Coming back to Texas with Messina Hof’s Winemaker Reserve

Messina Hof Winery will always have a special place in my heart. It was beautiful place to get away from school while I was at A&M. I enjoyed wine back then, but not to the extent that I do today. Like wine itself, appreciation only gets better with age.

My local grocery store regularly carries Messina Hof wines and I tend to grab the odd bottle on my trips there. A few weeks ago I picked up a bottle of their Winemaker’s Reserve. This is a non-vintage red wine made up of a blend of red varietals: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo.  But the wine focuses more on the Merlot grape as its bedrock. Like most Merlots is has a good fruit nose with elements of blackberries and raspberries.  Spicy fruit is the first thing that hits the palate. This is followed by more spice, vanilla, and nice touch of mineral and tannin to finish. The Winemaker’s Reserve is a good medium bodied wine. Its dry, but not too much so.

I took the opportunity of a cool wet evening to pair the Winemaker’s reserve with a grilled cheese sandwich and a roasted red pepper tomato soup. This medium bodied red was a great accompaniment to the meal. It worked through the acidity of the tomato soup and the richness of the Mediterranean cheddar in the sandwich. Pair this one with pasta, with steak, a burger, or a good hearty stew. The richness of this wine will stand up to most meals.

Hahn Keeps Rolling out the Hits

Thanks to the higher carbohydrates in beer I’ve been turning back to wine to get through the holidays without putting on too much weight. That, and I really enjoying having a glass of wine while getting dinner ready. And of course there's nothing quite like a glass with the meal. I’d recently purchased Hahn’s 2014 GSM which is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre.  Pris and I really enjoyed Hahn’s Pinot offerings so I decided to see how their other varieties fared.

Like most red blends the result is determined by the winery finding just the right mix and percentage of grapes. Ripe red fruit takes the lead on the nose, followed by redolent berry notes on the palate. Raspberry and cherry stand out, and are bolstered by a solid backbone of mineral from the Granache.

I paired Hahn’s GSM with homemade chicken tenders and an herbaceous mac & cheese. It worked flawlessly with the simple, yet very rich meal. The fruit was a great counterpoint to the rich cheese and breading. The tenders were loaded with fresh herbs in the breading, and this red blend  complimented them very well.

Hahn’s GSM can be found at HEB on Trenton, and it runs about $12 a bottle. This wine is another great everyday drinking wine that won’t break the bank. You can pair it with steak, BBQ, or fried chicken. It will go with about everything, especially a charcuterie and cheese plate shared among friends mixed with great conversation and music.

The Genius of DaVinci Chianti

I think I may have just found my new low cost go to wine for everyday drinking in DaVinci’s Chianti. Both the folks living in Italy and Spain know a thing or two about easy drinking table wines. It’s a large part of their culture, and you’d be hard pressed to find a lunch or dinner served without a bottle. That said, DaVinci’s 2014 Chianti is superb example of a versatile and decidedly drinkable table wine.

The DaVinci winery is located in the Chianti region of Tuscany, between Florence and Siena. It draws its grapes from a cooperative of growers in the region, making the most of the climate and terroir. This wine is soft, subtle, smooth, and delicious. Rich fruit notes are the first thing you notice on the nose. From there ripe berries cascade over the palate, followed by rich notes of plum. Unlike heavier wines there is little or no tannic bite until the very end when light tannins and minerals finish the piece.

I started drinking this bottle while I was making pasta. Not original, but it works. Chiantis are made to go with pasta, and DaVinci’s was no exception. The rich fruit cut through the acidity of the tomato sauce and the fat of the sausage with ease. Instead of stopping at one glass though I poured a second when the meal was done and the wine held nicely all on its own. The lighter fruit filled wine will work with a variety of dishes from pasta, to fish, to barbeque. Essentially you can’t go wrong uncorking this bottle for dinner, or just a relaxing glass after work.

I picked up the DaVinci Chianti at HEB on Trenton for just under $11.  At the price point it’s an easy choice for an everyday drinker.

Becker Vineyards Fleur Sauvage: A Wild Texas Gem

If you look through the posts here, you’ll notice that reds get far more attention on the blog than white wines. The reason for this is simple, Pris and I prefer reds, so that’s what we buy more to try. But every once in a while I’ll pull out a white to go with a particular meal.  In this instance it was Becker Vineyard’s 2012 Fleur Sauvage, a crisp and refreshing Texas white wine blend. I’ve actually been keeping bottles of this wine stocked up for some time. It’s become a go-to over the warmer months if I don’t have a Vinho Verde handy.

The Fleur Sauvage certainly lives up to its wild flower namesake: bright, crisp, and sweet like a Texas wildflower in spring bloom. The sweetness of the wine hits you immediately on the nose with bright floral notes intermingled with sweet tropical fruit.  Crisp citrus notes cut through the palate followed by the cloying sweetness of the wines’ residual sugars. The after affect is very reminiscent of a muscat, though not quite as sweet.

I was fortunate to get to pair this wine with two very different meals over the course of the week. The first meal that led to the opening of this particular wine was a Ritz-crusted oven baked buttermilk chicken, sautéed sweet potatoes, and broccoli slaw. The sweetness of the wine complimented the rich buttery crust on the chicken, and the slightly spicy counterpoint of the cayenne pepper and smoked paprika. Where the wine worked best was when paired against the tangy apple cider vinegar slaw.  Sweet and sour in perfect opposition to one another.

The next meal came about by happenstance. Pris pulled out some frozen homemade pesto to mix in with some shredded chicken I cooked up. The pesto was not your typical pesto made with sweet basil, but a far sharper affair with a much more robust bite. Again, the sweet floral and citrus notes of the wine were a fantastic counterpoint to the piquant bite of the pesto.

This is a great wine for lighter, or more pungent or spicy foods. In fact, it would probably be great with some buffalo wings, which may now lead to a follow-up post. With our warmer weather now upon us this would also be a great wine to drink on a warm afternoon. However, if you’re not a fan of the sweet wines, dessert wines, or wines with a fairly high residual sugar content then let this one pass you by.

HEB stores carry Becker Vineyard’s selections, and you can usually find this one at the 10^th & Trenton location for around $16-$19. For more information you can visit: https://store.beckervineyards.com/

A Night of French Wine and Grass Fed Beef

This is the last post of the month, and Pris and I went out with a bang.  I picked up some grass fed NY strips I picked up at the Farmer's Market here in Brownsville.  To go with the mild steaks we selected Chateau Le Nuda 2006 Medoc.  The rich French wine was a great mellow selection for a pair of incredibly flavorful steaks.

The Chateau Le Nuda had a great bold nose that was loaded with cherries and oak.  While this French blend had a great bold nose, it was an exceptionally mellow wine on the palate.  This is of course thanks in large part to the aging process, but there has to be a solid wine to work with for this to happen.  On the palate this blend was all silky blackberry, raspberry, and cassis.  As expected, mild tannins facilitated a mellow finished that did not linger for long.

I know people had talked about how great grass-fed beef was, but I was skeptical about the hype.  However, after tasting the goods I am happy to say the grass-fed steak was everything we were promised.  The beef has a lower fat content, and like the Medoc we were working on, was mellow and flavorful.  The wine and the steak went well together, and I was thankful the wine was lighter and mellower than a Cab or Malbec.  Anything stronger might have been too much for the steak and overpowered the perfectly medium rare beef.

Unfortunately we don't have any information on where we picked up the 2006 Chateau Le Nuda Medoc or how much we paid for it.  It retails for about $15 online, and it appears that several sellers still offer it.

A Change of Pace with Oniro

If you're a regular follower of our blog, you know that Pris and I consume a fairly sizable quantity of beef.  Or rather we tend to pair more of our wines with beef.  We can't help it that we're from Texas, and grew up with the commercials that said "Beef, its what's for dinner."  Still, I decided to switch things up a bit the other night and grilled up some lamb chops.  To go with the change of pace Pris selected a bottle of Oniro's 2009 red.

The Oniro is a Spanish red that is a blend of Monastrell ,Cabernet, Garnacha, and Syrah; and it was a great selection to go with our dinner.  The wine is made up primarily of the Monastrell grape, and it really showed in the flavor.  The aroma was heavy with deep dark berries and herbal undertones.  The Monastrell dominated the palate with full ripe raspberry notes followed by anise and mineral on the mid-palate.  The wine finished nicely with mellow tannins and the full fruit from the Monastrell.

We paired Oniro's red blend with a pair of grilled lamb chops and an orzo salad made with feta, cucumbers, olives, mint, lemon juice and olive oil.  The wine went very well with the earthy lamb and the citrusy salad.  The full fruit was a great compliment to the well seasoned meat.  It also managed to even out the richness of all the olive oil in the salad.  This would be a great wine for barbeque on the weekends as the fulll fruit seems tailor made for a rich barbeque sauce.

I picked up the Oniro at Feldman's here in Brownsville.  It costs under $10, and last I checked it was still available.  It was a great wine for the value.  Unfortunately I was not able to find a website to offer more information on this wine.

Christmas Dinner with Alma Andina

For Christmas Eve I planned out a nice little dinner of prime rib, sautéed asparagus, and mashed potatoes.  Despite a little hiccup with the freshness of the asparagus, the meal turned out well.  To go with our pre-celebration dining Pris selected a bottle of Alma Andina 2010 Malbec-Bonarda blend.  This ripe red from Argentina was a great compliment to this meal and our Christmas meal the following day.

The first thing you notice about the Alma Andina is the deep rich purple color, and immediately after that the ripe nose hits.  Exceptionally ripe blueberries and raspberries with an undercurrent of spice and vanilla assail the nose and give a hint of what was to come on the palate.  Rich raspberry, blackberry, and subtle oak all mingle on the palate.  The wine is full bodied but not overpowering or dry thanks to the blending of the Bonarda with the Malbec. This blend, while full flavored, offered soft tannins for a nice mellow finish that faded easily.

Pris was afraid the wine was going to over power the meal, but thanks to the mellowing effect of the Bonarda grapes this did not happen.  It turned out the wine went quite well with the rime rib and the balsamic vinaigrette I made for the salad.  While this was good to find out, what was really pleasant to discover was how well the wine paired with tamales on Christmas day.  The rich fruit in the wine was a great compliment to the spice and cornmeal in the tamales.  Pairing local foods with wine has generally been a touch difficult, but this is definitely one I would recommend to go with pork, chicken, and bean tamales covered in salsa.

The 2010 Alma Andina Malbec-Bonarda was another selection from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.  At $12 a bottle its a pretty good everyday wine, even after you factor in the shipping costs.  You can find out more about this wine at: www.wsjwine.com

Of Moroccan Chicken and Meritage

Last Wednesday was interesting.  There was a meeting going on down at the far end of our Museum's building we currently reside in and I was trying to make a relatively easy meal of Moroccan stewed chicken.  I figured the slower stewing process would create less mess and smell than frying something up in a skillet.  I was a bit wrong on that account, but as smells go, it was delightful.

To go with this sweet, spicy, and savory dish Pris pulled out one of Cameron Hughes' wines.  She selected Lot 119, a 2005 Meritage from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County.  This was good wine that went great with our meal.

This wine, like so many others, offered several layers of flavor over a couple of days.  It offered a light ripe fruit nose with plum, spice, and mocha.  On the first day it was open it held sumptuous rich fruit on the palate.  However, as rich as it was, the Meritage was still light and even refreshing.  Raspberry and oak dominate this wine.  The finish was smooth, but somewhat abrupt.  On the second day this Lot mellowed dramatically.  The flavors were richer, and the wine was far more smooth.  From the second day on the finish lingered with a nice earthiness and bite.

As I said, the wine paired excellently with the meal which was chicken thighs stewed with tomatoes, chick peas, zucchini, garlic, and generous amounts of cinnamon, cumin, and cayenne pepper.  The result was a slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and very savory dish where the chicken just melted away in the flavors.  The mocha, spice, and fruit complemented the spice in the dish very well.  It worked to subdue the heat a bit, and really brought out the savory in the stewed chicken. 

The chicken dish itself was somewhat like a mole in the flavoring.  The only ingredient it really lacked was the chocolate.  So I don't think it'd be a stretch to say this wine should pair very well with chicken mole for anyone looking to branch out some.

We ordered this Meritage at Cameron Hughes' website (www.chwine.com), but it appears to be sold out at this time.  It runs about $12 a bottle, which is a great price for a wine this good.  The trick is finding it.  I did see a couple spots online that seem to have it in stock, all you need to do is look around.