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!
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