I love trying new wines. I wander aisles at various stores - grocery and wine warehouses - looking at labels, reading the tasting notes, ratings, etc... and comparing prices...
The underlying question I usually have is, how much great wine can I get for the least possible price?
This line of thinking clearly eliminates such gems as Insignia and Opus One. But it also eliminates such wimps as Charles Shaw and... well, plug in most under $4 bottles of wine here.
I also look at where the wines are from and I find that I have favorites from general areas, new world specifically, that I enjoy frequently and trust for quality while remaining somewhat within my budget.
For your amusement (and possibly mine as well) here's a short list. This is always subject to change and just happens to include wines that I'm thinking of now....
Washington State - Columbia Crest
Oregon - Ponzi
Napa Valley - Mondavi
Sonoma - Rosenblum
Paso Robles - Denner
Santa Barbara County - Sea Smoke
Lodi - Michael David
Chile - Concha Y Toro
Australia - Mollydooker
Of course, there are many more from these areas that I really enjoy.... but these are what come to mind today....
Cheers!
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Saturday, May 9, 2009
No rules for wine pairing
Here we go. Today, I tossed two chicken breasts (bone-in) into a crock pot with KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce and about a tablespoon of Cajun spices. That was about 9:00 this morning.
The chicken slow-cooked until 6:00 p.m. when I took it out and, along with a tossed salad, dinner was prepared.
Then I re-opened last night's bottle of Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz. There was about half the bottle remaining (well, not anymore) but that's beside the point.
You know those people who say white wine with chicken and fish, red wine with red meat? There are no rules as far as I'm concerned.
You know, when you eat Chinese food - especially those really cheap and greasy buffets...? You get all kinds of flavors... sweet, sour, spicy, etc etc.... and it doesn't matter. Sometimes, I pair my wine the same way - with no regard to how each dish and the wine compliment each other. It's just one more flavor to enjoy.
Granted - this meal tonight might not have worked so well had the wine been a wimpy one... but the Jim Barry is robust enough and peppery enough to fight its' way through that Cajun infused BBQ sauce for one delicious combo.
No rules... except what your taste buds tell you.
The chicken slow-cooked until 6:00 p.m. when I took it out and, along with a tossed salad, dinner was prepared.
Then I re-opened last night's bottle of Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz. There was about half the bottle remaining (well, not anymore) but that's beside the point.
You know those people who say white wine with chicken and fish, red wine with red meat? There are no rules as far as I'm concerned.
You know, when you eat Chinese food - especially those really cheap and greasy buffets...? You get all kinds of flavors... sweet, sour, spicy, etc etc.... and it doesn't matter. Sometimes, I pair my wine the same way - with no regard to how each dish and the wine compliment each other. It's just one more flavor to enjoy.
Granted - this meal tonight might not have worked so well had the wine been a wimpy one... but the Jim Barry is robust enough and peppery enough to fight its' way through that Cajun infused BBQ sauce for one delicious combo.
No rules... except what your taste buds tell you.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Shiraz and Pizza
Got home from northern California yesterday and re-heated some store-bought pizza... pepperoni... medium crust... actually quite tasty.... and, of course, the thought came to my mind: what wine would go with this? That thought quickly became: what wine do I want to drink?
The question changed because I realized that how the wine tasted was more important to me than how the food tasted. If the food didn't compliment the wine, I would grab something that would.... twice-reheated-pizza anyone?
Just kidding.
I opened a bottle of 2006 3 Rings Barossa Shiraz... one of my favorite deals in Shiraz. I love this wine. It's especially good when your local Costco sells it because their price is usually a couple of bucks less than anyone else - even the big wine stores. Anyway - not much description here... it's a big-ass Shiraz with lots of blackberry and spicy vanilla and.... oh, whatever. It tasted good, went with the pizza, after which we digressed to watching a couple of "House" episodes.
Nice way to top off our trip, don't you think?
The question changed because I realized that how the wine tasted was more important to me than how the food tasted. If the food didn't compliment the wine, I would grab something that would.... twice-reheated-pizza anyone?
Just kidding.
I opened a bottle of 2006 3 Rings Barossa Shiraz... one of my favorite deals in Shiraz. I love this wine. It's especially good when your local Costco sells it because their price is usually a couple of bucks less than anyone else - even the big wine stores. Anyway - not much description here... it's a big-ass Shiraz with lots of blackberry and spicy vanilla and.... oh, whatever. It tasted good, went with the pizza, after which we digressed to watching a couple of "House" episodes.
Nice way to top off our trip, don't you think?
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