Nice Red Blend from Chile

 By: Cresta

Part of my Valentine’s Day gift from the hubby was a bottle of red wine.

It’s been kind of chaotic at my house lately so we were just able to sit down and drink this wine together. We had it with dinner the other night – grilled ribeye steaks.

Primus The Blend 2008 is a flavorful red blend from Veramonte Vineyards in Colchagua Valley, Chile. Made of Cabernet Sauvignon (46%), Syrah (20%), Carmenere (19%) and Merlot (15%), The Blend is aged in French and American oak for 14 months.

Deep red in color. Intense ripe fruit with what I think is a very appealing spice flavor. Full-bodied and nicely balanced with a long finish. Smooth and easy to drink. A little too easy, I guess, as we had no trouble finishing the bottle. Definitely a big happy face.

Average price: $17-$20.

Mad Men Mondays: Shagadelic

by Michelle

We’re back! After more than 500 Mad Men-free days, Season 5 returned last night with a two-hour episode.

There’s so much I could talk about in our 1966 episode: Joan’s baby, Don’s marriage, the missing Betty and Henry, the fact that the wardrobe people didn’t give Peggy a new dress … But I’m here to write about the alcohol our overindulgent friends imbibe.

It’s going to be another frustrating season for me from the alcohol standpoint, unless the writers start adding in more cocktails to the mix. It looks like Mad Men retained the sponsorship of certain companies, therefore on every bar you will see any combination of Wild Turkey (Don and Peggy), Macallan (Pete) and Stoli (Roger), amongst others.

“Sponsored” Bar (lousy TV capture by Michelle)

What I really want to talk about … and what completely captured me in this episode, is Megan’s surprise party for Don. The artistic direction behind the entire party sequence just blew me away – from the cocktails and the clothing to the music and then entire set and blocking. You see, one of my all-time favorite artists is Shag. All I could think of when I watched the party scene was that it was a Shag painting brought to life.

SHAG: “Predators and Prey” – Acrylic paint on canvas. 89 cm x 244 cm (35″ x 96″). © Josh Agle, 2012
Original Online Link 

Don’s loft alone was simply stunning. Pure 1960s Manhattan goodness … the perfect lifestyle for the 40-year old ad executive/part-time dad and his 26-yr-old secretary turned wife.

Megan, at 26, wants to party. She simply cannot comprehend how Don, at 40, has no interest. She also doesn’t seem to get that her little rendition of Zou Bisou Bisou was just slightly inappropriate, enticing every man (except Don) in the room and slightly horrifying the women.  (As an aside, I truly loved her dress.)

Per usual in this show, we can’t see what type of wine our girls (in this case, Jane) might be drinking. We know it’s red. I was happy to see it’s in a decanter though (see the above “bar” photo). I want to believe that Don has a nice cellar somewhere in that Shagadelic loft and that perhaps it’s an older bottle that Megan pulled and appropriately decanted to open up the vintage.

Jane’s Red Wine | image from AMC TV, 2012

The cocktails at the party were endless. I saw a Manhattan (Trudy), Roger’s vodka martini, a sidecar, and of course, a lot of bourbon on the rocks. I also glimpsed some red wine and beer, although I couldn’t read the label.

Trudy’s Manhattan | image from AMC TV, 2012

What I found fascinating is that while there was a live band, there wasn’t a bartender. Yet everyone there was adept at making cocktails. Pete easily tossed together a Manhattan and someone made Ken’s wife a sidecar without a problem. Today we have amazing people who are “mixologists,” making us cocktails. But with the exception of when I get to hang out at Julie’s place, I know of very few people who can actually toss together a sidecar, a manhattan, or even a simple martini without grabbing a recipe. The everyday art of making and consuming cocktails has been lost in exchange for two-ingredient mixers.

Next week we should get to see more of Betty, and perhaps further along a little bit of Peggy’s story. I’m holding out hope for the return of Faye, the brilliant analyst from last season who was so cruelly dumped by Don. We’ve got Roger’s baby to content with and Lane’s weird new obsession with a woman he’s never met. As far as this blog goes, I’ve already started researching the history of the martini. Season 5 is shaping up to be quite interesting!

Show Your True Character with Jacob’s Creek

By: Cresta

A couple of weeks ago the kind PR folks from Jacob’s creek sent me a selection of Jacob’s Creek Reserve wines to help promote the Australian wine’s True Character contest. The contest, which runs through March 31, gives wine enthusiasts a chance to win $5,000 to put toward their favorite charity or passion, which is pretty cool. To enter, you must visit www.facebook.com/jacobscreek, upload a photo of yourself and a brief description of how you stay true to yourself and show your true character. In addition to the $5,000, the winner will be featured in a Jacob’s Creek commercial,

I have tried two of the four wines that were sent to me. All wines are $12.99.

Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay 2010

You all know how I feel about oaked Chardonnay. I am not a big fan but I wanted to give it a try. Not my preference, but I think Chardonnay admirers will enjoy this wine. It’s a crisp Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. Full-bodied with peach and lemon flavors and a nutty finish.

The high rainfall and cool ripening conditions of the Adelaide Hills give this Chardonnay that crisp acidity.

Jacob’s Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

This wine includes select grapes grown in the Coonawarra region in South Australia. The Coonawarra is known for its rich red ‘Terra Rossa’ soil and is widely regarded as Australia’s best and most famous Cabernet Sauvignon region.

Very distinct clove smell. Fruity with a hint of mint. Full-bodied, rich and smooth to the finish. Delicious wine.

I look forward to tasting the other two: Jacob’s Creek Reserve Barossa Shiraz and Reserve Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir.

Somerston Wines Part One

By Angela

Last week I had the privilege meeting Craig Becker the General Manager/Director of Winemaking and Viticulture for Somerston Wines. Craig is one of the founding members of Somerston and his education is in plant physiology, hydrologic science, enology, and viticulture. He oversees all aspects of the business from viticulture, winemaking, sales and marketing, and finance and business development (basically a very busy man and I feel privileged that he took time to meet with me). After speaking with him I could only imagine a beautiful winery with lush vineyards and exquisite lands that I wanted to visit.

 (How beautiful!)

To start off with, Somerston has over 1600+ acres of land and over 200 acres in vineyards. The fruit from Somerston has been purchased by some of Napa Valleys most renowned winemakers including David Ramey, Heidi Barrett, David Phinny, and etc.

Their winemaking facility has many high-tech attributes including new proven technologies like CO2 heat pumps, non-glycol based refrigerants, the first process waste anaerobic bio-filter in Napa County, that delivers clean, pH adjusted processed waster with over 90% BOD (biological oxygen demand) removed, and solar power. The carbon neutral cooling/ heating and hot water system is one of the first of its kind in use at a winery in the United States.

One thing that you can experience is the off-road vineyard experience. Your tour begins with a wine specialists that guides you through the vineyard property visiting the vineyard blocks where the estate wines are grown. After the tour, you will enjoy a tasting of limited production estate wines paired with artisan cheeses from the patio that overlooks the vineyards. (This is on my list of things to do this summer.)

STAY TUNED FOR MY NEXT BLOG WHEN I TALK ABOUT THEIR WINES…

Cincinnati Wine Festival: THE Place to Try Some Amazing Wines

By: Cresta

I am so glad I went to this year’s Cincinnati International Wine Festival. It was fun, well worth the price, and I was able to try some amazing wines. Plus $35 of my ticket went to local charities. This year’s event featured more than 100 wineries offering tastings of 600 or so different wines.

I went to the Friday Evening Grand Tasting. For about the first 45 minutes or so it wasn’t very busy. I was able to move around with no problem and I didn’t wait in line to taste most of the samples I wanted to try. Even after the crowd picked up, it didn’t feel overly crowded to me. A couple of the booths had small clusters of people but nothing unmanageable.

There were plenty of food stations with delicious appetizers spread throughout the area – cheese and crackers, mini quiches, gourmet olives. I was even able to grab some coffee on my way out.

I took Michelle’s advice and wore FLAT boots. Might not have been as stylish as the ladies wearing the skinny-minnie high heels but I was comfy. I also downloaded the event program Friday afternoon and highlighted the wines I wanted to try. I made it a point to mostly choose ones that I don’t normally drink, which worked out pretty well. I also roamed around a bit and randomly selected some others to try.

The majority of the pourers were very helpful and chatty about their wines. It was a little difficult to take notes, hold my glass and eat, but I’ll do my best in sharing some of my favorites.

Vintner Select Imports of France: 2010 Labbe Abymes, Vin de Savoie A clean, dry white wine made from the Jacquère grape. Light and tangy with floral fruit flavors.

World Wine Headquarters: 2010 Altivo “Vineyard Selection” Malbec, Argentina Very smooth. Dark berry flavor. Lively tannins and firm acidity.

Somerston Wine Co.: 2010 Highflyer Granache Blanc, Napa Creamy consistency with citrusy-lime flavor and a little bit of spice. Crisp acidity.

Dr. Loosen: 2010 Villa Wolf Gewurztraminer (Gold Medal Winner) Floral aroma with some spice. Clean, light and fruity.

Oyster Bay: 2011 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc Green pepper and grass notes with grapefruit and citrus flavors. Light and refreshing. Probably the best Sauvignon Blanc I’ve ever had. The pourer told me that its deliciousness comes from the fruit’s longer hang time on the vine due to the excellent climate in the Marlborough region.

Treasury Wine Estates: Colores Del Sol, Malbec, Reserva, Argentina Very smooth, full-bodied, bold and flavorful – full of raspberry and cherry.

Firelands: 2010 Firelands Ice Wine I don’t know that this was necessarily one of my favorites, but it was quite different. Very sweet and grapey. The grapes stay on the vine until December and then they are pressed while frozen, so there’s not much juice that comes from the fruit. Therefore it’s very concentrated.

What were some of your faves? Comment here and let me know.