Silver Oak Cabernet - Christmas Eve

I cooked Beef Wellington for our Christmas meal and wanted a great wine. I chose our Silver Oak Cab which was yummy. It was very smooth & full-bodied, perfect for our tenderloin cooked in puff pastry. Loved the fruit and velvety tannins

Silver Oak
Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2004

a little bit about Silver Oak...
Silver Oak Cellars was founded with a dedication to produce only one wine, Cabernet Sauvignon. We have been steadfast to this commitment since 1972.

Winemaker's Notes:
The 2004 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a refined and complex wine that combines subtlety and depth. It has a dark ruby color with a deep red edge and displays aromas of fresh blackberries, violets, cola, nutmeg and licorice. In the mouth, the wine has a juicy attack and offers great expression of fruit and spice on the mid-palate. Its fruit-driven finish is long and elegant.

Wine Tasting for Wedding

A few weeks ago I bought several bottles of wine at Sam's so we could have our personal tasting and decide which wine to serve at Ashley's wedding. That first night we opened Paul Newman's red. It's just a plain wine...no pizazz. I thought I could donate to charity if we used this wine, but it is not good enough to share.

Next we had Inkberry that I bought at our local grocery store. It was pretty good. Ashley really enjoyed it and we all liked it better than Newman's.

Inkberry
Mountain Estate Shiraz Cabernet
Central Ranges Australia
Delicious, dark flavor. Small clusters of grapes with fantastic dark "inky" color. Will enjoy again

Since that time, I discovered that our wine club has a not advertised special on several wines. Since Lava Cap is one of my favs, we decided to order a case of each of their reds at 50% off. Now we have a variety of wines: Syrah, Merlot, Cab Sauvignon & Cab Franc. Can't wait to get them and share with our friends.

More Tastings

After drinking another bottle from Sam's Club, I decided I won't be trying their wines. The wines at the local HEB (Inkberry) are better & less expensive than the ones from Sam's. Tonight we opened Greg Norman's Cabernet. It was just a plain wine with not much body to it. There was a lightness about it that I wouldn't expect from a Cab. Needless to say, we won't be getting more of Greg Norman wines.

Molly Dooker Two Left Feet

I ordered a few bottles of wine online and this was a surprisingly delicious wine. Only wished I had bought more.  When I went back online to get some more, it was gone...oh well.  It's a blend of Shiraz, Cab Sauvignon & Merlot.  Yummy with a great & lingering flavor.

Molly Dooker

Two Left Feet

2007

Sarah & Sparky Marquis

South Australia

from the bottle:  Whether you are a Mollydooker or an Honorary Mollydooker, we have left hand craft our wines with our WOW specially for you.

7 Heavenly Chards

Last night we had a yummy Chardonnay! We found it at our local Wine Styles tasting several months ago. It's one of the few wines we really liked. This is a very rich, buttery Chardonnay that is extra smooth. Also has slight pear/peach flavor. If you're looking for a rich wine, this one's for you. We really enjoyed it with our chicken & artichoke dish.

7 Heavenly Chards
2006
Michael & David
Lodi, California

from the winemaker:

Heavenly Chards of an angelic line,
Each with a task, simply divine.

Chardonnays Justice, balanced and true,
Resurgence of light, life brought anew.

Chardonnays Temperance, patient and mild,
Riding the storms and taming the wilds.

Chardonnays Prudence, cautious and wise,
Embracing the earth, arms to the skies.

Chardonnays Faith, the intangible shield,
Solid as stone, refusing to yield.

Chardonnays Endurance, the river within,
Rising to flow, again and again.

Chardonnays Hope, a spark to ignite,
An unquenchable flame, a beacon of light.

Chardonnays Love, reigning supreme,
Uniting them all in this heavenly dream.

-Kevin Phillips

Dry Creek Zin

We spent the night in Galveston after our son's football playoff game Friday night.  They won so they are on their way to the next round.  Steve & I spent Saturday strolling down The Strand.  After lunch, we enjoyed a wine bar with some cool wines.  We brought home one of the wines we enjoyed.  It was quite good.

Dry Creek Vineyard

Heritage Zinfandel

Vintage 2007, Sonoma County

This Zinfandel is the result of grafting budwood from century-old vines onto new rootstock.  Vines propagated in this manner ensure the future of "old vines" Zinfandel character.  Protecting the heritage of Zinfandel preserves the essence of our region and produces a rich & balanced wine with layers of blackberry and spice.

That's what we liked about this Zin, it was smooth with the right combination of fruit & spice.

Good Dog ... Bad Dog

What a great name for a wine.  So creative!

When we opened this wine last week, I did not like it. Not smooth or tasty.  But it has grown on me as I've had another glass.  Smoky at the beginning and blackberry finish at the end.  It's inexpensive so it's a bit tangy and not as smooth as others.  I might try it again.

Good dog...

...bad dog

2007 Red

Mostly shiraz blended with Cab Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cab Franc

South Eastern Australia

Bottle Shock

Have you seen the movie, Bottle Shock?  It tells the story of the California wine industry and the contest between French & California wines.  An Englishman with a French wine shop visited the California wines and set up the contest.  The California wines won, earning respect for their wines. 

After the credits, I learned that Stag's Leap was the winery the movies is based on.  I'll be picking up some of their wine on my next shopping trip.

Recent Wines

I've been saving these bottles for awhile & haven't had time to enter them here.

Red Knot

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon 

South Australia

Decent wine from our wine club...not any better than a normal wine from the grocery store.

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Marques de la Concordia

Crianza 2005

Rioja

After having a fantastic Rioja in Austin, I asked the guy at Specs to recommend a Rioja.  This one is much less expensive, but still worth drinking.  I really enjoyed this one and will get some more bottles for the future

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MA

Reserve Chardonnay

2008

Maipo Valley

Another one from our local wine club.  It was a decent Chardonnay, but I'd prefer a less expensive one that has as much flavor as this one...like Barefoot or Yellow Tail Chard.

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Lucky Star

2007 Zinfandel

Lodi

Neither Steve or I liked this one much.

Casas de Pirque

Out of the wines we get from our local wine club, this was better than normal.  We enjoyed sipping on it, but it was much better the following day.

Casas de Pirque

Reserva

2007 Maipo Valley

Cabernet Sauvignon

Deliciously complex, rich & polished, exhibiting rich plum, blackberry & spice.

Borghese Chardonnay

Yummy & rich!!!

That's Borghese's Chardonnay.  We tasted this wine after a private tour of the vineyard.  This wine is often used at wine dinners and paired with a steak.  It holds up well because it is so rich...not too buttery nor too oakey.  Just right!

Last night, I cooked a rib-eye soaked in Cognac - very tasty - with potato balls & sauteed mushrooms.  We had shrimp salad set in a half avocado.  To end the meal, I made Chocolate Mousse.  When I first started making the mousse, it wasn't turning out right.  After I whipped the chocolate smooth, I folded in more egg whites.  It set well and had a deep chocolate flavor.

Borghese

2005 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay

North Fork of Long Island

Nestled in the North Fork of Long Island's Bordelaise microclimate, Castello di Borghese Vineyard has crafted classically proportioned wines since 1973.  Blessed with a 210 day growing season and sandy soils, Long Island's first estate vineyard ferments vintage after vintage of critically acclaimed wines.

Estancia Cabernet

A few weeks ago we had April & Jesse Saginor for dinner. They brought a bottle of Estancia Cab which was fun to drink.  A nice Cab!  We'll drink this again

Estancia

2007

Cabernet Sauvignon

Paso Robles

After sunset, temperatures drop as marine fog sweeps in, lingering until dawn.  These cool evenings & warm days create a longer growing season, allowing grapes to ripen to perfection.  

Deeply concentrated & intensely flavorful displaying dense black currant, lush chocolate, & dark cherry fruit flavors followed by a long, supple finish.

J.Lohr in Hawaii

We're here in Hawaii for a week, celebrating our oldest daughter's college graduation. After getting up at 2am to watch the sunrise over the Haleakala Crater, then bike riding down the mountain and enjoying lunch in the crazy town of Paia, we stopped for a bottle of wine at Safeway (most boring part of our day). But the wine definitely was not boring. We enjoyed a glass before we headed to the beach to watch the sunset. This glass of wine was so much better than the one the waitress at Pineapple Grill recommended as full-bodied and smooth.

The Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon is delicious. A bit of cherry nose, but yummy dark berries and currant on the palate. Even though it isn't as complex as I enjoy, this Cab is smooth without the acidity of so many wines these days. I think it would be great with steak and plan to get a few bottles when we get home.

Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon
J. Lohr, Paso Robles
2007

Pineapple Grill, Kapalua

We arrived in Maui today and decided to have dinner here at Kapalua. We had done enough traveling (College Station to Houston to Honolulu to Maui to Kapalua), so we didn't want to drive anywhere. Instead we took the Resort shuttle to Pineapple Grill since it was recommended by our concierge.

The restaurant was nicely lit with candles and windows on 2 sides, giving you a nice view of the golf course and trees overlooking the ocean. I asked for a recommendation for a smooth red wine that might be full-bodied. The waitress recommended a Cab, that happened to be the least expensive on the menu. I was a bit surprised, because I thought a full-bodied wine would be more expensive. She also recommended a Merlot & brought me a sample. The Merlot was full of tannins that I didn't like, so I ordered the Cab. Unfortunately, it was worse than the wine I had on the airplane. Just cheap wine at $8.50/glass. I was a bit stunned because the waitress had high reviews for it. Another unfortunate . . . is I can't remember the name of the wine. However, I do remember it was the 2nd wine listed on Reds by the Glass.

Two Angels Petite Sirah

Last night the kids were all gone, so we enjoyed a quiet dinner by ourselves. I pulled out Two Angels' Petite Sirah and was pleasantly surprised. It is very fruit-forward and smooth to drink. There are wonderful blueberry flavors. At first, I wondered if it was a syrah because there weren't any spicy tones. As the wine opens up, a hint of spice is evident.

Two Angels
2006 High Valley Petite Sirah
The wine exhibits a core of ripe, juicy blueberry fruit and toasty oak backed by rich silky tannins.

The label is pretty cool, designed by Jacob DeBacker in 1591. The theme of the piece is the hilarity of inebriation and the trauma of the morning after. Excessive joy must be countered by equally excessive sorrow, with penitential atonement for pleasure.

Tin Barn Vineyards

Earlier in the year I ordered some wines online. We tried one of them last night...Tin Barn Blend, mostly cabernet. It wasn't as complex as I like, but it grew on me. I think it got better the more it had time to breathe. We had a delicious chicken breast smothered with an artichoke-shrimp cream sauce.

Tin Barn is made of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. There aren't heavy tannins. I enjoyed the cabernet grape of dark berry the most.

Finally Found Frog's Leap

Several years ago we enjoyed a bottle of Frog's Leap wine at a local restaurant. I looked for awhile trying to find it, but never could. Always found Stags Leap instead.

A few months ago I found Frog's Leap Zinfandel at our local World Market and grabbed a bottle. This week we had the perfect meal to compliment it. I grilled a pork tenderloin with a rum glaze. The glaze had a habenero pepper in it and was wonderful. I also made a coconut-jalapeno sauce that the slices of meat sat on. Finally, I sprinkled cilantro and green onions on top. Wonderful.

The 2006 Zinfandel from Napa Valley was terrific. It was smooth with a dark berry taste. There were hints of smoke at times. It reminded me of a Shiraz with a bit of pepper. I am definitely heading back to World Market to see what other Frog's Leap wines they carry.

Lava Cap Zin

Ohhlala...I love Lava Cap wines. I guess that's why we have a wine club membership there. We've been on the road over 2 weeks & I was ready to cook a great meal. We had chicken and garlic/cheese mashed potatoes. Yummo!

To top it off we enjoyed Lava Cap's Zinfandel. Their zin has a bold, spicy flavor that continues as you sip. I like the deepness of all their wines, including this one. It would also go great with our pork tenderloin that has a cumin & paprika rub. Lots of spice that goes well together.

Rubicon Estates

WOW...what a terrific & yummy wine! Last night, we enjoyed a couple of bottles with the Vic & Lisa Johnson at our mastermind meeting. It was full of flavor - smooth, lucious and delicious...what more can I say. I enjoyed Lobster Bisque & Steak Oscar for dinner. The Rubicon Estate wine was a perfect complement.

Vic told us you can get a good deal on Rubicon at Randall's Food Market in Texas cities. We're looking this weekend when we go to Texas for a seminar. The price of wine at Morton's Steak House is a bit pricey!

Ashley's 21st Birthday

We celebrated Ashley's birthday tonight with a family dinner. Then, she's going out with her friends to get some drinks :-)

We enjoyed Dunham Cellar's Syrah. Steve & I liked it because of its complexity & earthy blend. I'm not sure if it was what Ashley wanted as she was looking for a very smooth wine with probably more fruit flavor. Thi syrah has an interesting taste.

Dunham Cellars
2005 Syrah
Frenchtown Vineyard, Walla Walla, Washington

Last bit of land our family homesteaded...once again yielded an amazing Syrah.
Rich olive & clove with hints of orange blossom. - Eric Dunham, Winemaker

New Wines

Steve, Ashley & I ended up working out on the deck this afternoon. It was a beautiful day so we opened a bottle from our local wine club. We had Blake Slate Pinot Noir. It was very light & fruity. None of us cared much for it. Ashley suggested putting ice in the glasses like Sangria. Even that didn't make it taste better. If you light fruity, you'll like this wine.

With dinner, we had Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier, as recommended by Rachael Ray's magazine. It was also a fruity wine, but more balanced. Flavors were more of a melon. It was very refreshing and enjoyable with our meal.

Thursday Wine Tasting

Last night we visited Wine Styles, our local wine shop that offers weekly wine tasting. We decided to go even though we didn't see any wines particularly interesting to us on the email.

Were we surprised!!!

Two of the wines were actually ones we would enjoy again.

Peirana Estate, The Other Red
Lodi, California
This wine is listed as mellow, but neither of us thought it was completely mellow. It is between mellow & bold with a great berry taste. Even has a little spice or smoke flavor. A really good value at 15.99. Here's the description we received:
Aromas of black cherries are complemented by spice, toasty oak, and cedar. Waves of crabapple, plum and candied fruit with a hint of smoky, dark oak and a long seductive finish.
This was a fun wine to taste.

Our favorite of the night was a Chardonnay, surprisingly. When the server poured our glasses, she said it was one of her favorites and it has a banana & caramel taste. I thought, "I'm not so sure about a banana taste". As we walked back to our seats, I sniffed and there was a definite banana aroma. I told Steve that he needed to smell this wine before he tasted it.

Michael David Vineyards
7 Heavenly Chards
Lodi, California
This Chardonnay has a great flavor & mixture of banana, caramel and cream. It was great to drink and we even bought a bottle to enjoy later.
Aromas of vanilla, peach & banana entice a sip. (That's for sure) The mouth fills with peach, apple & lime while flavors of cream and caramel round out the wine and leave a long finish. A little more pricey, but well worth it at 20.99

Relaxing on our deck

We spent most of the day cleaning and doing odd jobs around the house. After an afternoon shower, I decided to open a really good bottle of Shiraz from one of our wine club deliveries. I chose Dunham Cellars, 2005 Shiraz.

It's a full-bodied wine with a dark berry taste. I enjoyed it on the deck with some cheese & crackers. Everyone was gone, so I was alone...in peace & quiet. It was wonderful.

We found this winery in Walla Walla, Washington when we celebrated my birthday last year. It was the last winery we visited on Sunday as we were leaving town. I think it was the best wine we had all weekend long.

Dunham Cellars describes this Shiraz as dense, dark fruit & rich spice that shows off this unique estate of Dunham Cellars once again. I agree...it is dark & spicy & most of all, delicious.

Lava Cap Mourvedre

We returned from a spring break ski trip on Tuesday night. I decided to grill filet mignon on Wednesday. (In Texas it is already warm enough to grill) I planned to open a white steak wine, but changed my mind. Instead we had Mourvedre. Of course, I love all Lava Cap wines, just like this one.

Lava Cap
Mourvedre
2005 ReserveEl Dorado, CA

Nice smooth red wine, not too fruity, not to dry. We had filet which probably would have been better with a Cab, but the Mourvedre was great with the steak. Although this is not as full a wine, it is smooth with rich flavor.

Lava Cap describes this wine as follows.
Mourvedre is a fine Rhone variety usually used for blending. When grown under optimum conditions, it stands on its own bright fruit, a gentrly richness and soft, supple tannins. This wonderful wine is a perfect accompaniment for Mediterranean-style food such as grilled lamb and sausage. Serve cool

Oak Lane Chenin Blanc

We joined a local wine club that allows us to try their wine tasting each Thursday night for free. Wine Styles is the local store & you might have one in your area. Steve & I had fun at our first one. Each month we also get 2 bottles of wine from different wineries. It's fun to try something new from a wide variety of vineyards. We're also looking forward to their monthly pick-up party where wine members get to taste wines they are considering stocking in the store. Hopefully we will make the April party.

The first wine we tried at home from our wine club is Oak Lane's Chenin Blanc blend with Sauvignon Blanc. It's a nice wine that I could enjoy on a summer afternoon. Just enough fruity taste to keep drinking.

Oak Lane
Chenin Blanc-Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Stellenbosch, South Africa

For centuries, Oak Lane has been the majestic BEau Joubert entrance. It symbolizes the historic & long-standing dedication to creating award winning wines, demonstrating a rare combination of early drink ability & longevity.

A crisp, medium-bodied dry white wine made in a new world style. Enjoy now or cellar under optimum conditions.

Channing Daughters Chardonnay

We bought this wine at the end of our trip to Long Island last summer. We thought we'd stop at one last vineyard and boy am I glad we did. It was one of our favorites...and the prices were better, too.

Enjoyed in Feb 09. I love this wine because it is rich and delicious. Although I enjoy a fruity Chardonnay in the summer. This Chardonnay is nice & bold, full of butter & oak flavors.

Channing Daughters
2006 L'Enfant Sauvage Chardonnay
The Hamptons, Long Island

L'Enfant Sauvage is made from grapes harvested from our sculpture garden and Black Kiln Vineyards. This wine was fermented in new French & Slovenian oak barrels with naturally-occurring wild yeast & took over one year to complete primary fermentation. All the fruit was handpicked, whole cluster-pressed, handled minimally & bottled by gravity. Cheers!

Wine Styles in our hometown

On our way home, Steve stopped by Wine Styles. It's a cool store here in College Station, Texas. They divide the wine according to tastes, fruity, rich, bold, and so on. That means a bold merlot may be mixed with a cabernet. The store manager pointed out some wines and gave us some tastes. We settled on a Cabernet Cauvignon.

Maxwell Creek 2004
Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa

Steve & I both liked the various flavors this wine provides, making it a complex red wine. I liked the deepness of each flavor, too. When we had some the following night (tonight), I noticed a woody, piney taste that I hadn't noticed the day before.

Maxwell Creek recommends pairing this Cab with beef & barbeque.

We will definitely enjoy this wine again, especially since we can get it locally.