Tom and Melody’s wine blog

It is hot today so I made a macaroni-tuna salad for dinner. I added carrots, celery, onions, peppers and peas to the spiral pasta and made a mayo/sour cream/ranch dressing mix to blend it all together. For this meal, we chose a merlot from California.

I am pleasantly surprised at this George Phillips Cellars Merlot 2005. It is not soft. Instead, it is sharp and astringent with plenty of blackberries and hints of violet on the finish. Perfect for a hot summer night!

By the way, here’s a photo of Trigger, who is always a part of our wine tastings.

I am just home from a 7-day business trip in which I had meetings in San Antonio, Austin and Dallas, Texas. The trip was great and I learned a lot, but it is so nice to be home. Tonight, we had a gin & tonic with fresh lime, followed by a glass of this Cascade Canyon Merlot from Washington state. For dinner, we grilled beef kabobs with green and red peppers and red onions along with brown rice and a garden salad. The salad was special because I thinned my lettuce and green onions from my garden and made the salad exclusively from those tender and sweet morsels.

This wine is very fruity. The nose was a bit overpowering at first, but after decanting it mellowed into a fragrant blend of blackberries and blueberries. The taste is heavy with fruit along with a touch of pine. The finish is chocolaty.

It’s nice to be home and to see the spectacular green grass and trees of MIchigan. Texas is so impressive, but MIchigan is home.

Our friends Will and Shirley brought us this wine one evening when they came over for dinner. We have saved it for quite a while but tonight seemed like a good evening to open the bottle. I am grilling marinated pork loin for dinner. I have brown rice steaming and I will make asparagus too.

This Rodney Strong Sonoma County Merlot 2004 from California has a nice red color in the glass. On the palate are blueberries, plums, and cherries. The feel of this wine is soft and full in the mouth. There is a lovely, lingering, vanilla spice on the finish with a touch of buttered toast.

Will and Shirley, you picked a very nice wine — thank you! It is the perfect wine to celebrate the end of a work week and the start of a warm April weekend.

This Forest Park Mendocino County Merlot 2005 is a very nice merlot, medium-light bodied, dry and with tastes of cherries and vanilla.

An interesting and different merlot…

We decided that today was “Open That Bottle Night.” It was really last night, but we were busy last night and couldn’t indulge in this special occasion. This wine is special to us because it was a gift from Tom’s parents. This is our last bottle. This Hamilton Estates Merlot 2003 is a bright ruby red. The nose is black fruit, cigars, and black tea. On the palate is berries, dark earth, and strawberry jam.

I am roasting an organic chicken with potatoes and carrots tonight. I rubbed olive oil on the chicken, sprinkled it with fresh parsley, and put it in the oven at 450 degrees for an hour. Then I added the vegetables and some chicken broth and turned the oven down to 350. It is smelling quite delicious. I will also make a salad. This is a soft and velvety wine with gentle tannins. This is a delicious wine.

Tom: This Hamilton Estates Merlot 2003 is rich and fruity, medium bodied, soft but still dry. The nose is blackberries and tobacco. A very sophisticated merlot. This will complement beautifully with our roast chicken.

This Monarch Glen Merlot 2005 is a little bigger and richer-tasting than some merlots (although still with a merlot softness) and a bit spicier as well. It has tastes of dark berries as well as cherries and vanilla.

We’re having this with stir-fried chicken with brocoli, steamed brown rice, and a salad, and it will complement nicely.

This Mandolin Merlot 2005 from California is an elaborate combination of dark berries on the nose. The berries mix with spice and plums on the palate with a luscious medium-body feel. The finish is dry and crisp. We had this wine with our Christmas dinner of baked smoked ham, squash, potatoes, and green beans. A very wonderful Christmas with our family!

This Hamilton Estates Merlot 2003 is a special wine because it was gift from Tom’s parents. We have been saving it and only drink a bottle on special occasions. Well, tonight is Christmas Eve and we have our sons home and it is a very special evening.

This Hamilton Estates Merlot 2003 is deep, dark red. The nose is plum, tobacco, and black tea. On the palate the plum and black tea are coupled with berries, dark earth, and strawberry jam. We chose this wine because it is a special night. We will drink this wine with our dinner of a roasted chicken stuffed with garlic, lemon, and thyme. This is a soft and velvety wine. The tannins are gentle. This is a delicious wine.

This Noble Road Cabernet Merlot 2005 from Australia, a blend of 75% Cabernet and 25% Merlot, is a bit unusual. My first sip was a jolt to my senses, but after swirling a bit and airing, I find it to be a lovely, big, and bold red. While the nose is delicate, the palate is quite zippy! It has a fizzy quality with a mouthful of fruit and a bit of caramel and vanilla. This wine has a long finish of wood and bramble.

We will have this wine tonight with leftover turkey, dressing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, yada, yada, yada. . .I just need to make room in my refrigerator!

Tom: This Noble Road Cabernet Merlot 2005 is very pleasant. It’s fruit forward (in true Australian style). Its fruit flavor is cherries, with a bit of vanilla. It’s soft and not very tannic; the merlot side seems to mellow out cabernet side. The soft, fruity taste will go well with our leftover turkey.

This California Mandolin Merlot 2005 is complex with a dark berry fruit nose. On the palate is a blend of spice, plum, and raspberries in a medium-bodied and luscious mouth-feel with a dry, pine-tree, and plum finish.

We are having this wine with leftover Thanksgiving food! We had such a lovely Thanksgiving dinner, but I didn’t even taste it because I was so captured by the moment . . . having my family surrounding me. My parents (Bill and Delight) have left, my sister and brother-in-law (Jan and Steve) have gone back to their home, the boys (Tommy and Tony) are here and there, and now Tom and I (and Trigger) are taking a breather. I think this wine will go nicely with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sagey stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, and oven-baked rolls. I’ll try to get Tom to post some Thanksgiving pictures!