Cupcake Vineyards Malbec (2008)

Another lovely June evening in Michigan. Tonight is windy and cloudy but so nice for sitting on the patio and feeling the breeze and listening to the birds. We are having a glass of this Argentine Malbec from the Mendoza region. What an interesting wine. I find this to be mellower than what I would expect in a Malbec. I am finding it difficult to find the right words to describe this wine but here is my best shot: The nose is smoked meat — bologna, I think. The taste is robust and predominantly berries. The finish is vanilla.I am enjoying it. This is one reason I enjoy wine; every wine has the potential for  many different tastes, smells and textures. I love the challenge of identifying these sensory experiences with descriptive words.

Catena Cabernet Sauvignon (2003)

It is February 28 and Open Your Bottle Night. Woo hoo! We’ve been looking forward to this. We have two special bottles in our possession that we didn’t choose tonight: 1) A bottle of wine from our two sons, Tommy and Tony (we don’t want to open it until Tony is back from South Korea and we are all together), and 2) a bottle of wine from Tommy’s girlfriend, Amanda, which we don’t want to open unless Amanda is here with us to enjoy it too. So we settled on this Catena Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 from the Mendoza region of Argentina. I bought this wine for Tom for Christmas in 2007 and it, along with the other bottles I purchased, have been stored in our cool, dark basement.

In the glass, this Catena is a deep, dark-violet color with reddish hues. The nose is intense;  focused aromas of ripe raspberries and blackberries intermingled with notes of tobacco and pencil lead. The mouthfeel is muscular, full and concentrated bursting with rich blackberry and espresso. This was a great choice for Open Your Bottle Night with just the two of us. (Of course, we would have chosen something different if our boys were home, but that day will come.) I think our new cyber friends, Marty and Jeannie, would like this wine.

For dinner tonight, I had to rummage through my refrigerator and freezer. I did not go to the grocery store today because . . . well, because I went for a long run (9-miles) this morning in 14-degree weather and it was cold, which takes the wind out of your sails . . . then, after a hot shower and a little lunch, it was time for me to go to a baby shower for a friend of mine from work. By the time I got home, the day was over. So, I took some Polish kielbasa out of the freezer and some cabbage, carrots and onions out of the vegetable drawer. I started by browning the sliced kielbasa in hot olive oil until it was very brown; then, I added sliced onions and stirred those around until they, too, were brown, then added a boatload of chopped cabbage, sliced carrots and some chicken broth. It is now simmering and I am making mashed potatoes for the side. It should be a comforting, filling meal for our last day of February. Spring is near! Cheers!