Caprese and Chianti: A Captivating Combo

How can you not love Italian food and wine?  After our Argentinean excursion Saturday night Pris and I decided to head east for our next selection.  We planned out the week's menu and decided on an Italian themed steak dish for dinner Sunday.  As it happened we also picked another Italian meal for later in the week, but decided to make it Monday night since we already had the wine to go with it. 

Dinner Sunday was sirloin and caprese salad served over rigatoni and drizzled with pesto.  On Monday it was Italian sausage with tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, and zucchini served over pre-made polenta.  That was the recipe, but next time I'll make the polenta from scratch.  Its a little more work, but its got a little more oomph.  So to go with these simple, but fine dishes, Pris selected a 2009 Collezione de Paolo Chianti that came from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.

The Chianti was very light and fruity with accents of raspberry and a touch of oak on the nose.  On the palate this wine was still all light fruit.  Plum, light berries, and cherry worked together nicely.  The Chianti offered well rounded tannins that made for a long finish with a slight mineral tang at the very end.  While light, this Chianti was well balanced and surprisingly versatile with our meal selections.

The Collezione de Paolo Chianti went fantastically with the steak and caprese salad.  The lightness of the wine was a great counter-point to the richness of the steak and pesto.  Even Monday night's meal worked with the fine light wine.  The sausage polenta dish was considerably lighter than the steak, and the Chianti complimented the lightness of the meal.  Taken together, it was a great comparison of a wine working in two different ways to augment a great (if I say so myself) dining experience.

The 2009 Collezione de Paolo Chianti sells for $16 a bottle on the Wall Street Journal Wine Club site.  If you buy in bulk the price per bottle goes down.  If you enjoy cooking  a lot of Italian food, or want a good wine to compliment lighter food pairings and salads, this is a great choice.  To order the wine, or learn more about it you can visit: http://www.wsjwine.com/jsp/product/productDetails.jsp?productId=prod50070

An Argentinean Evening with Catena

Yesterday was a fairly eventful day for Pris and I.  There was a first communion rental downstairs for most of the afternoon, the dogs got groomed (well at least one of them did), and Pris had a program in the evening.  After the program, which featured beer and ballpark food (courtesy of Feldman's), Pris wanted something more substantial to eat.  So we decided to order up one of our favorite meals which we hadn't had in a while: Aztecas soup, beef empanadas, and tocinetas (bacon-wrapped steak) from Gazapachos.  And to go with these Argentinean style servings? A 2008 Catena Malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina.

The Catena Malbec had a strong nose that was loaded up with alcohol and dark fruit.  After setting in the glass some you can detect some chocolate notes mixed in with the fruit.  On the palate this wine is robust and flavorful.  Fruit, spice, and even a touch of leather all combine well in this full bodied Malbec.  A nice gentle acidity carriers through the mid-palate and combines with agile tannins to provide a full and lingering finish.

Like most of the wines we've gotten (and all of the ones we've reviewed) this is a good wine.  It complimented the beef empanadas and bacon wrapped tenderloin exceptionally well, especially with the chimichurri sauce they came with.  The bold flavors of the wine complemented the rich flavors of the beef and the herbal acidity of the chimichurri.  It took a good full wine to compliment such savory fare.

We picked up the 2008 Catena Malbec at Feldman's Market Center in Brownsville for $22.  For the price, this is definitely one to keep on hand for when you need a bolder wine, or for when you simply want a full flavored wine to drink.  For more information on Catena's wines you can visit:  http://catenawines.com/

Dinner with a Friend and Wayne Gretzky

On Thursday, Pris and I had a friend over for dinner.  It was small simple meal that didn't involve too much work since I had to work all day and make the drive back home.  We provided the food, Rusty provided the wine.  That's always a great arrangement.  To go with dinner, Rusty grabbed a couple of bottles of Wayne Gretzky Estates 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.

We actually opened up one of the bottles and proceeded to finish off the Finca El Origen that was left over while the Gretzky Cab breathed some.  In a testament to lucky timing, the food was done at about the same time the Finca was finished.  For dinner we had dry aged NY Strips from H.E.B., prosciutto/parsley/parmesan mashed potatoes, and the roasted tomatoes with garlic and croutons dish.

The 2005 Wayne Gretzky Cab is a good Cab, especially to go with the steaks we were having.  On the nose it had all the hallmarks of a first-rate Cab: dark fruit, dark cherries, and blackberry.  But then on the palate it wasn't as bold as the nose would lead you to believe.  This wasn't a bad thing.  The Gretzky Cab was smooth, rich, and well balanced.  It had generous helping of dark redolent fruit tempered with some slightly sweet accents.  Smooth tannins provided a very mellow finish for this Napa Cab.

The all around smoothness and balance of this wine made it very easy to drink, and we finished off the bottle in short order.  Even though it was mellower than most of the Napa Cabs we've tried, it was still a perfect compliment to the aged steak.  The mellowness also meant that the wine didn't overpower the mashed potatoes and roasted tomato sides.  Other bolder Cabs would've simply buried these flavorful sides, but the Gretzky did not.

Rusty picked up the wine at Jones' Liquor. I had picked up a bottle there a little while back on Mike Jone's recommendation, but we haven't opened it yet.  Now we know its a really good and mellow Cab that will go great with steak and some lighter dishes.  It runs $14.99  a bottle.  For more information you can visit: http://www.gretzkyestateswines.com/

Fantastic Finca El Origen

Back to being way behind on posts.  Well, not too behind since its been a fairly slow wine week again.  Last Sunday night we didn't really cook up anything special and were still working through two open bottles that were already reviewed.  By the time Monday rolled around I was actually cooked out and decided just to pick up a couple of strips at Texas Roadhouse.  To go with the strips  Pris pulled out a 2009 Argentinean Reserva Malbec from Finca El Origen.

The wine was mellow, but at the same time full on the palate.  It was a great combination for a bolder red wine.  The nose was full of cherries, blackberries, and cassis.  On the palate, this full flavored Malbec was rich with heavy dark fruits.  Forceful tannins round out the wine and provide a full strong finish that has a nice bite at the end.

The 2009 Finca El Origen Reserva Malbec is a great little 91 point wine to pull out when you're having steak, empanada's, or any other beef-centric dish.  I've said it before, the Argentinean people know their beef and wine to go with the beef and the Finca Reserva Malbec is no exception.

We picked up the 2009 Finca El Origen Reserva Malbec  at HEB for 9.99.  At this price its also a great everyday wine.  While it goes best with beef, the fact that its so mellow will allow you to drink it easily on it own or with some lighter fare.  For more information of Finca El Origen's wines you can visit:  http://fincaelorigen.com/en

Barbequing With Giesta

Okay, for full disclosure we didn't actually barbeque with this wine, but we did have grilled chicken with BBQ sauce on it.  My drink of choice for grilling or barbecuing is beer, and as much as I love wine I don't see that changing.  Sunday was a fairly relaxing day after a long Saturday that was topped off by a nice BBQ here at the Alonso Building.  We had a number of leftovers to go through so the meals could be fairly simple.

Pris was going through some new Wall Street Journal wines that my mom had just given us to try.  In going through the notes she discovered one that was supposedly great with grilled meats and BBQ sauce.    So I heated up some leftover grilled chicken, smothered it in sauce and loaded it up with pickles and onions on white bread.  And to go with this Pris opened a bottle of Giesta Dão 2009.

This is a good Portuguese red blend.  Its a mix of 45% Tinta Roriz (also known as Tempranillo), 32% Touriga Nacional, and 23% Jaen.  The Giesta was loaded up with bright ripe fruit on the nose and palate.  It had juicy ripe berries dominate the palate, but there's also a good acidity and subtly oak.  Soft tannins round out this great summer wine and provide a mellow finish. 

While I was drinking the wine I kept thinking that I'd tried it before, the flavor kept bringing up a flavor I couldn't quite put my finger on.  Then Pris read the tasting notes and we discovered all the same grapes are used in Port and it all clicked.  The Giesta is basically an unfortified, and far less sweet Port. 

Let me just say, the tasting notes were not wrong about pairing this wine with barbecue sauced meats.  The slight sweetness in the wine went great with the spicy BBQ sauce and jalapenos.  The acidity and heavy fruit complimented the savory vinegary sauce and the smokiness of the chicken like nobody's business.  It would have been nice to try this with brisket or ribs, but you work with what you have.

If you're a Port fan, or simply like juicy wines with loads of fruit (that are not sweet), then this is a wine for you.  This wine is a great value as an everyday or weekend BBQ wine since it runs about $13 a bottle at the Wall Street Journal site, but a bit less at others if you do a Google search.  You can find out more about Giesta Dão 2009 and order it at: www.wsjwines.com.

Cap Rock and Cucumbers

Friday night was pretty busy.  We had a party to attend, another party to set up for the following day, and dinner to put together.  Normally we'd just eat out, but some chicken had already been taken out of the freezer and defrosted and was in dire need of cooking.  So Pris and I threw together some Greek seasoned chicken and mashed potatoes along with a cucumber and feta salad.  And to go with this light and herb heavy meal Pris picked out a bottle of Cap Rock's 2008 Viognier.

The Cap Rock Viognier is a nice slightly sweet white that we tried at a wine tasting at Feldman's Market Center in McAllen a couple of years ago with George and Virginia Gause.  We liked it and grabbed a couple of bottles along with some of Cap Rock's other selections.

The Cap Rock is a nice gold hued wine that looks quite a bit like a very liquid honey.  Honey actually seems to play a fairly dominant role in this light white wine.  On the nose there are light fruit and floral notes, with a good bit of honeysuckle mixed in.  The wine is also light on the palate with layers of light fruit opening up nicely.  Again, there is an undercurrent of honey flowing through the effervescent fruit.  The wine ends softly and smoothly, with a supple linger sweetness.

Cap Rock's Viognier went superbly with the cucumber salad which was well seasoned with champagne vinegar.  This mix of sweet and savory worked really well together.  However, the sweetness and heavy flavor of the fruit was a bit overpowering for the light seasoning on the chicken. We'd recommend pairing the wine with dishes with heavier seasoning or with crisp vegetable dishes that are seasoned in white wine or champagne vinegars.

We purchased the Cap Rock 2008 Viognier at Feldman's in McAllen a few years back for $22.  For more information on Cap Rock and its wines you can visit: http://www.caprockwinery.com

Las Rocas Garnacha

I got home Thursday to find Pris hard at work in the kitchen getting dinner ready.  Since we've started experimenting with more food recipes she's gotten more adventurous and wanted to try out some stuff.  I found out she was making Fettuccini Alfredo with shrimp and chorizo.  And to go with this decadently rich meal she selected a 2007 Las Rocas Garnacha.

The Las Rocas is a light red wine with a light red taste.  This Garnacha livens up the nose with berry aromas, especially raspberry.  On the palate the wine is mellow and fruity, with good acidity and a touch of oak.  It also goes ever so slightly sweet through the mid-palate.  The finish offers up a nice tart kick right in the back of the mouth that is as abrupt as it is refreshing.  But the wine does linger a bit afterwards allowing you to savor it just a little longer.

This wine is an excellent Spanish 90 point wine that seems tailor made for rich spicy and savory dishes.  To say that the meal was rich would be something of an understatement.  The spice of the chorizo was mellowed a bit by the Alfredo sauce, but was still present.  The 2007 Las Rocas Garnacha offered both a great counterpoint and compliment to the meal.  The lightness and the acidity of the Las Rocas Garnacha cut through the heaviness of the cream sauce.  At the same time the fruitiness of the wine played well with the spices imparted by the chorizo.  All in all it balanced out the meal perfectly.

While the Las Rocas will go great with spicy or heavy dishes, its a great little wine all on its own.  We picked our first bottle of this wine at HEB Central Market in San Antonio. We then found the second bottle at the HEB in McAllen. We've noticed that HEB McAllen on Trenton and 10th is now starting to carry more of the Central Market inventory of wines. At $12.99 a bottle, this wine is definitely a good everyday wine to have on hand. To find out more about Las Rocas and their wines you can visit:  http://www.lasrocaswine.com/

Turnbull Cab: A Classy Wine for a Classy Meal

As some of you might be aware, we've kicked up the cooking a bit over here in order to elevate the food to the level of some of the wines we're "working" our way through.    This Sunday I decided to take it down a notch and go back to just grilling up a simple sirloin.  New York strips are great, but we are living in a recession, and the Prime One sirloin from H.E.B. is a fantastic piece of beef.

The menu was a well seasoned sirloin cooked medium rare (which is really the only way steak should be cooked), horseradish mashed potatoes, and a spring mix salad with a red wine/dijon vinaigrette.  We knew the steak and potatoes would both be bold and require a bolder wine.  Given our selection that pretty much meant a Cab or a Malbec.  Pris decided on a 2007 Turnbull Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Turnbull is an excellent Napa Cab in that its big, bold, and beautiful.  The first thing you notice is the dark purple opulence of the wine.  As expected there is a bold nose with lots of dark fruit including the expected cherry and currant.  The Turnbull Cab is big and bold on the palate as well.  Heavy fruits dominate the palate, but are tempered slightly with oaky undertones.  Around the mid palate you notice a slight sweetness that is a welcome reprieve from the heaviness.  But as soon as you notice it, then its gone and bold tannins provide a bracing full dry finish that starts with a bite of spice and lingers nicely for quite a while.

As expected the wine went great with the meal.  The boldness of the wine was a perfect compliment to the bold juicy steak.  The spicy potatoes, spiced with ground horseradish and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, were a great counterpoint to the fullness of the wine.  Even the salad dressing matched with the wine.  Both had bite, but one had a touch of sweetness while the other countered with savory flair.

We first got introduced to Turnbull by my brother Rick who had it on a trip to California.  He brought a bottle of Merlot over for Thanksgiving last year and we've been on the lookout for it or the Cab ever since.  I finally found this fine 92 point Cab at the H.E.B. on Trenton and 10th in McAllen about a month ago.  Since I was there and the wine was there I decided to grab it.  It was on sale for about $35, but I think it normally runs closer to $40.  For more information on Turnbull and its wines you can visit: http://www.turnbullwines.com/

Fortune Favors the Bold Wine Selection: Rudi Wiest Riesling

So last night I went all out on dinner.  There's this Thai roast chicken recipe I'd been wanting to do for a while, but it's a little time intensive.  I had some time freed up so I decided to get to it.  Along with that I made a stir-fry shrimp and baby bok choy in a citrus soy sauce and coconut rice.  The food was a lot of work, but the hard part was figuring out a good wine pairing with the spicy citrusy dishes.

The most obvious choice for the meal would be some kind of white.  However, we're pretty much red wine drinkers and our white selection is rather limited.  We had a few whites that would work, but they'd all already been reviewed.  We also had some desert wines chilled and ready, but this wasn't desert yet.  Fortunately, Pris is an excellent selector of wines. 

Pris decided on a Rudi Wiest Riesling of an unknown vintage.  It seemed a bold choice at first, but it worked flawlessly with the meal.  This was a slightly dry and incredibly refreshing Riesling, not like a number of the sweeter ones on the market. The Rudi Wiest had a soft citrus nose and loads of citrus on the palate.  There was a nice mellow sweetness, but the acidity kept it from being overbearing.  This was an excellent crisp and refreshing wine that went great with the Asian dishes.

The citrus in the wine was a fantastic compliment to the heavy citrus and spice in the dishes.  In fact, a small tag that was still on the bottle noted that is paired well with shellfish and spicy dishes.  This was quite fortunate considering that dinner was loaded with lime, Thai peppers, and shrimp.

The Rudi Wiest Riesling came from a little store called WineStyles in McAllen that's no longer around.  We got the bottle in a basket that we won in a raffle years ago.  WineStyles was a great little store for buying wine in that it was very user friendly.  All bottles were labeled and categorized by flavor/type rather than varietal and region.  However, they are gone in the Valley, but you may run into them elsewhere.  For more information on the Rudi Wiest wines you can visit: http://www.rudiwiest.com/index.html

Beer and Wine do Mix! Frei Borther's Reserve Merlot

I don't know why, but we're really behind on our posts right now.  Not only that, its been a really slow week wine wise.  Thanks to the wonders of vacuum sealers for wine we're still nursing last Sunday's bottle.

Along with drinking more wine, Pris and I have been getting a little more adventurous with our cooking.  That means more time in the kitchen and less time on the keyboard posting.  So for last Sunday's dinner I decided to try a Shiner Bock braised chuck roast with garlic roasted potatoes.  It was a bit time consuming, but well worth it.  To go with this exceedingly rich meal Pris selected a bottle of Frei Brother's 2007 Reserve Merlot.

The Reserve Merlot is exceedingly smooth with a big fruit nose.  On the palate this wine is all mellowness with loads of dark fruit and lots of oak.  There are even some chocolate notes around the mid-palate.  Robust tannins allow for a bold spicy finish with lots of texture that hits you and then its gone.  No lingering finish here.

While technically a Merlot, this wine is actually a blend of 96% Merlot, 3% Petite Sirah, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine went really well with the meal.  The deep fruit and oak was a great compliment to the deep sweet flavor of the braised beef.  Slow cooking beef in a nice dark beer really brings out the best flavor components of both ingredients.  The Merlot held up nicely with the strong savory flavors of the roasted potatoes.  Any wine that can stand up to strong garlic potatoes is a wine for me.

We picked up the Frei Bothers at H.E.B. and it runs about $17.24 a bottle.  For more information of this and other Frei Brothers wines you can visit: http://www.freibrothers.com/

An Evening of Art, Friends, and Inurrieta Cuatrocientos Crianza

Saturday night was a big art opening for Julian Rodriguez here at the Alonso Building.  If you haven't heard of him or seen his stuff, he is a master ceramicist.  The show was a great success with lots of folks milling about looking at the art, drinking wine, eating food, and buying art.  However, as I was partially in charge of the food, and Pris was working the event neither one of us got to partake in the wine.

Thankfully our friends George and Virginia Gause came down for the opening and brought two bottles of Inurrieta Cuatrocientos 2007 Crianza and a number of cheeses and some crackers.  They had tried the Inurrieta Cuatrocientos at a wine tasting at El Pastor in Pharr, and had fallen in love with the wine.  After trying it, it was easy to see why.

The Inurrieta Cuatrocientos is a light Spanish wine that is a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Graciano.  It has a crisp fruity nose with lots of bite.  On the palate this Crianza is smooth with a strong fruit flavor.  This is a well balanced wine who's rounded tannins provide a smooth slightly spicy finish.  The Inurrieta Cuatrocientos paired excellently with a trio of cheeses, and was great to drink all on its own.

As far as price and where to get it, I'm not sure. I would recommend it if you happen to be having dinner at El Pastor in Pharr, and they have it available. For more information on Inurrieta you can visit: http://www.bodegainurrieta.com/

Celita Sangiovese

Friday night was a small family dinner to celebrate Pris' dad's birthday.  We decided it'd be more cost efficient to celebrate with a small dinner at home rather than going out.  After deciding on some relatively easy and quick items for dinner it was time for Pris and I to select a wine. 

Dinner was skirt steak over spring mix with a home-made lemon/herb vinaigrette.  Some brushcetta, and the roasted tomato/olive dish from earlier in the week.  To go with this Italian themed meal Pris selected a 2009 Celita Sangiovese that my mom gave us from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.

The Celita was light in color with a light and fruity nose.  There are great berry notes with cherry and other berries.  This is a really smooth wine with loads of red berry on the palate.  The Celita has a great long mellow finish with just a bit of a tang.

This is good little wine that that will go well with a number of lighter summer dishes.  It went great with the Tuscan steak and salad with lemon vinaigrette.   The combination of the light and fruity wine with the citrusy and savory steak was great.  Once again Pris picked a knock out combo.

The Celita 2009 Sangiovese is a Wall Street Journal Wine Club wine, which means you can pretty much only get it through them.  You can order online, or over the phone.  They run $12 a bottle there.  You can find out more at www.wsjwine.com 

Hall: A Simple Name for a Damn Good Wine

So we decided to change things up a little this Sunday.  If you've read a few of the posts you know that Sundays are reserved for steak and a full red wine of some type.  We kept the beef and the full red wine, but changed up the steak.

For dinner I braised beef short ribs in red wine and served it with a cheesy polenta.  Sorry, no pictures this time.  To be fair, it wasn't as photogenic as some of our other meals.  To go with this rich dinner we selected a great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon from Hall.  My brother brought over a bottle of Hall for Thanksgiving last year, and it was exceptional.  We kept the bottle despite not getting to enjoy it as thoroughly as we would have liked.

The 2007 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon is a fantastic full bodied wine.  Its all dark amethyst in the glass with a deep rich fruit nose to match.  Plum, spice, and rich berries all vie for attention on the nose.  The wine is smooth and bold with loads of dark luscious berries, cassis, and even anise on the palate.  Full tannins round out this Cab and give a long full finish.  This is everything one would expect from a fine Napa Cab and more.

The Hall went really well with the wine braised short ribs.  The full flavored Cab was perfect with the rich tender beef that fell off the bone.  I had worried about it being too much wine for the braising, but that wasn't an issue.  On a quick side note, the short ribs were braised in a full bottle of Concha y Toro's Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend.  I know the experts say cook with what you drink, but the Hall was way too good to cook with.  And back in the day Pris and I both drank our fair share of the Conch.  The wine also went well with the polenta which was rich and savory.  I suppose the cup and a half of heavy cream, or the almost cup of parmesan and fontina cheeses had something to do with that.  At any rate, the creamy richness was a great foil to the deep rich fruit of the wine.

I picked up this bottle on sale at H.E.B. in McAllen for about $34.  It usually runs a bit more, but it is worth it.  I know they also carry it at Feldman's, but I don't remember the price.  To find out more about the Hall family of wines you can visit: http://www.hallwines.com/home