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.