Wine Club 69

Date: May 2nd, 2015
Host: Christine
Served: carrot and parsnip soup, fig and red onion pizza, rhubarb crisp
Bonus bottles!

Six Hats Shiraz 2013 (South Africa) 14.5% alcohol

Andrea says (18): Nearly opaque, dark purple with long legs. Smelled great! Earthy and fruity. Tobacco, brown sugar and floral with fig, cherry and grape. A sweet surprise! Nice tannins, very smooth. Juicy and jammy with slight acid streak. A winner for me.



















Juan Gil Red Wine 2011 (Jumilla, Spain) 15% alcohol

Andrea says (14): More transparent than the Six Hats but still thick. Dark brick red  with long legs. Had a strawberry, brown sugar smell with some herbal notes. Mint or eucalyptus. The taste was sweet. Light tannins and a little thin. Sort of tasted like cloves. Great with the soup! Probably deserved a better score than I gave it.

Andrea says: Thanks Christine for the adorable measuring cups!

 

           Dessert...                                                            and the aftermath...

     Andrea says: I literally hiked to the top of Mount Vesuvius for this bonus bottle!    
Bonus bottles... and lots of 'em!

Wine Club 63: We're Back, Bitches!

Date: May 17th, 2014
Host: Andrea
Served: Stuffed flank steak, proscuitto breadsticks, caesar salad, potato medley, hummingbird cupcakes

Arquero Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (Spain) 13% alcohol, $6.50 at Piggly Wiggly

Andrea says (16.5): A very pretty ruby-berry color. The first thing that I could smell was alcohol. But eventually I could smell berries, raisins, currant, and spices. The taste was nice, strawberry, raspberry and raisin. A good wine, I'd drink it again, but nothing to write home about.

Christine says (14): Smelled of sweet spices, cherries, plums, and a little bit like toasted marshmallows. Some herby taste, cherries, thinner body, medium finish. 

Kim says: Well, on orders from my neurosurgeon, I was to abstain from alcohol for six months to allow a reasonable amount of time for my brain to heal from my stroke. But I could still eat Andrea's delicious food! This was an amazing meal, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Christine says: Lookit these little cuties! We were dying of cuteness overload looking at them. Too bad they grow up.

Wine Club 12: Kris Pinot Grigio, Chilean Sauvignon Blancs

Date: May 16th, 2012
Host: Christine
Served:

Kris Pinot Grigio 2010. 12.5% alcohol, $11.99

Andrea says (17.5): Smelled of pear and lemon. Tasted like honey and apple. Definitely a good one. I'd drink this again.

Root 1 Sauvignon Blanc 2010. 13% alcohol, $10.99

Andrea says (13): Smelled kind of bad, sulfur, feet and salon chemicals. Tasted a little like apple. Certainly not one of my favorites.

Wine Club 27: Blue Fin Viognier, Panilonco Carmenère Reserve

Date: October 31st, 2012
Host: Christine
Served: Beemster cheese, easy meatless manicotti, pear cranberry crisp


Blue Fin Viognier 2011 (CA, USA) 12.5% alcohol, $7 at Trader Joe's

Christine says (17): Pale honey with slate edges. Smelled of apricot, floral, honey, light must, lemon and honeydew: a light and clean smell. Pear taste with a honey finish. Medium body, not as bright-tasting as expected.

Andrea says (17): This wine was a pale, golden color. The smell was great, I gave it full points for aroma and bouquet. I had a long list of scents for this Viognier: pear, honeydew, bubble gum, honey, apricot, pineapple, and lemon. My first taste was of alcohol, then lemon and pear. This had a light, bright floral taste. Good buy for $7.00!

Kim says (18): Wow... great bouquet on this one! I picked up dust, citrusy melon, honeydew, roses, fresh-cut grass and if possible, it actually smelled rich and smooth. The taste was surprising... contrary to what it smelled like, this Viognier tasted of minerals and lemon, bright and clean.


Panilonco Carmenère Reserve 2011 (Colchagua Valley, Chile) 13.5% alcohol, $7 at Trader Joe's

Christine says (18): Very dark intense red; a lot of legs. Bouquet was of vanilla, raspberries and cherries. Tobacco and berry flavor, smooth, with a long finish from the alcohol. Slightly tart and bitter mid-palate, like plum skins. Super for the price.

Andrea says (18.5): I really loved this wine! I thought it went great with Christine's manicotti. Yum! A nice ruby, cherry color that was rich and thick. The smell was musty and smokey, but then smelled like spices, blackberry, raspberry, vanilla and grape. The taste was fruity and jammy, blackberry flavor. Delicious! I would get this again to have with tomato based Italian food, very good together.

Kim says (12): Hmm... well, my comments were kind of all over the place on this one. Apparently, the overriding aroma was berries (I wrote "cranberry-raspberry-cherry-blueberry some berry that's juicy with a skin that says POP")! Also smelled a bit of must and overall, felt this wine was a bit anti-climactic and tame.

I used fresh spinach and regular reduced-fat cheese in the manicotti. I used dried cranberries in the crisp. Otherwise, no changes!

★ Wine Club 40: California Chardonnays

Date: April 2nd, 2013
Host: Kim
Served: Chicken rolls, roasted vegetables, oranges with rosemary-infused honey

Hahn Estates Chardonnay 2006 (Monterey County, CA, USA), 14% alcohol, $10 at Discount Liqour

Kim says (13.5): A beautiful color, like polished brass by candle light. I smelled wood... just raw, naked wood; and a hint of general spices. When I swirled my glass, this wine instantly brightened up... it was so extreme that there was something that stung my eyes and palate. Possibly the alcohol? But there was also something sweet, making the tart finish a bit of a surprise.

Andrea says (15): A pretty golden color, looked like honey. The smell was crisp and tart. A smelled apple, pear and honey, and a slightly oaky smell. The first taste was surprisingly oaky, with an apple/pear taste in the middle, and tart, dry finish that tasted mostly of alcohol. Not as sweet as it smelled. But I still liked it. I would drink it again. It went well with the meal, but clashed with the dessert.

Christine says (16.5): Deep and intense gold color. Smelled like honey, pear and oak. It was more tart than expected, but was well-balanced. The wine had nice underpinnings of spices and a medium to long finish. Not much of any specific taste except oak. Versatile wine that was good with the fresh-tasting veggies (summer squash, leeks and mint).



★ BearBoat Chardonnay 2010 (Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, CA, USA), 13.5% alcohol, $10 on sale from $15 at Discount Liquor

Kim says (18): Identical in color to the Hahn... I think I've decided that Chardonnays are the prettiest wine! I smelled tropical, fleshy fruit- like mangoes. Swirled the glass and wow! Again, this wine really brightened up. The change was extremely dramatic and instantly brought grass, spring rain, and apple blossoms to mind. Great body but I was not crazy about the taste (oaky?) and while I thought this wine was well-balanced, the long, complex finish actually made me pucker (which I liked). I am very surprised by my score... 18 seems high given how I feel about this wine. But it's simply a technically superior wine... the two missed points were in a subjective category. It paired very well with the roasted veggies and chicken but blech! with the dessert.

Andrea says (17.5): This wine was also a golden color, almost the same as the Hahn, maybe a little more goldenrod. The smell was delicious, very sweet! Banana and pear at first, then citrus, honey, and floral. It had a buttery texture, very smooth and clean. Taste was citrus-y like pineapple and a little smoky. I approve! 

Christine says (19): Deep honey gold color with clear edges. Smelled very much like honey, plus orange, pineapple and floral. Kim picked up apple blossoms, which I think is a perfect description. The aroma was wonderful. Oak taste, nice structure, long finish. Elegant style of Chardonnay. I only docked it a half-point each for bouquet and overall likeability: it did well in these categories but wasn't exceptional. We liked it better than Hahn with the Neufchâtel-stuffed chicken rolls. It would also be good with cream sauce or smoked cheese.

Chicken Rolls

6 oz block Neufchâtel cheese (I use the easy-to-find, domestic/US Neufchâtel, not the true Neufchâtel from France)

1 green onion, chopped

2 T melted butter

2 C cooked chicken breast, bite sized (I used shredded rotisserie chicken this time)

2 packages crescent rolls (8 crescents each)

Mix together the cheese, onion and chicken. To form each chicken roll, leave two crescents together to form a square, add a dollop of the chicken mixture and fold the dough over. Turn right side up and be sure to pinch closed the seam on top. Dip the top in melted butter and roll in bread crumbs, sesame seeds or crushed croutons. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with vegetable oil and cook at 350° for 20 min or until browned. Depending on how much you stuff them, this recipe will make 6-8 chicken rolls.

I wanted every other dish to be nice and light so I opted for Roasted Zucchini and Summer Squash with Mint for the side (Weeknights with Giada), and Food & Wine's Oranges with Rosemary-Infused Honey for dessert (and wound up adding a pinch of cayenne to the honey).

Wine Club 36: Spa Day

Date: February 23rd, 2013
Host: Christine
Served: chips & salsa, slow cooker white chili, glazed roasted pineapple & butter pecan sundaes

Bonus: spa day!



Turning Leaf Riesling

Turning Leaf Sweet Riesling 2011 (CA, USA), 8% alcohol, $6.99 At Otto's

Christine says (8.5): Very pale; almost clear. It smelled like vomit. Yuck! Surprising zing of tartness to this wine, plus flavors of honey and Asian pear. It tasted better as it came up a bit in temperature, but I just couldn't get past the smell. Still, Riesling was a good pick for pairing with white chili. Kim took a gorgeous photo.

Kim says (11): Well, this smelled overwhelmingly of sour, musty vomit. Not sure what else I can say. As Andrea found out, if you swirled really, really hard, you might be lucky enough to get something else. For me, the relief came in the faint aroma of lilac and honey. I also picked up on something that seemed familiar for a Riesling... very far away, the delicious scent of pineapple! Surprisingly (despite the smell of vomit), I enjoyed the taste of this wine- good body, sweet and smooth. But the hard hits in color, aroma, sugar (way high!) and appeal was this wine's death sentence. Zero in all four categories but was a phenomenal match with Christine's hearty white chili!

Andrea Says (12.5): The color of champagne but very pale. At first I could only smell must, feet, and bad breath. However, like Kim said, when I really swirled it, I could smell green apple, floral, and honey. The taste was good if you like sweet wines. Fruit cocktail, pear and honey. Surprisingly it went well with the chili but clashed with the dessert.

Dry Creek Vineyards Fumé Blanc

Dry Creek Vineyards Fumé Blanc 2011 (Sonoma County, CA, USA), 13.5% alcohol, $10.99 at Otto's

Christine says (11.5): Very pale light lemon color. Looked frizzante, but it was not (sad face). Smelled really good, like fresh water/a river, grapefruit peel and slight honey. Very tart on the tip of the tongue; super tannic. Lacked finesse--a lot of edges--high and competing tannins and tartness. Opposite of the other wine: it smelled good and tasted bad. Though we did prefer it with the dessert.

Kim says (11): Extremely pale. A barely discernible cast of cool lemon that at first glance, just looked like water. Wonderful aroma of green apple, granulated sugar and (hard to describe but) your hands right after peeling a grapefruit. Mmm! Really enjoyed the bouquet but then... well, this wine was an outright offense. It tasted too bright, too sharp and was a jumbled, edgy mess of chaos in a glass. Horrible.

Andrea says (12): Almost clear in color. I enjoyed the smell! Floral, honey, citrus and pineapple, with some scents of alcohol and smoke. Did not enjoy the taste, hard to describe. Maybe some slight taste of grapefruit or honey, but almost hurt my tongue with the pile of flavors. It did go well with the dessert though...

I made a 2/3 batch of Slow Cooker White Chili. I soaked the cannellini beans overnight, decreased the cumin to 2 teaspoons and cooked it on high for 8 hours. This smaller batch worked well in my 5-qt. slow cooker. Serve with chips, sour cream and lime.

I made Glazed Roasted Pineapple, using only half of a pineapple, but leaving all the other ingredients at a full 100%. This ensured a good saucy mess! I served it with butter pecan ice cream, which is heaven with caramely pineapple.

Spa Bonus! We were blessed to participate in Spa Day at Church in the City. We were treated to amazing appetizers, cute treats and elegant flavored water served in champagne flutes. Best of all, we received complimentary facials, massages and manicures, as well as an inspiring gospel message to pamper our insides. What a wonderful gift this night was from the ladies at CITC. We felt like princesses!

Feeling beautiful inside and out!

Andrea is treated to a luxurious facial.

Andrea and Christine get manicures.

Next stop: facials for Kim and Christine, a massage for Andrea, then a fun night relaxing at Christine's.





♥ Wine Club 20: Inventory Reduction Night

Date: August 24th, 2012

Host: Andrea

Served: Loaded Baked Potato Soup, Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Baked Chocolate Pudding

Bonus bottle extravaganza (from the Host's personal inventory)! Tisdale Chocolate Red Wine, Velvet Moon Cabernet Sauvignon

♥ Hahn Winery Pinot Gris 2010 (Monterey, CA, USA), 14.5% alcohol, $10.99 at Otto's Wine Cask
     ♥Love love love♥ : This wine scored 18 or higher with each of us.



Hahn Winery Pinot Gris; New Age Rosé

Andrea says (18): Two great wines this night, and both went really well with the meal! It was clever of Kim to choose new wine varietals from houses we had tried before. This was a smooth, sweet wine with a bouquet of pear honey and floral scents.

Kim says (20): This was Andrea's inaugural Wine Club in her new apartment and what better welcome than food and wine. She was going to be serving baked ham and cheese sandwiches- comfort food at its best! The challenge was that there were so many variables, so I decided to throw all the so-called pairing rules out the window and leave it to chance. I figured we had done all this "research" (oh, the suffering!), might as well make use of it. I looked over some of the wines that had earned fairly high ratings: a Hahn Estates red (Pinot Noir) had earned a 15 so I decided to pick a Hahn Estates white. This is one of only two perfect scores that I have awarded so far. Pear and honey on the bouquet, smooth and buttery texture, excellent finish. A perfect every day wine!

Christine says (19): Awesome wine; great with the meal. Pale honey color, and a bouquet of floral, honey, apple/early fall fruit. Golden apple? It smelled sweet and ripe, vs. green apple. The flavor was light and pleasant, well-balanced, and more svelte than I expected. Some grassiness. Long finish. Very good! Hard to believe it was that high in alcohol.




New Age Rosé NV (Argentina), Malbec + Merlot, 11% alcohol, $8.99 at Otto's Wine Cask

Andrea says (19): This was a delicious, surprising Rosé! Smelt of strawberry, blueberry and something a little bit like plastic. Sweet and tart taste of cherry and cranberry, frizzante to top it all off. Love!

Kim says (19): A New Age white (Torrontes) that we had previously enjoyed scored an impressive 18 so I opted for a New Age red (well, it was a rosé). Turns out the risk was well worth it and surprise, surprise- frizzante! While the aroma of Strawberry Shortcake Dolls (yep... not the food, the actual doll) was a little odd, the cranberry and blueberry made up for it.

Christine says (17): So pretty! Very frizzante, with pale strawberry color. The flavor was strawberries, cranberries and tart cherries. Creamy, fun, bubbly mouthfeel. Puckery, with a medium finish. Super-fun summer picnic celebration wine. Great choice for those new to wine. I did dock it on aroma and bouquet (my first impression was rubber; also very light fruit, barnyard, yeastiness), and also on finish. Definitely a buy-again; I'd love it for cookouts.

GRANDMA'S BAKED CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Sift Together:

1 c. Flour             2t. Baking Powder     

1/4t. Salt              1 1/2T. Cocoa

3/4c. Sugar

Add: 

1/2c. Milk

2T. Melted Butter

1t. Vanilla

Mix together and place in a buttered baking dish.

Mix:

1/2c. White Sugar      3T. Cocoa

1/2c. Brown Sugar     1c. Water

Pour over mixture and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Wine Club 23: Cavit Moscato & Pinterest Pizza

Date: September 20th, 2012
Host: Andrea
Served: Meatballs, Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pizza, Caramel Apple Cider Cookies

Sierra Cantabria Rioja; Cavit Moscato

Cavit Moscato 2010 (Provincia di Pavia, Italy), 7% alcohol, $8 at Otto's Wine & Spirits

Andrea says (16): This wine was a very transparent, light gold color and smelled of green apple, minerals, and apricot. The taste was delicious! Frizzante yet very smooth, tasted like honey, peach and cherry. For me, it needed a stronger bouquet and a longer finish to have gotten an even higher score, but 16 is very strong. It went GREAT with the creamy sauce, cheese, spinach, and artichoke in the pizza. This was an interesting meal because I made 2 recipes that I found on Pinterest.com. Pinterest was my new addiction this Fall. It is a fantastic way to organize your ideas, recipes, really anything that 'floats your boat.'

Kim says (15): This is what I mean by fearless... Andrea created a truly great meal from multiple recipes she's never tried before and tweaked them on the fly. Impressive! Would you do that for your dinner party or do you stick to the tried and true? Anyway, I really liked this wine and gave it the highest number of points possible in the "overall opinion" category, which is three. But it also took a hit for bouquet as it was so vague... fruity or floral or... something. Slight musty undertone but excellent flavor of perfectly ripe peaches.

Christine says (15): Lots of  big bubbles. Pale gold. Minerals, apricot, petroleum nose. Yum! Pronounced honey taste, plus peaches, apricots and a hint of tart cherries mid- to back-palate. Fun and good.


Sierra Cantabria Rioja 2009 (Spain), 13.5% alcohol, $12 at Otto's Wine & Spirits

Andrea says (13): This wine has a burgundy/raspberry color. I thought it had a distinct bouquet. First I could smell the warm, alcohol scent, followed by a strawberry, brown sugar and tomato smell. The taste was where I marked this wine down the most. I thought the body was thin. It was too tannic for me, and I mostly tasted the alcohol. Don't get me wrong, I still drank my share, and I remember it being ok with the food (best with the meatball).

Kim says (11.5): I am usually a fan of Spanish wines so I was excited to try this one. Unfortunately, it suffered in the categories of aroma, bouquet, balance and appeal. I thought this wine was a bit of a bully for a Rioja, which probably means that I detected too much of that aggressive, black-pepper-but-not-black-pepper aspect, which we have figured out is actually nutmeg.

Christine says (10): Smelled like alcohol and strawberries; I did also detect brown sugar after Andrea pointed it out. The wine tasted thin, with lots of tannins; it had a long finish that was mostly alcohol. It reminded me of Chianti, which I usually avoid.

The Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pizza was a BIG HIT! We all loved it. I followed the recipe from The Two Bite Club almost to a "T." I did add oregano to the sauce, because what's a pizza without oregano?

The Caramel Apple Cider Cookies were also very good, but very sweet. A great recipe for the Fall. This recipe was pinned from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Wine Club 33: Wisconsin Wine, Winter Squash Lasagna

Date: January 18th, 2013
Host: Christine
Served: Chop block bread, Butternut Squash Lasagna, Dijon-Walnut Spinach Salad, blondies
Bonus bottle (from the host's personal inventory): 2011 Rosemount Traminer Riesling

Domaine de la Terrière Beaujolais; Wollersheim Prairie Fumé

Wollersheim Prairie Fumé 2011 (Prairie du Sac, WI, USA), seyval blanc grape. 10% alcohol, $9.00

Christine says (16.5): Very pale, with slate edges. Pears, grassiness, lime and green apple in the bouquet. Taste was surprisingly honeyed, with a rich mouthfeel. This would be great with a variety of foods! Andrea said this is Wollersheim's most popular wine, and I can see why. 

Kim says (16): an odd, pale silver color... almost clear. While my olfactory perception is not half as discerning as Christine or Andrea’s, I could smell pear, grass, honey and lemon (usually I am the one that just smells “dirt” or “fruit”). Based on just the taste, I would say this wine has good appeal and paired well with the bread.

Andrea says (18.5): I really enjoyed this wine! The bouquet was awesome, and it really tasted like it smelled. Tart at first, like lime and green apple but also like honey, pear, and apricot. Great with the bread!

Domaine de la Terrière Beaujolais 2011 (France). 12% alcohol, $12.00

Christine says (15.5): Hmmm. This wine really had me stumped from the outset. It smelled like vanilla and pop tarts to me (sweet and toasty, with sugar icing). Maybe like a glazed doughnut, too. It tasted like red berries and cherries, and had a long, lingering finish. Did I also taste woodsy/wet leaves/smokiness? Yes, but I'm not sure which one. This was not your typical Beaujolais. Too many surprises! Also check out how translucent this wine was...it almost looked like colored water!

Kim says (11.5): my own score surprises me because I have a bit of a soft spot for Beaujolais. It was the first varietal that I came across that I consistently liked... steady and dependable. As Christine says, Beaujolais is a good “gateway” wine! While this particular Beaujolais scored well in the categories of tannin, acid, finish and body (interesting, given its extreme translucence), I thought it came up short in aroma and appeal. And I smelled something I never detected in a wine before... while I like the smell of a campfire, this just made me think of wet ash in the fire pit after it had been pouring rain all night. That being said, funny thing is throughout our entire meal, my glass of Beaujolais is the one I kept reaching for as it paired extremely well with Christine's amazing lasagna!

Andrea says (13): I was surprised by my score as well, I'm usually a fan of Beaujolais. The color was nice but surprisingly transparent for Beaujolais. For me, the down side was the aroma, which is how I best experience wine. All I could seem to smell was alcohol, dirt, and some how fish? The taste was nice, raspberry, cherry, and smokey. I thought it went best with the salad which had cranberry and toasted pecans, yum! I gave it a good score, but not my usually great score.

My riff on the lasagna from Vegetarian Times was a success! I decreased the squash, used cooked lasagna noodles, and added mozzarella, eggs and herbs.

1 medium butternut squash (3 pounds)
8  lasagna noodles
2 eggs

15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. dried rubbed sage
1/4 tsp. each dried basil and chervil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese



1. Cut squash in half, seed, prick skin with a knife and roast at 350 in 1/4 inch of water for 1 hour or until tender. Cool.

2. Boil lasagna noodles and drain.
3. Combine 1 egg, ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a bowl.
4. Scoop squash pulp into a second bowl and beat until smooth. Add 1 egg, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper and the herbs; mix well.
5. Spread 1/2 cup squash mixture into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Top with two noodles (having cut one noodle in half to make a single layer three noodles wide). Top with half of the remaining squash mixture.
6. Layer with two more noodles, half of the ricotta mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella, two noodles, remaining squash, remaining noodles and remaining cheeses (ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella).
7. Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 35-40 minutes longer or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

                                                                  

Awww...Valentine blondies

Sun-dried tomato chop block bread

Pretty keeps us all in check!