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.

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.

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.