Wine Wednesday :: 2009 Dierberg Chardonnay

It has been a while since I have done a Wine Wednesday post but this week the hubby and I needed a bottle of wine (it was a long day) and decided to open this one.  So I thought I would share it with you.

What wine is it: 

2009 Dierberg Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley

What I ate with it: 

cod (or any mild white fish) steamed with butter, lemon, and garlic and a side of grilled eggplant

How much is it: 

starting at $22

Where to shop for it: 

Wine Exchange (for the 2010 vintage) & Wine Searcher (for the 2009 vintage)

Point of clarification: the bottle I drank this past week was the 2009 vintage.  That is what we had in the house.  You can still get the 2009 vintage but may have to do a little hunting.  My favorite wine shop is out of it and only carries the 2010 now.  I did include the link above for Wine Searcher's 2009 vintage results. 

Whatever you can get, get it.  It is really good.  The nose was crisp, slightly apple-y, and mild sweetness.  Sipping was an even more pleasant experience.  It was not too acidic and drank well by itself but also paired with the cod very well.  It highlighted the sweetness of the fish and compensated with the light fruity-ness that was left.  

It would be perfect for a girl's night in, after a long day with the kids, or even to have in the house for those up-coming holiday events!

Find a bottle and enjoy!  Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: Reinhold Haart 2007 Riesling Piesporter

It has been a while since I have loved a wine as much as I enjoyed this amazing Riesling.  For a little bit of background, Rieslings are made all over the world but depending on geography, the flavor can vary from dry and tart to honey-like and syrupy.  This particular wine was a delightful German surprise that balanced all of the above.  It was definitely a "budget" wine and I was not expecting a lot.  But suffice to say, it was totally worth it and I am going back to stock up for the summer!

What wine is it: 

Reinhold Haart 2007 Riesling Piesporter

What I ate with it: 

soppresata, aged havarti cheese, baguette, balsamic/olive oil for dipping

How much is it: 

$9.99

Where to shop for it: 

Wine Exchange & Wine Searcher

It was a lovely day so we had gone for a walk this afternoon and were planning on a picnic when we got home for dinner.  Since we were warm and ready for a drink, we brought this bottle out and man oh man.  It was perfect with these foods.

The wine was delightful with the earthiness of the cheese and the spices in the soppressata.  Those flavors in the food heightened the subtle fruit and honey quality of the wine.  It was so refreshing after a warm afternoon walk too (you will definitely want to drink/serve this wine chilled).  For your summer party, this is going to be a fantastic white to choose (this would also have gone wonderfully with fish, sushi, pork, etc.).  So find yourself a bottle and your taste buds will thank you later.  And at $10 for a slightly aged white wine, how can you go wrong?!

Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: Beauty & 50 Year Old Wine

Alright folks, I am about to do something a little mean.

I found my favorite wine - in the whole world.  And it is an experience that I cannot reproduce.  Which is sad.  And probably going to end up being a little mean...to you.

I believe that wine is art.  A fairly subjective experience with an objective standard that most people acknowledge either explicitly or implicitly.  All wine is valid but some is certainly more "beautiful" than others and people are aware of that if they pay attention.

But before I start getting philosophical about wine, the point of this post is to share a sublime experience that I had.

Rarely do people have the opportunity to taste old wines anymore - at least not on most budgets.  The wines exist but they are hidden in private cellars or cost an arm, leg, and first born child.  So when a friend of mine mentioned that he had a 1964 Spanish Rioja, I had to try really hard not to both scream like a little girl or act too nonchalant as if I didn't care...because I cared...a lot.

It is also worth noting at this point that Spain is my current favorite wine region (if you haven't had a good reserve Rioja, you have no idea what you are missing out on).  I also am just beginning to learn that older is better when it comes to wine (most of the time).

Finally, we set a date, had dinner planned, and the group together that was going to taste this practically 50 year old wine.  We opened the bottle with bated breath, hoping that it would not have been over exposed to air (even in the bottle), and battled a decaying cork that almost didn't want to come out.

Then we poured it into our glasses.  A rich, red, velvety elixir that had so much potential for ecstasy.

Hesitantly, we sniffed at our glasses.  Each inhale telling us that we could possibly be in for the experience of a lifetime.

Finally, we took our first sip and waited as air and wine mixed and bathed our tongues in...heaven.

If this seems like an exaggeration  then you have a whole world of amazing waiting to be experienced.  The taste was smooth, no acid, no tannins to interfere with the pure fruit and wood and pure liquid beauty of this wine.  And it felt velvety.  It was like drinking the most luxurious thing you can imagine.  The texture was actually velvety on the tongue - I couldn't get over that sensation!  The fruit flavors were so balanced and gentle that the dark berry and faint savory herbs that you got seemed to have been locked in a beautiful dance that was going on and on.

It was a truly amazing experience - in my wine glass.  A few moments of beauty and other-worldly glory in liquid form.  I'm not sure that even my words here are sufficient to record this event.  Which maybe is a good thing.  Then you won't be too mad at me for not inviting you to share this bottle with you.  =)

Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: Wine Tasting Tips

Hello all!

It has been a while since I've done a Wine Wednesday post but I thought I would try and get back into it because I just got back from a whirlwind two day trip to Napa, California.  I got to visit some absolutely stunning wineries, ate the most amazing food, and came back a few pounds heavier.  =P  But before I get into all of the great wineries, I thought I do a few "basics" of wine tasting pointers for those of you who may be going out to do the same wherever you are located!

1) Do NOT drink the wine if you are tasting multiples.

This is a scientific fact.  When you swallow the wine, you are cementing that taste in your taste buds and it will make it much harder to get a good idea of what the next one will really taste like (has to do with the way air and our taste buds work).  There are some exceptions to types of wines that are less permanent on your tongue.  Generally speaking though, if you are at a wine bar or winery tasting through several types and styles of wines, you 1) do not want to get too happy too quick and 2) don't want to kill your palate too fast.  If the place where you are tasting does not automatically provide them, ask for a spit bucket.

2) Before you take your first sip, swirl your glass and take a big sniff with your nose as far in the glass as you can get it.

Wine and oxygen are best friends.  Especially when you want to get a good idea of what you are smelling and tasting.  So swirl the glass to expose the wine to as much air as possible and take a big sniff so you are ready for your first taste and you have a sneak peek through the smell!

3) Once you have the wine in your mouth, suck in air through your mouth and "mix" it with the wine.

Breathing is crucial to the human tasting process.  So when you are tasting wine, expose your taste buds and the wine to as much air as possible!  Technically, this is called "aerating" but really, you are doing that thing your mom always told you not to - slurping.  

4) Pay attention to what you are tasting & smelling!

Flavors in wine are complex.  Different grapes make different wines and have different tastes (profound, I know).  But really, that is the beauty of wine.  This single beverage can have an infinite number of taste profiles, colors, ages, origins, and purposes.  Let yourself experience and understand that!  A red wine might taste like strawberries, chocolate, or wet dirt.  A white wine might have hints of honey, peaches, or herbs.  The exciting part is that you have a whole world of wines to try out!

Pretty basic, right?  Hopefully these tips will help you get the most out of your next wine tasting experience!

Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: Jean-Claude Lapalu 2011 Brouilly Vielles Vignes

Hello everyone!

I am finally getting back to my Wine Wednesday posts.  I'm sorry I have been so absent (if you've been following the blog, you know why) but I am very excited because in my absence, I have been stockpiling pictures and meals from some fantastic wines that I highly recommend you look for at a wine store near you!

What wine is it: 

Jean-Claude Lapalu 2011 Brouilly Vielles Vignes

What I ate with it: 

eggplant steaks grilled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt & pepper

How much is it: 

$19.99

Where to shop for it: 

Wine Exchange & Wine Searcher

Alright, folks, I am starting to build up a repertory of wines that have struck me as amazing.  And let me tell you, this is very easily at the top of the list.  Some wines that you drink are difficult to dissect, others are very simplistic and hit you over the head with how fruity they are.  This wine was so beautifully harmonized, balanced, and all together a make-you-wanna-cry type of wine.  

we did decant this wine (which simply means pouring it into another vessel that allows for the wine to come in contact with oxygen) but it did not need it.

this is the rest of our dinner: grilled eggplant & green bell peppers, baby back ribs, Louisiana style sausages, and garlic mashed potatoes

The eggplant with the caramelized balsamic vinegar off the grill complimented the apple cider-y quality of the wine so perfectly that I can only think of one food pairing that I have liked better in a long time.  As the wine sat in the glass longer, floral notes (one friend swears he smelled roses in his glass) became more prevalent.  But the subtle cinnamon spiciness of the wine balanced with deep berry flavors and the light scent of flowers made this wine sound weird in that sentence but taste absolutely phenomenal in the glass.  

Get a bottle and try it.  You will not regret it!

Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: Crnko (Silvo Crnko) 2011 Jarenincan

Summer is rapidly drawing to a close but I thought I'd squeeze in another summery wine for the last few hot evenings and beautiful sunsets that remain this season.

What wine is it: 

Crnko (Silvo Crnko) 2011 Jarenincan

What I ate with it: 

brown rice with furikake (a Japanese seaweed  condiment) and seared yellowtail tuna

How much is it: 

$10.99 for a liter bottle

Where to shop for it: 

Wine Exchange (this is the only place I could find it for sale so I apologize if I get your hopes up and you can't find it.)  =P

This wine was absolutely delightful.  It is a rare Czechoslovakian wine.  Not a country widely known for having great wine but they are certainly working up to it if this bottle is any indication.  

The nose was strongly green apple (think the smell of biting into a Granny Smith apple) but the taste was more apple with a pine-y taste also.  (The hubby said it smelled like moments in his childhood when he and tree sap became inseparable.)  =P  It sounds like an odd combination but it actually harmonizes very well.  It is like tasting the fruit and the soil it grew in at the same time. One word of caution: this wine does not sit open very well.  So if you are not able to drink a liter of white wine by yourself, get some girl friends or have a dinner party or something.  If it does end up sitting for too long, it starts to have more resemblance  the scent of cleaning products than wine.  We had a glass left over from Monday evening to Tuesday and it definitely was past its prime.

But I would definitely recommend it over all and hope you all get a chance to try it!

Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: Mountford Liason Pinot Noir 2008

I give up.  I keep trying to take pictures of my meal and wine so that you can see what I'm eating and drinking.  But I'm going to be honest here.  I get kind of excited and start sipping and eating and before I know it, I'm done with everything.  =P  

So we are going to start a new format.  I will use whatever picture I can find/snap of the bottle so you all know what to shop for and I will give you all the information you need right off the bat.  Like this:

What wine is it: 

Mountford Liason Pinot Noir 2008

What I ate with it: 

spicy Italian sausage with angel hair pasta tossed in meyer lemon olive oil, oregano, Parmesan cheese, and sea salt.

How much is it: 

depending on where you get it, $29.99

Where to shop for it: 

Wine Exchange, Wine Searcher

via winex.com

As you may have seen on my post last week, it was my anniversary and we decided to get a couple of bottles that we might not otherwise get to celebrate on a few other days.  Extend the party if you will.  =) 

But when we opened this bottle and started sipping, I couldn't believe how easy to drink it was.  It was one of the most balanced wines I have ever had.  The alcohol content is a little high for a pinot but the flavors in the wine itself were so well harmonized that it didn't matter.  There was an even balance of fruit and the earthy flavor of the soil that the grapes had grown in.  It was amazing.  I am certainly not qualified to accurately describe what was going on in that wine.  Suffice to say, it was worth every penny of the $29.99 we paid.  Even while eating the spicy sausage, there was no competition between the food and the wine.  The flavors were clear and compatible.

Verdict?  Get a bottle.  =)

Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: 2011 Ostatu Rioja Blanco

I have been very negligent of my Wine Wednesday posts recently and I am very sorry.  However, I do have a good reason and I hope that you will forgive me since we have had friends and family visiting for the last two weeks.  It was a fantastic time to catch up with people and I will put together a summary in photos of that time pretty soon but for now, I have another wine to introduce you all to!

I have realized recently that I am developing a distinct inclination for European wines.  They have a balance and complexity that is often harder to find in domestics.  (This does not mean that American wines are not good, just not always my taste.)  With this inclination, I have recently been introduced to some amazing Spanish wines that are phenomenal.  Today, though, I will be focusing on the Ostatu Rioja Alavesa Blanco 2011.

From: Wine Searcher.  From: Wine Exchange.

The vineyard has changed its wine making style in the last few years from a process that merely churned out early drinking wines to a process that allows the wines to age for a good period.  That being said, this new 2011 is drinking beautifully right now.  (And I suspect it will hold up for a few years to come as well.  So the $11.99 price tag from Wine Exchange makes it a great investment or wonderful for this weekend's party.)

There are two varietals in this blanco: 85% viura and 15% malvasia.  Viura is pretty exclusive to this area of Spain and let me tell you, they do it good.  =P  There are strong green apple notes on the nose but when you sip, there is something that made me think of hiking.  A strong earthy (flinty, as one friend described it) tone is there as well.  Altogether a very pleasant wine that balances well on the nose and is pleasing on the palette.    I paired it with an Asian inspired noodle salad and with the ginger dressing and crispness of the vegetables brought out the sweetness of the wine but also highlighted the more sun-warmed earth elements were there also.  

So what am I saying?  I'm saying get a bottle, chill it, and enjoy.  You won't be disappointed.

Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne

***This post is getting up late this week and I apologize.  I came down with some weird cold thing earlier this week and then baby got it yesterday.  Thus computer time was limited.  I hope this makes up for it.  =)***


Hello dear readers!  Here we are at yet another Wine Wednesday.  Crazy thought, I realized that I could probably keep this series going for a very long time and never exhaust all the wonderful wines that have been and are still being created in this world.  So let's raise a glass and discuss a great new wine that I highly recommend to you folks.

This past Saturday, the hubby, kiddo, and I were invited to a sushi party at our friends' home.  It was an amazing dinner but more on that later.  I wanted to bring a a beverage of some sort (our hostess is an amazing woman who wouldn't let me bring anything to help with dinner).  So I turned to my friend/wine adviser for a suggestion and he said to do champagne.  Only in this case, he recommended a cremant de bourgogne.  Are you asking what is the difference?  Good question, I asked the same thing.  (Well, I asked what's the difference right after I asked him how to pronounce that.)

To make a long and complicated story shorter, the difference is in the region of France it comes from rather than any major difference in the essence of the grape or winemaking style.  French wine makers jealously guard the right to claim where their wine comes and so only wines made in Champagne are champagnes.  Both wines fall under the general category of sparkling wine but each comes from a different region in France.

Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Sparkling Brut: from Wine Exchange or Wine Searcher

Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Rose Perle Aurore: from Wine Exchange or Wine Searcher

So back to the main feature: cremant and sushi.  It was an amazing pairing!  My personal favorite was the rose cremant.  It was refreshing, palate cleansing, and not over powering to the main event (which was the mountains of sushi we were about to set in on).  Just imagine a refreshing glass of bubbly to go with the richness and fatness of good salmon and tuna.  

This picture was early in the evening before all the food came out relegating the flowers to  another space.

Near to far: shrimp, yellowtail tuna, and assorted veggies.

Clams, octopus, salmon, and spam musubis.

Isn't it beautiful?!

The requisite miso soup and sake cup!

The big picture.  =)

While some people ate, the little one went and had some fun on the floor.  =)

That was my Saturday night dinner and my Wine Wednesday suggestion!

Have a beautiful day and go get something good to drink!

Wine Wednesday :: 2007 J.L. Wolf Wachenheimer Belz Riesling

Hello everyone!  Welcome back to another Wine Wednesday!  I am totally in love with this wine that I am sharing with you today and it is a great summer wine that will not break your budget!

Today, I have a wine that is crisp, clean, and extremely refreshing for the warmer weather that most of us are enjoying!  J.L. Wolf Wachenheimer Belz Riesling is fantastic!

I think I may have found one of my new favorite wineries for white wines.  J.L. Wolf makes several fantastic wines.  I have had their 2009 Wachenheimer Riesling also - with the same great experience!

The hubby and I opened this bottle last night for a little late night relaxation (the baby is teething so life has been more than a little hectic).  While we didn't have a full meal with this, it isn't hard to imagine having this wine with something beautifully fried.  =P  (Maybe these pig ears that I talk about over in this post.)

When you smell it, the wine smells like apple pie before you bake it.  There is a spicy, tart, scent to it.  When you take a sip, that green apple taste is predominant with some undercurrents of white pepper or the bite that you get when you eat arugula.  (No, the wine does not taste like arugula but there is that almost bitter taste that you get when bitting into a leaf.)

All in all, I have had two different rieslings from this maker and love them both.  You can find bottles for anywhere from $10 - $30 depending on the year and vineyard it is sourced from.

Check it out!  I think you will like it!

Have a beautiful day and get a bottle of wine to drink!  =)

Wine Wednesday :: 2011 Domaine de la Solitude Cotes du Rhone Rose

Hello folks!  It's hump day again and from where I sit in Southern California, it is also a HOT day.  So today, I have a refreshing summery wine that will pair beautifully with a salad or a steak (preferably tuna steak but I'm getting ahead of myself).

I started hunting around for a wine for this week's post and asked my friends who know what to drink.  And here is what I came up with: 2011 Domaine de la Solitude Cotes du Rhone Rose at $12.99 a bottle at my still favorite wine shop: Wine Exchange. (Looking for it somewhere closer to you?  Check out Wine Searcher: http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/domaine+de+la+solitude/2011)  Does it get much better than that?   Good wine at fabulous prices!

So I have been promising to post pictures of the food I have been eating with the wine I've been drinking and I have finally done it!  Since I knew I was going to be drinking a rose, I decided to make a hearty salad and put the protein on top.  So this is what I ended up with: 

Somen salad with seared tuna steaks on top.  The salad is just somen noodles (I found them at my local Asian market but you could use any kind of rice noodle), lettuce, cucumber, celery, green onions, and cilantro tossed in a store bought Asian sesame dressing.  And then the hubby pan seared the tuna with a little sea salt and cracked pepper (the tuna was an amazing gift from a deep sea fisherman in our church!) and we were ready to eat!

The wine has some very apple-y notes when you sniff the nose.  Think crunchy, tart, Australian apple (I thought it tasted like a Brae-burn apple myself).  Blended in with the apple are some wildflowers and a hint of something spicy, like white pepper.  Don't know what that might taste like in a wine?  Good.  It tasted really good.  =)  And when paired with the sesame dressing on the salad and the tuna, it was amazing!  A wonderful, healthy, light summer meal.  

(If you aren't a fish person, you could easily use fish or pork tenderloin or some other lighter meat if you are going to pair it with this wine.  Traditionally, a somen salad would have char siu pork on top but I wasn't going to make any yesterday.  And I thought the fish was definitely a good choice!  Salmon would also be delish on this.)

Have a beautiful day and go find a good bottle of wine!

Wine Wednesday :: A Dinner to Remember part 2

Happy 4th of July, everyone!  I hope you have wonderful plans for time with friends and family and to remember the great gift we have of freedom and liberties in America.

But here, ladies and gentlemen, I finish the saga of our "Foie-maggedon" adventures.  Last week, you heard me write at length about a great many wonderful dishes.  The best are yet to come.

 And this is the main event.  These two dishes were what we came to see - and more particularly, eat.  The first two pictures are of the foie gras pate and porcini mushroom ravioli in chicken consumme.  You would not believe how amazing that dish was.  Doesn't it look like a simple thing?  One ravioli, a little bit of foie gras tourchon, and chicken soup.  A little taste of what Wolfgang Puck might make for himself when he was sick.  I don't know why you would make this when you're sick but it was so supremely wonderful that you can't help wishing you could get it when sick. =)  


The second dish is the classic saute foie gras.  It is moist, warm, and succulent.  This particular preparation was served over a piece of sweet bread and a bed of cooked peaches.  Along with this classic dish, we had a traditional wine pairing.  Or rather, three...  =)  I have a friend who likes to over do it with wine sometimes.  Ok, not really.  We were celebrating the end of our freedom to eat in California and took advantage of it.  So we had three Sauterne wines from the same maker but different vintages.  Chateau Lafaurie-Payraguey makes some heavenly sauternes.  If the foie-gras wasn't enough, this certainly put us into other worlds.  We had an 1986, 2003, and 2005.  If you have never had a 25 year old bottle of wine at any point in your life, I would highly recommend you try.  If you have never had a 25 year old sauterne in your life....well, I think you might be out of luck because we all went hunting for more bottles after this dinner and came up empty.  But you should definitely try tasting at least some sauterne if you have never had it.  


Wines like sauternes pair wonderfully with rich dishes.  A sauterne is often times more viscus of a wine than your normal red or white.  It has a more honey-like taste and feel.  Often it is complimented with wonderful citrusy and exotic flavors that make it the perfect compliment to something so fatty and succulent as foie-gras or other such dishes (certain cheeses and even fried foods go well).  Or if you just want it for a wonderful dessert wine, this is a good start!

And our journey is almost over.  These last three dishes were the end of our evening (and my camera phone was not playing nice for these).  The first picture is of a corn potash (a thick soup) with shaved black truffles and drizzled in truffle oil.  Holy cow...almost as good as the foie-gras. Almost.  =)  The last two pictures are of our dessert.  Panna cotta.  The food of gods and an amazing finish to this meal.  Vanilla, perfect texture, creamy, and paired with an almond biscotti...we were all about ready to die when we finished.  The last picture is of my new friend, Amelia.  She is one of the owners of Marche Moderne and the maker of this divine dessert.  She came and checked on us and we kind of gushed about everything...Peter wanted a picture with his hero.  =)

All in all, an evening to remember.  Ironic that it is the 4th of July and there is now a ban on this food.  =)

I hope you all have a beautiful day and wonderful bottle of wine!

Wine Wednesday :: A Dinner to Remember part 1

Another hump day but boy do I have a treat for you if you are into quality food.  Of course, it might also drive you a little crazy to see these pictures and hear me talk about it but you'll have to bear with me because this is soooo worth it.  Because we were at the restaurant for about four hours, I've decided to split up our experience into two parts to do all the foods and wines justice.

For the foodies in my readership, you may have heard of the impending ban on foie gras in California (if duck liver sounds nasty, you've got to try it before you knock it).  With that in mind, Corby, myself, and some of our friends with rather gourmet tastes, planned our farewell to this delectable dish.  The chosen location of our last supper was Marche Moderne.  A phenomenal restaurant that you need to visit at least once in your life time.  And while it is definitely more expensive than your average eatery, this place is actually reasonable in their prices and portions for the quality and kinds of food that you are getting (I'll show you more in a bit).

But I do want to mention that I DO NOT EAT LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME!!!!  I would love to - don't get me wrong.  I would probably be working 24/7 to support a habit like that.  And I would probably stop appreciating it quite as much as I do now.  But anyway.  I just wanted to share that this was a VERY special occasion and I wanted to share it with my readers.  It is actually one of the ways that I learned a lot about wine pairings with food.  When someone truly knows how to match a good wine with excellent food, the experience will be like this one.

So on Saturday night, this is what I ate and drank.  I almost passed out...I definitely went to another dimension.  Almost.

 The evening started out with an amuse bouche of red pepper soup with brioche toast topped with tapenade and we started our wine tour with an AMAZING 2009 Francois Villard Condrieu.  SOOOOOO good!!!  (If anyone is looking for a high class white wine to wow people with - look no further!) This Condrieu was clean and crisp when you first smell and sip.  But as the evening progressed and it continued to breath, there was an even more elegant nose.  The taste made me think of driving through citrus groves where you can just make out lemon and orange in the air but it almost eludes you.  This wine was probably one of my all time favorite whites.  I am putting that down here in writing.  My favorite white wine to date.

 Our appetizer for the evening were these ridiculously good fried pig ears with crispy brussel sprouts tossed in a vinaigrette.  Whodathunk.  Pig ears, brussel sprouts, and vinegar.  The people at Marche Moderne.  That's who.  Go visit. Eat.  Ok, I'll stop plugging them.  I know the food will be enough. (If you are in the area and want to go visit, hit me up.  I'll come with.)  =)

These two dishes formed our next course.  The top picture is a truffle pizza.  Yes, you heard me.  Truffle pizza.  (Fyi, we are not talking chocolate truffles.  We are talking about the kind that pigs find in the ground.  And they are heavenly.  If you haven't tried any yet...you might want to consider not going there because they are addicting.)  In addition to the truffles (which would have been quite enough), there is prosciutto and burata cheese.  Un-be-liev-able. 


The second dish is a little more complex but just as amazing.  Morel mushrooms surround a red wine emulsion that has a poached egg on top of it.  Those flavors were crazy!  I could have stopped at this point in the evening but we were barely getting started.  

 With those two dishes we had this beautiful Bordeaux.  ' Nuf said.  Bordeaux is quickly becoming my favorite red wine.  Try one if you have not yet had a chance.  I have tried a couple of Bordeaux recently (2009 was a wonderful year for that region in France) and you can get some excellent wines for reasonable prices.  This one though...this one was a little leathery (in a good way) but well balanced with some dark berry tones to it as well.

And I think I will finish the first half of this tale here.  There are still three dishes and wines to do.  You will not want to miss it.  =)

Have a beautiful day!

Wine Wednesday :: Villa Fulvia 2005 Ripasso

Welcome back everyone!  At least I hope you've come back to hear about another fabulous wine!

Alright, so I kind of started drinking and eating rather quickly again...I will get pictures of my meals and share them with you very soon though!

Today's wine is a beautiful red wine that will wow your taste buds and play nice with your wallet.  Now, I am a mother and wife, my family lives off of mostly one income (I do part time work here and there but nothing steady at the moment) so cost-effective wines are a must.  That being said, at $16.99 a bottle from my favorite Orange County wine shop, Wine Exchange, is pretty darn good considering the great qualities of this wine.

Villa Fulvia 2005 Ripasso

At my first taste, I thought it is so easy...that doesn't explain much but let me see if I can expand that.  It is not overly fruity or acidic so you don't feel like you are getting hit in the face with a big crazy flavor.  There were fruity undertones but it was so well balanced!  I had this wine with pizza and it was fantastic!  I have heard that it goes really well with pork but like I said, I was pretty happy with my pizza and wine.  =)  The longer it sat in my glass, the flavor developed into a rich, full, dark, flavor...think dark chocolate with cherries...really dark chocolate with really ripe cherries eaten outdoors with the smell of the outdoors as you eat...or in this case, drink!

Check it out, folks.  You won't regret it!

Have a beautiful day!

Welcome to Wine Wednesdays!

So I have been doing a lot of thinking about things that I love that I want to share with my readers.  And I came up with a good one.  Good because it involves alcohol and because it is (hopefully) educational.  I firmly believe that a good bottle of wine with a good dinner with good people is one of the best pleasures that life has to offer.  There is little else in this world that can compare to the perfect bottle of burgundy with a good piece of prime rib or a beautiful riesling with a roast chicken.  Food and wine go together.  It is the drink of ancient civilizations and the taste of great and wonderful places.

In this new series, I'm going to sharing some of what I have learned about wine from my chef, restaurant, and wine industry friends.  I have noticed a trend that a lot of my friends work with food...and wine...and are really good at eating and cooking...good thing I like to eat and cook too!  =)

For today, I thought I would start with a fantastic summer wine that will be great with all kinds of barbeque and picnic meals.  I had this wine with a roast pork tenderloin over spring greens and fresh apples.  Let me tell you...uh-maz-ing.  And no, I do not have any pictures of either my glass or my food because I got busy with that pretty quick.  =P  Muga Rioja Rosado 2011 was the wine of my weekend.  It is a blend of three Spanish varietals and could not be better.


I had to share this wine with you because it is not a strong taste for those who are not the biggest wine drinkers and it is a very well-balanced wine for those of you who know a little bit more about them.  It was refreshing for a hot day (we had it on Sunday night with a wine industry friend who was over for dinner).  The wine was not harsh - for a rosé, it was incredibly well blended, not harsh for having three different types of wines in it.  Don't expect a strong fruity flavor.  There was a freshness and crispness that was great with the fresh salad and complimented the pork so well. 

Muga 2011 Rioja Rosé  - http://www.winex.com/wine-795744-.aspx#.T9gk5bXIZ5Z

I have included the link to my local wine shop (Wine Exchange in Orange, CA) because they ship around the country if you can't find it in any stores by you.  Plus, it is only $9.99 at Wine Exchange.  (Also, they are not paying me for sharing this information.  I truly love my local shops and it is a small, privately owned shop staffed by people who make sure you have what you were looking for.  I just love Wine Exchange.  If you have visited the place, you probably know why I say I love them. =P)  Another resource I will constantly be pointing you to in my weekly posts is http://www.wine-searcher.com.  You will be able to search pretty nearly any kind of wine, any vintage, and be able to find something about it or where to purchase it.

So begins my series on wine!  I hope you find it helpful or educational...or at least not utterly boring.  =)  In the future, I will try and restrain myself from scarfing down my food before I get a pic to put with these posts.    =)

Hope you have a beautiful day!