Opi Malbec (2008)

It is Monday evening and we were both back to work today after a lovely week of vacation in Northern Michigan. So, I poured myself the rest of the bottle of this Argentinian “Opi” Malbec and I opened a new bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for Tom.  (I think I probably got the better deal, here, because this Malbec is excellent.)

It is a very warm August night and I wanted to avoid using the oven but no luck. My groceries for the week dictacted that we were going to have a pork-chop dinner casserole with spicy baked beans and that required the oven. So, it is now in the oven in my favorite cast-iron skillet and smelling lovely. I am going to steam some green beans and slice a tomato and call it good. (For those who like recipes, I browned the chops in hot oil in the skillet. I drained the fat from the skillet and added a can of baked beans, spicy mustard, chopped onions and green peppers, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce and added the browned chops. . .put it in the oven.)

I love Malbec from Argentina, so this is a wine that I really like. This is a smoky, plummy big red with some oak wafting through the layers of deliciousness. It’s a great wine to stand up against a spicy pork and bean meal. So, even though our vacation has ended, life is quite wonderful! Cheers. . .

Lindemans’ Shiraz (2008)

This Australian Lindemans’ wine has been on sale for $5.99 at our local grocery store. So Tom has been picking up a couple bottles each time he stops to buy groceries. He poured me a glass of this tonight after we sipped and enjoyed a lovely, ice-cold martini. It is Saturday night and we just returned from a weeks’ vacation in Northern Michigan. We had so much fun! We waded in crystal-clear Lake Superior, ate Whitefish in a small upper-peninsula town, and hiked in lush, green forests out in the middle of nowhere! Now we are home and have unpacked, done the laundry, grocery shopped, etc., so that we are ready to go on Monday when we both go back to work.

This wine is truly new-world. It isn’t shy about being fruit-forward. The wine is uber-plummy and full bodied with a smooth finish. (That use of “uber” is in deference to my running partner, Jeanie, who taught me that word.) Jeanie, Pat and I went for an 8-mile run this morning. None of us were feeling particularly energetic so we were all happy when we finished.

Today was one of those rare days when I couldn’t think of anything to cook for dinner. . .so, in desperation, I took a meatloaf out of the freezer. (Whenever I make meatloaf, I make two and put one in the freezer.)  So that is in the oven now along with a couple of potatoes. This wine is perfect for a meatloaf dinner.

Cheers!

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