A Gift

One of the great things about hosting a dinner party is the fact that people often bring gifts of wine!  Last night, with a sirloin steak, I opened up a great recent gift, a bottle of 2008 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel.  I never know what to expect with a Zinfandel - the grape can take on so many different flavors/styles in wine.  This one was a deep purple color with cherry and chocolate notes, and just a tiny bit of spice.  Again, Louise's reaction was "Yum."  So, thanks Frascatores!

Wines of this Week

I haven't been nearly as consistent at this as I had hoped, but this week we had three wonderful wines.  It was also a good week for eating - steak, not once, but twice; Louise's wonderful Lasagna; and some great oven baked chicken with a "gravy" with Thyme, garlic, and onions.

With the steak and Lasagna we had a deep purple 2008 D'Arenberg Stump Jump Shiraz.  It tasted of dark berries and, as Louise said, "yumminess."  At $9.99 it was also a true value!

With the oven-baked chicken I struggled over what to drink.  In searching I noticed just how one-dimensional my red wine collection had become.  Almost all of my reds are now Rhone varietals (Syrah/Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah) or Bordeaux/Cabernet.  I have NO Pinot Noirs!  I'll have to rectify that this week.  So, I went to my wine collection and picked out what I thought would be a "throwaway" Chardonnay from Bogle.  Boy, was I wrong.  It was a wonderful value wine with vanilla, pear, and oak notes.  Louise and I both really enjoyed it, and, thankfully, I know I can get it in town!

Finally, tonight with our second steak night of the week, I served a wine that I've been holding on to for years - a 2000 Gary Farrell Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley.  Back in 2004, Louise and I traveled to Sonoma for our friends' wedding (Thanks, Mark and Pinata!).  While there, ALL the tour books were saying that we just HAD to try Gary Farrell, but tours and tastings were by appointment only.  So, we forewent a trip to Gary Farrell, but I made a mental note.   A couple of years later I picked up this bottle of Zinfandel and decided tonight to open it.  It was excellent, with (I know this sounds strange, but maybe its just my lack of a palate) apple, chocolate and caramel flavors.  It was truly wonderful, if a little on the strong side (alcohol-wise).  Worth the wait - just wish I could get more (and that it was cheaper).  Hopefully not another month until my next post!

Bogle

I've always been a big fan of Bogle Wines.  In particular, they introduced me to Petite Sirah, which is a grape variety that produces very dark, juicy red wines.  Bogle's version, the 2007 Petite Sirah, is a great value, often on Wine Spectators Best Values list.  I always keep several bottles of this wine in my cellar to drink at any time as my house red wine.  It may also be worth noting that it was the favorite wine at my school's recent blind tasting party (the big loser, not to be mean, was Chocolate Lab from the Pleasant Valley Wine Company). 

Bogle makes a lot of wines, including another terrific one, Phantom, a blend of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and Mourvedre.  I try and keep this on hand as well, although I've had trouble finding it recently.  I also enjoy their old vines Zinfandel.