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.

Christmas Eve Feast

We attended Christmas Eve service and then headed home to celebrate Christ's birth with some friends and our family. I was cooking beef tenderloin filets with bleu cheese on top. We enjoyed chunky mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. I planned to make green bean bundles, but my kids talked me into green bean casserole.

Our middle daughter was excited because we were finally going to enjoy some of my fresh baked bread. She had been smelling it for a week, but never got to eat it because I was giving it away to teachers, friends & family.

The men had Coronas, but I enjoyed Lenz Merlot. It was one of our favorites from Long Island. Smooth with a slight flavor of oak. Warms you up as you enjoy!

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.