Tom and Melody's wine blog » Over $10

Penumbra Petite Sirah Petit Verdot (2010)

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:18:39 +0000

It has been awhile since I took a sip of wine and did a retake. . .like, “wait, need another sip!” This was one of those nights. I opened this bottle and tasted while cooking dinner for one (Tom is out of town) and it made me sit up and take notice. It is splendid! Inky black color, understated nose but huge taste. Full of fruit with subtle spice and chewy tannins. I really love this!

I am making a steak stirfry with my local cow, local broccoli and tomatoes and whatever else I have in my refrigerator. It is me and the Wall Street Journal (and this delicious wine) for dinner tonight. Cheers!

Nine Stones Shiraz

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:45:21 +0000

It is Sunday night and Tom is packing for a business trip so I picked out a nice wine for our before-he-leaves night. This is so interesting. When I first poured the wine, I found it to be incredibly subtle with a velvety texture and soft tannins. But, now, after dinner has been eaten and the dishes washed, the wine has opened up and changed quite dramatically. No longer subtle, it is fruity, tannic and intense. Delicious.

For dinner I made baked pasta with steamed broccoli. I also needed to use up some milk so I made a baked brown rice pudding with lots of custardy filling with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pico de Aneto

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:34:09 +0000

I had to work late tonight so Tom made me dinner tonight. The salmon was delicious! I am so appreciative of Tom cooking for me. He never cooked, ever, (except to open a bag of pretzels) but I asked for his help. And, I come home to this wonderful dinner. How lucky am I?

This Spanish Tempranillo is really nice and delicious. Extremely fruity with smooth tannins. I am enjoying it immensely.

Le Champ des Etoiles Pinot Noir

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:34:05 +0000

We at having this French Pinot Noir tonight with chicken and dumplings. I made this from scratch but started on the weekend cooking the chicken and then letting the broth cool over night so that I could take off the cooled layer of fat on the top. Very savory!

The wine is very light-bodied with subtle fruit. Although Pinot Noir is not my favorite type of wine, this was a good choice for our chicken and dumplings dinner.

Chateau Samion Montagne Saint Emilion (2009)

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:37:41 +0000

We had a very nice weekend. The weather is beautiful! Sunny and mild in January! I went to our Women’s Basketball game today and we won handily. We are tough.

I had spinach and fresh mushrooms to use (from food co-op) so I made a lasagna for dinner tonight. Very filling and tasty. Way too many leftovers, but I will be glad later in the week when I don’t have to cook.

I opened this wine tonight for no good reason except it caught my eye. It’s very dry and austere and was a good choice for this spicy and robust lasagna. It provides a nice paradoxical counterpoint to the tasty dinner. This will be great for sipping after the meal is over. Yummy. Time to watch Tim Tebow against the Steelers.

Barbaresco (2008)

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:58:14 +0000

We are having homemade beef barley soup and whole wheat bread for dinner tonight. Tom opened this bottle of Italian red wine which is tasting very good with this dinner. The fruit is subtle. The texture and feel is sharp and acidic. This is what I expect from a decent Italian red wine. I like this very much.

We had a great Saturday! My day started with a long run with my girlfriends. It was sunny and the roads were dry — a big treat for a January run in Michigan! Here’s to my running friends. Cheers!

Ramsden Estate Reserve

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:41:48 +0000

I am tapping out this blog on my phone so it will be short. We like this wine because it is complex with mellow flavors and smooth feel. For dinner I brined then roasted a chicken. I made mashed potatoes with gravy from the drippings. Savory and filling after a good run today.

Ramsden Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:08:30 +0000

We are home from a wonderful Christmas with Tom’s family. We drove 10 1/2 hours today through pouring rain, wind and then snow so we are very happy to be safely at home. We ordered pizza and opened this special bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet. Earlier this month, during a weak moment, I said “okay” to a sales pitch to upgrade our wine club membership to a reserve level and this is our first bottle from that selection. Although I was kicking myself for saying yes, I now see it was a good decision. This is a fine wine. Structured tannins and rich flavor. Very smooth and rich.

The Patriots Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon (2008)

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:04:10 +0000

It is Sunday night and we have had a good weekend with nothing special but with lots of special nothings! We did our normal things like grocery shopping and laundry and I was able to spend a few hours Christmas shopping for my wonderful sisters- and brothers-in-laws. We also shopped for a snowsuit for a baby boy, whose tag we picked from the list of needs at our church. For this baby boy we bought a very warm snowsuit.

I spent most of the afternoon working on making turkey pot pies in order to use up our leftover turkey. That is a very labor intensive meal starting with making the pie crusts and then the filling. I finally got everything assembled and have been put the two pot pies away for later in the week along with a brown rice pudding that needs to bake for three hours at a low temperature. But for tonight, we had pork loin with potatoes and carrots, asparagus and a fresh salad with homemade bleu cheese salad dressing’ that I made on a whim today.

I chose this Chilean wine for our dinner tonight and it is good. This is different and not our usual. . .this is heavy on tobacco aroma and taste with a vanilla finish. This is a wine that gets better after airing. At first, it is overpowering but after breathing it is tasty and rich but not overpowering.

Looking forward to my last business trip of the year tomorrow. Just a one-nighter. It will be great to be home for an extended time. Cheers!

Villa Farnia di Farnese Montepulciano D’Abruzzo (2010)

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:30:38 +0000

We had a busy Saturday but are now relaxing and enjoying a very lovely happiness hour (or two). We usually have cocktails in our front room but today we are sitting in our living room because Tom is watching football. But he was patient enough to also help me with this week’s Wall Street Journal crossword puzzle. This week is pretty difficult and we have aways to go! What is a six letter word for “stick on the field”?

For dinner my trusty cast iron skillet is on the stove with some homemade spaghetti sauce simmering. I am going to stir fry some fresh spinach.

This is is a solid, rustic wine with a soft texture and thick fruit flavors. This is going to go well with out spaghetti and spinach dinner.