Le Grand Noir Cabernet-Shiraz (2006)

June 8, 2009 — Tom & Melody

I discovered this French blend Le Grand Noir Cabernet-Shiraz at our local market in town. I stopped in today to pick up a fresh chicken for dinner and the owner recommended this wine to me. I am really enjoying this wine. The nose is both spicey and earthy. The taste is great — fruity with some black dirt — nice finish. Really lovely. I will definitely buy this again.

For dinner, I have baked chicken in the oven, along with baked potatoes. I picked lettuce and little green onions from the garden and will make a fresh salad. Tommy just arrived to join us for dinner so I need to go add the final touches. Cheers!

Posted in Blends, Cabernet Sauvignon, French wines, Over $10, Shiraz. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »

Down Under Shiraz (2008)

May 31, 2009 — Tom & Melody

It was a perfect day. I have tried to imprint it in my mind so I can remember it always! The weather was gorgeous. I ran a good 1/2 marathon with some of my girlfriends. Our son, Tommy, and his girlfriend, Amanda, came over for dinner. This was my kind of day!

Tom & I started our cocktail hour with a cold and fizzy gin & tonic with a fresh wedge of lime. Then, out to the grill to start the steak. We opened a bottle of this Down Under Shiraz, which was the perfect choice for our steak dinner. I also made oven-roasted potatoes (potatoes cut up in chunks with skin, mixed with olive oil and freshly ground salt & pepper, then roasted in the oven for about 90 minutes), and a really delicious fresh salad.  I grilled aspargus on the grill, as well. I also made brownies for dessert with ice cream. Everything tasted delicious.

But, back to the wine. A perfect choice for a grilled steak — full of berry flavors with a  generous complement of black pepper and hints of oak. Excellent!

Posted in Australian wines, Over $10, Shiraz. Tags: , , , . 2 Comments »

Westend Estate Down Under Shiraz (2008)

April 3, 2009 — Tom & Melody

This Australian Down Under Shiraz is our pick for a cold and blustery Friday night in Michigan. We Michiganders are tired of cold weather and today was really COLD! But, we are home and snuggled in for the night so we can’t complain.

For dinner tonight, I browned pork loin chops in hot olive oil until brown (in a heavy cast-iron skillet) then I added potatoes (cubed, with skins on) and a sauce of chicken broth and mushrooms (thickened) and it has been simmering for over an hour. I will add a vegetable when we finally decide we are done reading the paper and ready to sit down and eat.

Happily, this wine is a treat. The nose is big and bold and the color is inky. On the palate, this is bursting with black pepper with oak on the finish. It is truly an Australian Shiraz from start to finish. A great complement to our dinner tonight.

Gigi, you would like this one!

Posted in Australian wines, Over $10, Shiraz. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet (2007)

March 15, 2009 — Tom & Melody

It is Sunday evening and we have had a beautiful spring day in Michigan. I think we saw every, single person under the age of 12 in our neighborhood today — either on a scooter, a bike or bouncing a ball. We Michiganders sure do love the first snow-free, semi-warm day! (I also saw my first robin — a sure sign of spring!)

We are finishing this bottle of Penfolds Shiraz Cabernet from Australia tonight. This is the kind of wine that put Australia wines on the map. Deep red in the glass with pomegranate,  spice, dried cranberries and a bit of wood. Luscious and fruity, the tannins are firm. This is just an easy-to-drink, very enjoyable, lush red wine.

We are going to have a pot of homemade soup and a loaf of home-made bread tonight. Just a simple Sunday-night dinner. Cheers!

Posted in Australian wines, Blends, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Under $10. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Warburn Estate Shiraz (2008)

February 17, 2009 — Tom & Melody

warburn-estate-shiraz-2008It is a Tuesday evening at our household; a winter storm warning is in effect for tonight and tomorrow and we are hunkering down to read the paper and see what happens. Neither Tom nor I had a particularly happy day at our jobs so we are glad to be here together, licking our wounds, so to speak.  Jobs can be demanding!

For dinner, I put the pot of soup that I made this weekend on the stove to heat. I took the rest of the bread that I baked this weekend on the table and I took a chunk of cheese out of the refrigerator to warm to room temperature. This will make a delicious, but very, very easy dinner. I just didn’t have the energy to do much else tonight.

Tom chose this Warburn Estate Shiraz 2008 for us tonight. This is a great wine to taste and describe . . . the color is deep purple and the nose is grassy and vegetal; the taste is blackberries and freshly-ground black pepper. The feel in the mouth is round and supple with soft tannins. The finish is long and peppery. I like this wine . . . we haven’t had an Australian Shiraz for awhile and this is nice.

Posted in Australian wines, Over $10, Shiraz. Tags: , , , , . 56 Comments »

Lindemans South Africa Shiraz (2006)

February 4, 2009 — Tom & Melody

lindemans-south-africa-shiraz-2006It is Wednesday night — a mid-week, very cold night in Michigan — and we are enjoying a glass of wine while reading the paper and listening to music. It is -2 degrees right now. I have leftover soup (that I made over the weekend) on the stove for dinner tonight.

This Lindemans South Africa Shiraz 2006 is a wine that Tom bought on sale at our local grocery store. The nose is dull but the flavors are rich with chocolate, licorice and fruit. I have to hand it to Tom, this was a good value. I think most red-wine drinkers would enjoy this rich, fruity quaff.

Stay warm everyone. February will be over before we know it and then there will only be 6 more weeks of winter!

Posted in Shiraz, South African wines, Under $10. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Volteo Tempranillo Shiraz 2006

January 17, 2009 — Tom & Melody

volteo-tempranillo-shiraz-2006It is Saturday night and very cold and snowy in Michigan. We are having a glass of this Volteo Tempranillo Shiraz 2006, which is delicious and will taste perfect with our dinner.

This is a Spanish wine.  Tempranillo is the primary grape used in Rioja, a well-known wine growing region in Spain. The nose is strawberry jam and vanilla. It is  medium-bodied on the palate with sour cherry and raspberries. The finish is so good: Coffee and chocolate, cloves, iron, and dirt.  The acidity adds just the right amount of bite.

This wine is a perfect choice for our dinner. I started with chicken drumsticks and thighs, which I soaked in a brine of saltwater for about 1 hour. Then I drained and patted dry. I seasoned heavily with salt and freshly-ground pepper and drizzled with olive oil. I then chopped three cloves of garlic and added to the chicken along with some freshly-chopped parsley. That marinated a while and then I threw everything into a hot cast-iron skillet to brown. After it was brown and crispy, I covered and let the chicken cook until falling-off-the-bone tender.

Meanwhile I prepared an apple cobbler for dessert by peeling and slicing apples and then adding a topping of butter, applesauce, brown sugar, flour, and lots of oatmeal, and baking for 30 minutes.

Now I need to finish the dinner with mashed potatoes and a salad of romaine lettuce, avocado, tomatoes and cucumbers with my homemade salad dressing (olive oil, balsamic and red wine vinegar, grey poupon mustard, basil, oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme).

This morning I woke from a dream about my youngest son, Tony, and I have been thinking about him all day. Love you, Tony!

Posted in Blends, Blogs, Over $10, Shiraz, Tempranillo. Tags: , , , . 2 Comments »

Robert Mondavi Syrah (2006)

November 28, 2008 — Tom & Melody

robert-mondavi-private-selection-syrah-2006It is the Friday after Thanksgiving. I am about three nights behind in blogging. We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. My parents drove down from Traverse City and I am very thankful that they had an uneventful trip. My dad, who is 85, is so smart! My mom forgot to bring the directions to our house (she decided not to bring her purse, which is where the directions were), but he figured it out.

I had ordered a fresh turkey from a local farmer and, to my dismay, discovered the smallest turkey they had was 25 pounds! I was concerned about cooking it. . .but the turkey was delicious. I put it in the oven at 11:30 at 425 for an hour; then I flipped it (no easy task) and then turned the oven down to 325. I had the turkey on a v-shaped rack in a roasting pan. The turkey then roasted for another 5 1/2 hours. It turned out moist on the inside and crispy on the outside.  Although our son, Tony, was not with us, we did have a great “Skype” conversation with him, which was wonderful.

Now, our parents have gone home and we are having a relaxing evening together. Trigger is slumbering on my lap and I have leftover turkey and stuffing in the oven.

This wine is delicious! It is bursting with fruit and oak with a very smooth and long finish. Yum!

Posted in California wines, Shiraz, Under $10. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Yalumba Barossa Shiraz (2005)

November 24, 2008 — Tom & Melody

yalumba-barossa-2005This Australian Barossa Shiraz is 95% Shiraz and 5% Voignier. Tom chose this wine for us because I was trapped (Trigger was on my lap). It is a Monday night and I had to work late so I have a pot of leftover soup on the stove to heat up.

This wine is impressive. I was surprised to see the alcohol content at 14.5% because I didn’t notice any heat on the nose. Rather, I noted dried apricots and flowers.

The first taste is chocolate and dried apricots.  The mid-palate shows some cherries and plum along with pepper. There are also hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. The finish is chocolate, apricots and cloves with velvety tannins.

This is a very fine wine. I believe I purchased this at  A & L Wine in Ann Arbor. I would definitely purchase this again.

Posted in Australian wines, Over $10, Shiraz. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »

Razor’s Edge Shiraz

November 14, 2008 — Tom & Melody

razors-edge-shirazEarlier in the week I had the pleasure of dining with four fellow members of the NCAA Research Committee while attending the annual meeting in San Diego. I promised them I would blog about our wine.

Katie, Roxanne, Kurt, and Bruce, this is for you!

The five of us headed out together in search of dinner in the Gaslamp district of downtown San Diego. After stopping and browsing at several restaurant menus, we settled on the Asti Ristorante on Fifth Avenue. I think the offer of a free dessert helped us make our decision. (It’s not easy committing to one place with five different people saying “Anywhere is fine with me!” We were a flexible and agreeable group.)

As we were getting ready to walk in, Katie noticed Dick Vitale. We all got a good look and, sure enough, he was right there eating outside on the sidewalk seating area. So we knew it must be a good restaurant.

The three red-wine drinkers in the group chose the Razor’s Edge Shiraz because none of us had had it and the price for a bottle was reasonable.  We all enjoyed it. It was very fruity on the palate with good structure. I noted a touch of pepper and vanilla on the finish.

We all had delicious dinners. Three of us, including myself, had fresh crab linguine. Quite yummy. But the dinner was not the best part of the meal. The best part was the company of these fun and intelligent new friends. Cheers!

Posted in Australian wines, General, Over $10, Shiraz. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »
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