New All Around

Posted on August 6, 2013 by melsmosaic

Had some friends over for dinner the other night and there were new tastes all around the table, from cheese to salad to wine.

For pre-dinner, my friend was kind enough to bring non-cow milk cheese to make the lactose intolerant person happy. One of them was a Honey Goat Gouda from Trader Joe’s. I normally can’t stand goat cheese but love gouda. This was totally on the good side. I highly recommend it! The other was a manchego from TJ’s that I’ve had before that is equally as delicious! Great way to kick off the night.

We had three wines throughout the evening, kicking off with a Virginia white. The first was Rappahannock Cellar’s Viognier. It was a nice local grape, pairing nicely with the appetizers.

For dinner I made a recipe I had been wanting to try for awhile — Citrus-Avocado Salad. It was AMAZING! For the tamari almonds it calls for, a friend gave me the great idea of making them vs. buying them to save money. All you need to do is toss the almonds in some soy sauce, a couple dashes of Worcestershire Sauce and a pinch of sugar. You bake them at 250 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Done! For the blood oranges, sometimes they are tough to find. I came across red oranges at one grocery store. Otherwise I was going to use grapefruit or just regular oranges.

With this salad I served some pan seared (vs grilled because I live in an apartment and can’t have a BBQ) chicken breasts and quinoa.

The wines we enjoyed with this included two reds. One from Virgina — First Colony Cab from a winery in Monticello — very nice. Again, I’m finding Cabs I like — something is happening to me. The second red is one I discovered/was introduced to a few years back — Eleven. It’s from Washington and the specific varietal was the 2008 La Ronde.

Recap: Great dinner. Rave reviews around the table. Now I just keep thinking about what the next meal will bring. Cheers.

Fly Away With More MD Wines

Posted on August 4, 2013 by melsmosaic

And the fun continued with more Maryland wines. This time I was fortunate to have them be only a block away with a tasting at Vino Volo (that’s where part of the title came from). The mostly airport-known wine chain is expanding and Bethesda, MD (suburb of Washington, DC) was the first town to be fortunate enough to not require a boarding pass, standing in endless lines (unless they are super packed), taking your shoes off, putting your bags in plastic bins, having everything scanned and walking through the security gates. So much better — you just get to enjoy wine right away! You don’t drink away the pain. You enjoy it just to enjoy it.

Every week they have a tasting, from well known vintners (tears were rolling down my cheeks in a good way when Silver Oak was there…) to medium size ones to local ones that are working to make a name for themselves. After visiting MD wineries last weekend, I was able to taste wines from another one that is less than an hour north of here — Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard. They sampled four varietals and all of them blew me away, white and red.

The first one sampled was the Pinot Grigio. Had some nice fruity notes — pineapple, grapefruit.

Next was a Viognier — crisp, sharp. I can’t put a finger on the flavor, I just liked overall how powerful, yet subtle, it was for a white. Another sip, please.

Now, on to the big business, reds! That is my favorite color. I didn’t know there was good reason for this when I was under 21. The first was a blend…AMAZING. Yes, bring me my wine! This was the best wine of the night…Comus. Five varietals packed a huge punch to give amazing flavors and tastes that surround your nose and mouth with endless wine happiness.

At this point as I write this, the great Tim McGraw song “Fly Away” comes into my mind because of how good wine is, those non-country lovers, just fly away with Vino Volo, and all of us, just love our wine! Go pour yourself a glass if you don’t have one, or at least picture yourself with one. Ok, back to grapes…

Last but not least was one of my least favorite varietals that I will say, is totally growing on me. Good things come with age, right? Both wine and intelligence, perhaps? Anyway, it was a Cab(ernet Sauvignon). Very deep and complex. The couple next to me was torn between this and the prior as to which was their favorite, but opted for the Cab. Many people were split. But as mentioned, when I find a Cab I enjoy, I love it and I could have had much more of this, so I was thrilled, Cab and MD? Dang!!!

So to wrap up, Maryland, you are setting a name for yourself! Two weekends in a row, I am beyond impressed. I am not a national reviewer or commentator but I haven’t normally been a fan of this area. This is not a political comment in any way, shape of form, but I might start leaning a bit right…geographically, when I drink my wine.

MD Wineries — Cheers!

Posted on July 29, 2013 by melsmosaic

Last weekend I stepped away from the norm and decided to do this thing I rarely do — drink local wine. I love our west coast — bring me Napa, Sonoma, Oregon (going in October!!!) and Washington. But, I live in Maryland and wineries are not far away. So, why not explore what’s a car ride vs. a plane ride (aka several hundred dollars before the wine purchase) away.

Friends slated 3 wineries for the day and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting nothing superb but ended up with wines that I will put on my regular list.

Our first visit was to Elk Run in Mt. Airy. For the simple tasting you had 7 pours — lucky number, right? There was a nice variety. I was quite surprised when the Cab was my favorite. That’s normally my last resort for a the wine to choose when picking a red.

For the entire menu, it was quite extensive should you want a regular pour. This was our first visit, so didn’t want to go too crazy.

Our next visit was about 5-10 minutes away at Black Ankle. Their grapes grow on rocks and therefore get no leaves. Per our wonderful ‘pourer,’ it’s very sad. They get about 2.5 tons of grapes per acre because of the ground. But let me tell you, GREAT wine, particularly for Maryland. We tasted 4 wines and they were phenomenal.

At Black Ankle, they also want you to come enjoy a picnic and relax, so everyone in the group brought food and we kicked back and relaxed for awhile.

Our last destination was Serpent Ridge in Westminster. I will qualify this as more Maryland wine. Not spectacular, but we had already been to 2 wineries. It was nice to explore another location in the area and see what they have to offer, though.

We ended the day by returning to Black Ankle and kicking back for a little bit longer as some storms rolled in. I just have to say Cheers! to local wineries for expanding their vineyards, wineries, production, etc, etc, etc and drawing in the locals, visitors and everything else. The expansion of the wine industry throughout the country over the past couple years has been quite interesting. From the Finger Lakes in NY to MD and VA, to MI and TX. This country is up for some fun over the next decade+. Though I know I will always love the West Coast, just like supporting the farmers at your local farmer’s market, the same will soon come with wine. On that note, what are you pouring tonight?