After gardening all morning, we decided to kick back at The Grove and have a flight and some appetizers for lunch.  It was spectacular!  Here’s a recap of our lovely lunch.

 2009 Etz Gruner Veltliner

Kamptal, Austria

This wine was cool and clean with a spicy finish – just enough.  It went well with the oyster appetizer and aioli sauce.

 2010 Araldica Gavi “La Luciana”

Piedmont, Italy

This was a light to medium bodied white wine that exuded green apples and grapefruit with a nice refreshingly dry finish.  A bowl of mussels cooked in a spicy coconut broth was a nice accompaniment to the wine.

 2010 Vietti Roero Arneis

Piedmont, Italy

This lovely Arneis had a nice balance of apple, pear and fennel with a slightly honeyed finish.  The Arneis went beautifully with a sesame tuna tartar and the warm overcast winter day.

 All in all it was a fabulous afternoon at one of our favorite spots in town!

Happy New Year,

Kathy

A couple of months ago, I came home to a nice surprise from UPS.  It was a package from the famous Biltmore Estate Winery in Asheville, North Carolina.  They had shipped WineEnabler a bottle of their bubbly and a bottle of their white table wine.  Recently, we decided to indulge in the bottle of the Biltmore Estate Methode Champenoise.  (As you may know, only wines produced in a certain region in France may be called Champagne, so wines of this type produced in America are always called “sparkling wines” rather than “champagne.”  This particular bottle of Blanc de Blancs was s Brut sparkling wine which tends to be on the drier side rather than the sweet wide.  It had overtones of apple and pear with a hint of a lemon finish.  One of our tasters compared it to a Sweetart.  Be that as it may, we all loved the inviting bottle of sparking wine and can’t wait to actually make a trip to the Biltmore Estate Winery so we can taste some more of their delicious varietals.

Happy New Year!

Recently, a friend of ours brought a nice little bottle of white wine over to the house and, lo and behold, it was from Texas.  Lucky for us, the winery was only 27 miles from our house, so we hopped in the truck and headed out there last Sunday.

The Duchman Family Winery was founded by Drs. Lisa and Stan Duchman in 2004.  Their love for Italian wine has influenced the style of the wine that they produce as well as the architecture of the tasting room.  They have a beautiful Tuscan style tasting room that is spacious and unpretentious.  When we got there, the winery was offering 5 wines to taste for $5.00 from their 2009 crop.  However, we opted for a sixth wine because we wanted to try their Montepulciano that was not on the featured tasting.

The first was a Bianco made from Vermentino grapes and retails for $9.00.  This was a light white wine that would be a good appertif.  The second wine was a Dolcetto and sells for $15.   The third was a subtle Montepulciano that would be great with chicken or veal.  The fourth wine was a Sangiovese that would go nicely with a good old-fashioned pizza.  The fifth wine was a robust Zinfindel and would pair well with a hearty lamb shank.  The last one we tried was a dessert wine and was actually one of my favorites.   It was a Moscato that had a hint of orange zest and was lovely with a local Brie and jalapeño jelly.  All of the wines were solid, showed good varietal character and were very reasonably priced.  So if you happen to be out near Driftwood, stop in and give the Duchman Family wines a try, I think you will be surprised.

Salud & Bon Appetit!

Kathy

Another summer favorite has resurfaced this year and we couldn’t be more delighted.  I am talking about a beautiful Muscadet from the Loire Valley produced by Domaine de la Quilla.  The winemakers, Laurence and Gerard Vinet, “mature their wine on the lees and bottle it in the spring following the harvest.”  The time spent on the lees give the wine a little extra richness and body that we just love. The grape varietal, Melon de Bourgogne or Melon for short, is one you might not have tried, but it is high time you did. The ’09 Quilla is light and refreshing with flavors of melon and peach.  It is absolutely wonderful with seafood however; the 12% alcohol lends itself to having a glass all by itself.  At a case price of $8.95 per bottle you can certainly afford to enjoy this wine all summer.  So much for the technicalities, just open a bottle and enjoy!

Salud & Bon Appetit!

Neil

Gruner Veltliner is often an overlooked wine, but is one of our favorites during the summer months.  The one that we have tried this evening is a 2009 Singing Gruner Veltliner produced by a father-daughter team namely, Laurenz Maria Moser V. and Sophie Marie.  The grape is indigenous to Austria and the winemaker describes the bottle as having “the floral perfume of a German Riesling, the refreshing zip of a Loire Sauvignon Blanc and the lusciousness of a Northern Italian Pinot Grigio.”  I couldn’t agree more as it is a perfect wine to have on a hot summer day in Texas.  I just wish we were in the Austrian Alps right now!  Closest I am going to get to the Austrian Alps is attend the wedding of one of most oldest and dearest friends in New Braunfels tomorrow and there are no mountains in New Braunfels.   We are counting on another bottle of  Singing GV to take some of the heat away.

Salud & Bon Appetit!

K

“Let Elios White transport you to the sunny Mediterranean – a light, crisp and refreshing blend with complex citrus and floral aromas…..”  I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the producer’s description of this wine and the best thing about it is it goes with just about everything.  I have had it with appetizers as well as mains and it pairs nicely with both.

This is a blend or meritage as some folks say and the following grapes are part of this bottle of wine:  50% Moschofilero, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Roditis and 10% Savatiano.  These grapes, some of which I have not had before, give it a nice balance.  It is simply a beautiful white wine for summertime.  An added plus is the 12% alcohol that is pretty light for our hot Texas summer.  You can pick up a bottle for a little under $10 at your local Whole Foods (if you are lucky enough to have one in your city).  I hope you can find this summer beauty!

Salud & Bon Appetit!

K

I love June because it reminds me of my youth when I got to go fishing, ride my horse and cook s’mores on a campfire at my parent’s ranch.  Now it brings a different sense to me – it reminds me of bar-b-ques with friends and having that first pink wine of the year.  You know those wonderful pink wines from France that come to America.  (Thank, God!)  Tonight we are drinking a 2009 Tavel produced by Chateau de Trinquevedel imported by Kermit Lynch (who we all know is a master at picking great wines to import).

The Tavel was paired with rabbit and vegetable kabobs on top of quinoa laced with carrots, squash and leeks.  Our appetizer of rabbit liver served on a piece of toast with caramelized onions, heirloom tomatoes and jalapeno strawberry jam also goes nicely.  This is something of an adult pink.  The lovely strawberry nose medium weight in the mouth hides the 13.5% alcohol.  This one pairs well with salmon, chicken, rabbit or pork off the grill. The Tavel costs a little more than our typical summer rosé wine, around $17.50, but there is something about this wine that keeps us coming back summer after summer and bottle after bottle.

Salud & Bon Appetit!

K

I’m back!  I know what you are thinking – it’s about time.  That was quite a hiatus – a whole year.  You got to be kidding!  Oh well, people get busy and then decide it’s time to get back to the basics – like writing about wine and food.   So here, I am!

After a fun filled week of drinking some pretty good wine and spending it with our great friend and co-website founder, Dr. Michael Waring, I decided it was time to get back in the saddle again and write some posts.  So, I am ending this week of debauchery with a lovely white Chardonnay from Burgundy — a 2008 Saint-Veran Cuvee Prestige produced by Roger Lassarat.  It’s a bit tart with a crisp mineral finish and a hint of apples.  It has a beautiful gold color and is rated 89 by Wine Enthusiast.  A bottle runs about $22-$25 depending on your purveyor.  I would recommend it with a shellfish dish or a goat cheese and tomato tart for a perfect accompaniment to a light summer meal.

Salud & Bon Appetit!

K

We were lucky enough to be invited to a fantastic wine tasting this past week at our favorite wine purveyor, The Austin Wine Merchant. I’m going to get right down to business and give you the skinny on the tasting. We tasted a total of eight 2007 Bordeaux wines, but I am only going to report on six as I ran out of room for notes on my envelope. Besides, I don’t claim to be a sommelier, so taking notes on eight wines is a real stretch for me.

The first one was a lovely Chateaux Carbonnieux Blanc. A white Graves made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon that had a slight hint of grapefruit and grass with a touch of peach and a clean finish. The retail price of this wine is $50.00, which takes it out of my everyday wine buying category.

Next, we tasted the Chateaux Carbonnieux Rouge which is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. This vineyard is not only the oldest, but it is the largest classified growths of Graves situated in the heart of the appellation, Pessac-Leognan. To me, this was classic Bordeaux berries with a tobacco finish. This bottle retails for $37.50 and has a 13% alcohol.

The third bottle was one of my favorites — Chateau D’Aiguilhe. This is a lovely Bordeaux that reminded me of a bowl of cherries. It has a 14% alcohol and retails for $32.50, which is why I picked up a case of this one. If you want to read more on this bottle go to www.neipperg.com.

The fourth bottle was another fine wine – Château La Grave a Pomerol Trigant de Boisset from Jean-Pierre Moveix. This wine was another one of my favorites of the tasting. It showed plenty of fruit, a great mouth feel, and a wonderful finish. This one came in at 14% alcohol and a retail price of $37.50.

The fifth worked best for me, but of course, it was one of the most expensive one we had that evening. Chateau Haut-Bailly, Grand Cru Classe de Graves. It was absolutely AWESOME and will get better with a little more time. The Bailly is also from Pessac-Leognan. This bottle had lots of complexity, fruit and a wonderful mouth feel. This one cam in at a lower alcohol level – 12.5% and retails for $75.00 a bottle. Pretty pricey, but damn worth it for a special occasion.

The last, but not least, was Domaine de Chevalier rouge, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This one was a pretty heavy with definitive tannins. It retails for $50.00 and would most likely last in your cellar for as long as you want.

Like I said in the beginning, we were lucky enough to be included in this tasting as these wines are not something we drink daily, but if you have a little extra cash around and can pick up a couple of these to hold on to for a special occasion, I would highly recommend it.

My husband and I have been on a search for a nice summer white wine (even though we are ½ way the summer now) that is priced under $11. So, we decided to have our own private tasting recently with a selection of 3 different wines ranging from the low end at just under $6 per bottle and no more than $11 a bottle. We tried 1 Italian, 1 French & 1 Portuguese. The first one was the least expensive from Portugal, a Vinho Verde – Sonalto Branco. It was pale yellow in color, light with a hint of green apple & a mere 9% alcohol so it would work fantastic on a picnic or at the beach. Shoot for roughly $67 per case and you can be in fat city all summer with this wine. Next, we tried a 2009 white table wine from Domaine de Pouy (Vin de Pays des Cotes des Gascogne) that retails for around $8 a bottle. Crisp, fruity and easy to drink, this wine from the south of France went well with grilled artichoke and aioli (I know from experience.). Last but not least, we tasted the most expensive of them all – an Italian - Principessa Govia. The 2009 vintage has 12.5% alcohol, is light yellow in color, dry, crisp and slightly fruity. It has a nice nose of stone, melon and steely fruit. It would go well with seafood, chicken or veal and it sells for under $10.50. You can’t beat this one for the taste and value. Any of these affordable whites would make a summer meal special.

Salud & Bon Appetit
K!