We are looking forward to a stay-at-home weekend, although our get-a-ways have been stupendous. . .this weekend will be catch up on our tasks weekend.

Johnny, Melody, David

I have posted a picture from last weekend’s class reunion in Northern Michigan. Such fun!

So, in spite of the heat today, I am roasting a stuffed chicken with potatoes for our dinner. I selected this California Merlot. Although I don’t consider myself a Merlot fan, it works well with certain meals and this is one of them. The wine is soft, somewhat fleshy and feels round on the palate. Lots of fruit, too. In the words of my brother-in-law. . .this drinks good.

By the way, in the picture. . .Johnny and I attended a 2-room schoolhouse and sat at a round table with the rest of our kindergarten class! Every grade had a row. . .one room had kindergarten through 3rd grades (one row per grade) and the other room had 4th through 7th grade. Our teacher was Mrs. Goodrich.A stellar educator! I think the other room’s teach was Mrs. Bowen.  How many of you attended a red-brick, 2-room school?

I would not hesitate to recommend this wine; we will definitely buy this again.

Nonetheless, here we are enjoying the soft rain, windows open with a gentle breeze. I took advantage of the cooler evening to put a chicken casserole in the oven (a basic chicken and rice combo).

While completing our weekly “Wall Street Journal” crossword puzzle, we are enjoying this Sonoma, California blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The nose is subtle and takes awhile to reveal itself but with some decanting it offers chocolate and blackberries. The taste is a deliciously complex mix of fruit, spice, flowers and chocolate. Very yummy. This wine was $13.99 but on sale for 9.99, which is an excellent value. Had I paid the full price, I would have been satisfied but at this price it is a real find.

This wine is delicious and it is the perfect choice for our fish dinner. This French Pinot has a black sheep on the label because it claims it doesn’t follow the herd. Obviously not! I find this to be a softer and more succulent Pinot than I am accustomed to with a nose of violets and cherries. The  tannins are smooth and velvety with a finish of fruit and spice.

A nice way to end a beautiful summer day. I ran 10 miles and Tom worked on installing a storm/screen door. I think he had the harder job, today!

It’s a delightful June summer night in Michigan. The sun is shining, everything is uber-green, the flowers are in bloom and the birds are chirping and the frogs are croaking.

This Bordeaux is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet; I recognize the sharp taste and the structured tannins of the Cabernet. At the same time, I detect the mellowness of the Merlot. Together, they create a lovely purple color and a nose of plums and tobacco. The taste is plummy with a touch of pepper and spearmint.

I was in the process of rubbing two pork chops with a spicy rub when Tony stopped by and said that he and Tommy would be coming for dinner after they played a round of basketball. So, I put the pork chops away and got out some chicken that I also had in the refrigerator (I only had two pork chops; not enough to feed all four of us). I quickly changed gears and prepared the chicken. I also scrubbed potatoes to bake alongside the chicken. I whipped up some biscuits, I scrubbed and sliced carrots for sauteing, and I peeled about 9 apples for an apple crisp. Now, everything is baking in the oven and Tom & I are having a cocktail while we wait for the boys to arrive. I thought this Argentine Malbec would be a good choice for our chicken dinner. This wine is abundant with blackberries, leather and pepper on the nose. The taste is lush with plums and pepper and smooth tannins. I like this very much. Also, this is a good one to let breathe a bit because the more I swirl the better it gets.

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I chose this Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 for our cocktail hour. This is a superb California Cabernet. The predominant flavor is raspberries. It is on the nose and on the palate and even on the finish. . .however, in addition to the berries, this is a particularly balanced wine — fruity, yes; but also silky and full bodied. I believe for the first time in our married life, we are not going to have dinner because we had a sandwich on the way home from a trip “up north.” Neither one of us is hungry, so I think we’re just going to skip dinner. If I had to choose a meal to accompany this wine, it would be spaghetti and meatballs! Cheers!

Tom: This Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 is an interestingly different cabernet: its taste is red fruit, medium body, fairly tannic, and with a hint of sweetness. We often write about “big” reds, but this isn’t big; it’s ‘medium-sized,’ but in a pleasant way. It’s a fun, tasty, sipping wine that’s been pretty perfect for our cocktail hour.

Tom chose this wine Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Chile tonight. He didn’t say why — just brought me a glass. It’s a good one. A nice nose — fresh and spicy. The palate is fruity in a subtle way with notes of coffee and tobacco. Nice structured tannins . .  .a good choice for a potato/beef casserole. I’ll hand over the computer to Tom for his opinion, which is always top notch (in my humble opinion).

Tom: This Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 is a pleasant, fruity, fairly tannic, young-tasting red with just a bit of caramel. Pleasant, not especially remarkable, but very drinkable. An above-average wine for mid-week.

For dinner tonight, something so simple I am almost embarrassed to write about it — but I had a pound of ground beef in the refrigerator and I had a long, demanding day at work (that’s my excuse) — so, I browned the beef in my cast-iron skillet, drained the fat and then added chopped onions, followed by a large can of diced tomatoes. That simmered while we worked on our crossword puzzle. Then, I added a can of chicken broth and about 3/4 box of elbow macaroni and covered the skillet to simmer. When that is done, we’ll have a tasty goulash that I will serve with a vegetable and salad. Extremely plain but comforting. . .

We are enjoying our cozy evening and decided to open a special bottle. This Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 is spectacular. If I had to choose just one wine to have night after night, this might very well be the one I would choose. I love the blackish color in the glass and the caramel, cherry, chocolate and some buttered toast nose. Lovely tart cherries on the palate along with round tannins meld into a dark-chocolate finish. This is a wine worth swooning over.

Tom: This Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 is our kind of wine. It has big, dark-fruit, chocolaty taste. Young and fruity, but also tannic, so not fruit-bomby. A fascinating and sort of addicting wine. We had a busy weekend, seeing old friends and as well as neighbors, and putting together furniture for our new patio and prepping our front door for a new screen door. So this big wine really hits the spot.