Neat Thoughts About Food, Wine, Travel & More
Greenish yellow in the glass, this Romanian wine is floral on the nose, not similar to Rieslings I’ve enjoyed from any other country. In the mouth, it’s light with the faintest citrus notes.
Just not a very good example of this grape I typically enjoy so much. Not good, not bad.
Pairings: Chinese take-out, Thai or Indian food.
Style: White Wine
Grape Type(s): Riesling
Region: Târnave, Transylvania, Romania
Price: $9
In the glass, this Crémant D’Alsace is bright pink. It looks like it’ll have a strawberry aroma and indeed does. The strawberry carries over in the mouth, but it’s laced with citrus and a little clove. The bubbles / texture is creamy and silky. Nice level of acidity and a clean, dry finish.
This Pierre Sparr Crémant D’Alsace Brut Rosé will please cocktail party wine drinkers and more serious wine fans.
Pairings: Use as an aperitif at a cocktail party with or without food. Seafood in light sauces, poached chicken.
Style: Sparkling Wine
Grape Type(s): Pinot Noir
Region: Alsace, France
Price: $15
I had the good fortune to be a guest at a wine dinner where a friend brought this wine. What a great pairing to the pork belly dish I had.
In the glass, this Bandol is deep purple and leggy. Had a hard time pulling myself away from sniffing this blackberry, earthy and mushroomy-scented wine to taste it. This Mourvedre blend is big, meaty and dense. In the mouth, it’s all about the dark fruit, licorice, spruce and earth. I only detected a little of the funk associated with this appellation. Big wintertime wine that could benefit from seeing the decanter.
Pairings: Game, roasted beef or lamb.
Style: Red Wine
Grape Type(s): Mourvedre Blend
Region: Bandol, Provence, France
Price: $32
Golden in the glass, this Finger Lakes dessert wine is simply outstanding. The nose is sweet with honey and Meyer lemons. The honey continues in the mouth, in a non-cloying way, with a nice balance of sweetness and alcohol laced with notes of Asian pear.
Not many American dessert wines are better than this little number.
92 Points – Wine Spectator.
Pairings: Cheese course, stone fruit cobbler, custard-based desserts.
Style: Dessert Wine
Grape Type(s): Riesling
Region: Finger Lakes, NY, USA
Price: $52
Opaque and deep red in the glass, this big-bodied California Cabernet Sauvignon offers dark Bing cherry and mocha aromas and a big, rich mouthful of ripe dark berries with toasty, oaky notes. The finish goes on forever with a bit of cracked pepper that lingers on the tongue.
Just a delicious wine.
Pairings: Short ribs, grilled beef or lamb.
Style: Red Wine
Grape Type(s): Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Napa Valley, California, USA
Price: $50
I had the pleasure to sip this really interesting wine alongside a grilled rib eye steak and absolutely loved it. The combination of lightly oaky, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the big bold flavors of Zin and the dark, ripe fruity, round flavors of Syrah and Petite Syrah produce a wine that satisfied my love for a big, beefy wine while showing finesse and elegance.
Chief Winemaker, Philip Laffer, says in a statement that “With DEADBOLT, we have created a richly flavored and approachable red wine which is quintessentially Californian. We are delighted with the final outcome”. Indeed he should be.
The wine is available is a limited number of states (California, Nevada, Illinois, Massachusetts and Colorado).
Pairings: Grilled beef or lamb, white cheddar macaroni and cheese.
Style: Red Wine.
Grape Type(s): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Petite Syrah and Syrah blend.
Region: California, USA.
Price: $15.99.
This wine was provided to me for sampling and I am adding to my repertoire as it is truly enjoyable.
What a fun wine. Sampled it as a dessert pairing at The Ryland Inn with chocolate cake and really enjoyed the true ‘grapy’ flavors. Unctuous yet not syrupy, this 100% Muscat dessert wine isn’t overly-sweet, offers nice chocolaty and exotic spices notes and has a nice level of acidity.
Pairings: Chocolate anything.
Style: Dessert Wine
Grape Type(s): Muscat
Region: Napa, California, USA
Price: $25
Brick red in the glass, this Italian red wine offers intense aromas of cherries, fresh dirt, leather and mocha. This full-bodied Super Tuscan tastes of ripe dark berries, anise and chocolate and offers a silky mouth feel. Long, spiced finish with light tannins.
Pairings: Grilled beef or lamb, sautéed mushrooms.
Style: Red Wine
Grape Type(s): Super Tuscan Blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Merlot
Region: Tuscany, Italy
Price: $25
Golden straw color in the glass, this Italian white wine offers intense floral aromas and freshly-baked bread notes. This full-bodied Greco Bianco benefits from seeing some French oak and tastes of ripe peach and apricot. Long finish with nice balance and acidity.
The Sommelier at Marea suggested this wine to our party having both fish and meat and it was a great choice.
Pairings: Fish, seafood, poached chicken.
Style: White Wine
Grape Type(s): Greco Bianco
Region: Campania, Italy
Price: $40
My dad poured this wine at Christmas to pair with rare prime rib au jus and it was superb.
In the glass, this Bordeaux blend is brick red. On the nose, it has barnyard and earthy aromas that I sniffed for quite a while before moving on to a sip. In the mouth, the 1984 Chateau Gruaud Larose has stone fruit, leathery, mushroomy and mossy flavors. The tannins are still present, but after a bit of time in the glass, the wine became rounder, softer but still pretty great albeit perhaps a bit past its prime.
Pairings: Beef, French onion soup.
Style: Red Wine
Grape Type(s): Bordeaux blend – Cabernet Sauvignon: 57% / Merlot: 31% / Cabernet Franc: 8% / Petit Verdot: 2% / Malbec: 2%.
Region: Bordeaux, France
Price: $120
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