Tom and Melody's wine blog » Blends

R Collection by Raymond Lot No. 7 Field Blend 2000

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:37:53 +0000

We’re having steak stir fry with this nice, dry red blend. Very pleasant with a red fruit, cherry taste.
Eastern Michigan lost a close football game today but they played hard and lost in the last seconds.

Casa de Ermelinda Freitas Valoroso 2010

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:06:24 +0000

This Casa de Ermelinda Freitas Valorosa 2010 is intriguing. First of all, we just don’t drink many Portuguese wines. Second, it is very fruit-flavored (dark, blackberry fruit) without being sweet or fruit-bomb-y. A very pleasant, surprising wine. I think Melody will enjoy the other bottle of this when she comes home.

This is where Melody describes what she is cooking. I’ll just say that this big Valoroso should go well with my hamburger.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Amitage 2008

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:13:49 +0000

We’ve been tasting some interesting new wines lately. This one is Columbia Crest Grand Estates Armitage 2008, a red blend from Washington state.

The label doesn’t list the grapes in the blend, but it’s very big, cabernet-like, tannic, with lots of dark fruit taste. Very, very good. We could happily make this a regular house wine.

By the way, it went very well with homemade spaghetti sauce on pasta with spinach.

Penfold’s Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet (2008)

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:24:26 +0000

Tonight we are having this Penfold’s Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008 blend. This wine has become a standby for us because it is a good value and a quintessential high-quality Australian big, juicy red. We stock up when we find it on sale for about $10 at our local grocery store. I enjoy the taste of plums & blueberries coupled with dry, pucker-producing tannins. The dark chocolate finish is so satisfying, who needs dessert?

For dinner, we grilled chicken breasts that I had rubbed with a mixture of brown sugar, chili powder, oregano and olive oil. I heated up leftover cheesy potato casserole and I also steamed fresh green beans. It made for a very tasty dinner which we thoroughly enjoyed. We really enjoy sitting on our patio enjoying our wine while Tom does the grilling.

Grande Reserve de Gassac (2009)

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:40:32 +0000

A dreary day in Michigan with gray skies and rain. . .and a Monday. Ucky. I felt low on energy all day. But, the work day ended and now we are home together and everything is AOK. I had nothing planned for dinner tonight but threw together a few stray ingredients: a lone chicken breast from the freezer, a pint of fresh pea pods from the vegetable co-op, a bunch of fresh asparagus, a fresh tomato from the co-op, some basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. I did a quick stir fry of the chicken and vegetables and tossed with thin spaghetti, olive oil and parmesan cheese and it was delicious. The trick was not to overcook the pea pods. Their fresh crunch added just the right touch.

We had this colorful meal with this French Grande Reserve de Gassac 2009, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Smooth and easy-to-drink with a sharply-pungent finish. This would go very well with a chocolate brownie, which is waiting for us if we choose to indulge.

Grand Réserve de Gassac Languedoc 2009

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:14:58 +0000

We had this Grand Réserve de Gassac Languedoc 2009 (a wine club wine) with steak (from our farmer) and pasta.

It was tasty and meaty (as Languedoc wine is supposed to be). A blend (of Cab, Merlot, and Syrah), but a big blend.

A really nice wine and a great meal.

Melody has to work late on March 17, so we made March 16 our St. Patrick’s Day night.

The Full Fifteen (2010)

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:49:58 +0000

The Full Fifteen 2010 is a nifty Australian red with quite a spicy punch. It is abundant with fruit. Full bodied and delicious.

(It seems to be some kind of blend. Amazingly, no varietals are listed on the label.)

This went well with our dinner — a ground beef casserole and fresh sauteed spinach.

Poggio Vignoso Chianti (2008)

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:23:10 +0000

I stopped at the Plum Market on my way home from work to buy ingredients for my dinner tonight and I picked up this Chianti because I thought it would be perfect for this dinner. And, yes, it was! Really quite delicious. (Such a welcome change from last night’s wine which was not drinkable for me.)

This Italian Poggio Vignoso Chianti 2008 has a fragrant nose of violets and licorice. The palate is fruity without being the least bit sweet, which I love, with a mineral finish. This complemented our dinner beautifully. We enjoyed dinner which was a new recipe. I made penne pasta with sauteed garlic, fresh tomatoes, baby spinach, and feta cheese tossed with some crispy italian sausage wheels. Now (I shamefully admit) I need to see who makes it to the top 24 in American Idol!

Kenwood (2008)

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 02:20:41 +0000

We both worked late tonight so when I got home I jumped into dinner-prep gear with a simple concoction of chicken & noodles & broccoli. Tom chose this wine, which I purchased, and is a red wine blend from California. In a word: ick. Not good. Nothing about it has a redeemable quality for me. I didn’t finish mine.

Vitiano (2008)

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:59:50 +0000

We are having this Vitiano 2008, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Merlot for our Saturday night. We both had to work today and so it feels more like a weekday than a weekend.

This is spicy on the nose on the palate is a quick hint of watermelon followed by blackberries. This is very, very pleasant. I like it very much.

I purchased this at World Market for $19.99.