Tom and Melody’s wine blog

I bought two bottles of this Lindemans South Africa Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 today at the local grocery store because it was on sale. A good choice! The nose is fresh and lively and the taste is bursting with berries. This is a delicious “drink now” wine that requires no cellaring. The taste is fruity and friendly and, as my brother-in-law Bob says, “it drinks good.” The predominant taste is strawberry and the finish is velvety smooth.

I taught a class this weekend (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) so I did not get my normal down time this weekend. And, it is back to work tomorrow. At least I have this evening to unwind and rest my brain.

I was in the mood for a good home-cooked meal so I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from teaching and purchased ground beef, pork and veal. I mixed up two meatloaves and put one in the oven and one in the freezer. It smells good. Just what we need after a long weekend of work! For my meatloaf, I add oatmeal, milk, eggs, onions, spicy mustard and tomato juice (and lots of pepper). Delish!

This delicious Sebeka Cabernet Pinotage 2006 from South Africa is a fruit forward wine with notes of blackberry and herbs accompanied by black earth, smoke and acidic undertones. This dark red wine is medium bodied with grippy tannins. Tom purchased this wine for under $10 and we feel it is an excellent-valued wine.

Tonight, I taught the final class of an eight-week graduate-level course in educational leadership. I will sincerely miss my students because they were intelligent, passionate, and perceptive. I loved every single one of them. They invited me to the bar to celebrate the end of our class, but I did not join them because I have an early-morning meeting tomorrow. However, this “clink” is to them . . . and I’ll tell you each of their names from memory as I picture each and every student tonight.

Here’s to you Emily, Lisa, Paula, Michael, Emma, Melissa, George, Scott, Jennifer, Kathryn, Karen, Matt, Amy, Jason, Brian (yes, I am visualizing you as you sit in the classroom from right to left). Cheers to you and congratulations to you for finishing the Organizational Theory class!

This Bradgate Syrah 2004 from South Africa is quite pungent when first opened and then settles down after decanting. The nose is black licorice while on the palate I taste a variety of juicy plums, bramble, and lilacs. I also detect peppercorns and bay leaves on the finish.

This is a different-tasting Syrah from what I am accustomed. And this is one of the many things I enjoy about wine — new tastes that are challenging to describe — flavors that are complex, yet familiar. The wine mellows beneath the warmth of your hand on the glass and it transforms with the air that it breathes. Cheers!

This Simunye Shiraz 2004 from South Africa is a delightfully different Shiraz. This is our second or third time to have this wine. The nose is freshly cut wood. On the palate is velvety tannins and exceptional fruit flavors. The finish is luscious and long and has a taste of brush and bramble.

It has been a tough week in our household. Just very long work days and short nights. But, the good news is that it is Wednesday and soon the weekend will be upon us. We are having a storm tonight. The roads were very bad - it took me more than twice as long to drive home tonight. A car in front of me swerved and then did one donut after the other (I think I counted 4 complete 360’s) until finally coming to rest on the right side of the expressway. Glad you didn’t get hit, little red car in front of me!

This Simunye Shiraz 2004 from South Africa is delicious and satisfying. In the glass it is a fresh garnet. The nose is freshly-cut wood. In the mouth is a medium-bodied red with supple tannins and explosive fruit flavors. The finish is cedar and bramble. This is a wine that you can’t ignore. Love it!

Tom: This Simunye Shiraz 2004 is big. Its nose is chocolate and coffee. Its taste also has some cherry and vanilla. An intriguing and very drinkable shiraz.

This Simunye Shiraz 2004 from South Africa is quite luscious. In the glass it is a youthful ruby red. The nose is all oak and cedar (like a freshly-built deck). On the palate is lots of fruit — raspberries and blackberries — with structured tannins. The finish is full and rich.

We will have this tonight with a roast beef that I have had cooking at a low temperature for several hours. It is Friday night and we are celebrating!

This Zaràfa Pinotage 2007 from South Africa is full bodied, lively, full of berries, smoke, and pepper, with notes of bananas and pineapple. Long lasting on the tongue. We are finishing this bottle, which we opened the other night.

We have had a fabulous weekend getting ready for Thanksgiving. Guests bedrooms are fresh and clean, groceries are purchased, candles are everywhere — we are ready!

Tonight I have made a very simple meal of goulash. I browned hamburger and onions in the cast-iron skillet, added beef broth and chopped tomatoes, brought to a boil, and then added elbow macaroni. We will have this with steamed broccoli. It just seems like an appropriate meal for the Sunday prior to our Thanksgiving feast.

We have reviewed this Seagull Winemaker’s Blend 2004 before but, as always, I do not go back and read my previous post because I know that each time I taste a wine it can be different. This wine is from South Africa and is a delicious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. This is a superb wine and would be completely appropriate for a special occasion. In the glass, it is deep plum and purple. The aroma is vanilla and cherries. I taste dark chocolate, pepper, cherries, and cedar. The flavor lasts a long time — a delightful finish.

We chose this wine because it is a Friday night - woo hoo! It was storming when we opened the wine but now the sky is clearing and we’ll be able to go outside and start the grill for dinner. It is 8:30 so I suppose I should get out there. (We have a habit of extending cocktail hour on Friday nights.) To sum up, this wine is special.

This Seagull Winemaker’s Blend 2004 from South Africa, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, is rich and satisfying. In the glass, it is deep purple. On the nose is a mix of vanilla and cherries. On the palate is dark chocolate, pepper, and cherries. The finish is wonderful; it is like having a secret sip because it lasts so long. I chose this wine to go with our dinner tonight, which will be a grilled steak with brown rice and grilled asparagus drizzled with olive oil.

Tom: This Seagull Winemaker’s Blend 2004 is a big, chocolaty, tannic red. Very nice plummy fruit flavors. Very, very nice.

Our friend Richard told us that he has discovered an excellent pinotage: Fairview Pinotage 2005. Richard mentioned that Pinotage is becoming his favorite varietal and that an advantage of pinotage is that it peaks sooner than other varieties and so a 2005 may be at its peak. We’ll be on the lookout for this.