An early Easter Dinner

Many of you (if "you", that is, readers, exist) are familiar with the difficulty of feeding children.  In our house, our kids are big fans of processed meats - ham, sausage, any meat product involving preservatives, basically.  Truth is, I don't mind those things either!  Anyway, tonight Louise made a house favorite - a big ol' ham with her famous Pineapple Caserole.  To go with it, I chose a gift from my Dad, a 2008 Wolfgang Gru-Vee Gruner Veltliner from Austria. It was a nice simple wine with hints of lemon, grass, and, strangely, strawberries.  We enjoyed it and would drink it again.  I think, however, that the more traditional ham pairing with a good German Riesling is generally more successful.

Its nice to be back drinking new wines again - we're finally home and all healthy!

2004 D'Arenberg "Laughing Magpie"

Sorry for the long delay in writing another post - the whole family has been sick and, well, we haven't been drinking much wine since I, at least, wouldn't have been able to taste it anyway.  Finally, my wife and I were both feeling better, just in time for Valentine's Day, so we put the kids to bed and she cooked up a couple of Delmonico's and some baked potatoes - about my favorite meal in the world.  I picked out a special bottle I've had around for a while, and boy, was it worth the wait.

It was the title wine a 2004 D'Arenberg "Laughing Magpie" from McLaren Vale in Australia, a blend of Shiraz (~95% in 2004) and Viognier.  I tasted cherries and maybe plums, with a slight touch of pepper, and a rich, luscious, slightly chocolatey finish.  It was a dark, deep, and wonderful wine. 

Louise Strikes Again

So, Louise (my wife) has really earned her cooking stripes.  Nearly every night she makes a great dinner for us.  Last night it was Tilapia braised with tomatoes and basil (the boys didn't care for it, but we sure enjoyed it, with the rest of our Centine Bianco).  Tonight it was homemade Chicken Tikka Masala.  With no Indian restaurants near Potsdam, what a treat!  I've had bad luck matching wine with Indian food.  The books usually say to go with something spicy, like Gewurztraminer, to stand up to the flavors - most red wines just get washed out by the Indian spices.  Tonight I thought I'd try a Grenache, thinking the peppery flavors typical of the variety might go nicely - I was surprised in two ways.  First, the Tikka Masala was toned down a little (still plenty of wonderful flavors, just not so much spice) for the sake of our young boys.  Second, the Grenache I chose (Las Rocas 2007) was totally missing those typical peppery notes.  Instead it was a strong and somewhat fruity wine - relatively rich, with nice cherry flavors.  All in all, it went very nicely with the Tikka Masala, and is another great value.  Time to get some more! 

Our tastebuds work!

Tonight we tried the Banfi Centine Bianco 2008 that I bought the other day.  Louise said it tasted of Pear, I said it tasted of Apricot, and the label said it should taste of Pears and Apricots!!  That's pretty good, especially for us!  Overall, a very dry, not especially complex white, but a nice everyday sort of wine.  We had it with a mixed green salad with roasted pork tenderloin, grilled pineapple, and a lime-pineapple dressing.  Have I mentioned what a great cook my wife is?  Great, light, dinner. 

A nightcap

Well, this blog is nominally about wine, but I've talked about beer as well, so I may as well go for the alcohol trifecta, and talk about my other alcoholic love - Whiskey!  By blood I have a preference for Bourbon, although I've recently taken to Irish Whiskey as well (Bushmills or, even better, Tullamore Dew).  Tonight I finished off the night with a Bourbon though, and one of my favorites - Eagle Rare 10 year old Single Barrel.  Nothing better to finish the week.

A Trip to the Wine Store...for some everyday (cheap) wines

Went to T&R again today, and bought a case of everyday wines.  Louise and I have been drinking more wine recently, and I found that I was getting reluctant to pull out bottles, so I picked up some wines we can drink everyday without feeling guilty.  So:

Monte Antico Rosso 2006 (WS 90) - This is a wine I've been buying for years.  It is a nice solid Tuscan wine with the right price tag (about $11).  Very dry with just a hint of smoke and herbs.  Tonight we tried it after finishing a bottle of Goats do Roam that we had opened the other night. What a difference!  Both are wonderful, but it is always satisfying to taste the difference between different styles of reds.  The Goats do Roam is based on Shiraz and, as the name implies is styled as a Cotes du Rhone.  The Monte Antico is primarily Sangiovese, and has the characteristic lighter color, and herbal notes. 

Bogle Petite Sirah 2007 - I've talked about this one before - our house red!

Bogle Phantom 2006 - I happened on to this wonderful blend a few years ago and was afraid I'd never find it again.  Thankfully, I've found it!  I'm saving this for a rainy day!  Not as much as a bargain as the others, but a great bottle (or 2) of wine!

Banfi Centine Bianco 2008 - Bought this on a whim and based on the review above the bottle.  Looks like a nice white wine to have around, and, again, at a great price!

Tasting reports to follow as we drink these!

Duvel....BEER!

We were having meatloaf tonight, and that's not a dish that really screams for wine.  So, instead, we shared a 750 ml bottle of Duvel.  It is SOOOO nice, and one of the few beers my wife will enjoy.  One doesn't need to drink wine every night after all!

Regrets about one of 1001 wines

Paging through the book on New Year's Day, I discovered another one of the 1001 wines that I have had.  In my first year in graduate school at the University of Michigan a colleague came back from California with a bottle of Au Bon Climat Pinor Noir.  This was when I was first getting into wine, and, unfortunately, I did not yet appreciate what he had given me.  While I enjoyed it, and remember the bottle, I can't say that I can speak beyond that to the wine itself.  So another one I've had, but also one I need to have again.

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.

New Year's Lucky Dinner

To ensure our continued good luck for 2010, my wife prepared a pork roast for dinner on New Year's Day.  It was a great roast stuffed and glazed with an Apple-Dried Cherry-Riesling Relish.  To complement it, I chose, of course, a German Riesling.  In particular, a 2002 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett.  It was a light golden yellow, and had a wonderful crispness on the tongue.  It then opened up with wonderful fruit flavors, in particular, golden apples.  It is a fine example of a great German Riesling.

New Year's Eve

My wife and I enjoyed a very nice wine, an interesting blend of Semillon (usually blended with Sauvignon Blanc in Bordeaux), Chardonnay, and Verdelho from Australia.  It was advertised to go great with fish, and it went VERY well with our homemade Pasta and White Clam Sauce (known as Clam Stuff in the family).  Wonderfully dry with strong citrus notes.  Heartland Stickleback White, 2007.  I recommend it. 

Christmas Presents

Christmas in Pennsylvania brought with it 5 bottles of wine to add to my strength in Germanic white wines, and Rieslings in particular. 

First off, I got two 2007 Pauly-Bergweiler Berkasteler Badstube and Doktorberg Rieslings, a Kabinett and a Spatlese.  These I am looking forward to cellaring for a few years before opening.  Also, an Austrian Gruner-Veltliner from Wolfgang Vineyards, which, I think, my dad bought for the label! 

Also an AJ Adam Riesling Kabinett (2006), and a more local Finger Lakes Riesling from Hermann J. Wiemer.  All of these should be great, and one Riesling or another will accompany our traditional Pennsylvania Dutch pork dinner on New Year's Day!

Recent Acquisitions

I live in the far north of New York.  We have a good wine store here (T&R Wines and Liquors) but I still like to stock up when I am down in "Civilization."  This week I was in New Jersey.  So I stopped at Gary's Wine & Marketplace on Rte. 23.  I was looking to diversify my collection a little, and possibly pick up a couple of the 1001 wines.  On both counts, I succeeded. 

First, I picked up a half bottle of Chateau La Tour Blanche 2005, a Sauternes.  I'm looking forward to trying this sweet wine, as I've never before had a Sauternes.  I'll have to find the right occassion!

Second, I picked up a bottle of Domaine Huet Sparkling wine from the Vouvray region (2002 Huet Vouvray Petillant Brut).  I enjoy sparkling wine, and have had at least one other sparkling Vouvray.  So, to see a (much) older vintage (1959) of this in the 1001 wines piqued my interest. 

I also picked up some old favorites to round out my collection:  Fairview's Goats do Roam, some value french rhone wines from Perrin et Fils, some New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from Staete Landt, some South African whites from Mulderbosch, and a bottle each of Las Rocas Grenache and Churchills 2002 LBV Port. 

Finally, on our way back up to Potsdam, we stopped at Saratoga Wine Exchange in Saratoga Springs, NY (a beautiful little town, by the way).  Over a late Christmas smorgasbord at my in-laws, I tried a Fetish Wines, The Watcher, 2006.  I REALLY enjoyed it.  It had a hint of sweetness, but it wasn't at all syrupy.  It was deep and dark, and just absolutely delicious.  So, in Saratoga, I picked up 2 bottles of that, plus another bottle by Fetish Wines - Playmates, which is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mataro.  I just found out that Mataro is another name for Mourvedre, which is commonly blended in rhone wines (primarily Syrah) which I love.  I've had another GSM (Grenache Syrah Mourvedre) by Kaesler Wines, and loved it, so this one should be really fun. 

Looking through the book

I've spent the last few evenings looking through "the book." So far (I've gone through the sparkling wines and most of the whites), I've had three of the wines.

The first is the Pommery Cuvee Louise, 1990. This was a gift from my wife's godparents for our wedding. Unfortunately, I can't remember when we drank it, but I know it was spectacular.

The second is 2001 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatese. This we drank with my parents shortly after we moved into our current house. I also remember when/where I bought it. Shortly after the 2001s were released, I was looking through Wine Spectator at the "reviews" of the Rieslings. I grabbed the list and went over the my local wine store (at the time, the Village Corner). There I found this and several other 2001s. Anyway, this wine is the best wine I have ever tasted (perhaps that will change as I continue). Unbelievable depth and variety of flavors.

Finally, I have had the 2004 Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano di Avellino. This wine was not quite as special as the others, but certainly a great buy at a reasonable price, and with unique flavors.  At the time I was trying a lot of the wines by Feudi di San Gregorio, and I can say that I liked them all.  I'm looking to get a hold of a more recent vintage of this wine, however, so I can give you a better description!

A Lifetime of Wine

So, for Christmas, my mom got me a copy of 1001 Wines You Must Taste Before You Die, edited by Neil Becket, and published by Universe Publishing in 2008. I also saw the movie Julie and Julia. So, I thought, maybe I should start working my way through the book, although there is no way I can do it in a year, probably not even 10 years. Furthermore, I am not of unlimited means, and so there are some wines in the book I can never HOPE to afford. Nonetheless, it has inspired me to start blogging about the wines I drink. I hope that, over time, I will be able to acquire many of the wines in the book.

A few introductory notes: I am not a wine expert, I'm an economics professor. I enjoy wine, and know a little about wine. Mostly I find it fun to try new wines and enjoy them with my wife and my friends. What stands in as my "collection" of wines is a little odd. The country with the largest representation in my collection is Germany, mostly Rieslings. That is followed by France (mostly reds, largely from the Rhone), and then South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, California, and ... Canada. All told, I have about 100 bottles.

Well, that's my first post. I think this will be fun!