Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day to all our fellow Americans!  Today is a special day to remember all those brave men and women who have fallen while serving our country in the United States Armed Forces.  Many family and friends will most likely visit graves of their loved ones or go to parades or just gather for a fun-filled picnic or cookout.

Since I am a wine lover, I still like to enjoy wine while cooking out versus the popular beer or adult lemonade.  So I came up with a few menus that would make any day enjoyable.

 

For the typical cookout, who can go wrong with hambergers and cheeseburgers?  With this option, I would totally enjoy a Merlot. A yummy potato salad or pasta salad as a side would complete the course.  To top off the meal with a little something sweet, I would offer chocolate cupcakes with strawberries and blueberries on top for the patriotic flare!

 

 

Another option if you fire up the pit is BBQ Ribs!  I just love those finger lickin' summer staples.  A good Rioja is what I would pair with them.  As a side to complement the ribs, I would serve a chilled macaroni salad.  As for a dessert, I might switch over to a Riesling to enjoy with apple pie.

 





 

 

For the chicken lover, my choice would be Chicken Kabobs. A chilled Chardonnay would match perfectly, especially on a hot day!  Since the grill is going, add some potatoes to enjoy.  Include a green garden salad to complete the meal.  Top it off with grilled peaches ( maybe over vanilla ice cream :)).

 

For those who still want steak, you can switch out steak for the chicken in the kabobs, because the potatoes and grilled peaches complement well with a good Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

All in all, a good day enjoying good food, good wine, and good friends is the best way to remember those who have fought for the freedom we enjoy every day.

 

God Bless the USA and Cheers!

 

Lisa









Mother's Day - A Time To Celebrate and Be Celebrated!

Mother's Day is a beautiful day of celebrating our own Mother's and, for some, celebrating being a Mother.  I was happy to celebrate both!  On Saturday, we celebrated with dinner of chicken stuffed with spinach and Monterrey Jack cheese with parmesan au gratin potatoes.  We paired this dinner with Francis Ford Coppola's Director's Cut Chardonnay.  What a delicious wine!  This oak-aged Chardonnay was crisp with notes of vanilla and citrus.  It paired well with our dinner and is a bargain at $21.00.

The celebration did not stop there!  On Mother's Day, we spent a beautiful morning with my Mother-In-Law enjoying bagels and fruit.  The rest of the day, we decided, would be spent at home enjoying our four kids and the gorgeous Midwest weather.  I was eagerly anticipating my choice of Mother's Day wine, Isabel Mondavi Deep Rose Cabernet Sauvignon!  I had been waiting to kick off my summer with this delicious wine for weeks!  To me, this wine exudes the feel of summer.  Served chilled, it is wonderful to enjoy sitting next to the pool in the sun, which is exactly what I did.

This wine is very fruity and light, with the right balance of acidity!  It is made of 100% cabernet sauvignon and hails from Napa Valley, California.  It is hard to even look at this as wine, it is almost like a summery fruit juice!  For all the red drinkers out there, don't be turned off by the possibility of a "too sweet" wine.  As a dry red drinker myself, I still enjoy this wine and it is completely refreshing on a warm spring or summer day.  It can be paired with everything from Thai cuisine to salmon to chocolate!  What's best?  This wine can be enjoyed for around $15.00!

I'M wines are created by Isabel Mondavi's son, Robert Mondavi, Jr. in Napa Valley, California.  I'M Wines make Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the Deep Rose.  The wines were originally made "for Mom", but quickly gained interest and have been repeat award winners.  Learn more about I'M Wines at http://www.imwines.com/press.php.

Cheers and Happy Mother's Day!

Mary Jo

Wine Word of the Week

Off dry - wine that is slightly sweet. 

Wine School-Garnacha-May 1, 2013

Wines

Fuego Old Vines Garnacha

Color:  Vibrant purple
Nose:  The nose was wonderful - jammy with spice.
Mouth:  Vibrant fruit up front with a lovely finish.
Price:  $8.99/World Market

Pairings

Fontina Cheese:  This cheese seemed to enhance the fruit, almost too much.
Jarlsberg Cheese:  Initially it brings out the spice in the wine but detracted from the wonderful finish.
Spiced Gouda:  We all love the cheese, but it is too spicy for all the wines. Maybe with margaritas!!
Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives:  Not a match, completely took the spice away from the wine. It worked better when we ate the olives without the cheese.
Chicken Quesadilla:  As Lisa says, "Yum!".  A great pairing that balanced the fruit and spice of the wine.
Shepard's Pie:  Lisa enjoyed this pairing more than Mary Jo and Beth. Tamed the fruit a bit too much.
Lindt Chili Chocolate:  We all love this chocolate, and we loved it with the wine.
Dark Chocolate Covered Raspberries:  Wow - a fantastic pairing! They compliment each other perfectly. As Mary Jo said, "There are all kinds of things going on with this pairing!".

Conclusion

A great, jammy wine with a wonderful finish.

Zestos Old Vines Garnacha

Color:  Brick red with a touch of purple.
Nose:  The nose on this wine was more striking than the first wine with notes of black current, fruit, and spice.
Mouth:  A smooth and balanced wine with soft tannins.
Price:  $9.99/World Market

Pairings

Fontina Cheese:  Overall it seemed to pair better with this cheese than the first wine, but not a pairing we would recommend.
Jarlsberg Cheese:  The cheese overpowered the fruit of this wine.
Spiced Gouda:  Again, the cheese was nice, but too spicy for the wine.
Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives:  Better when the cheese was removed from the olives.
Chicken Quesadilla:  Nice pairing.
Shepard's Pie:  A nice match, would be great comfort meal in the winter.
Lindt Chili Chocolate:  A nice match although we enjoyed it with the first wine even more.
Dark Chocolate Covered Raspberries:  Nice match, the chocolate seems to work better with the first wine again.

Conclusion

This wine was the overall favorite for the three of us. It had a lighter body than the other two wines, and for the reasonable price we will definitely give this wine another try.

Vina Alarba Garnacha Vinas
Color:  Dark purple with a hint of brown.
Nose:  Pepper on the nose with a distinctive balsamic vinegar aroma.
Mouth:  More tannins than the first two wines. Fruitiness of the other wines was missing. This was our least favorite of the wines when dried on its own.
Price:  $9.99/World Market

Pairings

Fontina Cheese:  This cheese did not help this wine out and all. In fact, none of the cheeses paired with this wine.
Jarlsberg Cheese:  Not a match.
Spiced Gouda:  No, same problem as with the first two wines.
Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives:  It didn't enhance the wine, but worked better than the cheeses.
Chicken Quesadilla:  Nice pairing it helped to round out the wine.
Shepard's Pie:  No, we had a hard time finding anything to go with this wine.
Lindt Chili Chocolate:  The first wine was definitely the best with this chocolate, this was just average.
Dark Chocolate Covered Raspberries:  Not our favorite, but it works as well as anything with this wine.

Conclusion

This wine was a miss for the winos. It had a difficult time standing up to any of the pairings and was disappointing on its own.

Final Thoughts

Beth:  Spanish wines are such a great value! I would definitely purchase the Fuego and Zestos Old Vines Garnacha again. Fuego definitely had the best finish, but my overall favorite was the Zestos. My favorite food to pair with these wines was the quesadillas. It was great with Fuego as well as with Zestos. Unfortunately nothing really gave the third wine a boost in flavor, but you win some and lose some. Another great night with my wino buddies!
Lisa:  These wines were new to me.  I am used to Old Vine Zins, so the the "Old Vine" for Garnacha was something I was interested in trying.  You couldn't beat them for the price!! since Robert Parker had given the Fuego a 92pt rating, I was excited to give it a try.  I enjoyed the fruitiness and light tannins and especially loved the chili chocolate pairing!! The chicken quesadilla fit it well too, yum!  As for the Zestos, the smooth soft tannins and light finish were a delight.  Again, the chocolate pairings were delicious! Unfortunately, we couldn't get into the Vina Alarba, however, the chili chocolate did pair well. But then again, chili chocolate is never a miss!
Mary Jo:  This was our first "Old Vine" Garnacha class.  All three wines were very reasonably priced! My favorite of the three was the Zestos.  It had a wonderful nose and, while it had a shorter finish than the Fuego, it was very smooth and enjoyable.  It was an especially good pairing with the shepherd's pie and chicken quesadilla!  The Fuego was my second favorite, especially pairing well with the chicken quesadilla and the dark chocolate covered raspberries.  Overall, I wasn't especially pleased with the Vina Alarba, although it was okay with the shepherd's pie.  Unfortunately, the spiced gouda cheese was too spicy to pair, as it overpowered the wine.  Great class!  Can't wait to buy these wines again!

2010 Fort Ross Vineyard Sea Slopes Pinot Noir

This past weekend I had a fantastic wine from the new California AVA, Fort Ross-Seaview. After writing a blog on this new AVA (February 4, 2013), my husband and I have been trying to sample as many Pinot Noirs from this AVA as possible. This weekend we sampled a 2010 Fort Ross Vineyard Sea Slopes Pinot Noir. It did not disappoint. 

Fort Ross Vineyard and Winery

 

The Winery

Fort Ross Vineyard and Winery was founded by South African transplants Linda and Lester Schwartz. After living and working in San Francisco, they discovered a beautiful location on the Sonoma Coast in 1988 to start a winery. The planting began in 1991. Theirs is the closest winery to the Pacific Ocean, less than one mile. It sits seven miles north of the Russian River Valley, and 2 miles southeast of the old, Russian settlement of Fort Ross. The vineyards are all planted above the fog at 1,200 to 1,700 feet above sea level allowing the grapes to receive plenty of sun, but high temperatures are moderated by the cooling Pacific breeze. In addition to Pinot, they also produce Chardonnay, Pinotage, and a Rosé Pinot Noir. The 2010 Sea Slopes Pinot received 95 points in the April 2013 edition of Wine Enthusiast. At a price of just $36 a bottle, my husband and I were anxious to try this wine.

 

The Tasting

Color:  Beautiful, bright ruby red.

Nose:  Wow, can you smell the terrior! What a wonderful big nose with tea, and forest notes as well as dark berry and plum.

2010 Fort Ross Sea Slopes Pinot Noir
 

Taste:  A wonderfully well balanced, complex wine. It was smooth and elegant - definitely a California Pinot, but with more finesse than some of the “big” California Pinots. Also, it has a nice bit of spice with the red fruit. After sampling alone, it was paired with beef tri tips prepared on the grill and sautéed zucchini and squash seasoned with rosemary and thyme. It was a great pairing. I didn’t think the finish on this wine could get any better, but it definitely did! And what a surprise with the vegetables, the herbs just popped with earthiness of the wine. I almost felt like I was dining in the woods along the Pacific Coast!

 

Conclusion

I’m definitely glad we went in a case of this wine! We ordered directly from the winery and received a nice case discount which helps to offset the cost of shipping. I think you would have a difficult time finding another Pinot as wonderful as this for just $36 a bottle. In fact, you will have a hard time topping this beauty at any price!

 

Cheers,

Beth

 

Wine Word of the Week

Glycerol: One of the minor by-products of fermentation, glycerol, or glycerine, has no color, no aroma, and a light, faintly sweet taste.  Its thick, syrupy quality is thought to contribute to a wine's texture and viscosity.

 

 

 

 

    

 

    

Celebration!

Happy Birthday to our fellow Wino, Beth!!  What a fun way to spend the day with a couple of good friends enjoying a fun lunch and a delicious bottle (or two) of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.  We are always looking for ways, or should I say excuses, to get together to enjoy each others company along with finding new wines to try.  Although, at some restaurants we go back to our favorites.  Crisp whites for the summer are a great compliment for a light salad or simple entree.  Even on today's rainy gray day, nothing can spoil the friendship and love we all have for Beth!!  Thanks for obliging us :)!

As I sat down to write this blog I started to look back  and realized we 3 winos just celebrated our 1st Anniversary!! It was Friday, April 13, 2012 that Mary Jo wrote our inaugural blog.  My how time has flown by.  Going back a year or so before we ventured into blogging about our love and interest of wine, Beth was the one who started the whole "wine school", for me at least.  She had recently purchased the book "Great Wine Made Simple-Straight Talk from a Master Sommelier" by Andrea Immer Robinson.  This book gives great information on how to learn to taste.  Starting with looking at the wine, to swirling, to smelling and of course tasting.  She had shopped and found three Sauvignon Blancs for our first little experiment. I remember Beth had picked the section on "Tasting for Grassiness".  I kind of thought it was odd to be looking for that "fresh cut grass" scent in white wine but by golly we found it!  From that day forward we decided to continue on with Andrea's fun book. Since we couldn't keep the fun just to ourselves, we asked Mary Jo to join us too.

It's been a fun and exciting year of all kinds of new and exciting ventures for the three of us.  We have helped pair wines for "Grilling in the Garden" events to donating baskets for charity for in-home wine tasting parties to helping a new restaurant establish it's wine list.  And to think this all started just because we were interested in expanding a love and knowledge of wine!

So Happy Anniversary Stay at Home Winos  and Happy Birthday Beth!

Cheers!
Lisa

WINE WORD OF THE WEEK

ULLAGE:  The empty space left in bottles and barrels as a wine evaporates.  When in barrels, one must keep ullage at a minimum so the wine does not oxidize.

Wine School April 10, 2013 Blancs

Wines

Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc 2012

Color:  Pale yellow
Nose:  A nice fruity nose with a bit of green apple and peach and a hint of floral.
Mouth:  Very nice, a light wine with a nice finish. A crisp wine that is well balanced, we enjoyed the fruit flavors, like the pineapple. This could definitely be a summer porch sipper.
Price:  $14.99 Fezziwig's Marketplace, Lebanon, IL

Pairings

Gouda Cheese:  This cheese definitely brought the peach flavors of the wine forward. This was an easy, approachable match.
Brie Cheese:  Delicious, very nice - the creaminess of the wine and cheese mirrored each other.
Gruyere Cheese:  Did not work; the fruitiness of the wine fought with this cheese
Monterrey Jack w/Jalapeños:  This was workable; not a favorite
Tomato Soup: Too much bitterness with this pairing
Quiche Lorraine: A nice pairing and Lisa's quiche was excellent!!!
Garlic Chicken Pizza:  First off - we all love this pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. That being said it did not work with this wine; the fruity/sweetness of the wine was too much for the garlic.
Conclusion:  Great all around white wine. This was a pleasant wine that is great on its own, and would be wonderful with light, summer foods.

Yamhill Valley Pinot Blanc 2009

Color:  Pale gold
Nose:  A bit of bitterness on the nose. An enjoyable earthiness with fresh herbs. It became more "toasty" the longer it was opened.
Mouth:  With the toastiness on the nose we expected more creaminess in the wine than was present. There was a fresh minerality that we enjoyed.
Price:  $14

Pairings

Gouda Cheese:  This was a nice pairing. The cheese brought out the fruit and butteriness that was present on the nose.
Brie Cheese:  This cheese really brought out the crisp apple notes in the fruit.
Gruyere Cheese:  This pairing was doable, but we all enjoyed the first two wines better with this Pinot Blanc.
Monterrey Jack w/Jalapeños:  It was ok, but the jalapeños overpowered the wine a bit.
Tomato Soup:  Not a match.
Quiche Lorraine:  This was perfect pairing. It would be wonderful for a Mother's Day brunch. This was our favorite wine with the quiche.
Garlic Chicken Pizza:  Wonderful pairing. The garlic in the pizza married well with the wine.
Conclusion:  We liked this wine best when paired with foods. Great summer time wine for meals. Would like to try it with seafood too.

Epiphany Grenache Blanc

Color:  Pale yellow with hints of green
Nose:  Herbal and tar; fruit came forward as wine opened up.
Mouth:  We were pleasantly surprised by the fruit and oakiness of this wine. It reminded us of a nice, balanced Chardonnay with tropical fruit and nectarine. This wine was less tarty than the other two wines.
Price:  $21.99 Fezziwig's Marketplace, Lebanon, IL

Pairings

Gouda Cheese:  The fruitiness in the wine really makes an appearance with this cheese.
Brie Cheese:  OMG we love, love this pairing. It was a creamy masterpiece.
Gruyere Cheese:  Not so much on this pairing.
Monterrey Jack w/Jalapeños:  This was a decent pairing-nothing to write home about.
Tomato Soup:  It was ok, but the soup was fighting with the wine a bit.
Quiche Lorraine:  We all like the second wine the best with the quiche.
Garlic Chicken Pizza:  It works, but not outstanding.
Conclusion:  Beth and Lisa loved this wine and the nose of this wine was a favorite of all. This could definitely be a summer sipper on a hot evening.

Final Thoughts

Beth:   I absolutely loved the Grenache Blanc. This was my first time trying this varietal and I was pleasantly pleased. It was a nicely balanced wine that makes for easy drinking with a light salad or on those hot, St. Louis, summer nights we have to look forward too. Although, I did find the Pinot Blanc wine to be the best wine with food hands down. It definitely worked with all the cheese, especially the Gouda and Brie. It was fantastic with the pizza. Another great night for the winos, thanks Lisa for a great class.
Lisa:   So several months ago I was doing a tasting at Fezziwig's Marketplace in Lebanon, IL and tasted the Epiphany Grenache Blanc.  Knowing the Grenache grape was a  red grape, I was intrigued by the white version of the grape.  So I purchased the bottle and set it aside knowing one day I would use it in a class but wasn't sure what or how to compare it to other wines.  Then I came across a Pinot Blanc.  Again, I am an avid lover of Pinot Noir (another red) and again was intrigued  that it was not a Pinot Gris/Grigio. Well I now had two "blancs", so I needed another one, just not my other favorite-Sauvignon Blanc. Again, I was at Fezziwig's and Tim suggested the Chenin Blanc. I now had my three "Blancs".  This was a really fun class venturing into new wines!  They were all totally different. However, I think my favorite of the night was the Epiphany Grenache Blanc and was best with the brie.  All in all, a fun night with my fellow winos!
Mary Jo:   This class was a wonderful idea.  I had not had the combinations of some of these wines before and thoroughly enjoyed the differences.   These three wines were very different, yet were all delicious in their own way.  The Chenin Blanc will definitely be a great sipper and was creamy and delicious with the brie.  The Yamhill Pinot Blanc was even better with food and really stood out with the garlic chicken pizza.  My favorite of the evening, however, was the Epiphany Grenache Blanc.  It was simply delicious with the brie and gouda and I found it to be reminiscent of a Chardonnay.  I thoroughly enjoyed this class.  Thanks, Lisa!

 

Inaugural Dinner Club!

On a beautiful spring evening this past weekend, five neighborhood couples came together for our inaugural "Dinner Club" meal.  In our neighborhood, we are never short of ideas on how to spend time together.   I have to say the neighborhood where the Stay At Home Winos reside is filled with amazingly wonderful people who love to get together for any occasion or none at all!  This evening proved this point to be true.

Our new Dinner Club, while still in its infancy, generally will work this way:  each couple will take their turn, that couple will prepare and serve the entire meal for their guests, and the guests are responsible for bringing two to three bottles of wine to share.  We hope to enjoy this evening every other month.  Our first hosts were Kim and Craig, and they did not disappoint.  In fact, they set the bar so high, I am not sure how the rest of it will compare!

Kim sent the menu out in advance so the rest of the couples had the opportunity to choose the wines that would go best with that meal.  The menu was to be salad, chicken marsala, orzo with asparagus and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  It was unanimous that Pinot Noir would be everyone's wine of choice to enjoy with the chicken marsala.

Upon entering Kim and Craig's beautiful home, delicious aromas wafted through the air.  I knew at that point, we were in for a treat!  The following wines were waiting to be opened:

Shea Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2009

                                                      Boneshaker Lodi Zinfandel 2011

Sequana Pinot Noir

                                               Alexana Revanan Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

Trisaetum Trisae Pinot Noir

                                                                      Crios Torrontes

Castle Rock Pinot Noir

We started the evening with delicious appetizers, including prosciutto and salami wrapped cheese and pesto garlic bread.  The appetizers were amazing and the conversation was lively as always!  We then moved to the salad and, finally, the main course-chicken marsala and orzo with asparagus.  The dinner was delicious and Pinot Noir was definitely the right choice.  It was the perfect combination of great friends, great food and great wine.  There was a lot of laughter, as there always is when we get together.

What a blessing to have such wonderful and fun people living in the same neighborhood, and they love wine!  The entire evening was fabulous and I know everyone is looking forward to our next "Dinner Club" in June!

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine Word of the Week

Vouvray - A white wine made with the Chenin Blanc grape in the Loire Valley of France. This wine can be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.