Once I was alone, I was petrified

Posted on January 2, 2007 by Sonadora

No, not really, but last night Matt decided he would rather have a beer than a glass of wine, so I was forced to taste on my own. (See his beer lurking in the background of my picture?) Until he changed his mind later and helped me finish off the bottle.

Picked this bottle up at Arrowine when we were over tasting the other night. $6.99, screw cap closure, 11.5% alcohol by volume. I served it with rosemary marinated pork chops, more purple mashed potatoes (I’m telling you Brent, you should try them, they’re tasty) and steamed brocolli.

The wine is a 2005 Colombelle Vin De Pays Des Cotes De Gascogne. Apparently it’s the week for $6.99 wines from this region in France as we tasted another one here on Saturday. However, last night’s bottle was just Colombard and Ugni Blanc grapes, whereas Saturday’s also had some Gros Manseng grapes.

This bottle was similar to the one from the other night, though it seemed to have more Sauvignon Blanc characteristics. There was citrus and grass on the nose. The flavors were bright and crisp in the mouth with a bit of minerality. Overall, a very simple wine, but easily drinkable at the price point. Plus, I’m a sucker for purple labels. Another bottle bought in pursuit of the everyday wine.

Filed under: Arrowine, Everyday Wine, France, White | Comments Off on Once I was alone, I was petrified

Wine Trivia Game Arrived!

Posted on January 2, 2007 by Sonadora

It was in my mailbox when I got back from grocery shopping this afternoon. I won it from Viti Vini when I entered their contest early in the morning as we were headed out for Oklahoma. I think I will make Matt play with me tonight, it looks like it should be fun, sorta like Trivial Pursuit only for wine. I’ll post a review when we’ve had a chance to play it a few times. I know Farley from Wine Outlook won one as well, so perhaps we can get a few reviews of the game.

Filed under: Misc, Wine | 1 Comment »

Never a Single Bottle on New Year’s Eve!

Posted on January 2, 2007 by Sonadora

We headed over to the Lebanese Taverna for New Year’s Eve this year. They have a celebration every year called Mezza Madness where you get as many appetizers as you can eat and a champagne toast. Plus, they have belly dancing, noise makers and fun hats. It’s also one of our favorite restaurants in general and is only a minute or two from our place.

Of course, we weren’t going to wait until midnight to have something to drink, so we ordered a bottle of 2004 Southbank Estates Sauvignon Blanc. At a restaurant price it was $33, had a screw top closure and weighed in at 12.5% alcohol by volume. It comes to us from Marlborough, New Zealand and I can’t find it in the US, though apparently it runs around seven and a half pounds British. So I guess, it would be about $14 US?

Anyway, this was a very tasty example of Sauvignon Blanc. It has grass and tropical fruit on the nose and then tropical fruits in the mouth, with a taste of some other fruit that I cannot place. It was on the sweeter side of Sauvignon Blancs that I have had, but it had good acidity holding it together. If you can find it for around $14 in the US, I’d say it’s a very good value.

Filed under: New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc, White | Comments Off on Never a Single Bottle on New Year’s Eve!

Nothing says klassy like bubbly and ham and cheese quesadillas!

Posted on January 2, 2007 by Sonadora

Well, I’ve heard sparkling wine is good for any occassion….and since we were headed out last night to a local restaurant we wanted a snack before we left. It seemed only logical to have some bubbly to go with our ham and cheese (and tomato for Matt) quesadillas.

Last night’s choice was a bottle of Trentadue California Champagne, made in the method Charmat…which means iwth secondary fermentation before it was bottled. This was 11% alchol by volume, had a traditional champagne closure and cost us $18 at Trentadue this summer.
11% alcohol

In the glass, as you can hopefully see, were a ton of nice little bubble, though bigger than champagne method bubbles as in the bottle of Roederer we had last week. In the mouth, this was a slightly dry taste, but no so much that I would call is a dry sparkler. I could also taste just a little bit of yeast in the mouth, along with a slight flavor of tropical fruit. On the nose, it was floral and tropical fruits. I thought this wasa great value for the price and certainly something different.

Filed under: Sparkling wine, Trentadue, White | Comments Off on Nothing says klassy like bubbly and ham and cheese quesadillas!