Maine Meadworks

I've never had Mead. I've heard about it, or rather read about it in a novel or
two.  Probably at some point during the storyline where the main character takes
a sip of the Mead before he kills Colonal Mustard in the library with a candle
stick.
At any rate, we (my hubby and I) find ourselves driving around Portland trying
to find this place. We got lost because our GPS is a worthless liar and
frequently tries to get me lost. This time was no exception. It took us to the
exact oppsite end of the street on the exact opposite side of town. Needless to
say, by the time we got there, we were irritable....and thirsty.
This is where things improve notably. We were greeted by a very lovely and very
pregnant young women who told us all about Mead. It's made from honey. How

lovely!  I love honey.

Evidently, Mead has been around much longer than beer or wine. According to our
lovely pregnant lady, it is classified as a wine. One of her coworkers Andrew
was kind enough to give us a tour. Its an interesting process and quite labor
intensive for this small business as pretty much everything is done by hand. 
But the end product is quite nice.
We sampled 6 or 7 different flavors such dry mead, strawberry, blueberry, semi
sweet, lavendar, reserve and one that had hopps in it. It tasted like beer!  The
others were similar to a reisling in that they were light in color, light on the
palate, and gentle sweetness. With the fruit flavors, a certain amount of
sweetness is expected. I thought the dry Mead tasted mildy sweet and assumed
that was because of the honey.  Evidently it's more of a "perceived sweetness"
because of the process, there is no sugar left in it and it's not acidic.  So
what's left is a light, pleasing, gentle drink.  My hubby and I both noted a
mild aftertaste with all the Meads, especially the fruit flavored ones.  But,
they were still nice enough that we bought 3 bottles.
Maine does have several wineries. Actually I googled it and found 6.  Obviously
Maine does not have a long growing season, so most of these wineries produce
fruit wines such as apple and strawberry.  I even found one that does a rheubarb
wine!
It's my understanding from what I've read that most grapes come to Maine
wineries in the form of juice or must (juice plus skins and seeds). We bought
several from a Winterport Maine winery to give as gifts to our fellow wine
drinking friends. One in particular is a blueberry, raspberry wine with
chocolate.  Like I stated, the plan is give it to friends, but I may end up
drinking this one.
Wow, I didn't think I'd have much to wine blog about in Maine.  I could easily
go on for days. But I won't. Its time to start thinking about next week.  I feel
a white or maybe a rose coming on.... 

Portland Maine Rocks!!

Ok.  So my main plan was to blog on a wine from Maine.  I know that Maine has some extreme temperatures, but I googled it and found that there are several wineries in Maine.  So, I was hopeful I would find a local wine at a local restaurant.  But.....no. Instead, I found something exponentially better.  A wonderful little restaurant called "Street and Company".
It was wonderful on a variety of different levels. First, the atmosphere is lovely. Hardwood floors, lots of brick and a very attentive staff.
Second, the sommelier is fantastic.  His is more ADD than I, but in a very good way.  He knows wine like the back of his hand.  I could never hope to be as knowledgable a resource as he is.  He told us, over a glass of Amarone (64.00 a bottle), that he is pursing his WST.  I'm not sure what that stands for, but I will google it tomorrow when I'm of sound mind.  But in a nutshell, it's a Master's Degree in "All that is Wine".
He stole my heart because he not only knows his wine, but he knows what to pair it with.  He recommended a Lobster Bread Pudding.  My first thought, was "yeah, about that..."  But OMG!  It was PHENOMENAL!!  If you've seen the movie "Ratatouille"  There is a scene where the food critic takes a bite of the rattatouille and suddenly he is a young child at home, eating a homemade meal from his Mom.  It conjures of images of home and warm fuzzies.  I sort of felt that when I took a bite. It was magnificent and perfectly complimented by the Amarone.
Let me take a moment to describe the Amarone.  It's an Italian wine.  I wanted to take the bottle with us as I knew I would not remember all the details.  But, my hubby said Noooo, we will get the wine menu and that has everything you need.  Well, it does not.  it only states that it is from Venice, it's a 2008 Amarone produced by Villalata.  I will definitely try to find it at Total Wine.  It is an absolutely wonderful wine.  I don't care who ya are, or where you're from.  You would enjoy this wine.  When I smelled the bouquet, I commented to my hubby that it is very fragrant, almost "meaty".  When I tasted it, it presented with a very strong burst of flavor, notes of dark cherry, tobacco, but very smooth.  To quote the sommelier "smooth, velvety finish".  And that is was.
Then, we had the special..Bluefish with gazpacho.  EXCELLENT.!!! The tomato base was a perfect compliment to the wine.
Finally, we had the chocolate hazelnut torte with cream sauce with the Recioto Della Valpolicella Bertani.  AHHHH!!  It went together like bread and butta...like Thelma and Louise...like Fall and football for you NFL fans. It was so wonderful, I could've continued eating and drinking...I felt like I could go on forever...
But I did not.  There is this thing, we big girls like to call "self control".  I decided at that point, I have to stop this utter self indulgence and hydrate... which I did.  Lots and lots of water.
To finalize, Maine is not the place for premier wines.  We knew that before we came, but I was just hopeful.  I fancy myself to be the Eternal Optimist.
But, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  After the spectacular dinner at Street and Company, we went to the Wine Bar.  Luckily for us the sister of the owner was there and was just a plethora of information.  She told us of the challenges of a very shortened growing season and offered that the Maine wines I had read about was most likely native Blueberry/Strawberry wines, not a grape product. But she told us of a distinctly Maine product, something called "Mead".  I've read about it in novels, but have never partaken of the drink. It is made from honey and fermented for a similar time period like wine, but at a much higher alcohol volume. She informed us of a local Mead producer here in Portland that offers tastings.  She was highly complementary of the Lavender Mead.
I CANT WAIT!!  We are going tomorrow.
Stay tuned...

Rosenblums

I still can't get the picture to download.  I surrender.
So, let me describe the bottle in a bit more detail.  Rosenblum Cellars is the most prominent thing on the label. It caught my eye because it's a California wine - and I'm in California at the momement - so yeah, it worked.
The label further reads -  Vintner's Cuvee, Cabernet Sauvignon California 2008.  On the back label it is noted to be a Sonoma Valley wine.
I've found that I enjoy blends.  They typically offer a pleasing experience.  I assumed this one was a blend, and still do after tasting it, but upon further examination of the bottle, it seems unclear.  A Cuvee is either a specific blend or batch.  Since the label lists Cabernet, it could be a specific batch of Cabernet, but it didn't have the full bodied taste of a cab - so I DONT KNOW!!
I like it when the back label provides serving recommendations.  I generally don't follow them, but I like to see what the winemaker recommends.  In this case, hearty pasta dishes, chicken or savory beef dishes were noted as good pairings.  We of course, had none of that, but instead ate it with home made pizzas off the grill.  I must say, if you've never experienced a grilled pizza, you're missing out on one of life's simple pleasures.
We all enjoyed this wine.  It was shared among 5 or 6 of us - so we each had only 1 small glass as I only purchased 1 bottle.
Everyone had relatively positive things to say.  Nice boquet, smooth finish etc.  One friend commented on how the wine changed on the palate.  I LOVE IT when that happens!  For me it started off rather tart, but ended smoothly.  She however, had the opposite experience, with it starting off smooth and ending a little peppery.  Her hubby, thought that it was just a bit too light, but he (like my own hubby) is a big red fan - they just love those full flavored Cabernets.  But, we all agreed that when we ate it with the pizza, the taste was very nice.
Obviously, this wine confused me a bit on whether or not it's a straight cab or blend.  Also, when I went to the website to try to find this particular wine, I couldn't find it.
I'm not really sure what all that means, other than it was a pretty good bottle of wine for less than $10.00.  Thats really the most important part anyway.
Moving, on.  Next week I'm on the road again.  My hubby and I are going to Maine.  I'm not sure if we will make it that far by Thursday evening, but I'm hopeful.  But wherever we are,  I will try to find a local wine and blog about it.
If not, there's always a California wine begging to be sampled.
Until then...Cheers!!

Lovin San Diego

So, I took pictures of the bottles of wine that I was going to blog on tomorrow as a "prelude" to a blog, but unfortunately, Im using my dear friends laptop and it won't let me download my pictures.  I've been playing around with it for 10 minutes, it didn't work and I'm done.

So, unless I can figure it out - no visuals.

Tomorrows blog is going to be be on a Califorania wine from Rosenblum Cellars - Vintner's Cuvee.  $12.99 on sale for $8.99 at Albertsons.  Im looking forward to letting you know about it.

For tonight, Im blogging on the wine I had on the eternal flight to get here.

I booked my flight using JetBlue points, so I had to take whatever they had available, and in this case, it was from Dulles to Boston with a 2 hour layover, then on to San Diego. 

On the 5 hour and 15 minute flight from Boston to Dulles, I had 2 small airplane size plastic bottles of wine.  I'm guessing they are about 8 to 10 ounces each.  Well,  the first one I had was actually rather descent.  When I initially asked the flight attendant for a glass of red wine,  she gave me a Cabernet.  I remember enjoying it while I was reading my book.  I guess I was in some type of flyers coma, because I didn't take notes or anything.
As I mentioned, it was a 5 hour flight.  So at some point, I decided to have another glass of wine.  So, I asked again for a red wine.  This time, I got a Shiraz from France and it was not plesant. The label reads La Perle by Paul Sapin. Below that it states SHIRAZ Pays d'Oc (which is, evidently the region in France).   I must say, the only reason I drank it is because I didn't have anything else to drink.   It was rough from the time it touched my tongue until the lingering finish finally disloved.  The French need to stick with Syrah.

So tune in tomorrow for the verdict on Rosenblum cellars.  I will tell you now,  I  have already enjoyed it with my San Diego amigos this evening, but will save the verdict for tomorrow.

I normally don't use names in my blog, but tonight is an exception.  Bev, Marleen, Kendra, Kristie, Kelly and I have some nice things to say.  Dave, Michelle and Bruce were mere spectators in this game.
Stay tuned....

California comfort

I have to share the wonderful wine evening my hubby and I had last night.  We went to one of the monthly wine dinners at Flemings in Mclean.  Last nights motif was California Comfort Cooking.
It was a four course dinner complimented with wines chosen by the sommelier.  It's a bit pricy, but more food and wine than you can eat or drink.
I can usually hold my own when it comes to drinking and know when to say when.  Well...not last night!  I was a total die hard.  I'm embarrassed to admit, but I didn't want to leave and I got just plain old drunk.
Wine drinking is a beautiful thing, but being wine drunk is a terrible hangover and one that I typically do not allow to occur.  By the time we got home, I actually felt nauseous.  Luckily for me, I did not get sick and made it through the night ok.  My hangover was compounded by the fact I had to get up early  this morning.  Oh well.  Lessons learned and all is well.
Back to Flemings.  We had a great time and all the wines were Napa Valley and quite nice.  The first wine was served with the appetizers and was a 2008 Merryvale, Napa Valley Starmont Chardonnay.  Very slightly oaky, tart and crisp.
The second came with the salad and was a 2007 Shafer, "Relentless" Syrah.  I liked this one, my hubby didn't care for it.  But, I already had a wine glow and was loving everything by this time.
The third wine of the evening was a 2008 Chappellet Mountain Cuvee and was served with the entree of boneless beef short ribs.  It was nice with a big flavor like a cabernet, which I'm sure it was part or mostly all cabernet.  As a side note, a cuvee is a blend.  Actually, it's a French wine term that can also refer to a higher quality vat or tank that the wine is stored in.  Ya gotta love those French words.  We have "high quality vat".  They have cuvee. (koo-vay).
And finally, we had a 2007 Brazin Lodi Zinfandel.  I have to be honest.  I don't even remember this one.  I have a vague recollection of the server setting a glass of wine beside the Black Magic Cake (yes - it's chocoate) that was served for dessert.  But other than that, I can't remember anything that differentiated it from the other 2 reds.
The evening was nice.  We went with a friend and sat with 2 others couples.  Theres nothing like wine to get conversations flowing.  The atmosphere was nice and the staff very attentive, from the moment we walked in.
So, I would highly recommend a Flemings wine dinner.  But, next time, I will definitely not drink as much.  Then, maybe I can remember all the wines.
Next week, will be my own California comfort. My daughter and I are off to San Diego for a week to celebrate life, so Thursday's blog will most likely be on a California wine.  We are leaving my hubby and son to fend for themselves.
Until then -  Cheers!!

Shiraz versus Syrah..

Ok, so whats the deal with Shiraz and Syrah.  Is it a "pot-ta-to"  "pot-ta-ta" kind of thing or are there real differences?  I couldn't help but wonder...
Well, evidently there are some real differences, other than the fact that they are different types of grapes.  Shiraz and Syrah also imply a style of wine making as well - Syrah that of France and Shiraz Australian.
It's also notable to say that Syrah tends to be lighter and more acidic while the Shiraz is a more full bodied wine.
I had a bit of a problem today and couldn't find a Syrah at Traders Joe's with a price tag comparable to the Shiraz that my hubby bought.  I found several for $5.99 and I'm sure they were wonderful, but I wanted the prices to be a bit closer.  And what a problem to have - all I could find were awesome wines and awesome prices.  Gotta love that Trader Joe's.
So, in a fit of brilliance, I bought a Petite Syrah, thinking there couldn't be that much of a difference between a Syrah and a Petite Syrah.  Well, there really isn't.  The history of the Petite Syrah is a little blurry, but it appears to be closely related to the Syrah.
That being said.  Here we go.  I have 2 glasses in front of me. Give me a moment.......
The Petite Syrah is light, mildly oaky, gentle finish.  It's a nice, easy drinking wine.  The vintage is 2007 and it is a Napa Valley wine.  It's 13.9% alcohol.  The label doesn't indicate anything in terms of description, tasting notes or pairings.
The Sharaz is a 2006 Australian and is 14.5% alcohol.  The label describes hints of pepper with a lovely, long velvety finish.  Let me see...(I just took a sip) The bouquet is nothing like the taste.  Actually, I didn't really care for the smell, but the taste was nice.  Definitely peppery, smooth finish. Strong flavor, maybe some notes of tobacco.  My husband chose to abandon me instead of helping me blog tonight, but he would love this wine.  It has a big flavor he would enjoy.
Both of these wines are nice stand alone wines or of course would go wonderfully with probably just about anything you served them with.
These are the types of wines that make great gifts to bring when going to someone's home for supper.
Normally, I would sit up and polish off at least one nice glass.  But tonight I gotta admit - I'm tired.  This whole going back to work thing takes a lot of energy and mine is just about run out.
On that happy note - G'nite!!

Wait for it.........

A quick peek.
I have the Aramis Shiraz that I mentioned before and a Stonehedge Reserve Petite Syrah from Trader Joe's for $9.99.
We will be sampling these within the next few hours.  As usual, I CANT WAIT!!

Back to work...Cheers!!

So, the party is over.  My vacation has ended and  I had to go back to work today.  In true Monday fashion.  It was a bit much.  The time dragged and the day wore on, but finally I made it home.  Don't get me wrong,  I do love my job, it was just a little rough to have to get back into the swing of things after 5 weeks of happy hour.
Being the true wino I am, guess how I celebrated my going back to work??  With a glass of wine of course.  This particular one was absolutely lovely.
This picture was taken Sunday evening at Evo Bistro.  We love that place.  We enjoyed the 2007 Blackburn Cabernet again.  This place is simply.....fabulous.  There are many wines to choose from and the staff is attentive, very helpful and thus far have made some great recommendations for wines.  The young women that helped us carries the title of Wine Engineer.  I'm so envious, I WANT THAT JOB!!
She provided us with several samples of some pretty tasty reds.  One in particular was The Scribbler, which was a lovely Shiraz.  My hubby tried to find it at Total Wine.  Unfortunately, they do not carry it, but instead recommended an Australian bottle of Shiraz from Aramis Vineyards for $19.99.
I think we might sample it this week as I'm planning to blog on Shiraz and Syrah.  Do you know the difference?  Well, if not - you will after Thursday.
I have to briefly recap the wines I've been sampling recently.  I was on a Pinot Noir kick.  While dining at Not Your Average Joes in Lansdown, I had a 2009 Hang Ten Pinot Noir from California for $8.00/glass.  I took limited notes for some reason, but I liked it.  It was nice and light as a Pinot should be.  It had a gentle, peppery, lingering finish. It was easy to drink and could easily be a stand alone red - meaning..you don't need anything else, just a glass.
A few days later, I enjoyed another Pinot Noir called Little Black Dress at a place called the Woodley Cafe in DC.  It was $24.00 per bottle.  Actually, the bottle and the cork were the main event.  The bottle was very stylish with a picture of a little black dress and red pumps.  The cork is a keeper because it's totally black with Little Black Dress written on it in silvery letters.  The wine however, was just ok.  It worked, but wasn't anything great.
Tonight, we are enjoying a really nice 2008 Cabernet called Calcareous Twisted Sister from Paso Robles, California for $19.99 at Total Wine.  It's a nice, stand alone red with lots of flavor - well balanced with notes of chocolate.  Very decent.  We are finding Paso Robles has some awesome wines.
I look forward to an easy transition back into work as well as sampling a Shiraz and a Syrah that will knock my socks off.  I work near a Trader Joes, so thats where I'm headed tomorrow to find something.
Drink well friends.

Not bad...but not with tacos.

Note to self...never serve spicy Mexican food with Sebeka.  It does not pair well at all.
I opened the bottle and had a brief sip before starting my meal.  I liked the first sip.  I thought it quite descent actually with no notes of elephant dung to burden my palate.
So, I fluttered about setting the table and getting everything ready.  I sat down and eagerly took several bites of my taco and then took a big swig of the wine and unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well.  I made turkey tacos with spicy pico de gallo.  The spicyness totally jacked up the wine.  It made it rough and peppery.
I quickly deduced my culinary error and set the wine to the side until I finished my tacos - which were excellent by the way.  Then, I decided to try the Sebeka again.  I only ate 2 tacos, so I still had room for more food.  Luckily for me, my daughter had prepared herself a beautiful medley of grilled zucchini, summer squash and purple onion, topped with balsamic and goat cheese.  I had a bit of that with with Sebeka and MY OH MY did that change things!  It was wonderful!  I now had a rather smokey, easy, pleasant wine with a nice lingering finish.  I think it was the goat cheese. I'm all about goat cheese.  Maybe that's the key to a good wine...find the right cheese.

I shouldn't admit this, but oh well.  I blogged before that I had tried the wine with my brother, but thought it was a Malbec.  I was thinking today that I may have bought Sebeka a long time ago, but wasn't sure.  But again, even if I did, I thought I was buying a Malbec.   In my "Wine Room", I have a huge bowl filled with corks.  It's literally 10 years worth of corks.  I went searching through it and sure enough - I found the very distinctive cheetah cork.  You know, for $8.99 - you can't beat it.  And, it really is a pretty cool looking cork.
So, all along, I actually had a South African wine on at least 2 occasions that was really quite nice and didn't even know it........wow, life is full of fun little surprises.  :-)

Bring on the South African!!!

I cannot believe this is week 7.  When I started this journey, I knew it was going to be fun, but I didn't realize how much I would learn about wine and the many things associated with wine.  Stone fruit anyone??
So here we are at week 7,  and I am not exactly complying with the original plan of only blogging on wines I've never tried.  I did in fact try this particular wine entitled Sebeka quite some time ago, but I thought it was a Malbec, therefore it doesn't count.  Obviously, I was mistaken as this is a Cabernet Pinotage.
This particular bottle was priced at $8.99 at Wegmans.  I'm not entirely sure, but I think it may have been on sale.
The label boasts of the dark fresh blackberries of the Cabernet being intensified by the intense red berry notes and complex structure of the Pinotage.  We shall see.  I'm still concerned about notes of elephant dung, but I do have an open mind and  look forward to trying it "again".
As I vaguely recall, the cork is colored like a cheetah.  If that is the case, I will include a picture of it in the next blog.
I have to take a moment to comment on where I left off at the last blog, which indicated we were going to "Wicked" and I was confident I would try some type of wine at dinner.  Well, let me just say...."Wicked" was PHENOMENAL!!!  I would see it again and again and again. In a word, it was OUTSTANDING.  The acting was fantastic, the singing was amazing, the stage settings were fabulous.
As I previously noted, we had dinner at the Roof Terrace before the show.  We had a lovely meal complimented by a bottle of 2007 Paso Creek Merlot.  It was smooth, light and airy, very flavorful, and gentle on the palate.  I absolutely loved it as did my hubby.  This was a unique occasion as he does not typically like Merlot.  I didn't really know I did either.  The bottle was $50.00 at the restaurant.  We also purchased this at Wegmans for $14.99.
Tonight was a nice wine evening as well.  I had a dear friend over for dinner.  She brought with her a RELAX Riesling.  It was smooth and softly sweet - very easy to drink.
I once bought a bottle of RELAX red wine for a friend quite some time ago - mostly due to the totally cool bottle.  It was a very pretty red color, with RELAX in huge letters across the bottle.  She loved it and gave me a splash - the bottle was pretty much empty by the time I got there - and it was pleasantly, but not overwhelmingly sweet.  I can't remember what I spent, nor do I know what my friend spent on tonights bottle, but I've decided RELAX is a nice addition to any wine rack.
I'm sad to admit that I have to go back to work on Monday the 11th.  The last 5 weeks have been like a vacation.  I've gone out to lunch and had more glasses of wine than I can count.  I've been to more happy hours than I have in my entire life.  It's been beautiful.  It's been like a prolonged vacation.  I honestly don't know how I ever got anything done before, because I struggle to accomplish things now and I have the entire day.
The party is almost over....but at least I have until Monday.
In the spirit of prolonged vacations, I think I will make something mexican to go with the Sebeka tomorrow.  Mexican food sounds very festive. We'll sit out on our deck and pretend we are at the Cabo Wabo Cantina.
Life is good!!

Moderation???

I recently noted something about it being time to moderate. Well, about that.....It's highly overrated and doesn't suit me personally.
Now that I've put it down in words, the truth is, the moderation is ok, in fact it's the reason my liver still functions and therefore a beautiful thing.  It's the wine celibacy thing isn't happening - nor will it I suppose.
There just doesn't seem to be time to not drink wine (did you like all those double negatives?).  For example:  Sunday and Monday were fine.  Nothing of any consequence - no visiting, no get togethers, no wine, rather boring, but nice.  But, then Tuesday rolled around and whatever it was we had for dinner, we decided it would be perfectly complimented with a glass of red wine.  Which is was.  This particular red was from St Helena California, called Predator.  It's a Zinfandel.  The winery is eco-friendly and employes the use of ladybugs as a natural predator to the other critters that are harmful to the grapes.  It came with our Rutherford Ranch shipment so, I have no idea of the cost.  But it's a big red with lots of flavor, somewhat peppery and a lingering finish.
Moving on to Wednesday.  We met a friend in the city.  One we hadn't seen in a while, so of course we had a few drinks. I had a lovely sauvignon blanc.  Actually I had 4.  But, THROUGH OUT the 5 hour evening (we got there at 6 and left at 11) - not all at once.  I wrote down a few notes about the wine but nothing worth mentioning.
Thursday came, as Thursdays always do and that was met with the Gnarly.
Friday stumbles in and we had friends over for dinner.  And of course, one of them brought me a bottle of a beautiful California red wine called Cashmere.  A 2010 blend of mourvedre, syrah and grenache.  It was absolutely wonderful and was perfect with big, fat, juicy T-bones steaks off the grill.
Now here I sit on a holiday weekend knowing full well there will be much more to come.  In fact, in a few minutes I am going to go get ready to go to the city for a what I hope to be a wonderful meal at the Roof Terrace Restaurant followed by "Wicked" at the Kennedy Center.  I have no idea what the menu will be at the restaurant, but am confident I will have a glass of wine with it.
Tomorrow is a 4th of July barbecue at friends house, followed by a Monday afternoon barbecue at my house.  And Tuesday?  Well, I'm not sure, but it's looking go so far!!