Date: February 8th, 2014
Host: Christine
Served: butternut squash flatbread, Italian wedding soup, cheeses with kumquat & fig compote
Bonus bottles: Elk Cove Pinot Gris 2011, Lustau East India Solera Sherry
This picture graced the front page of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel!
Christine says (15.5): Very pale; water-like edges. Fresh spring air and lemon aroma. A big low note in the taste and some grassiness. I liked it better with the meal than the Pinot Gris.
Andrea says (17): A pretty champagne colored wine with a bit of a funky aroma. Stinky feet and mineral but also floral, pear, citrus and honey notes. I liked the taste. Honey with a tart acid streak. A little bit of an iron/blood/mineral taste but I also got the herbal grassiness that Christine noted. Overall a very nice wine that went well with the meal.
Kim says (17): Slightly warmer in color than the Elk Cove Pinot Gris, with good aroma and appeal. I enjoyed this wine and feel this was a fair score and although this was a better match with the food, I think the Pinot Gris was better overall.
Santa Cristina red wine 2011 (Toscana, Italy) 13.5% alcohol, $12 at Otto's Wine and SpiritsChristine says (19.5): Pretty! Intense and bright ruby. Violets, very slight wintergreen, peppercorns and black and red fruit (blackberries and cherries) on the nose. Medium body, earthy flavor, not as fruity as expected. Excellent with the soup.
Andrea says (14): A burgundy/brick red. Smelled like berries, pepper, earth, minerals, anise, chemicals and a little like tobacco.
Nice smoky and floral flavors. Lots of berry flavors, high tannins.
Kim says (11): I think I wasn't able to get over the initial smell of adhesive... like Elmer's glue. Then there was black licorice, wet leaves, cherries and damp wood chips. I penalized this wine for thin body, high sugar and the finish was lacking in complexity (all tannins). We have discussed this before... maybe the person that brings the wine is the most critical of it. This wine was to be paired with Christine's Italian wedding soup so I intended to get a light, northern Italian red (perhaps a Barbera) but got stuck on this instead. Very pleased that everyone else enjoyed it!
Christine says (14.5): Light pale lemon. Smelled of pears, vanilla and sugar. Lemon-lime taste with earthy notes. Medium finish. Kind of a yawn.
Andrea says (17.5): Very clear, slightly green color. I loved the aroma. Pear, honey, floral, vanilla and cream soda, yum. Nice acid, tart. Honey and citrus flavors. I really liked this one.
Kim says (19): Pale in color and aroma of orange zest and something herbal... possibly rosemary. Good wine but I thought the Pinot Grigio was a better match with the flatbread. I wound up scoring this wine very high but even made a note that it might be undeserved, with its only missing point being in a subjective category.
Lustau East India Solera Sherry NV (Spain) 20% alcohol, $20 at Waterford Wine CompanyChristine says: No need to rate this wine: We already knew we loved it! We first had the sherry in October at a Waterford wine tasting before dinner at Kim's. We liked it so much we all ordered some and brought it camping with us later that week!
Andrea says: Yummy... This sherry is always a hit with us!
Kim says: Yum. Enough said. And I am sad because I think I only have one bottle of this baby left...
Soup, kumquat & fig compote, and my favorite cookies from Sciortino's. Camera-shy: butternut squash flatbread. You can see it on the wooden tray below, where Journal Sentinel photographer Michael Sears is taking pictures of our event! After Mike left, we devoured the flatbread before Kim could take a picture.
Christine and Mike after the photo shoot!
Working hard to make the compote just so.
The reason Kim is still the best photographer.
She documents everything about our get-togethers, including these little kumquats. They were a sweet surprise and her first time having them!
