So, I am back from a one-night business trip and relishing being back home. I stopped at Whole Foods on the way home and picked up two “ultimate” burgers, which are hamburger patties made with spices and steak sauce . . ..something I could/should have done on my own, but they just looked so good! We are not grilling. Instead, I heated up my trusty cast iron skillet, put kosher salt in the pan and then browned the burgers and turned down the heat. These will turn out juicy and delicious. We can’t grill right now because we are in the process of re-doing our patio. . .but that’s another story.

This wine just arrived in our wine club shipment. I chose it only because it was at the top of the box (and I guess I was eager to open a bottle). This is an Australian fruit bomb and quite good! Lots of blackberries, plums and spice. The finish is smooth. . .almost melt-in-your-mouthish — like m & ms!

I would recommend this wine especially to new wine drinkers who say that they don’t like dry wine but they also don’t like wine that is too sweet. In fact, I think my friend and colleague Streets might like this one. . .I’ll have to mention it to him. Well, time to flip the burgers. Cheers and happy Tuesday!

So, we are finishing some dregs tonight. . .I am having the rest of this Penfolds and Tom is having the last bit of a Tempranillo.

I really want to like this because I generally love a blend of Cabernet and Shiraz . And, who can argue with a name like Penfolds? But, honestly, I do have some reservations about this one. First, the positives: It is full of fruit in a characteristic Australian way. It really tastes  quite delicious, first sip. The color is deep purple in the glass. Now, the not-so-positive: It is a little thick on the palate. . .not too much nose. . .so fruity as to seem almost like grape juice. . .not a lot of complexity. However, having said this, I admit that I do enjoy this fruit-forward wine on a night like tonight — which is — a Monday. . .and we are just enjoying a glass of wine while we read the paper and wind down for the night. To summarize, I want to be accurate with my taste notes, but also be clear that this wine is a good middle-of-the-week quaff. Enjoy!

A bright purple in the glass, the nose is refreshingly minty. The taste is big fruit on the front with pepper and oak on the finish.

For dinner, I am sauteing shitake mushrooms in red wine (from my food co-op) and reheating a leftover beef/noodle dish (that I had made from a slow-cooked pot roast). I am also stir frying asparagus. . .and then I want to watch House. Gotta see what’s up with my favorite grouchy doctor.

Happy Monday everyone. Only four more days until the weekend.

So, for dinner, I am going to work on finishing off some leftovers. I have some leftover pork roast from Sunday night, mashed potatoes and sauteed red cabbage; to that, I will also add sauteed spinach and a tossed salad. And, I have peeled and sliced some kiwi for our fruit.

Tom purchased this Australian fruit bomb at our local grocery store. It’s what I would say is your somewhat typical Australian Cabernet: super fruity, soft tannins and delicious. I like it! What keeps this wine from being something I swoon over is it’s lack of complexity and depth. But, this is more than adequate for any occasion and I would never turn it down, that is for sure. Absolutely no complaints!

We got this bottle as a cool stocking stuffer from my folks at Christmas.

It has big dark fruit — typical of an Australian shiraz — but it also has a pleasant (and surprising) bitter taste (as opposed to the stereotypical sweetness of Australians).

Very nice, and a nice complement, I’m sure, to the steak stir-fry.

So, it is a Tuesday evening. We just had a martini while working on the Wall Street Journal crossword puzzle. (In the past, we would have been reading the Ann Arbor News, but now that the newspaper is only published twice a week, we have switched to working on the crossword puzzle.) Now, we are having a glass of this Australian fruity wine. For dinner, I am making pesto chicken with asparagus and red peppers and angel hair pasta. This wine will hold up well to the strong flavors of this pasta dish.

This is a new-world wine with lots of fruits — especially cherries and raspberries. Soft tannins and a timid finish. . .but absolutely fun to drink and enjoy.

The weather has recently turned much cooler. It is October 1 and last night I had to cover my tomato and lettuce plants with old sheets because we had a frost. Yay, the sheet coverings did the trick! Now, at 8:00 p.m. it is 50 degrees. Rather chilly for being outside grilling. . .thank you, Tom!

Tom must have picked up a couple of bottles of this lovely Australian wine today because they weren’t here yesterday. I really like this blend, in general, and Lindemans in particular has done a nice job with this. Talk about fruity! This is bursting with juicy fruit flavors, especially cherries and raspberries. Although this is considered very “new world”  and catering to our new world tastes, I have to admit that I enjoy this wine; it’s so easy to drink and enjoy. Very fruity with soft, gentle tannins. Yes, it is simple, but it is easy on the palate! This would be a great wine for new red-wine drinkers to dip their toes into…

For dinner, I made a rub out of brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. I rubbed this on two pork loin chops and let it rest for 1 hour. Now, Tom is grilling the chops. I am going to serve this with sauteed asparagus, mashed potatoes and a salad with my own freshly-picked lettuce, green onions and tomatoes, plus my “store bought” avocado and peppers. . .tossed with my homemade salad dressing. Yummy! Tomorrow is Friday!

For dinner tonight, I have cut up three boneless, skinless chicken breasts into chunks  for sauteing.  I will be adding onions, artichokes, chicken broth, fresh mushrooms and spices and tossing with linguine. I am also making a fresh salad with lettuce, tomatoes and green onions from my garden.

We are counting down the days until our son, Tony, returns from his year-long job in Paju, South Korea. He comes home this Saturday; I am beyond excited to see him.

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!