Zaràfa Pinotage (2007)

This Zaràfa Pinotage 2007 from South Africa is full bodied, lively, full of berries, smoke, and pepper, with notes of bananas and pineapple. Long lasting on the tongue. We are finishing this bottle, which we opened the other night.

We have had a fabulous weekend getting ready for Thanksgiving. Guests bedrooms are fresh and clean, groceries are purchased, candles are everywhere — we are ready!

Tonight I have made a very simple meal of goulash. I browned hamburger and onions in the cast-iron skillet, added beef broth and chopped tomatoes, brought to a boil, and then added elbow macaroni. We will have this with steamed broccoli. It just seems like an appropriate meal for the Sunday prior to our Thanksgiving feast.

Casillero del Diablo Carmenere (2005)

This Casillero del Diablo Carmenere 2005 is deep purple. On the nose is woods and fields with shades of pencil shavings, tea, and cherries. On the palate is cherries and leather. It is dry and medium bodied with dense tannins. The wine is crisp with noticeable acidity.

It is nice to be home! I am sitting here with Trigger on my lap. I have a pot of turkey-barley soup on the stove. I have been on the road. I had the pleasure of working with a team of professionals: Dr. John Hitt, Dr. Jane Moore, and Ms. Amy Bair, as well as leadership from Mr. Byron Hatch and Ms. Cynthia Rail. We worked hard but had a great time together! Here’s to my colleagues [clink]!

Tom: This Casillero del Diablo Carmenere 2005 is a great wine! It’s big and tannic, with tastes of coffee, chocolate, and cherry. A delicious, unusual, and intriguing wine.

Mouton Cadet Bordeaux (2005)

This Mouton Cadet Bordeaux 2005 is wonderful. It has true tea-like tannicity. The tastes are hints of tobacco and dark fruit. It has the Old World dryness and austerity, but the fruit is still present and delicious.

It’s very drinkable and pleasing. (I have to make a note to get more of this and get Melody’s reaction.)

Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon (2005) “Three Buck Chuck”

Melody is out of town working and I know she’s wondering if I’m blogging, so here goes. Melody is skeptical about Three Buck Chuck, so I usually give Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 a try when she’s on the road.

This Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 is pleasant and simple. It’s fruit forward, tasting of berries. It’s dry but not particularly tannic. It’s a nice everyday table wine. (I read an article that Bronco Wines only puts the year on their wine labels because people expect it. They make each batch like the last one, so the year doesn’t actually matter.)

It was a beautiful November day yesterday in Chelsea, cool but warm in the sun. Trigger stretched out for hours in the grass to soak up the sunshine. I tried to sneak up on her to get a picture, but she’s tough to sneak up on. Here she is, looking suspiciously at the camera and wondering whether this will lead to a walk somehow.

Yesterday was my father’s birthday. Here he is with Melody in Neenah, Wisconsin. He told me on the phone that he was born in the first year of Calvin Coolidge’s second term. How about that?

Sainte-Croix Syrah-Merlot (2005)

Tom chose this Sainte-Croix Syrah-Merlot 2005, a French red blend for our Sunday evening. We have had an active day and feel quite entitled to a lovely cocktail hour! (We started our evening with a martini and have moved on to the pre-dinner wine.)

Immediately, I am aware that this is an old-world wine; nothing Australian “new world” about it! The color is a rich purple. On the nose is a bit of leather and spearmint. The palate is a subtle surprise (if you are used to more fruity new-world wines). The taste is oak and red fruit. It is light bodied and somewhat austere (relatively speaking). When you pull it all together, it is delightful. This combination of 50% merlot and 50% syrah is just what a red-wine lover would hope for. Delicious! This is a perfect Sunday-night wine.

I am heading to Indiana tomorrow for two separate meetings. One in Indianapolis and another in Lafayette. Tom and Trigger will be holding down the fort while I am gone — home on Thursday. I will miss everything when I am gone!

Tom: This Sainte-Croix Syrah-Merlot 2005 is dry and intense, with hints of dried fruit and leather. It’s from the Languedoc region of France, known for meaty wines. The spiciness of the syrah and the softness of the merlot make an interesting combination. This is an unusual and interesting French table wine and, from Trader Joe’s way, way under $10.

Trader Joe’s French Market Cabernet Sauvignon (2006)

Tom bought this Trader Joe’s French Market Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (no surprise) at Trader Joe’s in Ann Arbor. This is a very reasonably-priced wine (I think a bit under $5) and one might wonder if it is palatable. Well, let’s see.

There is very little nose to this wine. It’s surprising how important the nose is to me. A good nose excites the senses and prepares me for that first luscious sip. But with this wine the nose is so faint that I find I have to take a sip in order to get my first impression.

On the palate is a slight taste of black cherries and raisins. The finish is a bit watery and tasteless.

There is nothing unpleasant about this wine, but it certainly is not complex.

But, it IS a Thursday night so it is perfectly adequate! Tonight I am making a hodge podge dinner of leftover beefy-rice casserole, a marinated, sliced & baked sweet potato, and fresh sauteed swiss chard. One cooks what one has!! Cheers!

Aquila D’Oro Chianti (2006)

Tom selected this Aquila D’Oro Chianti 2006 to accompany our dinner of angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce (made from tomatoes from the garden) and steamed broccoli. It is an easy-drinking chianti without being too light. It is fruity but tannic. This will go well with our pasta dinner tonight.

It is getting cold in Michigan! There is a chance of snow tomorrow. Trigger is on my lap (and she loves the polar fleece throw that is covering us, too). I was grateful for daylight savings time this morning because the morning was brighter than of late. But driving home from work I needed my headlights and it was dark as dark can be. Well, you can’t have it both ways!

Old Moon Zinfandel (2005)

It is Sunday night and we are relaxing after a very productive day. We cleaned closets, moved things downstairs (out of the garage) for the winter, and did myriad pre-winter chores. The lovely part of a hard-working day is getting to relax when it is done, which is what we are doing now. Trigger is on my lap and she is a little jealous of the laptop. She likes to try and move my right hand from the mousepad because I think she sees it as a distraction from me petting her.

Anyway, this Old Moon Zinfandel 2005 from Trader Joe’s, is just fine. It’s from California, with a nose of rasberries and a palate of grapes, pepper, and cherries. The finish is tannic. It is entirely satisfactory and an excellent value, as are many Trader Joe’s wines. At about 2:30 today, I started a pot of pinto bean/navy bean soup. I started with chopped fresh garlic and onions sauteed in olive oil, I then added the rinsed pinto and navy beans and a ham bone. I mixed that around and added chicken broth and it has been simmering all afternoon. I baked a loaf of whole wheat bread, and I baked some oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I chose this zinfandel purposefully to go with this pot of soup. Happy, happy Sunday!

Walnut Grove Cabernet Sauvignon (2005)

This lovely Walnut Grove Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from California poured nearly black into the glass. The nose is delightful with black fruit and pleasant vanilla spice. In the glass, it is medium-bodied with plenty of malleable tannins.

I chose this wine to go with our dinner of grilled steak, steamed brown rice (with chopped garden tomatoes) and steamed broccoli. The rice is simmering and we are listening to EMU vs. University of Toledo on the radio. We just finished watching the end of the Michigan State vs. University of Michigan game on TV. I thought that Michigan State might pull it off but it wasn’t to be. Trigger is on my lap and is oblivious to which team is winning.

Il Valore Primitivo Puglia (2006)

This Il Valore Primitivo Puglia 2006 is a crimson-colored Italian red that has a nose of violets and blackberries. On the palate is black dirt, pepper, and purplish juicy grapes with a nice level of tannins and acidity. This is a lovely zinfandel.

And it is Friday night! It’s been a demanding week and tonight we are relaxing with this great bottle of wine. Trigger is on my lap and we are reading the paper. We are going to get a pizza from Thompson’s pizza, the only (super-delicious) pizza in town!