Wine Club 55: Spain and Peru in one night

Date: October 2nd, 2013
Host: Kim
Served: Lomo Saltado

TintoNegro Malbec 2011 (Mendoza, Argentina) 14% alcohol, $10 at Waterford

Kim says (14.5): After the fantastic tasting at Waterford, we came back to my place and it was a mad dash to throw dinner together. How appropriate... a night of Spanish wines and we start dinner at 8pm! Fortunately this meal (a spin on the traditional Peruvian lomo saltado) lent itself to exactly that... quick and easy throw-together! This Malbec was enjoyable... I liked the aroma and felt it was appealing but found it to be slightly off-balance with a thin body and overly strong tannins.

Christine says (15.5): Intense burgundy color, living up to Malbec's "black wine" reputation. Tobacco, red fruit, some mint and maybe dried strawberries in the bouquet. Subtle smell. It also had a hint of tires, which went away. Big body, round, good tannic grip, medium-long finish with herbal notes. Could taste the alcohol. Going back, I also smelled tomato stems. Sadly, it clashed with the meal. The cumin and other spices in the beef made this wine feel a little bit dirty. I had a glass the following night, and it definitely benefited from being open a longer time.

Andrea says (12): Dark and nearly opaque burgandy color, bright pink around the edges. Very light aroma. Mild fruity aroma. Jammy, with raspberry and yeasty notes. After sitting for a while, the wine developed a plastic, dirt, asphalt, rubber smell that really put me off. The taste was mostly of alcohol and some berry flavors. I think that my low score was mostly the result of asphalt stink. The food was terrific, but this wine didn't compliment it very well.


Cline Zinfandel 2012 (Lodi, CA, USA) 14% alcohol, $10 at Waterford

Kim says (16): Mmm! Although this wine was also a little thin, I felt it was well balanced... and it happened to be a better match with the meal. I very much enjoyed this (thank you, Christine- for leaving the bottle)!

Christine says (15.5): Pretty ruby color. Strawberries and some stemminess, with a hint of orange. Nice round, fruity flavor, herbally cedar taste, definite blueberries and some red fruit. Yum! Shorter finish. Very good with the meal; would also be good with chili.

Andrea says (17): Burgandy, fushia color. Smelled great! Vanilla, cake, sweet jam, and citrus. Smooth and sweet on the tongue. Spicy taste, a little pepper flavor. Blueberry and still a little bit of cake flavor. Very good with the steak.

Christine says: What an awesome meal. And we were hungry, getting a late start due to a wine tasting we got to attend at Waterford Wine Company. We were treated to a tour of Spain. Highlights to me were (the runaway favorite) a 1970 Rioja that's older than all of us, and the much more affordable and totally awesome Lusteau sherry. Damn good stuff. No one escaped without ordering at least one bottle! The tasting was educational, funny and fun. The only bad part was having to drink $10 wine with our dinner after being spoiled on these:

Heredia Vina Cubillo Riserva Rioja $21.99
Hacienda Monasterio Ribera del Duero $49.99
Condes de Albarei Albarino $12.99
1970 Valdemar Gran Reserva Rioja $189.99
Nit de Nin Priorat $89.99
Recaredo Brut Nature Cava $34.99
Juan Gil Monastrell Jumilla $16.99
Navaherreros Granacha de Bernabeleva La Mancha $22.99
1998 Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva Blanco Rioja $38.99
Lustau East India Solera Sherry $19.99

Wine Club 54: Pretty Cocktails

Date: September 22nd, 2013
Host: Christine
Served: carrot soup, apple cider chicken & potatoes, pineapple upside-down cake
Bonus bottle (from the host's personal inventory): plum wine cocktails

Ménage à Trois Pinot Grigio 2011 (CA, USA) 13.5% alcohol, $7.50 at Woodman's-Appleton

Christine says (14.5): Very, very pale with a hint of lemon color. A strong and good aroma! Lemons, pears and green apple. Big body, strong streak of acidity. Tart green apple finish that was on the short side. We all liked this one better than the White Blend we tried last spring.

Andrea says (17.5): Clear golden color. Wonderful aroma! Floral, peach, honey, pear, and a little lemon. The taste was sweet, like pear and honey. Nice level of acid. Crisp and tangy. Very good, almost a love for me. Great with the meal.

Kim says (17.5): I think the name of this wine is meant to shock and seems a bit gimmick-y but I've had their Folie à Deux; and we've also scored their White Blend (Chardonnay + Moscato + Chenin Blanc) and I enjoyed them both. But it's this Pinot Grigio that impressed me the most... Andrea and I both scored this 17.5... a very serious score! The aroma was outstanding... strong and pleasant but I couldn't quite put a finger on anything except honey, and possibly very faint... green apple. Very pleased that this wine tasted just like it smelled!

Pine Ridge 2012 (CA, USA) 80% Chenin Blanc + 20% Viognier, 12% alcohol, $10 at Woodman's-Appleton

Christine says (18.5): Pale gold. First whiff was of cat urine and pine trunks, but not in a horrible way. Also apricots, flowers and minerals. Yum taste! Tart mid-palate, nice body, taste of apricot, honey, minerals. Sweetness, but with a delightful zing. And after tasting, I didn't smell anything unpleasant in the bouquet. Tart finish. Good with the soup. I liked it!

Andrea says (18.5): Almost exactly the same color as the first wine, clear and golden. A delicious fruity and floral scent... at first. After letting it breathe, it had an earthy, dried-leaf smell. not great, but brought out the mineral smells. When swirled the fruity floral smell came back. Christine mentioned apricot, definitely could smell and taste that. The wine was smooth and sweet, nice thick body, tasted like peach and apricot. Fantastic pairing with the carrot soup!

Kim says (17): Andrea knows us so well... she picked this wine because it's a blend of Chenin Blanc (one of Christine's favorites) and Viognier (one of my favorites)! Both of these wines had such a strong aroma that we could actually smell them immediately upon pouring... from five feet away! I think it was the Pine Ridge that smelled the strongest and the best... of peaches and fruit cocktail. But interestingly enough, in the (less than ten) minutes it took to score the first wine, something happened to this one. The smell turned somehow. Gone was the light, fruity aroma, replaced with the smell of pine sap and wet bark. And while I like those smells, this was not pleasant. Extremely vigorous swirling brought a little bit of the peaches back, but barely. And this wine was full of surprises... it looked frizzante but wasn't; it smelled fruity but was nice and tart; and amazingly enough... was an extremely good match with Christine's delicious carrot soup (which contained leeks, onions and hot sauce)!

Christine says: My goal with this meal was to use up as many vegetables on hand as I could. Check!--though I'm still eating the soup leftovers, which used a staggering 3 pounds of carrots. I doctored this soup to where it would be impossible to provide a recipe. I did document the chicken and spuds, though: It was a winner and one I'd make again. Here goes:

Apple Cider Chicken & Potatoes
1 c. apple cider
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. wine peppercorn mustard with seeds (I used Mrs. McGarrigle's)
1-1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning

Combine all; save 1/4 cup for the potatoes. Pour the rest into a large resealable plastic bag and add:

4 bone-in chicken breasts

Marinate overnight, turning occasionally. Drain and roast (on a foil-lined pan! for the love goodness, an absolute MUST for next time! makes one hell of a mess!) at 375 degrees until done. Meanwhile, cut up:

1-1/2 pounds red potatoes

Toss on a baking sheet with salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Add the reserved cider mixture; toss to coat. Bake until done, stirring occasionally. Note: I added the potatoes after 25-30 minutes of roasting the chicken. These were enormous chicken breasts, nearly a pound each, and roasted for 50-55 minutes total.

For each plum wine cocktail, I mixed 1-2/3 shots of plum wine with 1-1/3 shots of Pellegrino and 1 shot apple cider. Yummy with the cheater's dessert I bought at Whole Foods.