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.

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

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.

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

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

Christmas Party

With a few friends over, we enjoyed Lava Cap Chardonnay and Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, both from our wine clubs. As usual, I loved the Lava Cap. Well, I like almost every wine we get from Lava Cap. The Chardonnay is less fruity with some full body I can enjoy.

The Cabernet was a bit piney. Although it is much better than some of the cheap wines we enjoy, I haven't been as impressed with Dunham's wine since our wine tasting last February. We have one more bottle of their wine that we'll try. If it isn't outstanding, we'll probably cancel Dunham's wine club. The wines are good, but not worth $40ish a bottle.