Happy Malbec to Me!!!

Yesterday was my birthday, hubby wanted to take me out to celebrate, but the weather was crummy and I had a lot of school work to do, so I made us a huge pan of lasagna instead. I opened up a bottle of malbec that Kleo (who's been MIA for a while) had given me. Kleo's a fan of malbecs; the few I've tried were ones that she's introduced me to. I wasn't hugely crazy about them, although they were Argentinian and a bit too full-bodied for me. I prefer red wines that are a little lighter and smoother. This particular malbec, Punto Final, was from Italy and just perfect with my lasagna. It's not heavy as the Argentinian malbecs and a bit drier. While it was excellent with pasta, I could also see pairing it up with a grilled steak or pork chops -- you might even get away with serving it with a rich poultry dish as well. I'll be putting Punto Final on the top of my wine shopping list. Thanks again, Kleo you sure know your malbecs.

Less Budget Busting Wines

Ketch sends along more suggestions that might be a better fit with your budget. Thanks, man, and keep warm. BRRRR. It's sure been cold up here.


My goal is like is to find great wines that don’t break the bank. I’ll send what I think are deals generally between $10-15 Can. Thus if you can find it should be a real deal for you US folks (about $10-13 USD).

Cheers!

Chateau De Gourgazaud 2004
The Languedoc region of France offers some really good value red wines. From the Minervois you can pick up a bottle of Chateau De Gourgazaud 2004 that will make a very tasty addition to red meat dishes. The wine is deep purple in colour with a nose of blackberries and spices along with a peppery, smoky note. It's medium-bodied and dry with good acidity. Let it stand for an hour or so in a decanter or jug before serving.

Black Opal Chardonnay 2005
Australian Chardonnay is one of those "hail fellow well met" wines, very much like the Aussie personality. What you see is what you get. If you're looking for a down-under Chardonnay that's lively and, full-flavoured at a very sensible price, try Black Opal Chardonnay 2005. The colour is medium straw. The bouquet is rich in buttery, pineapple aromas; it's medium-bodied with spicy, pineapple and lemon flavours. Try it with roast chicken or a slice of Port Salut cheese.

Less Budget Busting Wines

Ketch sends along more suggestions that might be a better fit with your budget. Thanks, man, and keep warm. BRRRR. It's sure been cold up here.

My goal is like is to find great wines that don’t break the bank. I’ll send what I think are deals generally between $10-15 Can. Thus if you can find it should be a real deal for you US folks (about $10-13 USD).

Cheers!

Chateau De Gourgazaud 2004
The Languedoc region of France offers some really good value red wines. From the Minervois you can pick up a bottle of Chateau De Gourgazaud 2004 that will make a very tasty addition to red meat dishes. The wine is deep purple in colour with a nose of blackberries and spices along with a peppery, smoky note. It's medium-bodied and dry with good acidity. Let it stand for an hour or so in a decanter or jug before serving.

Black Opal Chardonnay 2005
Australian Chardonnay is one of those "hail fellow well met" wines, very much like the Aussie personality. What you see is what you get. If you're looking for a down-under Chardonnay that's lively and, full-flavoured at a very sensible price, try Black Opal Chardonnay 2005. The colour is medium straw. The bouquet is rich in buttery, pineapple aromas; it's medium-bodied with spicy, pineapple and lemon flavours. Try it with roast chicken or a slice of Port Salut cheese.

Budget Busting Wines

This information comes to me by way of my buddy "Ketch" from the Toronto, CA area. My snarky remarks are in italics:

Most Expensive Wines here in Ketch Country:

1. 2000 Château Le Pin (Pomerol): $5,899.00. Two bottles reported in stock at Summerhill. Hugh Johnson: "Almost as rich as its drinkers, but prices well beyond Pétrus are ridiculous." LCBO# 641167

--I totally agree with that statement.

2. 2000 Cheval Blanc (St. Emilion): $1,499.00. One bottle reported in stock at Summerhill. Cheval Blanc had a cameo in Sideways as the wine (from the fabled year of 1961) Miles consoled himself with a his local burger shack. LCBO# 641209

3. 2000 Château Margaux (Margaux): $1,249.00. One bottle reported in stock at the Roundhouse Centre in Windsor. Johnson calls this wine the "most seductive and fabulously perfumed of all in its top vintages". LCBO# 641183
4. 2000 Château Haut-Brion (Graves): $1,099.00. Five bottles reported in stock at Summerhill. Note this is for the red. The white can be had for between $800 and $500 depending on the vintage, ask the cashier at your local LCBO. LCBO# 641191

--I'll keep that one in mind for my 50th birthday party. If I open a savings account today, I just may be able to raise the funds just in time, provided there are any bottles left!

Little Penguin, Big Dud

The Little Penguin, Pinot Noir (Austrailian)

It was New Year's Eve, and I found myself at a friend's home deliberating over the line-up of open wine bottles on his bar. Several of my old favorites were stocked, but I decided with the coming new year just moments away, it was time to try something new. Right in the middle of the bar was a big bottle of The Little Penguin Pinot Noir. I've seen The Little Pengiun wines all over my local liquor store, but had never tried any. Most of my experiences with Aussie Reds have been good, and since I love Pinot Noir I thought, why not? I poured myself a generous glass and took my first sip...BLEEEECH!!!! WTF?!!! That's a pinot noir? If that's a pinot noir, I'm Nicole Kidman! It was heavy, sludgy and acidic. It was so undrinkable I almost wondered if the bottle had actually gone bad, although no one else at the party had said anything. Maybe they were being polite like me, slinking off to dump my glass in the kitchen sink while everyone was in the family room watching the ball drop.

Well, asuredly not the best way to send off 2006, but at least I know I won't be buying any of The Little Penguin in 2007.

You Have to Start Somewhere

If you're one of those people who tend to wander around your local liquor warehouse store in a stupor trying to figure what wine goes with what kind of food or what wine will your friends won't consider you a total jerk for bringing to dinner; maybe you want to know what wine just tastes good and won't cost more than your monthly cable bill. If you fall in this category, then this just might be a bookmark-worthy blog for you.

For the past two or three years my friend, kleo and I had been talking about starting a tandem blog. (I've had a solo one, Zippin' Along for the past year.) Finally over lasagna dinner this past 'weekend we decided to make the leap. We plan to focus the blog on the wines we like, and the wines we're not too crazy about. Keep in mind though we've been known to lose focus quite a bit in the past and especially under the influence of too much good wine. And we're no in no way wine experts. We just to share our experinces with you and hope you comment back if you have something you'd like to share. You might even disagree with our little critiques, if so please let us know, it's possible we got a bad bottle, or maybe it's just us, like I said we're no experts.

So hang on to your corkscrews; we promise it's going to be a bumpy ride!