So I know there were plenty of websites and blogs just like this one giving advice on what to drink during your holiday dinner plans. Â However, I wanted to share with you what I opened up for my family on Christmas day to enjoy with my wife, my parents, and my in-laws.
We started out with the 2008 Antigal UNO Malbec (second bottle from the left), a great malbec full of bright fruit flavors and that I look forward to reviewing later by itself (I have another bottle for that). Â Next up was the Paradise Springs Cabernet Franc. Â I had visited Paradise Springs Winery here in Virginia some months back and really enjoyed this light, peppery wine.
The third wine opened up was the 2009 Chamine, a Portugese wine I had picked up at the recommendation of my local wine shop. Â Being of Portugese heritage, I’m always game to try out a wine from there, and this wine was bright and tart.
Finally, we opened the 2007 Azura Pinot Noir. Â Light and bright, with great fruit flavors and a smooth finish that complimented our dinner perfectly.
Well, now you know what I had for dinner on Christmas day. Â I’d love to hear what you had as I’m always looking for more recommendations on this to try. Â Hope everybody had a great Christmas weekend, that you didn’t get snowed in or out of where you were going, and that you have a great New Years.
Absolute crap. Stumbled on your blog somehow from the NYtimes diners comment section. I hope you aren’t the authority on Richmond’s wine scene.
Good to meet you the other day. It was mostly beer at my house on Christmas. But, as dinner approached, I opened a wine from Trader Joe’s, Monte Ducay Reserva 2005. For $7, I excited to see how this would taste. And reading this http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=871083 made me think it’d be worth sharing with family. Nope. Everybody agreed that it tasted about as plain as can be. Little fruit or earth, just middling and flat. T
To rebound from that I pulled out what might have been my best bottle: 2006 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon that I got from a Cinderella Wine 3-pack. Reviewers http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=571785 said to decant it for two hours. It smelled and tasted pretty fantastic when I opened it. After decanting, we shared the cab over dinner. Loads of fruit and oak. Really big with enough softness to work with most of the dinner options. I don’t think I’d ever opened a $40-50+ bottle before, personally. So, I was glad it was successful and there were lots of folks on hand to take part.