Penfold’s Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet (2008)

Tonight we are having this Penfold’s Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008 blend. This wine has become a standby for us because it is a good value and a quintessential high-quality Australian big, juicy red. We  stock up when we find it on sale for about $10 at our local grocery store. I enjoy the taste of plums & blueberries coupled with dry, pucker-producing tannins. The dark chocolate finish is so satisfying, who needs dessert?

For dinner, we grilled chicken breasts that I had rubbed with a mixture of brown sugar, chili powder, oregano and olive oil. I heated up leftover cheesy potato casserole and I also steamed fresh green beans. It made for a very tasty dinner which we thoroughly enjoyed. We really enjoy sitting on our patio enjoying our wine while Tom does the grilling.

Poggio Vignoso Chianti (2008)

I stopped at the Plum Market on my way home from work to buy ingredients for my dinner tonight and I picked up this Chianti because I thought it would be perfect for this dinner. And, yes, it was! Really quite delicious. (Such a welcome change from last night’s wine which was not drinkable for me.)

This Italian Poggio Vignoso Chianti 2008 has a fragrant nose of violets and licorice. The palate is fruity without being the least bit sweet, which I love, with a mineral finish. This complemented our dinner beautifully. We enjoyed dinner which was a new recipe. I made penne pasta with sauteed garlic, fresh tomatoes, baby spinach, and feta cheese tossed with some crispy italian sausage wheels. Now (I shamefully admit) I need to see who makes it to the top 24 in American Idol!

Kenwood (2008)

We both worked late tonight so when I got home I jumped into dinner-prep gear with a simple concoction of chicken & noodles & broccoli. Tom chose this wine, which I purchased, and is a red wine blend from California. In a word: ick. Not good. Nothing about it has a redeemable quality for me. I didn’t finish mine.

Norton Malbec (2010)

This Norton Malbec 2010 is a delicious Mendoza Malbec that is a very good value. I purchased it on my most recent trip to World Market.  This beats some recent wines that we have had for twice the cost. Lush and full of berries. Gentle tannins but a robust finish.

We are having this tonight with my delicious poor-man soup which is my original recipe. (If you want my vague [no measurements] recipe, let me know.)

Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon (2008)

I bought this Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 at “World Market” in Ann Arbor. Lately, I have been stopping in there and picking up a dozen bottles at a time — my strategy is that about half of my dozen are on sale and pretty inexpensive while the other six bottles are not on sale but look to be very good. This averages out to be a very reasonable price per bottle.

Time and time again, I find that you get what you pay for with wine. This goes against what I often read, which is that price has nothing to do with the quality of wine, but on the basis of experience I would generally disagree with that premise. Now, granted, I am not talking about $100 vs. $10 bottles of wine. My experience has been in the $15-20 vs. the $4 – 10 bottles of wine.

I purchased this particular bottle for $9.99. Happily, this wine is an excellent value, which is consistent with many Chilean wines that we have enjoyed. We are generally very pleased with the quality of Chilean red wines and this is no exception. This is medium bodied with a pleasant mineral and cedar taste and slightly metallic finish.

We are having this wine with a black bean/tortilla/salsa casserole (I really should come up with a clever name), baked acorn squash and green salad.

Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon (2008)

Happy Valentines day!

We are having this Cupcake wine for our cupcake of a day! I came home from work today and found a dozen red roses waiting for me and a romantic card. How lucky am I? Very, very. . .

We had opened this wine last night so we finished it tonight. This is an adequate Cabernet, full of fruit (good) but slightly syrupy on the finish (not good). Aside from the finish, however, this is a pleasant quaff for a Monday night.

I stopped at the Plum Market on the way home and bought a slab of salmon which I baked in the oven with a horseradish/mustard/breadcrumbs/butter topping. We had it with a baked potato. Simple, but delicious. I have some homemade apple crisp waiting for dessert.

Castaño Monastrell (2008)

This Castaño Monastrell 2008 is a great value for a delicious Spanish wine. A dark cherry taste and chewy texture with a spicy finish.

This went very well with a stir fry of chicken, broccoli, and pasta.

We’re coming off a great weekend seeing the family. Our parents are settled in here as Chelsea residents now, and Tommy is back from Australia. All’s good…

Cupcake Malbec (2010)

This Cupcake Malbec 2010 is kind of a fun wine: it has a nice dark-fruit flavor, medium tannins, but with a bit of a sugar or caramel taste.

The dark fruit flavor battles with the hints of sugar and saves it and makes it basically a nice New World table wine.

We wouldn’t want to live on this, but it’s a pleasant quaff and the dark fruit and decent tannins went nicely with our beef stroganoff and green beans.

Haras Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Melody is in San Antonio on business. One of the first things she’ll ask when she returns is, “Did you blog?” So…

…I’m having this Haras Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Chile (on sale, under $10, from our grocery store).

Big, VERY chocolaty, nice New World dark fruit, a tiny bit sweet.

Very nice. Melody would like this. More evidence that: if you don’t know what wine to get, get something from Chile. You can’t go wrong.

Melody usually talks about the food she is preparing. I can say that hummus, pretzels, and swiss cheese are on the menu for tonight (and they go well with this Haras Cab). Trigger will have some ham. Otherwise, we’re in survival mode until Melody returns…

Casillero del Diablo Carmenere (2008)

This is a momentous Friday night for us. This coming week my parents will be moving to our town to a retirement community. I have not lived near my mom since I was 16 years old.  I am really looking forward to having my folks close. We are busy planning to ensure that their transition is joyful.

We are relaxing, reading the paper and listening to music. For dinner, I have made a chicken casserole with fresh mushrooms (from the food co-op), broccoli (food co-op) and a green salad (food co-op). Wow, I guess one of the great things about the food co-op is it forces me to prepare meals using the food!

This is a great wine. We have had many times before. I never buy this but Tom always does. I always forget how good it is. This is a spicy, fruity wine with a coffee and chocolate finish. Tom bought this on sale at our local grocery store for $9.99. A great value.