seed in the middle that is poisonous! They've recently started growing them in California, Hawaii, Texas and Florida, and can be bought in worldmarkets in a can. I'm intrigued enough to hunt this down and try them sometime. It might make them easier to identify in wine! 
Monday, February 15, 2010
2008 Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon
This wine we paired with the wonderful home-cooking at Beth's house. She made chicken chow mein, beef and broccoli, rice and pot stickers. The sutter home was fruity, but not very dry. I thought it had a poor aftertaste, and personally switched to drinking the Blanc we had left over from the night before, But Beth and Kayla and Noah seemed to enjoy it.
Noah here! Like Shauna said, we paired this wine with an awesome home made meal of Chinese food! The wine itself was, in my opinion, excellent. It was very full bodied with a long finish that really, well, dried out the mouth. But it did so in a good way. The wine had mild flavors of dark fruit that were not overpowering. It had a bit of spice, but combined with the fruit, it made for an excellent wine.
When combined with the food (especially the chicken chow mein and Beth's home made "fortuneless" cookies) the wine complemented perfectly. Of course after a couple glasses of this and a couple glasses of the other 4 bottles we shared that night, it's had to recall all the details of this wine.
Overall, I was very impressed with this wine. Especially considering it was literally the cheapest red wine I could find at the Albertson's I picked it up at.
Noah here! Like Shauna said, we paired this wine with an awesome home made meal of Chinese food! The wine itself was, in my opinion, excellent. It was very full bodied with a long finish that really, well, dried out the mouth. But it did so in a good way. The wine had mild flavors of dark fruit that were not overpowering. It had a bit of spice, but combined with the fruit, it made for an excellent wine.
When combined with the food (especially the chicken chow mein and Beth's home made "fortuneless" cookies) the wine complemented perfectly. Of course after a couple glasses of this and a couple glasses of the other 4 bottles we shared that night, it's had to recall all the details of this wine.
Overall, I was very impressed with this wine. Especially considering it was literally the cheapest red wine I could find at the Albertson's I picked it up at.
Friday, February 12, 2010
2008 Chateau Ste Michelle Sauvignon Blanc
Noah and I opened this bottle we got from the winery tour to enjoy with dinner. It was a "nothing special" kind of night for dinner, and I felt silly pairing wine with chicken nuggets....but I could really use a glass of wine to relax sometimes!
This wine was superb! It was acidic and crisp, but not too sweet to enjoy with dinner. You could definitely taste the melon and pear in the wine. It had NO aftertaste, just a clean cut finish. I really liked it, and had it again a few nights later! Yum!
This wine was superb! It was acidic and crisp, but not too sweet to enjoy with dinner. You could definitely taste the melon and pear in the wine. It had NO aftertaste, just a clean cut finish. I really liked it, and had it again a few nights later! Yum!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Lucky Duck Cabernet Sauvignon
To kick off Superbowl, we opened a bottle of Lucky Duck. It's a cheapo $4.00 wine at Wal-mart, but I figured it was worth a try. It's a chilean wine, which commonly is known for "cheap" wine. However, I read somewhere recently that the weather is gradually improving in Chile, allowing it to produce higher quality wines.
It's a very dark wine. It smelled sweet, but wasn't quite as sweet as I predicted. It had a lot of cherry flavor and some berry tastes too. It had a rich, drying feeling, and not much of an aftertaste. Although red wine is supposed to be served at room temperature, I couldn't help but wonder if it would be better chilled. We were drinking it with snacky appetizers, like buffalo wings and chips. I didn't much like sipping it, but thought maybe it was because I paired it wrong.
A few days later, I had a glass with dinner, and we had it with pizza. It tasted better this time around. I'm not sure if it was because of a better food pairing, or if it was simply because the wine had been open for a few days. Either way, the wine itself was a decent $4.00 spent.
It's a very dark wine. It smelled sweet, but wasn't quite as sweet as I predicted. It had a lot of cherry flavor and some berry tastes too. It had a rich, drying feeling, and not much of an aftertaste. Although red wine is supposed to be served at room temperature, I couldn't help but wonder if it would be better chilled. We were drinking it with snacky appetizers, like buffalo wings and chips. I didn't much like sipping it, but thought maybe it was because I paired it wrong.
A few days later, I had a glass with dinner, and we had it with pizza. It tasted better this time around. I'm not sure if it was because of a better food pairing, or if it was simply because the wine had been open for a few days. Either way, the wine itself was a decent $4.00 spent.
Friday, February 5, 2010
2008 Columbia Concord
Ryan and Megan were over for the weekend as well. Ryan brought a big bottle of wine with him. They have a friend who works at a vineyard over in the Tri-cities. She bottled her own sampling of a Concord wine. I'd never heard of concord (outside of your basic grape juice!) so I was more than willing to try.
My Dad and I poured ourselves 2 glasses, and immediately responded with, a "wow" when we swirled and smelled it. It was super duper sweet smelling. No surprise, it was just as sweet. I couldn't even drink it. It was like dumping a cup of sugar into a bottle of Boones Farm. I guess that makes sense, as concord grapes are used to make Welches grape juice, jellies and jams. But still...WOW. So sweet. I think I may have loved it in my early days of drinking, back when I could drink Boones Farm and wine coolers. But that stuff is just so sweet, it makes my stomach turn now. Dad and I passed our glasses on to Megan and Kelly. They loved it. Between Megan, Ryan and Kelly...i think they finished that giant bottle of wine. Phew!
2008 Vintage Chateau Ste Michelle Dry Riesling
This was a bottle we bought at the winery after we did our first tasting. I LOVED it, and just HAD to bring home a bottle. I was happy to share it with my family. My sisters like wine, but they prefer your sweet and white wines. I thought this was a good choice to draw them into the drier wines, without jumping into something too bold.
The winery describes this as a dry style Riesling with refreshing aromas of citrus, melon and peach coupled with crisp green apple notes. It smells great! I love Riesling, but it is much too sweet to drink with dinner. This is perfect, as it is dry enough to pair with just about any dinner. I had it with a steak and shrimp and it was amazing! It has a very clean, dry finish. I think I enjoyed it this time around even more than at the winery. I'm guessing because I had it with a meal.
The winery describes this as a dry style Riesling with refreshing aromas of citrus, melon and peach coupled with crisp green apple notes. It smells great! I love Riesling, but it is much too sweet to drink with dinner. This is perfect, as it is dry enough to pair with just about any dinner. I had it with a steak and shrimp and it was amazing! It has a very clean, dry finish. I think I enjoyed it this time around even more than at the winery. I'm guessing because I had it with a meal.
2007 Red Guitar Navarra Old Vine Tempranillo/Garnacha
We drank this bottle at the same event at my parents house. Noah picked it up at the grocery store on his way over after work.
This wine is 55% Tempranillo and 45% Garnacha. The grapes come from the Navarra region of Spain. It smelled very sweet for a dark red wine. It definitely had a sweet taste to it, but not in the way I expected. It was still very drying, and very bold with dark berries and currants. It also kind of tasted like pepper. yuck. The after taste was too lasting for me, and the more I drank, the more I disliked it. That's a shame. Usually after a few tastes, it gets better. Of course, I was drinking this AFTER a glass of Dry Reisling, and after a glass of normal Reisling. Probably not the best order to drink it in.
I tried another glass of it a few days later, and it did NOT hold well in the fridge. It tasted like peppered dill. Yuck.
This wine is 55% Tempranillo and 45% Garnacha. The grapes come from the Navarra region of Spain. It smelled very sweet for a dark red wine. It definitely had a sweet taste to it, but not in the way I expected. It was still very drying, and very bold with dark berries and currants. It also kind of tasted like pepper. yuck. The after taste was too lasting for me, and the more I drank, the more I disliked it. That's a shame. Usually after a few tastes, it gets better. Of course, I was drinking this AFTER a glass of Dry Reisling, and after a glass of normal Reisling. Probably not the best order to drink it in.
I tried another glass of it a few days later, and it did NOT hold well in the fridge. It tasted like peppered dill. Yuck.
2001 Barrell Select Covey Run Syrah
Last Saturday we had a family get together at my parent's house. My dad made prime rib, and Noah and I provided wine for everyone to taste. We finally opened our Covey Run Syrah. We have had it since Cooper was a baby!
First off, I couldn't find tasting notes for it. The Covey Run website has tasting notes for "all its past varieties" except apparently they don't! But overall, it is a VERY dark wine. It was slightly acidic, and very heavy-bodied for my taste. It was very deep and dark, like cherries and pomergranate, but with not much sweetness to balance it. It was interesting because so far, most of the dark wines we have tried have also been very dry. This didn't leave that "suck your mouth dry" feeling in your mouth. It was interesting. Noah really really liked it. I found it too bold. Guess my taste buds just aren't ready for it!
First off, I couldn't find tasting notes for it. The Covey Run website has tasting notes for "all its past varieties" except apparently they don't! But overall, it is a VERY dark wine. It was slightly acidic, and very heavy-bodied for my taste. It was very deep and dark, like cherries and pomergranate, but with not much sweetness to balance it. It was interesting because so far, most of the dark wines we have tried have also been very dry. This didn't leave that "suck your mouth dry" feeling in your mouth. It was interesting. Noah really really liked it. I found it too bold. Guess my taste buds just aren't ready for it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
