Dinner

Sometimes it just comes naturally... yes, I'm bragging. Tonight, my daughter, Jamie and I decided to have a nice dinner. We had a great show last night at Moctezuma's in Whittier - our vocals were right on the money and the energy was good. We felt like we earned it. So, tonight, we created a meal of Pepper-Bacon-Wrapped scallops, Grilled Portabella Mushrooms with Red Onion, a Romaine Salad with Yellow Bell Peppers, Tomatoes on the Vine, and Avocado from our backyard tree. The main course? USDA Prime Sirloin steak rubbed in mildly spicy Cajun seasonings.

The wine? 2008 Mollydooker Shiraz. Yes, it does come naturally - or seemingly so, with the good folks at Mollydooker. Yeah, they come from the land down under but, tonight, I felt like I lived on the land up above. Not because of the mellow feeling after enjoying such a meal... but because the taste pairings all around... the 'flow' as it is, was perfect.

It might be an easy assumption that the appropriate wine would be one of the Cabernet selections from Northern California and, I would agree - it would be hard to go wrong. But, this wasn't a meal short of diverse flavors. I'm not really sure that a California Cabernet short of $100 would have held up under the weight of the spices, peppers, and, did I mention, balsamic vinaigrette dressing?!!!!

The 2008 Mollydooker Shiraz is a natural. This is a wonderful wine... filled with bold flavors of blackberry, black licorice, and black cherry.... drank very nicely with the blackened steak!

Now I don't presume to have the most discerning palate. I'm not a sophisticated wine drinker by any means. I drink what I like so that I like what I drink. That's it. But I think my taste buds are in tune even if my mental arsenal of adjectives is not. I still taste the wine... it's amazing. After all of this food, you'd think my taste buds would be dead. Not so. And there's still more wine left.

The 2008 Mollydooker Shiraz is flat out delicious. It's a natural. Just go with it.

Shoofly

Put it simply, I love finding a great deal on good wine.  Then again, if I can find a great wine for a good deal, that's even better. 

If the good deal means I pay less than ten bucks for a delicious bottle of wine, then sign me up now!

The 2008 Shoofly Australian Shiraz fits in that really good under $10 bottle.  Like I've said before, this is always a cool thing when I find something that could easily pass for a bottle two to three times the amount (never mind those chain restaurants that sell $10 bottles for $40)...

This wine kicks ass.  It's got great dark berry fruit, a nice peppery finish, enough acidity to enjoy with pizza, spaghetti, burgers, or just drink on its' own. 

Did I mention a hint of black licorice... my favorite? 

This stuff is pretty easy to find, especially if there's a World Market nearby.  Look it up.  Buy a case.  Just have it around... well, just in case.

Shoofly.  A really good wine at a great price!

Cheers!

Que Syrah Shiraz....

... whatever will be will be... etc etc...

This is the feeling I get when drinking wine... good wine... tasty wine... wine that says 'drink more'... no, not to get drunk.

It just tastes so good! Note that I left out the f-word for those of you who like the movie Sideways. I still don't think Miles knew much about wine.... hence his ongoing dislike of Merlot and Cab Franc.

Anyway.

Last week, while visiting an old friend (and former boss - how many of you can say that!) we found, in his son's cellar, a 2006 Mollydooker Shiraz...

Temptation and a love for wine as it is, we opened it. And drank it. And wanted more. It's good... really good. The 2007 is good too. The 2008... haven't tried it. Want to.

Monday this week, I opened a 2006 Columbia Crest Shiraz. It was $7.99 at Bevmo. Good incentive. Columbia Crest wines are very reliable.

The CC Shiraz is tasty... a bit of pepper on the finish.. almost a white pepper, I think... and a caramel mouth feel...

Then, tonight, we open a bottle of 2005 Zaca Mesa Syrah. I've written about this before. It's good. Really good.

It reminds me of some of the best in Australian Shiraz that I've had... deep dark fruit... black licorice... cocoa... and a black peppery finish laced with soft tannins.

Never mind.

It's freaking good. Like the Mollydooker. Like Henry's Drive. Like Andrew Murray. Like Denner.

So, whether you speak Syrah or Shiraz... doesn't matter. Give these wines a test drive and you'll find yourself casting away the day and relishing in the sensations that only a yummy wine like these can deliver.

Cheers!

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.

Is that really Pinot?

I've tasted it... and had no idea what it was. At first, I thought it was just a really bold ten dollar pinot noir. It wasn't unpleasant... heck, wine has to be really bad to actually be unpleasant... like that two-buck stuff.... oh well.

I love pinot. It's probably my favorite wine - but it costs so darn much. So, I'm always glad to find that one of the wine mags has rated an under $15 bottle in the high 80's.... gives me hope. So, I usually go and buy one... or two... and usually enjoy them as well!

These "low end" pinots aren't the most complex of wines... not a whole bunch of finesse or elegance... but they're tasty. And some are a bit bolder than their more expensive counterparts... recently, I found out where those dark berry and sometimes peppery nuances were coming from..... Syrah.

Yeah, like Viognier is added in 5% lots to some Australian Shiraz (and recently the Denner Dirt Worshiper), I learned that some pinot has been 'enhanced' by the addition of 3-5% Syrah. Does it taste bad? No... but Syrah is such a bold grape, it somewhat distorts the more delicate flavors of pinot.

I was disappointed to learn this.... mostly because, when I buy pinot, I've been naiively believing that it was 100%. Darn.

Now here's the solution... like those Aussie blends, why not sell these Pinots as "95% Pinot Noir, 5% Syrah". Nothing like truth in advertising, huh?

Where does this wind up? I have no idea. It just added a bit of cynicism to my enjoyment of relatively cheap Pinot.... but, then again, I'm a bit of a purist. If you say it's pinot, then it's pinot. If you blend it.... well, as much as I enjoy guessing games, this isn't one of 'em.

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?