Family, food and two French wines

My 22 year old son was home for a few days during Spring Break and requested grilled marinated pork chops for dinner. Since he became of legal drinking age, my husband and I have enjoyed sharing different wines with him to see which ones he really enjoys. I invited my father to join us for dinner and my son invited a friend as well.

With my manly meal of pork, peppers and potatoes prepped for the grill, I decided to open a Rhone Valley Rosé to start as I had some cold boiled shrimp and Caprese salad kabobs out to nibble on while everything went on the grill. My son's friend was interested to learn that "all rosé is not bad or, you know, cheap wine" and that real men do drink pink wine as role modeled by my husband and father. The wine was Paul Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone Rosé 2011. This rosé is a blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Cinsault and 10% Syrah. It smelled and tasted of fresh ripe strawberries with a bit of baking spice. Medium- body, alcohol with medium+ acidity and a fruity medium length finish. Recommended and enjoyed by all. I purchased this bottle at Whole Foods for $17.

We finished the rosé as the main course came off the grill. With the pork chops, I served a Syrah from the Languedoc. This wine was a big hit with all the men at my table, both the young and the older, I just got one small taste of it. I bought this bottle at Max's Wine Dive in a mixed case so I don't remember the price but you can call Drew over at Max's and he can help you out. The wine was the Rare Vineyards Pays D'Oc Syrah 2011 and it was fruit forward with a bit of smoked meat, medium+ body, alcohol, and acidity with smooth, medium tannins and a medium length blackberry and black pepper finish. Recommended and enjoyed by all.

Comments

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

An Immersive Introduction into the World of Asolo Prosecco

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

Wine Life - Houston

Search This Blog