Tom and Melody’s wine blog

This Velazco Aminga Valley La Rioja 2007, an Argentinian red, is a blend of 85% Bonarda and 15% Syrah. We have had this wine before and I loved itl. Tonight it is Friday and we have both had a long and hectic work week. I will be teaching this weekend, as well, so I requested a special wine for tonight. Tom chose this wine because he knows that I am a fan of the Bonarda grape. This is a delicious full-bodied, lip smacking blend of spices, plums, and green peppers. So yummy.

For dinner tonight, I browned chicken in a skillet, added diced potatoes and chicken broth, covered and let it simmer. It has been an hour and a half and it is smelling yummy. I also went out to my little garden and harvested lettuce, green onions and cucumbers for the salad. My neighbor gave me some fresh Swiss Chard, which I will steam. All in all, I think this will be a delicious and fragrant Friday night dinner. But, more importantly, a relaxing and nurturing respite from a busy week.

This Argentinian Elsa Bianchi Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 arrived in one of our wine club shipments. I have tasted and blogged about his wine before and I think this is our last bottle. We are celebrating a Friday night, although I am working all weekend (because I am teaching a summer term weekend class).

I like this wine very much. On the nose I detect smoked meat — such as ham. In the mouth, I taste cherries and black dirt. I know I had rated this finish as moderate when I tasted it the first time, but I would have to say it is a rather short finish. Nevertheless, it is a taste that I love and I would purchase this wine again, absolutely.

This morning before work, I assembled a beef roast in the crock pot along with potatoes, carrots and onions. I knew it would be a long day and it is nice to know dinner is ready when we finish reading the paper and having our cocktail. So, I chose this Cabernet to go with our pot roast dinner. Nothing like a good, old-fashioned pot roast to end the work week!

This Velazco Aminga Valley La Rioja 2007, an Argentinian red, is a blend of 85% Bonarda and 15% Syrah and, oh, is it wonderful. We actually opened it last night (Friday night) and we finished the bottle, but I took notes. (Our son, Tony, would love this one!) We know, of course the smoky, peppery flavor of Syrah, but the blend of the Bonarda grape produces an exciting mouthful of cherries, plums and spice.

This wine was perfect for our dinner of marinated steak on the grill with grilled orange, yellow and red peppers, steamed brown rice and asparagus. By the way, this is the first time I have grilled peppers. I know it is not novel to most, but it was to me. I drizzled olive oil on the peppers and we grilled them — probably about 3 minutes a side. They were splendidly delicious! This will be a standard now for the summer.

This Finca Dubois Bonarda 2005 from Argentina is a wonderful, delicious red wine! Tonight we have both of our sons home with us. We are having this wine before dinner. Tommy is playing his bass guitar and we are just enjoying conversation, wine, and music. For dinner I have a beef brisket in the oven. I also have a skillet of potatoes, peppers, garlic, olive oil, and rosemary (along with sea salt and pepper). It smells delicious.

This wine is so lovely. I am very pleased. The nose is mild and earthy. On the palate is tobacco and vanilla. This is absolutely divine. I am so happy that we have four bottles of this wine!

This Alamos Malbec 2006 from Argentina is one of several wines that I bought for Tom for Christmas. Tom is a Malbec kind of guy. In the glass it is purple and violet. The nose is vivid with pleasant spices, violets, and fruit. The feel in the mouth is graceful and supple, with black cherry and blackberry flavors along with black pepper and a hint of leather. The finish (with soft tannins) lasts a long time.

I chose this wine for our Sunday night dinner of homemade spicy spaghetti sauce (with pasta) along with steamed spinach and salad.

And since this wine is a Malbec, this would be a good spot to post this photo of our son Tony and his good friend George as they tasted wine (Malbec of course) in Buenos Aires this past summer.

And here is a photo of Trigger relaxing with us as we taste this Alamos Malbec 2006.

Happy New Year! It is January 1, 2008. We are celebrating a new year with a glass of Altos las Hormigas Malbec 2006 from Argentina. This is one of the wines that Tom bought me for Christmas. This wine is plummy with a taste of wood. It is very dry. Absolutely delicious. Worthy of a toast to the new year.

Today we spent the morning shoveling our driveway. We had at least 10 inches of new snow blow in overnight. I took some pictures that Tom will post. It’s beautiful! In the early afternoon, with our appetites stoked by all the shoveling, we walked over to our neighbors, Brad and Michelle Bowersox, for a lovely New Year’s brunch. Michelle is a wonderful cook. We are lucky to have such wonderful neighbors!

This Barrio La Boca Malbec 2006 is a pearly, opalescent purple in the glass and a fresh and spicy nose reminiscent of cherries and cured meats. It is a dry and tannic, yet quite fruity. The wine has a sharp mouth feel with a smooth finish on the palate. The taste is plums, vanilla, and cherries. The finish is chocolate-covered cherries.

We had reviewed this wine previously but it was the 2005 version. This is the 2006 and it is delicious. What an excellent value. I can’t imagine a red-wine lover that wouldn’t approve of this wine.

I have meatloaf in the oven and it smells yummy. Snow and sleet are hitting the windows. I will make some side dishes shortly to go with the meatloaf. It’s only 8:00 p.m. What’s the hurry?

Tom: We have often enjoyed this inexpensive but delicious Barrio La Boca Malbec. It tastes of cherries and vanilla. It’s fruity but still dry. Very drinkable.

This Barrio La Boca Malbec 2005 is a medium purple in the glass and a fresh and spicy nose. It is a dry and tannic red with a smooth feel on the palate. The taste is plums, vanilla and cherries. The finish is chocolate-covered cherries.

This is a great value (Tom purchased this wine at Trader Joe’s for under $5). I chose this wine because it is Tuesday (and I wanted to have a good value versus an expensive wine)! We will drink this wine with our dinner of fresh-grilled kielbasa, sauerkraut, potatoes, and salad.

This Trapiche Malbec 2006 is purple and medium bodied. Tom purchased it today at Trader Joe’s. (He also purchased 17 other bottles - yay! And, our wine club box of four bottles also arrived so we are happy to have some wine in stock again!)

This medium-bodied red has a round and supple feel on the palate. This is a fruit-forward wine with plenty of cherry and plummy fruits but I like it because it is not syrupy and it has grippy tannins to offset the fruitiness.

I am reheating our leftover soup because I had a big, big day. This will go well with the beef-barley soup and wheat bread. Cheers!

Tom purchased this Barrio La Boca Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from the Mendoza region of Argentina from Trader Joe’s in Ann Arbor. We had tried Barrio La Boca Malbec several times but this is our first Cabernet Sauvignon from this winery.

My word of advice: Let it breathe. My first taste was okay, but I found the finish a bit on the musty side. However, after breathing for about 15 minutes, the mustiness went away and I find the wine to be quite delicious now. It is fruity with tastes of plums; it is medium-bodied with a tasty and rather long finish. We will drink this tonight with grilled steaks, a green salad and creamy mashed potatoes. I think it will hold up well with this hearty meal. (This was a real bargain; I think Tom said he purchased the bottle for $3.79!)

Tom: I love this wine! It’s a strong, fruit-forward, New World wine, but dry and tannic enough not to be fruit-bomby. I taste blackberries and cherries. It will stand up to grilled steak very well. And it’s a wonderful value.