Three weeks, three people, three new tastes

Posted on September 12, 2013 by melsmosaic

Good things come in threes, right? So I’ve met some great people over the past few weeks and all of them have introduced me to some new drinks, all in different ‘categories’ — liquor, beer, wine. Great way to keep the mind and palette active. Wanted to share them so more people can learn about them (or nod and say — oh yeah, I’ve been loving that for ages, glad she’s finally caught on).

#1 — Gin & Tonic, the wonderful G&T, with cucumber vs. lime. The important part about this concoction is that you MUST muddle the cukes to release the juice, you need good gin (everybody does have their favorite — mine is Bombay Sapphire but I will never turn down a host who provides Hendrick’s) and apparently if you don’t use Q tonic, why bother making it? The things you learn. There are apparently some measurements to this drink which could/would not be revealed…

#2: Westmalle Trappist Ale Tripel. It was the kickoff to college football. Great Belgian beer to enjoy while sitting on the couch watching sports for many hours. This stuff is potent — 9.5% alcohol! It’s good to be watching football because you don’t want to drive for awhile and the food you eat while being sedentary for hours on end soaks up that percentage. My friend served it in the appropriate glass to which you fill to the 33cl line.

#3: Bloem Red. Amazing wine from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Since I’m headed there next year I want all the ‘amuse-bouche’ I can get. It had a light-medium body with fruit and spice. Was enjoying this over Labor Day weekend and it was served with just that perfect chill for a red that made it even better. It’s a blend of about 65/35 Syrah/Mourvedre.

May these inspire you for the weekend to come.

Aussie Wine Tasting

Posted on September 6, 2013 by melsmosaic

Last night there was a call from Down Under to taste their wine. One must answer! How can you go wrong? It was taking place at Bin 201 in Annapolis, MD. For $10 you taste(d) 8 wines and then you could apply those 10 bucks towards the purchase of a bottle. And, if more than one person goes, you can combine your ‘credits.’ The two of us who went walked out with a ‘free’ bottle of wine. Score! They also serve cheese and crackers at the tasting.

So the night began:

#1: Pewsey Vale Riesling. That was originally to be the 2nd in the tasting but turned out to be best as first as some previous tasters decided the notes made it best to go first. Nice and dry. You’re not drinking sugar. The nose was flowery, the taste was lime.

#2: Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc. Hand me the green peppers. Or, if your recipe calls for some and you’re out, you could easily sip some of this instead. Wow, very poignant, yet nice, nose and taste of them. Also had some grapefruit notes.

#3: Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir. Yes, it’s from New Zealand but they are pretty close together, yet so far away from here. There was a light note of cranberries in the nose. For taste, I found some ash and bit of cranberry.

#4: Misfit Brujeria. I felt it was ‘thick and chewy’ and couldn’t pick up a flavor. If I had to put something to it, the most I could say is chocolate, but that’s me.

#5: Tournon Mathilda. Light wine with some eucalyptus on the nose. Also carried the eucalyptus in the taste with a hint of jam.

#6: Tir Na N’og ‘Old Vines’ Grenache. What a nose — chocolate and molasses. Then it was like drinking molasses cookies with a hint of black licorice.

#7: Yalumba “The Scribbler” Shiraz/Cabernet. I love their Shiraz/Viognier blend so was excited about this. I could not pick up a taste from it though, unfortunately.

#8: Jim Barry “The Cover Drive” Cabernet Sauvignon. The most I can give is mint!

And the entire menu/notes from Bin 201 were interesting. I always try to sniff and taste before reading these to avoid the ‘brainwash.’ The Aussie tasting was great and can’t wait to see/taste what’s next.

Whole Food(s) & Wine

Posted on August 22, 2013 by melsmosaic

Had to get that great Before & After thought in there again as much as possible. So a couple weeks ago, I saw this amazing sign outside of the Whole Foods in Glover Park/Georgetown (DC) for their Wednesday night $5 for 5 wines and 5 food bites. What, what, did I read that wrong? Really, I know I just walked out of the gym, I’m tired, dehydrated, want some food (and likely wine) but what did that say? But I did read it right! Every Wednesday from 5:30-7pm they feature 5 wines (in two ounce pours) accompanied with a nice snack for five bucks! Whoa! Bring…it…on! I am proud, yet almost ashamed, that I finally (only finally) made it down there this week.

And the night began. So as the first timer, I walk in, see wine in the non-wine section (aka produce) and see people with glasses and paper. Of course I have to ask who/what/when/why/where?? Deer in headlights. Simple…go to the express lane, pay five bucks and get the (take home!) wine glass (that you can bring back, or any wine glass, for a dollar off…four dollars!) and summary/rundown sheet for the five tasting stations. Money paid, game plan set.

Station #1: Wolftrap Syrah Mourvedre Viognier. Ok, every nose and palette is different. It smelled like swiss cheese to me…yes, you read that right, but oh, oh, oh, down so smooth, with some berries then smoke, in a nice, clean sense. The even better thing? It was on sale from it’s normal X price (don’t what that is) to $10, then we got an extra buck off! I CAN NOT wait to go to South Africa next year to taste this stuff on site! This was served with breaded eggplant (couldn’t have it because of cheese…heard it was good).

Station #2: Another visit to Sugarloaf with the Sugarloaf Mountain Pinot Grigio. They are just north of DC and offer a great escape for a day. Crisp, citrus-y with a hint of peach. A great summer white, cool and refreshing! Retail price around $17 or so. This was served with shrimp prepared in coconut oil.

Station #3: Take me to Italy for some Cesanese Lazio Volepetti. Nice medium bodied-red. I kept trying and trying, and trying and trying to nail down a nose or flavor and couldn’t do it. It was a nice wine. I drank it, I would drink it again, but I’m only writing home about it for my blog. Apparently they couldn’t keep it in stock after the tasting. I bought the bottles of #1, not for the price (score!) but for the wine/taste proper. Each one to their own…more for me! Side note, retail price for this one is around $12 or so. This was served with salami, (hard parmesan), and french bread.

Station #4: Parlez vous francais? Avez-vous un peu de vin? Merci beacoup. Yes, I speak French and I had French wine. Rose, to be exact. We tasted Aime Roquesante Rose. If you want the site in French, check it out. Pink is about the most I could say about it. It was a dry vs. a sweet rose which was nice but I couldn’t equate it to anything, really, flavor-wise. Would be good to have handy as a light wine for summer. It did have a cool bottle, as in the non-uniform shape. Overall, it was nothing to write home about again just good info to write (on) a blog about. Retail price around $13 or so. And as I note this, I must say again everybody has totally totally different wine taste, go please go try it! We had roasted chicken and rice with this one.

Station #5: Pop! Cote Mas Cremant de Limoux. Bubbly. Great way for the tour end. Nice fizz, nice light taste. Retail price around $14 or so. This was served with a little protein smoothie with huge chunks of delicious peaches.

This was yet another great was to just learn about new wines and expand the palette. And for five bucks? Can’t go wrong. Happy happy hour! And again, I am giving my tasting notes. Everybody has different tastes and can like different wines. Go out to your local store(s) for tastings or buy a bottle to share with friends. Have a tasting party. You will only learn more by exploring and socializing. Sip on, sip on.

Easy Wrap-Up Dinner

Posted on August 20, 2013 by melsmosaic

So I’m a bit late writing about a quick, easy wrap-up dinner I made for Sunday night. It only took a few minutes but gave so many flavors that it was just perfect, and it was lactose free! Served some wine with it and it made going back to work on Monday even worse. Always think…make things easy…use this during the week if you want to.

I had a yellow squash that had been around for a few days that I needed to use before it went bad. So I just sliced that and put it in a pan for a bit until it was cooked to the level I wanted. A few minutes before it was done, I threw some grape tomatoes in the pan just to have them ‘pop.’ I’d been craving shrimp, so I pulled some of the frozen one out of the freezer earlier in the day. I just pan seared those about half way through the cooking of the yellow squash. Oh, for spices on these, I just picked one of my Penzey’s blends.

I looked in my fridge for what else to serve. Had some grapefruit that I always love and they are highly recommended to eat before a meal (if you’re able to) — just having it on the plate was good enough for me. Served a couple pieces of that. And I can never turn olives down. Threw some of the greek ones from Trader Joe’s on there. Had also grabbed some bread earlier in the day and just did some olive oil, S&P for dipping.

Next, the vino! At the liquor store outside of Annapolis this time, Edgewater Liquors, the recommendation was La Mondianese Grignolino. Was about $16… Very light, refreshing…will have to get more.

Also had a little bit of Cline’s Cool Climate Pinot Noir. This is one of my favorites. Since it’s grown where the temps don’t rise a ton (I learned the specs once and don’t remember all the details), it has a different taste than the other Pinot. It’s usually about $18-$20.

Love finishing the week with a nice dinner before starting a new one.

Saturday Wine Tasting

Posted on August 18, 2013 by melsmosaic

Saturday is a great day. It’s the weekend, (hopefully) you don’t have to work, and many wine shops have tastings. It provides the opportunity to sample a new wine — you can explore new regions, new varietals, new everything. You tempt your palette and might realize there is a whole world of grapes out there you never knew about!

Right down the street from me I visited Cork & Fork this weekend for their wonderful sampling. We had five to enjoy.

#1 Kaltern Pinot Grigio. *Note – this is the closest site I could find to link to for info because they don’t have their one. Pretty sharp and heavier than most Pinot Grigio. Very good. You could serve this alone, with appetizers or chicken, shrimp or pasta for dinner.

#2 Bebe Sparkling Rose (scroll to bottom). While seeing it in the bottle I had my doubts about the sparkle. But once it’s poured, wow. Those bubbles were definitely there. The first thing I tasted was strawberries. After that ‘just’ berries. Perfect for summer. And, it’s in a great bottle that doesn’t have a traditional champagne cork, you just flip it off, so you can easily re-use the bottle for olive oil in the kitchen or something of the like.

#3 Barnard Griffin 2013 Rose of Sangiovese. Need to serve very cold. Crisp, fresh with citrus notes. This might be a bit too heavy to drink just alone. Would definitely need something to pair it with, even if just some simple appetizers.

#4 Les Allies Sauvignon Blanc. *Note – no site available to provide more info. This white was so light, its color was close to water vs. some other whites (Chardonnays) that are very dark yellow. Crazy how clear it was. All I can say about it is give me a peach, then a peach, then can you please hand me another peach. Very nice!

#5 Maestrale Barbera D’Alba. Save the best for last — red. Start with some currants then finish off with some black licorice. Interesting how the flavors changed as it went down/through the palette. Very, very nice red.

Another great wine tasting to expand knowledge of wine, taste new varietals and see what else is out there to fill the wine rack. I love going to these because I have my love of Pinot Noir and Shiraz/Syrah and I have become so much more educated about what is out there with a simple sip. All is takes is a walk down the street or a couple mile drive to expand the love of wine. Sip on my friends, sip on.

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?

Grown-Up Kids’ Food

Posted on June 25, 2013 by melsmosaic

I had my monthly supper club the other night and was excited as usual! How can you not be excited about getting together with a bunch of people who love to cook with a changing theme every month? This month’s theme — grown-up versions of kids’ food (based on foods you loved — at least that was my addition to it).

It took me awhile to decide what to make because a lot of kids’ foods that I think of have dairy (aka cheese) and I have to nix those because of the darn lactose intolerance. So I did some personal outreach and mental recap of what I liked as a kid (and what others would eat since I grew up eating almost everything). So what did I come up with — Caesar Salad. Ahh, Caesar Salad. Come on, how could that not be a kid food. Ok, ok, I’ll stop now.

The recipe I use is from The Washington Post in the ’80s. It’s scribbled down though now I have it pretty much memorized. Simple basic ingredients, combine, shake, taste, dress romaine. And, in the interim, toast some bread for croutons to throw in there.

Once at dinner, there was a great combo of other treats —

Chicken ‘lollipops’

PB, Banana & J

Spaghetti & Meatballs (a view of the sauce)

There were also Chicken Fingers, Brownies and Wine (grape juice, right?). It was Charles Krug Cab — DANG!

The plated look(a bit dark, I know):

As usual, the food and company were spectacular. Look forward to meeting again.

Voulez-vous dîner avec moi ce soir?

Posted on June 23, 2013 by melsmosaic

Etes-vous intéressé? Il y a un nouveau restaurant français à DC.

And now to English we go. Was getting together with some long-lost friends the other day and they did the searching for where to meet. There was rumor of a new French place that just opened its doors a few months back in the 14th street/Logan Circle area of DC so we wanted to check it out. The name, Le Diplomate.

Tough to get reservations so we took the risk of walking in and got there early enough to not have to wait too long. Two of us got there before the other tw0 and grabbed a drink at the bar. My friend had a glass of wine and I had a house cocktail that can be served either straight up or on the rocks. The Romarin – Absolut, St. Germain, rosemary, and grapefruit. Very nice and refreshing!

Once we were seated, there were many options on the menu, traditional for French fare. I will say, while looking it over, I had a great time talking to the waiter in French. When I can, I’ll do it. Have to practice. While looking over the menu, they bring you AMAZING bread. Baguette, wheat, cranberry-walnut stuff…waiter…another basket. Dang, so so so good! Two of my friends opted for raw oysters for appetizers and another for some (french) fries. I waited for the main course.

Main course-wise, two at the table went for Steak Frites, another went for Lamb Shanks. For me, because so much french food has dairy, not having had it for so long, and the lack of ingredients in it, had to go for Steak Tartare. Also ordered some grilled asparagus.

Overall recap of the evening. Great place, highly recommend trying it. I would also recommend aiming for a reservation or getting there early. It was packed 20 minutes after we arrived (6:15pm). Also give yourself tons of time. It took us 15 minutes to get a bottle of wine and water. Raw oysters took 30 minutes. Raw… Main courses took awhile too. We were so busy talking we didn’t really notice. On the wine note, we had the Kim Crawford Pinot Noir. We opted for a well priced option.

But, after dinner we were meeting some others and went across the street. That’s where we found some wine I’d never tried or heard of. It’s the Prima from Spain. Check out their site — I can’t decide the exact name of the bottler/vintner because the names change a bit on the site so I don’t want to say the wrong one. I just know this is where to visit — bodegasanroman.com.