Ok, so anyone who knows my wine tastes, knows they RARELY include drinking Merlot. Last night, I made another pot roast, and at the end of the recipe, it suggested that it be paired with Merlot. Now, our favorite winery is in North Stonington, CT ~ Jonathan Edwards Winery. I do love their Merlot, so last time we were there I had picked up a bottle of it.
So, dinner: I went with another crock pot pot roast, due to another very busy day. I put the chuck roast in the crock pot, added a can of mushroom soup, a packet of onion soup mix and some water. Put on high for 5 hours. Done. Dinner is served. Side note, when I first put all that in, it looked disgusting because of the mushroom soup, but the taste was delicious and it didn't look at all the same when completed! Sides were potatoes & green beans. Maybe I should be blogging crock pot recipes as, since I started this, I've made quite a few!
Anyway, the wine, mmmmmmmmm. I had the 2008 Jonathan Edwards Merlot. Word of advice, let it breath before drinking, but it doesn't need too much. I did taste it just after I opened the bottle, and it was a little much. The alcohol content is 14.5%, and you could taste that in the first sip. However, just let it open up even just a little, and you get these wonderful red berry, cherry fruit flavors. Very smooth, very delicious. And, it did compliment the roast fabulously! After dinner, I was hosting a jewelry party at my house and I had served a few different cheeses that it complimented as well.
I had bought a couple cheeses and a meat at Tallmadge Cheese Market, which is located behind the Bellevue Theatre in Upper Montclair, NJ. The selection there is amazing. I bought some Cantalet, which is a French Mountain, cow's milk cheese. It has some sharpness to it (I love, love, love sharp cheeses). We also had Manchego, which is a Spanish goat cheese. This one was aged 12 months - reminds us a little of Parmesan in taste. We usually buy the 6 month aged one at Shoprite, but thought we'd try this. Not only did we enjoy it more, but it's also $1 less a pound that what I get at Shoprite (not to say it's cheap, but it's better AND less expensive). Lastly, I picked up some Calabrese Sausage. He said it was a hot sausage. It had some kick to it, but wasn't as hot as I was expecting. Quite delicious - just enough kick to really enjoy the flavor without overpowering your taste buds ~ leaving your buds to enjoy the delicious Merlot with it all.
All in all, delicious dinner, fantastic wine, yummy cheeses and I earned free jewelry and got a chance to catch up with old friends :)
In Vino Veritas!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Loire Valley & Champagne Tasting
So, last night I finally went on a date with Matt. Especially once school starts, and all the soccer, football, scout schedules start, it gets tough. Anyway, we went to Amanti Vino for a Tasting / Seminar. The speaker was an importer from Nashville, TN. He was quite engaging and fun to listen to. And, we tasted 10 different wines! So, this may take a while. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a pen, so I didn't get to take any notes. So, much of this will be from memory (which, after 10 wines might not be at it's best).
We started with 3 "bubbly" wines. The first, Jean Francois Merieau "Bulles". It was OK. I wouldn't rush off to buy it. The next two were a little different. Donson and Lepage Recolte Blanche ~ when I first tasted this, I was a little put off by the amount of bubbles. Once I got past that first sip, it softened up somewhat. I'm not a big fan of Champagne, but this was nice. Finally, we had the Donson and Lepage Recolte Rose. Now, I also shy away from most "pink" wines. I'm glad I didn't. This was made of 100% Pinot Noir. You could breathe in the strawberry and it tasted delicious. If I were a big spender, I'd keep this around.
Now, onto the white wines, of which there were 5. We started with the Jardin de la Fruitere. Not much to write home about, but I see it as an easy summer sipper. Next, we tasted the Delhommeau Muscadet Cuvee St. Vincent. Description shows notes of lime, thyme, and lemon verbena, honeydew. While I did taste all that, it didn't seem to blend well for me.
Now, the Domain des Huards 2006 Cour-Cheverny. I tasted honey in this. For me, that was prominent. And, I won't say that I didn't like it, but I will say that it needs food. Some wines just need food to go with them. So, last night, I wasn't my favorite, but with the right food pairing, it has a lot of potential.
Probably my favorite white of the evening was the Claude Riffault Sancerre "Les Boucauds". Grapefruit, lemon, lovely minerality. It had what I enjoy in a white wine. Our last white wine of the evening was Damien Laureau Savennieres "Les Genets". I can honestly say at this time that I don't remember it, so that's it.
Onto the Reds, of which, unfortunately, there were only 2. The first red we tasted was the Vacheron Sancerre Rouge "Belle Dame". This was a fantastic Pinot Noir. You could taste and smell the cherries and blackberry flavors. OMG, it was soooo good. Would probably be even better if decanted.
Then, the last wine of the evening was the Jean-Francois Merieau Cot "Cent Visages". It had a smokey flavor, which might be better if opened up a bit. At the time we drank it, though, not so fantastic.
At the end of the night, I would say not all the best tasting wines I've ever had. The two that I really, really liked were both over $60 a bottle, so not something I'd run out and buy anyway. I've had just as good, if not better, at a more reasonable price point. But, Matt & I got to go out and spend time alone together, and taste quite a few new wines, and that's what we enjoy doing ~ good or bad. The more you taste, the more you know.
I hope you're enjoying my blogs. If you are, please click "follow" on the right and keep reading. I'll do my best to continue posting on a regular basis.
In Vino Veritas!
We started with 3 "bubbly" wines. The first, Jean Francois Merieau "Bulles". It was OK. I wouldn't rush off to buy it. The next two were a little different. Donson and Lepage Recolte Blanche ~ when I first tasted this, I was a little put off by the amount of bubbles. Once I got past that first sip, it softened up somewhat. I'm not a big fan of Champagne, but this was nice. Finally, we had the Donson and Lepage Recolte Rose. Now, I also shy away from most "pink" wines. I'm glad I didn't. This was made of 100% Pinot Noir. You could breathe in the strawberry and it tasted delicious. If I were a big spender, I'd keep this around.
Now, onto the white wines, of which there were 5. We started with the Jardin de la Fruitere. Not much to write home about, but I see it as an easy summer sipper. Next, we tasted the Delhommeau Muscadet Cuvee St. Vincent. Description shows notes of lime, thyme, and lemon verbena, honeydew. While I did taste all that, it didn't seem to blend well for me.
Now, the Domain des Huards 2006 Cour-Cheverny. I tasted honey in this. For me, that was prominent. And, I won't say that I didn't like it, but I will say that it needs food. Some wines just need food to go with them. So, last night, I wasn't my favorite, but with the right food pairing, it has a lot of potential.
Probably my favorite white of the evening was the Claude Riffault Sancerre "Les Boucauds". Grapefruit, lemon, lovely minerality. It had what I enjoy in a white wine. Our last white wine of the evening was Damien Laureau Savennieres "Les Genets". I can honestly say at this time that I don't remember it, so that's it.
Onto the Reds, of which, unfortunately, there were only 2. The first red we tasted was the Vacheron Sancerre Rouge "Belle Dame". This was a fantastic Pinot Noir. You could taste and smell the cherries and blackberry flavors. OMG, it was soooo good. Would probably be even better if decanted.
Then, the last wine of the evening was the Jean-Francois Merieau Cot "Cent Visages". It had a smokey flavor, which might be better if opened up a bit. At the time we drank it, though, not so fantastic.
At the end of the night, I would say not all the best tasting wines I've ever had. The two that I really, really liked were both over $60 a bottle, so not something I'd run out and buy anyway. I've had just as good, if not better, at a more reasonable price point. But, Matt & I got to go out and spend time alone together, and taste quite a few new wines, and that's what we enjoy doing ~ good or bad. The more you taste, the more you know.
I hope you're enjoying my blogs. If you are, please click "follow" on the right and keep reading. I'll do my best to continue posting on a regular basis.
In Vino Veritas!
Corned Beef Dinner w/ WHAT?
OK. Corned beef is a tough one to pair with wine. My initial answer is just drink beer! However, in the past, I've paired it with Riesling, and it actually works quite well. I generally prefer a dry Riesling to an off-dry Riesling, but I actually didn't go with a Riesling this time. So, let's start with dinner.
Again, a real no-brainer. And, with my crazy life, no-brainers are best (and, quite often delicious)! So, when I came home for my lunch hour on Monday, I opened up my crock pot, I dropped in the corned beef (dumped in the seasoning packet), and the poured in a can of Boddington's. Set it on high for few hours, and bam, dinner.
Now, onto the wine. I thought that since I have enjoyed this before with Riesling, that maybe it would work with a Gewurztraminer (say it with me, guh-VURTS-trah-mee-ner). Matt & I first tasted this wine on Father's Day of 2009 when we visited Alba Winery to celebrate his special day. They hadn't yet released it, and on the winery tour, we got a taste of it right out of the tank. We loved it! When it was finally released, we bought a few bottles at a wine festival. I've paired it with other food before and really enjoyed it. It's a 2008 Gewurztraminer from Alba Vineyard in New Jersey (WHAT? JERSEY?). I know you're thinking Jersey can't make good wine, but Alba does. Try it.
Now, this wine is a bit sweeter than the dry Riesling, so unfortunately, the pairing with corned beef was not a match made in Heaven. I was hoping that the saltiness of the meat with the sweetness of the wine would work it's magic, but no, it didn't.
But, PLEASE don't write off this wine with other foods!! It is a delicious wine on it's own. I could see this totally cutting through a nice fried chicken, mmmmm....
In Vino Veritas!
Again, a real no-brainer. And, with my crazy life, no-brainers are best (and, quite often delicious)! So, when I came home for my lunch hour on Monday, I opened up my crock pot, I dropped in the corned beef (dumped in the seasoning packet), and the poured in a can of Boddington's. Set it on high for few hours, and bam, dinner.
Now, onto the wine. I thought that since I have enjoyed this before with Riesling, that maybe it would work with a Gewurztraminer (say it with me, guh-VURTS-trah-mee-ner). Matt & I first tasted this wine on Father's Day of 2009 when we visited Alba Winery to celebrate his special day. They hadn't yet released it, and on the winery tour, we got a taste of it right out of the tank. We loved it! When it was finally released, we bought a few bottles at a wine festival. I've paired it with other food before and really enjoyed it. It's a 2008 Gewurztraminer from Alba Vineyard in New Jersey (WHAT? JERSEY?). I know you're thinking Jersey can't make good wine, but Alba does. Try it.
Now, this wine is a bit sweeter than the dry Riesling, so unfortunately, the pairing with corned beef was not a match made in Heaven. I was hoping that the saltiness of the meat with the sweetness of the wine would work it's magic, but no, it didn't.
But, PLEASE don't write off this wine with other foods!! It is a delicious wine on it's own. I could see this totally cutting through a nice fried chicken, mmmmm....
In Vino Veritas!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
La Colombina Palpito Toscana Rosso 2006 Paired with a Crock Pot Italian Pot Roast
I LOVE MY CROCK POT!!! Especially this time of year, it's so comforting to come home from work and have dinner made :) Well, yesterday was Saturday, and I don't work on Saturdays ~ or, come to think of it, I work for my kids on Saturdays with all the driving to activities, etc. So, the crockpot still comes in handy on the weekends.
So, in the late morning, I heated up some oil in a pan, pressed in some garlic and threw in a pinch of red pepper flakes. I browned a chuck roast into that. I put that into my crockpot and dumped in whatever wine was left out of a bottle of red I had opened a couple days ago. I just added water to give some more moisture and sprinkled the roast in a bunch of Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning. Put it on High for about 5 hours or so, and the results were DELICIOUS!! I just took out some of the 'jus' out of the crock pot to pour over the tender roast for some additional moisture, if needed.
Now, I chose to do Italian seasoning on the Pot Roast because Danny & I (yes, my 8-year-old) had chosen the La Colombina Palpito Toscana Rosso for Matt (my husband, who is over 21) & I to drink with our dinner last night. So, Italian Wine with Italian Food. Always a good idea. This wine selection also came from Amanti Vino and was one of my September Wine of the Month selections...
...and, what a fantastic selection it was!!! We tasted jammy red berries, cherry, and a touch of pepper. I had actually decanted it for a few hours before drinking it ~ I think that was a fantastic idea. It really opened it up. This is a Super Tuscan blend, so as such, it's main grape is Sangiovese (ok, it's not ALWAYS Sangiovese, but more often than not). After that, it's 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Pinot Nero. I do love Italian Wine, and this was no exception. I'm making Baked Ziti tonight, so we may be reviewing another Italian wine with that. I guess we'll see!
In Vino Veritas!
So, in the late morning, I heated up some oil in a pan, pressed in some garlic and threw in a pinch of red pepper flakes. I browned a chuck roast into that. I put that into my crockpot and dumped in whatever wine was left out of a bottle of red I had opened a couple days ago. I just added water to give some more moisture and sprinkled the roast in a bunch of Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning. Put it on High for about 5 hours or so, and the results were DELICIOUS!! I just took out some of the 'jus' out of the crock pot to pour over the tender roast for some additional moisture, if needed.
Now, I chose to do Italian seasoning on the Pot Roast because Danny & I (yes, my 8-year-old) had chosen the La Colombina Palpito Toscana Rosso for Matt (my husband, who is over 21) & I to drink with our dinner last night. So, Italian Wine with Italian Food. Always a good idea. This wine selection also came from Amanti Vino and was one of my September Wine of the Month selections...
...and, what a fantastic selection it was!!! We tasted jammy red berries, cherry, and a touch of pepper. I had actually decanted it for a few hours before drinking it ~ I think that was a fantastic idea. It really opened it up. This is a Super Tuscan blend, so as such, it's main grape is Sangiovese (ok, it's not ALWAYS Sangiovese, but more often than not). After that, it's 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Pinot Nero. I do love Italian Wine, and this was no exception. I'm making Baked Ziti tonight, so we may be reviewing another Italian wine with that. I guess we'll see!
In Vino Veritas!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)