Wine Wednesday is Nouveau!

So Josh and I are a little late celebrating Beaujolais Nouveau this year, but because this is what we are doing as I write, then that is what we will be chatting about this week!

So who here is familiar with the fun that is Beaujolais Noveau?

Anyone?

Well, I wasn't until I started reading about the winemaking industry, and I have found this little tradition particularly entertaining...

Why? Check out the pic of our bottle below... Notice anything odd?

No, not my "Where's Waldo?" reflection in the glass. Take a closer gander at that bottle...

That's right peeps, this vintage is 2009.

As in the current year.

As in the grapes that were growing on the vines just a few months ago.

And if you still don't get it, maybe you should just spend your surfing time here. I think that will be a better fit... (I know it is for me on more than one occasion.)

Beaujolais Nouveau is made from Gamay grapes in the Beaujolais region of France. You have probably seen other Beaujolais wines, like Villages, which are basically the same grapes. The only difference is that Nouveau grapes that go through a special, quick fermentation that actually uses the whole fruit (they aren't pressed like normal wine). The grapes are picked by hand, fermented, bottled, and ready to drink within weeks.

Beaujolais Nouveau is always released for sale on the third Thursday of November and is often celebrated with parties and festivals. Nouveau is special in that you get to have that "first taste" of the current year's vintage, often a fun indicator of what vintages will be great as they are released in the years to come.

But you know what 2 things I love most about Nouveau?

First, it is meant to be consumed immediately... recommended within months (although most people open it right away).

Second, it is cheap! All of it! The general range is $8 - $12 per bottle. And you just can't beat that, my friends.

But if you want to enjoy this fun quirk of the wine industry, then grab it fast! 2009 is being hailed by wine critics as one of the best vintages ever of Beaujolais Nouveau. Wine people are gosh-darn excited about this year, so you should be too!

Now keep in mind, Nouveau is not meant to rival the finest wines in the world. The short fermentation leaves the wine very fruity, with higher acid and low tannins. The bottle we are sipping is a deep, dark pink color with a bright acidity and smooth notes of plum and strawberry jam. It is completely different from any other wine we drink, but that's half the fun!

Last serving note: If you pick up a bottle to enjoy yourself, let it chill the fridge about 20-30 minutes prior to serving. This is best served slightly chilled. Also, be sure to try it before you eat food and again while you dine. It can take on very different flavors with the introduction of food.

So enjoy this fun tradition! It is great for parties or a fun Christmas gift. And drink it fast, my friends; the clock's a tickin'.

Love ya'll! Mean it.

Wine Wednesday takes a punch

With the holidays basically ummm... HERE, I am getting pretty darn excited to yet again embrace my Christmas music, wreaths, presents, Santa, and pie.

Well, maybe not the pie. We have more of a love/hate thing happening...

Love the pie.

Hate having to ask for clothes from Pea in the Pod for Christmas even though I am not preggers.

Anywaaaaays, one of my very favorite thing about the holidays is all the parties!!! I can't get enough of 'em. Christmas, New Years, it's all fun and it's all fabulous.

And nothing gets a party started like my somewhat-famous Champagne Punch! I made this for the first bash Josh and I hosted as a married couple - New Years!

I am pretty sure I was still painting the dining room 2 hours before the party... but by the time our friends arrived, the paint was dry, the food was prepared, the punch was made, and my hair looked great. All key ingredients to a rockin' good time.

Now, this is not your great-aunt's sherbet-ginger ale-lime jello punch. This stuff is tart, light and potent. Trust me on that last one. Party punch has such a classic, throw-back feel that I love - but this recipe brings punch up to par with current flavor profiles and trendy cocktails.

So here it is! the best, party-tastic punch you could ever imagine... courtesy of Emeril!

Champagne Punch

1 1/3 cups fresh lemon juice

1 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
1/2 cup Triple Sec
1/2 cup cognac
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 bottles chilled brut Champagne or sparkling wine
Orange or lemon slices
Fresh strawberries, optional

Combine the lemon juice, sugar, orange liqueur, Triple Sec, cognac, and orange juice in a non-reactive bowl and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the Champagne and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Pour into a decorative bowl or pitcher. Garnish with orange or lemon slices and fresh strawberries, if desired, and serve in Champagne flutes.

And remember friends - Always choose Brut for your champagne.

and your men.

ooooh yeah.

Wine Wednesday is headin to a party! And is lazy.

Now that November has rolled around, which in itself is completely shocking, you know what time it is... PARTY TIME!

Thanksgiving potlucks, Christmas shindigs, New Years extravaganzas - it's all happening.

right now.

So what do you bring when you show up at your lovely host home of the week?

A candle? eh, ok. Some cookies perhaps? Your hostess might think you just want her to get fat, and that doesn't make friends. So what could you possible bring?

hmmm..... some vino perhaps? PERFECT!

Ok, so here is where the lazy part of my post comes in... I am cheating this week.

And I am totally ok with it.

It was a busy weekend and now a busier week which sounds like an excuse, but its not. It is just a fact. But I promise to pour my heart and soul into this next week, ok?

ok.

This article was written by my very favorite wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher. This article is specifically about great wine options to bring to a party, and I love all the ideas they have. Even if you have nowhere to go, pick some of these up for your own private dinner party!

Because why can't grilled cheese and a movie not be a dinner party?

Oh wait. It CAN. glad we cleared that up.

So check out this little bit of genius HERE! Then go shoppin' and partyin' and everything else that is holiday-tastic.

Love ya'll! Mean it.

Wine Wednesday?

Ummmmm...... hi there.

So if you haven't figured it out by now, I am all about honesty on this thing. Throwing it all out there for your judgment/entertainment means I don't have to use my filter, which I can barely utilize at work.

Which means I pretty much never use it at work - thank goodness for my coworkers. bless their little hearts.

And I digress.....

Sooooooo I am not fully prepared for Wine Wednesday this week... but I have been busy! This weekend was filled with gazing at my beautiful bottles of fancy wine that finally arrived from my Napa travels in September, but I procrastinate during weekends anyway.

So what was the problem?

Monday night I made my all-time favorite snack from my Baylor days... apple bread! And last night night I took that delicious apple bread to some friends who invited us over for dinner. This means I played on a school (work) night TWO nights in a row.

This brings me to two conclusions:

1. I love apple bread.

2. I am pathetic that I can only fit in one extra activity each night.

I am old and crusty.

and not like a good French baguette... more like an open tube of toothpaste.

But I do have all my good wine now - YAY! And I can write about that, right?

This weekend I got my glorious shipment of Fisher wines. People... this stuff is serious. It is from a stunning, tiny mountain vineyard overlooking Napa Valley that makes some killer Cabernet. It is the Spring Mountain district, which has become my favorite California Cab region.

You know what I love about Spring Mountain? All the vineyards are small and make wine with love. Because they have to! In the 1970's, when California wine started taking off, winemakers began buying the Spring Mountain land and planting it with Cabernet grapes... it is the perfect climate. But there was a problem - all the loose soil from the land-clearing was running into Napa Valley! yikes! So California laws were passed that restrict any more land on Spring Mountain to be cleared for planting. period. done. So what you see is what you get! and what you will ever get!

Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have been there since the beginning, and their wine shows it. One bottle in particular that I bought just melts my heart...

See this bottle?

Ain't it pretty?

So this is called the wedding vineyard cabernet, and for good reason. In the 1970's, soon after the Fishers bought their land, they spent all their money getting it cleared for the vineyard. Since they had nothing left to pay for planters, they decided to get married on their land. So they did! And the reception? Everybody rolled up their sleeves and planted the grapevines on the property. Seriously! It is literally the wedding vineyard.

and those very same grapes produce the cabernet in this bottle... love it.

Any Fisher wines can be tough to find and kinda expensive to buy. Look in fine dining restaurants or online. But if you find a bottle of the Unity Cab, Coach Insignia, anything... just buy it. It literally will change your life... and I am not just saying that for dramatic effect.

Because I am really not that dramatic... nobody in my family is.

Love ya'll! Mean it.

and love Fisher! Really mean it.

Wine Wednesday - A Perfect Pairing!

Hallelujah! It's Fall! The end of October not only means pumpkins, wreaths and Halloween costumes - it also means that nobody will judge me for wearing my cashmere even thought it is 82 degrees and I am sweating like a pig. Because gosh darn. It's FALL!

Fall for me and Josh means one thing... turkey meatloaf! Specifically my rootin' tootin' tasty turkey meatloaf. I would like to think that among the 14 people I have served it to, I am famous.

Now all of you Smitten-Kitchen-readers and Martha-Stewart-lovers have already turned up your snotty (from the weather changing) noses to one word in that paragraph above... meatloaf. But you know what? The Brady Bunch kids loved it when Alice made meatloaf. And when you have a good recipe... your husband just may fall to the ground and weep with joy (just like mine does!) when you pop this little beauty in the oven!

So get off your high horse and make the darn meatloaf. I can almost promise you will be a convert for life.

Josh's Favorite Dinner - Turkey Meatloaf!

This recipe is slightly adapted from a Cagle Family recipe. However, the Cagles are basically my family (anyone you spend Thanksgiving/Christmas with is officially FAMILY.) so I cook this sucker with love in my heart.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lb. ground super lean beef

1 pkg. onion soup mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup half & half

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 sleeve Ritz, crushed

1 bottle of Heinz chili sauce

In a large bowl, place onion soup mix. Cover with sour cream, eggs, and half & half. Allow to stand well mixed for a few minutes. Sprinkle the Ritz crumbs over the mixture. Add the meat (uncooked) and mix thoroughly. Shape into a free-form loaf in the middle of a casserole dish ( Allows for more of it to caramelize...) Dump a 1/4 to 1/2 of the bottle of chili sauce on top. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with extra chili sauce on the side.

Yay for dinner! But WAIT!

It's Wine Wednesday, not Meatloaf Wednesday! Although that's not a bad idea....

Turkey meatloaf is savory, meaty and deLISH. But the turkey keeps it from being too heavy and the chili sauce gives it a subtle yet interesting "tang". This is one of those comforting, yummy meals that is perfect on a cool evening, and Josh and I both agree that this a "red wine" kind of meal. So many dishes can go a thousand directions in the realm of wine, but this is meant for a full, juicy, cozy red. We have a couple of favorites to pair with this one:

When you are feelin' schmancy...

Frank Family Vineyards - Zinfandel

Retail approx. $40

I know this is expensive. And I know that a lot of people out there turn and run when they hear the word zinfandel. But this is RED zinfandel and it. is. the.

Best.

If you have never tried a good red zin or haven't liked the cheap stuff, then this is for you. It is juicy with lots of blackberry, jam, a subtle spice and tannins that balance perfectly. This bottle will not only make you rethink zin, but it will also justify every penny you spend on it. Just think! A bottle of this plus the meatloaf ingredients is still going to be cheaper than going out to your standard restaurant... So buy it! You can find it at good wine stores and even high-end grocery stores. Just let the fermented perfection overwhelm you...

If my eloquent words couldn't convince you...

Folie a Deux - Menage a Trois Red Wine

Retail approx. $10

This stuff is super cheap and pretty darn good! It isn't going to rock the foundation of your wine world, but it is a reliable, easy drinking red. We always have it at our grocery store, and we really enjoy sipping this with my turkey meatloaf! I think this is also a great option for guys and gals that tend to favor whites over reds. This one is like putting on your old t-shirt from middle school - soft, comfortable, easy and casual. Even if you are too cool for my meatloaf, this would be a great one to add to your grocery store rotation.

So eat! Drink! Celebrate fall! And don't judge my meatloaf. just give it a little love.

Wine Wednesday! At the Restaurant!

My sweet Daddio sent the fam a Wall Street Journal article earlier this week that had some tips on ordering wine at business dinners. It reminded me of some fabulous tips I read from the same fine publication about ordering wine the smart way in restaurants. You know how I love my bullet points, so let's get started, shall we?

• The most overpriced bottle on the menu: I love this this tip. It is simple, easy to apply, and completely logical. How many times have you found yourself in this little situation?

The budget's tight this month, the recession (or your children) are killing your "play money" reserves, or you are a poor recent college grad working hard for the table scraps at the corporate dinner table. But you are hungry and tired of eating hot dogs and heck! You need a night out! So off you trot with your friends or your sweetie to your favorite little bistro for a little indulgence. You crack open the wine list and scan the options. You gotta play this smart, so your eyes head straight to the bottom of the list where your dear friends, the inexpensive bottles, live. You don't want to look like a total cheapskate and order the cheapest thing on the menu, so you jump a bottle or two up and call it done! Whew! You can now order with the confidence that you don't look like a penny pincher to your waiter, but you didn't break the bank in the process.

Congrats!

And by "Congrats!", I mean Congrats to the restaurant owner! Because he priced his menu based on the idea that you will be too self conscious to order the cheapest bottle if you are choosing a less expensive bottle from the menu. The funny thing is that often that cheapest bottle on the wine list is probably a great bang for your buck. The mark-up on the second and third cheapest bottles are generally the highest on the menu. So if you are dining a budget, don't be afraid to choose the lowest priced bottle - you actually will do your wallet a favor and might just find a new favorite!

• Common Labels/Varietals = Overpriced Wine

A study of restaurant wine lists and pricing across the U.S. showed two very strong trends - American chardonnay is generally the most overpriced type of wine on a menu, and Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is the #1 overpriced label. Guess why? Because they are familiar and most customers prefer to order wines they already know. It doesn't mean that American Chardonnay or Santa Margherita are bad wines - in fact, they both encompass some great wines! But when you are paying that restaurant mark-up, take the opportunity to try something you have never seen at the store. Restaurants can get their hands on some really fun, interesting wine if you will just give it a shot! And better yet - they keep the margins lower on the wines that aren't ordered as often.

• Uncommon regions make for tasty deals!

Americans as a whole are notorious in the global wine market as being a bit predictable and boring with wine preferences. We tend to drink the basics - chardonnay, pinot grigio, merlot, cabernet, and pinot noir, etc. But there are literally hundreds of species of wine grapes that make fantastic wines in very small regions of the world. So check out the whole list - see what jumps at you!

Now don't get me wrong - sometimes when I am out at dinner, I decide that I absolutely MUST have that California Cab I spotted, or that Pinot Noir that I haven't been able to find anywhere... but don't let yourself get stuck in an overpriced rut. If you are overwhelmed, then just talk to your server and/or sommelier. You will often end up with recommendations that are fun and completely outside-the-box.

So try that 2006 Trimbach Gewürztraminer!

Approximately $20 retail

Tasting Notes:

The basic Gewurztraminer from Trimbach is a real gem for those of you who like the spicy exotic aromas that this grape is renowned for but who don't appreciate the cloying and often times sweet character in other wines. This is dry and racy showing the classic Trimbach restraint with this grape resulting in a delicious lichee and orange peel-scented beauty. 89 points Wine Spectator: "This dry, light-bodied white has a minerally undertow to its flavors of grapefruit, smoke, orange granita and spice. There's good balance, with a modest finish. Drink now through 2016." (11/09)

or give that 2004 La Fortuna Brunello di Montalcino a shot!

Approximately $40 retail

Tasting Notes:

92 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "La Fortuna’s 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is especially beautiful in this vintage. The wine is remarkable for its density, richness and concentration, all of which have been achieved while maintaining clarity and freshness. The French oak is beautifully integrated in this sumptuous, generous Brunello. Suggestions of flowers and spices add notes of brightness on the finish. The Brunello spent a whopping 40 months in 25-hectoliter medium-sized casks prior to being bottled. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019." (06/09)

Find that inner dare-devil and let it take over! Love ya'll - mean it!

P.S.

Photos and tasting notes are from K&L Wine Merchants - one of the top wine distributors in the U.S.

I. love. them. and you.

Wine Wednesday! At the Grocery Store!

As much as I love to frolic through the Napa wine country, picking and choosing my favorite bottles of wine, it just can't happen all the time. Because I have never won the lottery or a Nobel prize. Heck, I can barely fit in a trip to our little wine store when our months get crazy.

So what does this all mean? A reality check.

Yes, a reality check that me and most of you probably end up buying wine at the grocery store more often than anywhere else. However, thanks to many grocery stores pushing to add some credibility to their wine shelves, as well as the recession tanking restaurant/speciality sales, an impressive selection at every price point can be found at the ol' supermarket.

In a wine tasting course I attended, I learned some valuable little tricks to wine shopping in grocery stores or anywhere else that may not have a knowledgeable staff. These can be a great help when you are in the mood to try something totally different or simply can't spot your favorites.

Disclaimer: These tips are most valuable when shopping for inexpensive wine ($15 and under). Many fabulous wines would break all of these rules, but most cheap bad wine will too. That being said, if you know the vineyard/wine, then go for it! Save these for that moment when you are staring at an aisle with your eyes glazed over...

1. Alcohol Content

Many super-mass produced wines use very poor quality grapes to crank out enough booze. These grapes are so bad that they don't have enough fruit sugars to convert into alcohol. So do you know what these companies do? They put SUGAR in the juice to get the alcohol levels to an appropriate level. You are basically drinking fermented Tang. disgusting.

These sugared up wines, due to their calibrated alcohol percentages, are often set at whole or half percentages (12.5%, 14%). So look for wines with an "off" percentage (13.2%, 14.1%) which means the wine was likely made with quality grapes that could produce the alcohol on their own.

2. Estate Bottled

Look for the term "Estate Bottled" on the label. Many wines slap something about being estate grown, but that pretty much means nothing.

Where else would the grapes grow? On the shoulder of the highway? hmmm... don't answer that.

If the wine was actually bottled at the estate, as opposed to a factory, it is more likely to be a quality product.

3. Cutesy Labels

I love a good cutesy label! And it doesn't mean the wine is bad! But many yucky wines do try to maximize the cute/funny factor on the label, so you will buy it for the look instead of the taste. If the label is very simple then you can trust that the wine will speak for itself.

So on your next trip to grab that gallon of milk, make a little detour to the wine section and pick up something you have never tried. After all, you might just find your new favorite.

Love ya'll! Mean it.

Wine Wednesday!

The event known as "Wine Wednesday" started back in college, although it had a slightly different meaning back then. hmmmm.....good times. Now Wine Wednesday will be my weekly tribute to one of my favorite things - oh the vino!

Josh and I both became interested in wine during our first dinner on our honeymoon. We were dining at the White Barn Inn on the coast of Maine, and we were so excited to be there. We ordered our courses and opted to have the wine pairings with each course. When our steak entrees appeared on the table, our waiter Adrian came over with a smirk on his face and a bottle in hand. "Tonight is your lucky night!" he said. Apparently another waiter had accidentally opened a $600 bottle of Bordeaux, so they were pairing it with the steaks that night. Josh and I looked at each other, took that first sumptuous sip, and I knew our lives as we knew it were over. This incredibly complex, delicious wine had us completely hooked, and we have been tasting (chugging) and learning ever since.

Over the last couple of years, we have found some favorites in every price range, as well as learned some helpful tips on buying/storing wine. Therefore, wednesdays will be dedicated to this beloved little hobby!

So let's kick off wine wednesday with one of our "Perfect Pairings" - Champagne and... pizza!

First of all, yes, I am aware that only sparkling wine from Champagne, France, can be called "champagne" and everything else is sparkling wine. But French laws, Wench shmaws (Ha! I couldn't help but sneak in a naughty word! This is why Josh is not allowed to read these before I post..).

Anyway, here's my issue - the term "sparkling wine" has at least 8 more syllables, and I am girl that is all about efficiency. So I boldly refer to all sparkling wine (that even took forever to type) as champagne. It's a much sassier word anyway! And I can handle your judgment - Bring. It.

Whenever you are shopping for champagne, an understanding of the terms can be extremely helpful. They specifically describe the level of sweetness that a wine will have:

• Sec (17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter) - This stuff is sweeeeeet, and I don't mean like "I love your purple highlights!" sweet. I mean more like, "My dessert is in a glass? Sweeeeet!"
  
  
• Dry/Extra Dry (12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter) - Unlike a regular red/white wine, "Dry" is used to describe the sweeter wines. These have a higher concentration of fruit sugars and are best served as a pre-dinner apertif or with a fruity dessert.
  
  
• Brut (less than 15 grams of sugar per liter) - This is the most common type and the "driest" of the champagnes. These tend to pair well with foods, particularly pizza (yay!) and highly seasoned/spicy foods. I don't serve these with dessert, unless it is something rich like cake or truffles. This is what to look for if you need a wine that will cut through dense flavors and cleanse the palate. It is also what I prefer to use when creating champagne cocktails.
  
  

Ok, back to one of my favorite pairings! I find that most people automatically reach for that trusty bottle of red wine when they dine on pizza, but I find this can result in a doubly heavy meal. A rich red wine with a hot, cheesy pizza can certainly warm you up during those chilly months, but it also can be so indulgent that all those bold flavors run together. Three slices in and you already need a nap! And lordy, who wants to stop at 3 slices???

A brut, crisp champagne, on the other hand, perfectly cuts through the creaminess of the cheese and warm bread. For such an indulgent meal, it serves as a bright palate cleanser between bites and allows you to enjoy each cheesy slice as much as the first.

So for your next cozy little night in, pick up a Papa Murphey's and your favorite champagne. I promise you won't regret it! And below are couple of our family favs when it comes to this Perfect Pairing....

Schramsberg Mirabelle Rose

This little diddy is delicious and around $20 - a steal for good champagne! It has a soft balance of sweetness and drinks easily with food or on its own. Keep an eye out in high-end grocery stores or reputable wine stores.

Domaine Carneros Brut

My favorite inexpensive brut which is also around $20. I have been known to down a bottle of this on my own. And I am completely ok with it. You can also pick this up at nice grocery stores and your standard wine stores. So GO! Get a bottle! now.

Iron Horse... The Mother Ship

Around $35 a bottle... and worth every penny. This is what you get to convince a non-champagne drinker (i.e. most boys) to be very much a drinker. Or in my case, a guzzler. So in this situation, you might want to buy a couple of bottles...

Love ya'll! Mean it.