This Was Just Plain BAD!

Before I left on vacation, I purchased this wine from Trader Joe's. I was looking for something different, but not THIS different!! It is "Zarafa Pinotage 2005". Says to have "a fruity, plummy nose with soft tannins and a lingering aftertaste". A lingering aftertaste it had....not a good one. It smelled and tasted of pepper. Very strong at that. I even put it in a decantor, thinking it needed to breathe, but it never got any better. What an experience to have with my first dinner back home. I am just glad I wasn't offering it to others!

Back From The Island

Aloha.....I decided to come back. HaHa...as if I had a choice! It was a great trip. Beautiful sights, gorgeous weather, FANTASTIC food, excellent mai-tais (thanks Jamie!) and yes, a few bottles of wine. I'll go into more detail in a later post as I am still settling in and on Maui time....ho-hum.....

Cheers!

Aloha!

Well everyone, I am headed for beautiful Maui!! I have been there on one other occasion and love it! We, my sister and I, have rented out the same beachfront condo that my husband and I stayed in when we visited a few years ago.
I will be returning on August 16, hopefully relaxed and refreshed with adventures to share!

Cheers and Aloha!!

The Good & The Not So Good

Last night was the Concert at the Park. I had picked up a couple of wines, which I had not tried before, to go with our picnic. The first was a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc '06. "Concentrated and complex, with vivid passion fruit, grapefruit and tangy peach flavors". Everyone liked this wine. It went very well with our Chicken Cesar salad. To go with dessert, I had purchased a BV Muscat de Beaulieu. Full of ripe apricot, honey and citrus flavors. This wine did not fare so well. I believe the problem was that it was not sweet enough to hold itself up against the fruit and cheese we had for dessert. The cheese was a white stilton with apricots. It was wonderful!!
Overall the evening was a success. Good food, good wine (well, one anyway....), good music and good company.

Until next time.....
CHEERS!

Friday Night Wine

Last night I had sushi and the wine choice was a Leitz Riesling Dragonstone '05. This wine was wonderful! Very refreshing. "Full of ripe apple flavors with notes of pears and peaches" was the description. The peaches are what grabbed me. I would definitely recommend this wine and it was under $20 ($15.99 at BevMo). Try a bottle during these warm months and enjoy!

CHEERS!

Another Vine....a Different Wine

I just had to have it......another vine!! This time a Chardonnay. Keep those wine jugs handy!

Yesterday I purchased a few new wines that I had not tried before. For Friday evening, I will be opening a Leitz Riesling Dragon Stone '05 - Rheingua, Germany. I will be having this with Japanese and I think it will be a good pairing.


Sunday evening, I will be going to Concert in the Park, so I picked out a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc '06 - Marlborough, New Zealand. For dinner I am preparing a Chicken Cesar Salad and fresh bread. I also think these two will be a good match.


For dessert I chose a Beaulieu Vineyard Muscat de Beaulieu - California, USA. With this I will be having fresh fruit, nuts and cheese.

In a later post, I will give my opinions on these wines. If anyone has tried these wines, or have other selections you enjoy, please feel free to post your comments.

CHEERS!!

My Merlot

Yesterday I planted my first Merlot vine!! This is a new venture for me and I am fairly excited! Now I'm not expecting to be bottling anything, it is just for my personal joy if any grapes happen to grow. (Hey, it doesn't take much for me to get a thrill!!)

Tomorrow night is "Chocolate Decadence" and I am wondering what wine they will be serving. Chocolate can be one of the quickest ways to kill off a good wine. It is going to need to be a very sweet & powerful wine to cut through the sweetness and the mouth-coating effect of the chocolate. A Muscat or an aged tawny port would work well. We shall see!

Now, get your glasses ready for some Merlot!!
Cheers!