Tom and Melody’s wine blog

This Velazco Aminga Valley La Rioja 2007, an Argentinian red, is a blend of 85% Bonarda and 15% Syrah. We have had this wine before and I loved itl. Tonight it is Friday and we have both had a long and hectic work week. I will be teaching this weekend, as well, so I requested a special wine for tonight. Tom chose this wine because he knows that I am a fan of the Bonarda grape. This is a delicious full-bodied, lip smacking blend of spices, plums, and green peppers. So yummy.

For dinner tonight, I browned chicken in a skillet, added diced potatoes and chicken broth, covered and let it simmer. It has been an hour and a half and it is smelling yummy. I also went out to my little garden and harvested lettuce, green onions and cucumbers for the salad. My neighbor gave me some fresh Swiss Chard, which I will steam. All in all, I think this will be a delicious and fragrant Friday night dinner. But, more importantly, a relaxing and nurturing respite from a busy week.

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!

Pockl Zweigelt 2004

This Pöckl Zweigelt 2004 is an interesting Austrian red wine that Tom purchased. Unfortunately, we don’t remember where we purchased this wine, but we think it may have been at Trader Joe’s. This is a vanilla-laced dry red with notes of cherry. It is quite juicy on the palate with a tannic finish.

Tom and I just returned from a six-day trip to Asheville, North Carolina where we attended Tom’s family reunion at the home of his sister, Pat and her husband Bob. What a fantastic week we had at their beautiful home in the mountains. We, along with Tom’s parents, Joe andMary, and his brothers Bill and (wife) Linda, Bob and (wife) Suzanne, and Steve and (wife) Janet (and daughters Emily and Katie), had tons of fun every day. We hiked in the mountains, toured the Biltmore, and had long cocktail hours on the deck, followed by delicious dinners with plenty of wine. We also played games together late into the night — resulting in much laughter and boisterous conversation.

Werner family in Arden

We took Trigger to the reunion and she quickly made friends with her cousin Molly, a Goldendoodle, who is three times her size and 1/9 her age! Trigger kept looking up at us with her big brown eyes as if to say, “Can you please make Molly calm down?” Although they tussled when they had an audience, when left to themselves, Trigger and Molly slept nose to nose on the kitchen floor together. I know Trigger will miss Molly.

I love Tom’s family and did not want to say goodbye. I can’t wait until we get together again.

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.

It is a beautiful June Saturday evening. We started the evening with a refreshing gin and tonic with plenty of fresh-squeezed lime. Now, we are having a glass of this Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard 10 Red Wine 2005, a delicious blend of Syrah, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Sauvignon. This Washington State blend is luscious and fruity. The nose is a delicate whiff of vanilla and cloves. The taste is plums and spice. Tom purchased this wine for about $8 from Polly’s (our local grocery store).

I harvested some lettuce from my little garden for our salad tonight. I am also marinating pork chops, which we will grill. I have brown rice steaming now. Cheers and happy summertime!

This Beaulieu Vineyard Coastal Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 is quite nice.

It’s quite fruity but still tannic, with hints of berries and maybe a touch of vanilla.

Very pleasant and drinkable.

It was on sale and thus a good value at under $10.

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.

Tom chose this Pico Syrah 2005 for our Friday night cocktail hour. I just came home from watching the EMU baseball team play in the first round of the NCAA championship game. We played Arizona. We were ahead in the 6th inning but we did eventually lose. It is double elimination so we play again tomorrow at 2:00 — we’ll play the loser of the U/Michigan vs. U/Kentucky game, which is being played right now.

This Syrah has a lovely nose — black licorice and mint.  The taste is full of fruit — cherries and blueberries — as well as some good old black dirt. The finish is buttered toast and pepper. Yum, yum.

We’re having leftover pizza tonight — it’s Friday night and it was a good night to take a break from cooking.

This Velazco Aminga Valley La Rioja 2007, an Argentinian red, is a blend of 85% Bonarda and 15% Syrah and, oh, is it wonderful. We actually opened it last night (Friday night) and we finished the bottle, but I took notes. (Our son, Tony, would love this one!) We know, of course the smoky, peppery flavor of Syrah, but the blend of the Bonarda grape produces an exciting mouthful of cherries, plums and spice.

This wine was perfect for our dinner of marinated steak on the grill with grilled orange, yellow and red peppers, steamed brown rice and asparagus. By the way, this is the first time I have grilled peppers. I know it is not novel to most, but it was to me. I drizzled olive oil on the peppers and we grilled them — probably about 3 minutes a side. They were splendidly delicious! This will be a standard now for the summer.

This Della Flora Zinfandel 2006 from California is complex. It has equal measures of ripe fruit and spice. The finish is long and delicious.

Although it is mid-May in Michigan, we are having a very cool day. I decided to take advantage of the weather and make a pot of bean soup. I purchased a meaty ham shank from the local meat market, sauteed garlic and carrots, added Navy beans and chicken broth to simmer all afternoon. I have a loaf of whole wheat bread rising and will soon put it in the oven. It will be a cozy and delicious dinner. Tom made a good choice with this wine.