Wine Club 42: Thank You, Martha Stewart

Date: April 21st, 2013
Host: Christine
Served: Chile-Citrus Turkey Breast, tropical fruit and pastries
Bonus Bottle (from the Host's personal inventory): Evodia Garnacha

Fizz 56 Sparkling Red NV (Piemonte, Italy) Brachetto Spumante, 7% alcohol, $13 at Discount Liquor- Manitowoc

Christine says (17): Beautiful strawberry color. Smelled like vanilla and cherries; tasted of strawberries, cherries and ripe red apples, with a nice acidity to boot. Great aperitif wine. Cleanses the palate and leaves you wanting more of everything! Yum. It was great with the tacos.

Andrea says (17.5): This wine looked great in the glass and tasted even better. A nice cranberry/strawberry color with lots of bubbles! My first sniff was just a nose full of bubbles, but then I could smell vanilla, cherry, and red apple. It had a very crisp, palette cleansing characteristic. Just the right amount of acidity, tartness and sweetness. Tasted like strawberry, cherry pie, and crisp juicy apples. Great with the tacos and the dessert! Definitely a winner.

Kim says (17): Apparently, I thought this wine had a "pretty sparkle, strawberry color and smells like dessert!" But in an attempt to redeem myself from my Malibu Barbie moment, I also noted that while fruity, the taste was not overly sweet, just like red berries and went very well with Christine's delicious turkey tacos! Surprisingly, it also went amazingly well with the sugared elephant ear.



Lulu B Moscato NV (Spain) 10.5% alcohol, $6 on sale at Discount Liquor- Manitowoc


Christine says (18.5): Deep golden yellow. Floral smells, plus sweet-tart candies, orange creamsicles and peppercorns. Andrea mentioned soy sauce, and though I could smell it there somewhere, I didn't find it objectionable. The wine had a rich, full body. It tasted like orange and peppercorns, with a medium-long finish. I liked it! Though it seemed to bring out too much onion taste in the tacos.

Andrea says (14.5): I've never met a Moscato that I didn't like. Wine that tastes like candy is my "cup of tea." This wine did taste like candy! Sweet, with pear, fruit cocktail, grape, and banana flavors and had good body for a Moscato. However, I really couldn't get over the smell. All I could smell was plastic and the over whelming scent of soy sauce. I wanted desperately to experience all the smells that Christine and Kim were naming but couldn't for the life of me. Still, I would drink this again and it also went well with the tacos and the dessert.

Kim says (17.5): A nice, warm color... my first smell came up with apples and then dusty, plastic strawberries and cinnamon sugar. Great body, silky texture, sweet but not overwhelming. I am usually disappointed by Moscato but not this one, and this selection also went amazingly well with the turkey tacos.



Evodia Garnacha 2011 (Calatayud, Spain) 15% alcohol, $9 at Discount Liquor-Milwaukee

Christine says (14): Lipstick red and blue-violet. Smelled like red berries, tobacco, raspberries, orange oil and just brambly overall. High alcohol taste, and some raspberries. I loved the Evodia 2010, but this one was just OK and not nearly as fruity.

Andrea says (16.5): Back to 15% alcohol. No more of that sissy 7% and 10.5% stuff. Time to drink like we mean it! This was a nice raspberry/fushia color, very transparent. Smelled like raspberry, vanilla, grape, alcohol and vinegar (but not in a bad way). At first I could mostly taste alcohol and tannins, but eventually berries and jam too. A good wine but not the best vintage.

Kim says (11.5): Sigh. I think my love affair with Spanish wines might be coming to an end. Although in defense of this wine, Christine said the previous year's vintage was much better. Anyway, this smelled like brass polish, campfire and alcohol (and had the legs to prove it). Tasted like jam and something sharp... not black pepper but not nutmeg, either... uh oh, another mystery smell to try and pin down!
 

I made tacos like they did on MarthaStewart.com with lettuce, cilantro, onion, cooked corn on the cob, avocado and queso fresco. I rubbed the chile mixture over and under the skin and marinated the turkey overnight. I saved some chile mixture on the side to serve with. Next time, I'll use only 1/2 onion. Otherwise, no changes!











 

Papaya, guava, elephant ear and a giant pastry cream-filled doughnut from Cermak's Fresh Market. The papaya had a surprisingly musty taste. I was glad to taste the guava...it was the mysterious X-factor I've tasted sometimes in white wine, but I wasn't quite sure what it was.

Andrea: Great food! Beautiful photos! Plus one cute kitty!