2006 Cesari Mara Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso

Hello! Wow, did we have a great meal last night! We had black and blue steaks, baked potato, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and side salads. It was all great with the Mara Ripasso! The steaks were easy to fix. I took two filet mignon from Kroger's and cut a pocket into the width of the steak. Then I put a little salt in the pocket and stuffed it with blue cheese. I then wrapped the steak with a strip of bacon, and then lightly salted the steaks. Then I pressed cracked pepper into the steaks. Then I sauteed the steaks in olive oil. Once the steaks were done, I removed the excess fat from the pan and sauteed a shallot, then deglazed the pan with some beef broth. I reduced the broth and spooned it over the steaks. Delicious! The wine was such a nice compliment. It started out with a lot of black licorice on the nose along with dark cherry and a nice undercurrent of earthiness like dry leaves. On the palate there was cherry, plum, and raisin. The tannins were firm, but smooth, leaving a feeling of silkiness. As it opened the flavors became more integrated and mellow. $27 at McScrooges.

trip to Atlanta

We had a big time last weekend!! Al and I went to Alanta to visit our older son and to check out some Atlanta wine stores. We started out by stopping at Total Wines and More North of Atlanta. I had such a big time there!! It was like the Home Depot of wine. Loads and loads of wine at fabulous prices! We may have to visit Mike more often, or give him a list when he come to visit us. There were wines I couldn't find there that I've purchased in Knoxville, but overall, the selection was great! I also liked their catalog. it was a listing of all the wines in the store, so I really can give Mike a detailed list, and he should be able to get everything on it. The prices are so good because they buy in the kind of bulk that smaller stores just can't compete with. I bought a mixed case, including a 2004 Brunello. There will be many postings as I work my way through these wines.

Next event was a stop at "The Grape", an Atlanta wine bar. It was written up in Wine Spectator. I was pretty excited about going there. They did have an extensive wine list. We had a Spanish red from La Mancha, an '07 Borsao Campo de Borja ($8 at Total Wine, more at The Grape). We ordered a cheese board with the Borsao and also an appetizer with hummus and flatbread. The wine was very good, fairly fruit forward but with some cedar and spice especially on the finish. Very pleasant with fairly soft tannins. We shared this with Mike and Ken, a friend of Mike's from out of town. The Grape also features live jazz at the Atlantic Station location.

Later in the evening we stopped at Murphy's in Virginia Highlands. They have a wine shop, a bar, and a restaurant. We had dessert and wine. I had Creme Brulee and a sauternes. Al had plum cobbler with port. Both were classic pairings and both were delicious. I also picked up two bottles at their wine store. A great way to end our day in Atlanta.

We spent the night in a cosy little bed and breakfast called the Gaslight Inn, also in the Virginian Highlands area. our hosts were extremely gracious and everything was arranged to make us as comfortable as possible.

Sunday we visited the High Museum of fine art in Atlanta. We saw the Dali exhibit there, and also visited their collection of renaissance art.

We had a late lunch again at Murphy's. And In the late afternoon we had gelato at Paolo's in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood (no trip to Atlanta is complete without a trip to Paolo's).

Finally, we had dinner at La Tavola again in Virginia Highlands. They were celebrating their tomato feast with a special menu that utilized locally grown heirloom tomatoes. I had the handmade cheese ravioli with a light tomato sauce. Mike joined us for dinner and we shared a bottle of Nero d'Avela, a little young, but very nice with the food and it improved as it opened.

So, a big food and wine trip to Atlanta! A little bit of visiting and a whole lot of good food, wine and shopping. Loads of fun!! We left just as I ran out of money to spend, so it all worked out well.

California 2006 Bogle Phantom

Hi!! Well, my younger son will be turning 22 in a few days and he requested burgers for tonight. I bought some prepared burgers from Fresh Market, bacon and cheddar. First I sauteed a couple of onions nice and slow so than they were sweet and caramelized. Then I just pan fried the burgers, and laid a slice of cheddar on top to get melty before taking them up. I then deglazed the pan with a little white wine, reduced it down and stirred it into the onions. We used chiabatta for buns, toasted for a minute in the broiler. A little tomato and lettuce with the sauteed onions, and it was a great burger. Bogle Phantom is a blend of petite syrah, zinfandel, and mourvedre from California. I've had this wine before, but I didn't like it as well this time. I think it's because we've been drinking so many European wines. It seemed a little harsh to me. The fruit was big, but the tannins were a little rough and it lacks balance. Also I get a little burn from the alcohol (14.5%). It's definitely lacking in complexity. Maybe it would be better with some age? The nose is blackberry and oak, but not a big nose. On the palate I taste mostly blackberry with a little vanilla, and maybe a little chocolate and smokiness on the finish. I think it was better when we had it with a steak, but overall, there are better wines out there. At $20 from Cedar Bluff Wine and Spirits, I'm sure I could do better. Perhaps a nice bordeaux from Bob's?

2004 French Cuvee des Aedoises des chateau Eries Fitou

Hi!! This was a night of leftovers. I grilled some steaks and we ate leftover cheesey polenta, roasted pepper salad, and a little sauteed brocoli and leeks. It was all pretty good, but I managed to overcook my own steak a little (Al didn't mind, because he likes them medium well anyway). I'm from cattle country, and it seems just wrong to eat a steak that not red and juicy in the center. Oh well, on to the wine. This particular wine is a Fitou from the Languedoc region. I honestly don't know much about it. But, it rated high on the delicious scale. It was $11 or $12 from Bob's, if I recall correctly. It had a beautiful deep rich color and was pretty aromatic on opening the bottle. On the nose ( or "sniffy sniff" if you follow Gary Vaynerchuck) it smellled of cherry and peppery spice. I could pick up aromas of oak and vanilla. Tasting started with blackberry and dark cherry. There was pleasantly firm tannins and a nice silky body, then a lingering peppery spicy finish. It paired nicely with the steak. This was a terrific wine for the price. I think we need another bottle to keep on hand.

2007 Italian Tiziano Chianti

Hi!! this is a very nice everyday wine that pairs well with many foods. I reach for this wine when I want a red that's not too heavy or "big". We had this wine with scallops fra diavolo (which was very delicious). It's also a good wine to serve to people who are not big wine drinkers. The tannins and acids are pretty soft. My notes from a previous tasting are that it is delicate and elegant with no apparent oak. It tastes and smells of cherry. It's a very pleasant,easy drinking wine that pairs well with a variety of foods. We often have it with lighter pasta dishes with fresh, bright tomato sauces. It does improve after opening for about 30 minutes or so.

2007 Alamos Viognier from Argentina

Hi!! We actually had this wine a couple of nights ago. It was pretty good. We had it with grilled chicken salads, and the pairing was good, but not outstanding. The viognier was very fresh and clean on the nose with aromas of jasmine and lemon peel. On the palate it was very acidic, bright and juicy, and tasted of grapefruit and a little lime with nice minerality. This was a pleasant summer sipping wine and at $8 or $9 at Ashes, a very good buy.

2007 Pio Cesare Cortese di Gavi

Hi!! I'm very excited about this new wine. I've been sipping it now for about an hour and it just keeps getting better and better. I was really excited about trying this wine because the producer has such a good reputation. We had salmon with Romesco sauce, a salad, and a little bit of chibatta. The wine has a great lemon-gold color. The nose is pleasant with light citrus, melon, and apple. The palate was much the same with a nice minerality, bright, juicy acid, good body and a silky, lingering finish. I love this wine! It's crisp but with good body. It was great with dinner and even better for after dinner sipping. I was just sorry when we got to the end of the bottle. This wine is regularly priced at $24 and is now at Ashes for $10!!! I bought 3 bottles and I should get some more! It was good with the salmon, but I think would be even better with shellfish. There are some great recipes for pasta with shellfish and calamari. This wine would be really good with it!

Wine Dinner at Naples

Hi!! I had a big time tonight! Naples and Ashes host a monthly wine dinner, which we go to when we're able. The food is always fabulous and the pairings are quite good. Ashes often showcases wines that are new to them, so it's a little preview of up and coming wines. There's always a distributor present and they give a little information on the wines. There were five courses, with the wine presented first. I find this helpful because the aroma from the food can interfere with assessing the aroma and flavor of the wine. So, wine is poured first, then a little talk about the wine, then that course is presented. Then plates are cleared and the next wine is poured. Seating is in tables of eight. It's a very pleasant way to spend an evening,

The first wine was a 2009 Marques de Caceres white riojas. It was paired with a goat cheese and pancetta tartlet with roasted almonds. Delicious!! The wine was very dry with a fairly delicate nose of apricots and light floral tones. The taste was crisp with notes of lemon, melon, apple and citrus. It was fairly full bodied for a white wine. Heavier than a pinot grigio. The pairing with the goat cheese was terrific. This wine sells for $10 a bottle at Ashes.

The second wine was a 2008 Perrin Cotes du Rhone Blanc. It was paired with calamari with tangerine and mango relish. The food was very good, a little spicy, but I like that. Spicy, (hot spicy) is a difficult flavor to pair with wine. The wine was a little "funky". The nose was very nice with strong scent of peach and other more subtle fruit scents. The flavors were similar but there was an odd taste on the finish that I thought was a little unpleasant. This seemed to disappear when sipped with the food, but the spiciness of the food would cover many flavors. Perrin is supposed to be a very well regarded label, but I really didn't care for this particular wine. It runs $11 a bottle at Ashes.

The third wine was a 2007 Peregrine Central Ortago Pinot Noir from New Zealand. It was paired with salmon and grilled corn and wild rice cake, served with avocado butter. The salmon and the rice cakes were terrific! The pinot, I thought was very good. Someone at our table commented that it was pretty light bodied for a red. It was a light red, but many pinots are. It seems that pinot noir varies quite a lot from one terroir to another and from one winemaker to another. This pinot reminded me of the burgundy I had recently, and the distributor remarked that it was made in more of an old world style. I thought it was good with the salmon, but maybe dominated it just a bit. The nose was pomegranate, blueberry, and light smokiness. Similar on the palate, with a nice balance of acid and tannin and a lingering finish of fruit and licorice. Al liked it with the salmon more than I did. Some people thought this was the best pairing of the night. At $36 a bottle, I thought it was a little steep, but it's a little harder to find great bargains among pinot noirs.

The fourth wine was a 2008 Spice Route Chakalaka from South Africa. It was paired with beef short ribs with tomato, potato and eggplant lasagna. Delicious!! This wine was extremely fruity with big cherry nose and flavor. It also had tones of spice (especially cloves) and smoke. It's tempting to call it a fruit bomb, but it was so delicious, who cares? At $21 a bottle it's too good to pass up. This would be great with barbeque, steaks, burgers, sausage, etc.

The fifth and last wine was a 2001 Borgo Scopeto Vin Santo from Italy. This was paired with blueberries and pomegranate zabaglione. What a great ending to the evening! The wine was sweet smelling with aromas of vanilla, cherry, and figs. It tasted of raisins, figs, vanilla, and spice. It was sweet and alcoholic and very smooth. $42 for a half bottle, but it would be perfect with that holiday dinner dessert, and each person only needs a little bit.

Overall, a very fun (and filling) evening. I thought the best pairing of the night was the goat cheese tart with the white Riojas, but my favorite wine was the Vin Santo. It brought back memories or big Italian dinners with Al's family. It was just a great wine. I also really liked the Chakalaka. It may find a spot in the winerack alongside Al's favorite zinfandel.

Winers get together last weekend, wines too numerus to count

Hi!! So, as I said before I've been busy cooking, etc. The wine group I'm involved with met last weekend. There are about 8 couples, all interested in wine. We meet once a month and everyone brings something to share. There should be a list of wines and food served, but I'm afraid I'm usually focused on the event itself. We keep discussing the need to write down all the wines and their food pairings, but so far it's been pretty hit and miss.

We started with sparkling domestic wine, Chandon. Very nice. I believe it was labeled as brut, but it didn't seem unpleasantly dry to me. I'm not a big champagne drinker, so I usually stick to sweeter sparklers, but this was very nice, and about $18 a bottle.
Then we had a torrontes (the Don Manuel Villafine I blogged about before) with scallops wrapped with prosciutto and topped with romesco sauce. Then we had a central coast California Pinot Noir (sorry I don't know the label) with stuffed portabella mushrooms. After that things get a little fuzzy. There were three more bigger reds served with smaked turkey, a beef and noodle dish, and a roast beef dish that was truly tender and delicious.

Sorry the descriptions are so sketchy. I never take notes at these things, instead savoring the experience. Everyone had a really good time at this little get-together. If I get better notes/information on the wines, I'll add it to this blog.

2006 Cantele Salice Salentino

Hi!!

I haaven't posted in a while. I've been busy cooking, drinking wine, reading about wine, and of course working. Also it's been wicked hot. The heat makes me want to reach for lighter food and white wines. However, don't think for a minute that I'm tiring of reds.

Last Friday night, date night for Al and myself, we went to Savelli's for pizza. We brought a 2006 Cantele Salice Salentino with us. It's a favorite. We've had it several times, and it never disappoints. I picked up a replacement bottle at Ashes yesterday for about $12 or $13. It's very cherry on the nose, with a little oakiness. On the palate it's again very cherry with soft tannins and acidity and a smooth velvety mouth feel. Very nice on the mid-palate and a pleasant lingering finish. It's very nicely balanced and very good with food. Honestly, the wine was way better than the pizza. A better pairing might have been something a little meatier. Matt Kramer recommends serving it with ribs.

We had this wine again when we had some friends over. We served ribs slow cooked in Italian spaghetti gravy, polenta, roasted pepper salad, and zucchini. This wine was a very nice pairing. It had enough body to hold up to the food well, but with the delicious cherry taste, the velvety body, and the friendly tannins and acids, it was a nice wine to serve with dinner for guests who do not drink a lot of wine. A hit!!

2008 M. Chapoutier Cotes-du-Rhone

So last night was pork chops and peppers, and garlic mashed potatoes, and a green salad. It was all very good. The wine was a 2008 M. Chapoutier Cotes-du-Rhone available at both Ashes and Bob's for under $15 a bottle. Garnet in color with a nose of violets and black cherry. Nice balance of acid and tannins. The tannins soften as it opens and it develops a silky mouth feel. Very fruity with cherry, black raspberry, and a little chocolate on the finish. This is listed in the Robert Parker Best Wine Bargains. I really like it. Not a big red, more medium bodied, very good with food and also a nice wine to sip after dinner. One of my favorite "house reds".