Posts Tagged ‘plum’
Varietal: 100% Syrah
Region: Columbia Valley – Washington State
Cost: $25
Winemaker’s Notes: Spicy, deep plummy flavors and silky tones.
My Review: And so the final bottle of the samples sent to me by the Good Works Wine Club was finally opened. The closer I got to the Memorial Day weekend the more I knew that I would be opening this bottle then because Syrah and ribs are a great pairing, and I knew I was going to destroy me some ribs on Memorial Day. Mmmm…ribs.
The wine was a dark purplish-red in the glass and while I didn’t get much nose on it, there was some spice that came through after swirling the wine around a bit in the glass. In the mouth I got dark fruit and more of the spice from the nose, and all in all it was a nice enough pairing for the meal of ribs and corn on the cob that my wife and I shared with an old friend for Memorial Day.
Varietal: Tempranillo
Region: Rioja – Spain
Cost: $13
Winemaker’s Notes: Garnet red color with intense fruit aromas that pairs well with any meat dish.
My Review: I enjoyed the 2003 Montecillo Rioja Reserva so much that I didn’t want to wait too long before opening up this bottle. I’m glad I didn’t.
Since it was an absolutely gorgeous Monday here in Richmond, Virginia, my wife and I decided to grill out on the deck and enjoy the weather and some wine. I stopped by a local shop on my way home and picked up a New York Strip Steak and a Lobster tail – that’s right, we went surf n’ turf for dinner. The steak and lobster grilled, some risotto with parmesan cheese whipped up to go with it, and the bottle of wine opened and we were ready for dinner.
Varietal: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon; 17% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc
Region: California – Napa Valley – USA
Cost: $26 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Aromas of cedary oak, currants, black cherries, and ripe plums are rich and concentrated on the palate. The firm tannins underlying the wine’s core provide balance, leading to a long, lingering finish.
My Review: After a few weekends of craziness involving visiting family and the Virginia Wine Expo, my wife and I were happy for a weekend to just relax at home. So, after a Saturday relaxing, I fired up the grill and threw on a steak for myself and some seasoned corn on the cob for the both of us (my wife cooked herself up some bacon wrapped scallops). To pair with said dinner, I opened up a bottle of 2006 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon that I’d been eying for just such a meal. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Blended Red Wine (44% Zinfandel; 34% Syrah; 22% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Region: California – USA
Cost: $12
Deep purple color with aromas of clove, berry, oak, and plum. Flavors of cherry, blackberry, and mocha all pair well with hamburgers, pizza, or beef in general.
Recommendations: I picked up this wine at a Fresh Market near my house while grabbing some food for the grill before my vacation, and had honestly forgotten it was there until last night when throwing a pizza in the oven and wanting a bottle of wine to go with it. Such a good pairing. The jammyness of the Zinfandel was great, and the wine in the mouth was nothing so much as juicy, with a nice smooth finish that made the Rosso incredibly easy to drink.
Paired with some pizza this is a great wine after a long day, and I could see it going great with burgers topped with cheese, bacon, and all your favorite fixings. For the price this is a wine you can afford to grab in bulk, and I would recommend doing just that as this is priced like a table wine, but drinks like something much better. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon (93% Caberenet Sauvignon; 7% Syrah)
Region: California – Livermore Valley – USA
Cost: $15 (SRP)
Full bodied with aromas of berry. On the palate flavors of blackberry, plum, cassis, hints of dark chocolate and nutmeg. Subtle spices on a smooth finish. Pairs well with cheese or your favorite cut of beef.
Recommendations: I had been sitting on this bottle until I could get to the store for a good steak. It was worth the wait. Nice and bold, which is exactly what I wanted in a wine to pair with my steak this past weekend, the flavors of berry and cassis were most noticeable to me. I couldn’t get much beyond crushed berries on the nose as the alcohol aroma was a bit overwhelming, though it didn’t lessen a bit as the bottle continued to open up. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon (81.7% Cabernet Sauvignon; 7% Merlot; 6% Petite Sirah; 2.8% Malbec; 2.5% Petit Verdot)
Region: California – Sonoma – USA
Cost: $15
Garnet in color with aromas of black cherry, black olive, mocha and vanilla. Medium bodied showing flavors of mocha, raspberry, mint, plum, and tobacco. Pairs well with grilled meats.
Recommendations: So on Friday night my wife went out with some of her friends which meant I stopped at the store on my way home for a steak and bottle of wine. Sometimes a guy has to treat himself. My steak on the grill (after a comedy of errors involving having to run BACK out to the store to get my propane tank refilled), I opened up the wine to try a small sip. It really made me want my steak to cook faster.
While I didn’t really get the olive aromas that Sebastiani claimed (I’m not really a fan of olives, so maybe I just blocked them out), I did get the black cherry both on the nose and a bit on the palate. Flavors of mocha and tobacco were a great pairing for my steak once it came off the grill, and the tannins on the finish weren’t terribly big and bold, but they were enough to balance the grilled meat, and that’s really what I was looking for. Read the rest of this entry »
