Russo

Tonight is going to be a quickie. It's late and I have a boatload of work to do.

But, I did make the time to polish off this lovely 2010 red wine from Frances Coppola wineries in Geyserville, California. It's was on sale for $9.99 (normally $12.99 at Fry's grocery store).

On the back label, it states something to the effect of "everyday wine for everyday life". That's quite catchy and accurate as I would drink it every day. It's a nice, easy drinking, unassuming wine. It would go well with red meat dishes as well as a nice stand alone. It's flavorful with lots of dark berry notes, easy lingering finish, gentle, peppery and without being overwhelming. Maybe a bit smoky, but not too much.

Rosso means red in Italian. As a red table wine, it's a nice blend of something. Although I'm not sure what grapes are involved, I know I like it.

This was a good pick.

Next Tuesday is wide open...Until then...Cheers!!

Spring Thing Wine Dinner at Flemings

If you've never been to a Flemings wine dinner, I would like to suggest that you go. They are typically wonderful three to four course meals paired with exceptional wines.

They are a bit pricey at $85 per person, but you get more food and wine than you can possibly eat or drink.

We've only been a handful of times and have always enjoyed it thoroughly. This time was slightly different in that the entree was not quite as fabulous as it had been historically.

The appetizers were fresh vegetable bruschetta and north Atlantic lobster salad in phylo cups with a 2010 Riff Pinot Grigio della from Venezie Italy. It was a nice light Pinot with lots of citrus and pear notes and was excellent with the lobster salad. Yes, I had several glasses.

The first course was a mixed green salad with beets, wontons, cucumbers, red onion and grape tomato with a olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was served with a 2010 Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley and was outstanding. It was lovely on the palate, smooth... almost delicate. I think the acidic balsamic complimented it somehow because it was a perfect match. Yes, I had several glasses.

The entree is where things were quite so wonderful. I had the Mahi-Mahi with a red wine butter sauce. This was served with a 2009 Napa Valley Merryvale Chardonnay. This wine was quite nice as well. It wasn't too oaky, but still had a nice flavor. Unfortunately, the fish was overcooked and bland. The red wine butter sauce did nothing.

My hubby opted for the filet mignon instead. But even that wasn't great. It was not seasoned well and was somewhat bland. But, it was served with a lovely cab-syrah. My hubby and I are sitting here trying to remember the name of it, and neither of us can. It was one I've heard of (and probably tried) before, but the name escapes me.

Finally, the meal was beautifully ended with a blueberry cream brulee. Cream brulee is my all time favorite dessert. I was thrilled to finish the evening this way and it was nicely complemented with a Mionetto Prosecco. Yes, I had a few glasses.

So, you can see how there is no shortage of food or wine at one of these events. Even though the entree wasn't as good as it normally is, we still had an exceptional evening. Great wine, some great food and great company.

Tune in Tuesday for the next adventure. At this point, I have no idea what, but I'm sure some label will reach out a grab me.

Until then....Cheers!!!

I love CA!!

Again, I find myself at Fresh and Easy and saw this wine. It was only $4.99 and I considered it to be something along the lines of a "2 Buck Chuck" wanna-be. So, I bought it thinking it's only $5.00, it's not a big deal if I have to pour it down the drain.

You'll notice the words in the heart are fuzzy and difficult to read. Well, that's just the way my phone camera took it and actually, that's how it looks to me without my glasses. It reads the same as the back label, which basically states that I Love CA wine owner's mission is to produce a great tasting wine at a great price. They go on to state that they are producing from one of the most well known wine regions in the world - California, so the end product wasn't too hard to achieve.

This is the I Love CA Merlot. It was actually quite nice. Smooth, easy, and flavorful with notes of berries and chocolate. It has a gentle finish. I will buy it again. I think this is very drinkable and tastes like a much higher priced wine. It's definitely a stand alone, but I'm sure would go very well with the typical red wine beef dishes. I had it with chicken-veggie pizza and a spring mix salad and it was perfect.

The back label does not describe specifically where in California the grapes come from, only that they have "sourced the wine from some of the best vineyards in California". Whatever that means... they got it right.

I noticed I Love CA also has a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Chardonnay. I will likely sample them all before the summer has started.

I mentioned I may blog on Dr. Loosens Reisling. Still haven't made it to the wine store for that one, but it's on my list of things to do.

I do have an exceptional wine event coming up. Im going to Flemings this weekend in Tyson's Corner in Virginia for a wine dinner. Flemings events are always filled with fabulous food and exceptional wines. I'll try to take some wine notes and blog on that on Sunday.

Until then....Cheers.

Boro Hills Pinot Noir

I bought this wine at Fresh and Easy for $8.99. I was in the mood for a Pinot Noir. I wanted something light to go with my dinner of pan seared salmon and spring mix salad. This wine is a 2008 vintage from New Zealand's South Island Otago region. Evidently, this is the premium wine producing area and is quite lovely according to the pictures I found online.

The wine was very...unmemorable. I couldn't identify the bouquet. I kept smelling it and trying to think of words to describe it. Things such as smoky, chocolaty, and yeasty came to mind. But even as I type them, I don't know that they are accurate.

I even tried it with a soy chocolate ice cream sandwich I had for dessert, thinking that maybe the chocolate would soften it a bit. But not so much…it continued to be peppery and tart.

The back label describes aromas of strawberry and raspberry with supple tannins along with dark black fruit. Uhm....maybe a mild dark, black fruit thing might be happening, but other than that I got nothing.

I can't say it was a bad wine, it just wasn't one that I will remember. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure I haven't blogged on this before (yes, I see those double negatives).

Maybe if I paired it with the recommended beef or lamb (except I don't eat lamb) it probably would have made a nice difference.

On that boring note, I complete my blog.

For next week, I may blog on the wine my daughter recommended. I think I mentioned it before. It's Dr. Loosin's Reisling. She is quite the fan.

Until then....Cheers!!

Hey Mambo!!

While at Safeway, I found this California red wine. It was normally priced at $12.99, and on sale for $8.99.

The label caught my eye because of the unusual name "Hey Mambo", but also underneath that is reads; Bistro Style Wine.
What's a bistro style wine anyway?
It also reads: Sultry Red. I liked the sound of that, so I bought it.

The back label is quite wordy. It reads like a drug store novel about a venture into a back alley Italian restaurant. I wasn't expecting that....What, no pairing recommendations?? No eloquent tasting notes that describe what my tender palate should expect?? I love it!! This is so unique.

Then.....I tasted it. It's surprisingly nice. It's very dark and inky so I was expecting a big FLAVOR to hit my tongue. But, it was actually smooth and light and woodsy and peppery, but in a gentle way. I loved it!!

I served it with a turkey wrap - this was all I had in my fridge, so I made the best of it. It was quite a wrap considering it was all leftovers. Lean turkey, broccoli coleslaw (try it - it's awesome) fresh spinach and cucumbers topped with light champagne salad dressing.

I realize this is not a food blog, I describe in detail to explain what it did to the wine. The champagne dressing made it taste tart and the jalapeno tortilla was too much for the wine. It made it peppery and a bit harsh. So, upon noticing that, I immediately scarfed the wrap, slugged some water and went back to enjoying this lovely wine.

As an interesting side note, the wine is produced by The Other Guys. I looked them up online and found a really cool website. They proclaim themselves as "laid back guys, stand out wines". Well, I think they're right. I would absolutely buy this wine again.

So, next week has big shoes to fill. I'm home in Virginia next week. Maybe my long lost hubby and I will hit a winery we haven't tried before. If not, I will blog on a Reisling my daughter recommended.

Oh by the way, I Googled "bistro wine" and couldn't find anything that satisfied my need of a definition. So, the Debbie definition is....it's just a fun wine.

Until next Tuesday...Cheers!