A year ago on our fifth anniversary, my Husband and I had the pleasure of dining at a wonderful restaurant called Lucas Park Grille in St. Louis, Missouri (http://www.lucasparkgrille.com/). Lucas Park was renovated in 2004 and offers an excellent menu. They offer lunch, dinner and weekend brunch and is home to everything from sandwiches to flatbreads to seafood. Further, there is a Washington Avenue shuttle to Rams, Cardinals and Blues games, as well as other sporting events and concerts. It was during this special anniversary dinner that I was introduced to a wine that is one of my most favorites, and has become a favorite of every person to whom I suggest it.
As I perused the wine list before dinner, I thought I would try a wine that I had not tasted before. I wanted a red wine, but wanted to try a varietal that I would not typically order. The wine I chose on this evening was a 2007 Consilience Syrah - Santa Barbara County (consiliencewines.com). From the moment I tasted this wine, I loved it. I immediately asked the waiter if Consilience could be found locally and he suggested a local supermarket, Straub's (http://straubs.com), or our local wine store, The Wine Merchant (http://winemerchantltd.com/). I found myself on my iPhone, at the table, googling the wine and trying to find where we could buy it! Luckily, I have a Husband who understands my passion for wine and didn't mind that I was taking a few minutes away from our anniversary dinner to hunt down a bottle of wine. The next day I received a phone call from The Wine Merchant and, while they didn't have any in stock, said they would gladly order it for me.
Consilience is mainly Syrah with a touch of Petite Syrah, Zinfandel and Grenache. It is a medium-bodied wine, with powerful berry flavors, a hint of smokiness and structured tannins with a touch of chocolate. The main vineyard sources for this amazing wine are Rodney Shull and Star Lane Vineyards. Consilience has garnered several well-deserved accolades for this superb wine. It received a Gold Medal at the May 2011 Taster's Guild International, a Bronze Medal at the November 2011 Houston Rodeo and Wine Competition and was a Top 20 Pick in the December 2011 Food & Home Magazine. It definitely received a Gold Star in my wine journal and my fellow Stay At Home Winos agreed.
As I did with my fellow Winos, I have shared this amazing find with everyone I know who enjoys a good bottle of wine. You may recall our blog entry from this past July when the Stay At Home Winos did the wine tasting portion of the area's first Grilling From the Garden. As soon as we knew the menu, we agreed that we had to include Consilience Syrah. It was a huge hit! So many guests had never tasted a Syrah and were a little hesitant, yet curious. Everyone was so glad they tried it and it definitely stole the show. It thrilled me that so many people loved this great wine as much as I do. It is one of the first wines I recommend when someone asks me for a new wine to try.
I have enjoyed many dinners since that night at Lucas Park Grille with Consilience Syrah in my glass. And, while any anniversary dinner with my Husband is memorable, I know he would agree with me that finding this wine added to our enjoyment that evening. There is never a time we are without at least one bottle (and there are usually several) of Consilience in our wine cabinet.
Cheers!
Mary Jo
Wine Word of the Week
Body - the perceived weight of wine in the mouth. Alcohol is the key factor. In more full bodied wines the alcohol content is higher. When determining the body, think of the difference between the feel of skim milk in your mouth verses whole milk. Skim milk has the the feel of a light bodied wine, while whole milk will feel like a full bodied wine, and two percent milk will resemble a medium bodied wine. Another rule of thumb-the darker the wine-the more full bodied.
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