Girls Night Out

So, my closest girlfriends & I have vowed to do a quarterly night out. With our hectic schedules, kids, careers, family..... life in general.... we just weren't seeing enough of each other -- so we had our first one last July...... and then we had our second one on Saturday night. Yes, you are a very smart reader if you noticed that 6 months (almost 2 full quarters) had elapsed between nights out..... but hey, we are trying.

Anyway, two of my girlfriends, my sister (Aunt P) and I went out in Boston on Saturday night. We went to the totally hip Eastern Standard. Apparently, this is where the "who's who" go to "see and be seen" in Boston. Honestly, I typically do not frequent "hip joints".... no, I'm more of a RedRobin or Chili's girl -- but, this place was suggested and well, I went with it -- boy am I glad I did.

My college roommate (I'll call her Barbie) made our reservation weeks and weeks ago, and so when we arrived we weren't subjected to the 2+ hour wait that those who didn't plan ahead had to endure....

The drinks menu was expansive -- but I wasn't feeling that adventurous, so Aunt P, Barbie & I decided to share a bottle of wine. After perusing the wine list and determining that I couldn't afford 75% of the bottles listed, we slected a bottle of Merlot -- and here's the review:

First, a photo .... taken with my iPhone

The 2007 Osso Anna Merlot was very, very nice. The flavors were sublte, but deep.... chocolate, vanilla, a slight hint of oak. The smoothness was remarkable -- the gentle flavors lingered -- there was nothing acidic about it. The restaurant charged $40 for the bottle -- I've seen in listed from $19-$23 online, so although it's slightly higher than the typical wine reviewed here -- it was too good not to mention.

The food was simply amazing. I'm not even going to say any more about it for fear I might salivate on my keyboard just remembering how good it was.

After dinner we did the obligatory drinks -- I had an absolutely delicious Hot Buttered Rum -- which, apparently for my own protection, doesn't seem to be included on their online menu.

I'd write more, but as I had to share the bottle..... I simply can't -- but we will be doing more girls nights and there will be more wine, so stay tuned :)

Opera not-so Prima

So, we picked up a bottle of 2007 Opera Prima Merlot based solely on the bottle.... I thought it was pretty. This isn't exactly what it looked like, but close enough.... picture a big '07 instead of the '08 and well, that's pretty much what it looked like.

I opened it while I waited for Mr Big Dubya to come home from work, I poured a glass and began to sip...... it was acidic -- not very pleasing.

Let it breath, I told myself -- maybe this is one that will benefit from some breathing.

So I set my glass down and resumed yelling at my children.

Mr Big Dubya arrived home and poured himself a glass. Unremarkable and pedestrian is how he described it -- bland, slightly acidic but more so just blah.

We finished the bottle, but weren't wishing we had picked up another -- and probably wouldn't bother getting it again.

The Devil is in the Details

If you were to judge this wine by its label (which I never, ever do...ever), you wouldn't be faulted for instantly thinking about the generic products in the supermarket or on television with their austere black and white labels marked "Beer" or "Rice". No, it looks like someone booted Microsoft Publisher and got all minimalist on the oenophiles of the world. However, to say the Velvet Devil Merlot is generic or minimalist is to do it a great disservice.

Vinted and bottled by Charles Smith Wines (I guess it's a tad less generic than John Smith Wines, although he is anything but), this Columbia Valley Merlot pours a nice, deep ruby red in the glass and has a rich nose of spice, plums, smoke and cocoa. I must say, however, my first sip or two were not favorable. The tannins were a bit overwhelming and masked and overpowered the flavors I should have been tasting - I chalk this up to mixing poorly with the acidity of the tomato sauce on the pizza we were enjoying and maybe not breathing enough. But, with subsequent sips, I found the "velvet" in the name was more than accurate and not misrepresentation. It was bold and proved to be very smooth and robust - I could taste the plums and a hint of cedar with every mouthful. After a rather underwhelming start, this wine really did come through and, you know what? We are all the better for it.

Mrs. Big Dubya picked up this particular bottle (as well as the Kung Fu Girl Riesling) at bin ends for about $12. I suggest you go grab a bottle or two. As they say, "The Devil you know..."

Vacation Whining

It’s been months since I’ve posted here on The Whinery. So I should probably slip back in, write a low-key post on this month’s assignment, and pretend that I’ve been here all along.

But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going to skip the assignment, break the “guidelines,” and whine about it while I’m at it.

Last month, Sue (the wife) and I went to Disney World with Clare (our seven year-old daughter). We’d originally waited a year for a reservation at the Beach Club Villas, had to change dates and lost that reservation last year, and waited another year to go back. The hotel was fantastic. Unfortunately, it rained five out of our seven days there. The rain was bad. Biblical bad. There was about two feet of rain in central Florida in a few days time.

So what did we do? Apart from staying out of the pool, we went on as usual. We went to the parks, enjoyed the shorter than normal lines, and had fun despite the weather. We also lingered a little longer than usual in some great restaurants (and even got a last minute reservation at one of Disney’s best) and enjoyed a few bottles of overpriced wine. Thinking ahead, Sue jotted down the names of each wine. Not thinking at all, I tossed out the envelope Sue’s notes were written on when we got home. Here’s what we remember.

Our first Disney wine, at bluezoo in the Dolphin, was a 2007 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. (I guess that is the assignment—although we drank it in May.) We both had fish, and it paired really well. It wasn’t too dry, and it wasn’t too fruity. (The restaurant overall was really fantastic too—even Clare liked it.)

Our second wine of the week was a Paolo Masi Chianti Reserva at the Yachtsman. We both liked it. We both had steak, and again it paired really well. That’s all we remember. Knowing us, that probably means that it wasn’t too heavy and it wasn’t too light. Chianti usually gets two thumbs up from us. (This is another great restaurant that we all liked too.)

Out third and last bottle of wine (we went with mixed drinks and beer some other nights) was a California Merlot at California Grill at the top of the Contemporary. This is the reservation that we snagged at the last minute, which is unusual since it’s the prime place to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks (especially when it’s raining). The wine? We know we liked it, but we don’t really remember any specifics at all. This isn’t much of a wine review, is it?

Here’s what I’m interested in though. Have you ever ordered a bottle at a restaurant (we probably paid $50-60 for $20 bottles of wine) and then bought a bottle to try out again at home? Did it live up to expectations? If we try it with these three (well the two we remember the names of at least) we’ll let you know.

Don't let it be forgot that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment that was known as Camelot.

Tell me, did you ever buy a wine because it looked interesting and then go home only to find that you must have already found that wine interesting...... because it's already on your wine rack? Yeah, uhm me either.

Okay, so.... maybe it's just a case of Mommy-brain, but -- a couple of weekends ago I went to our local wine shop (that's just fancy Connecticut talk for liquor store) and decided to pick up a few bottles of wine -- maybe breath some life into this site.

While browsing the reds, I saw this 2002 Merlot with a little star-shaped sign that said "Ray's Pick -- Great Value". Now, Ray's just a dude that works there, so don't get too excited -- but for $6.99, "great value" seemed right up my alley, so -- into the basket it went.

My job is investment-related and although it's only Wednesday..... all this upping-and-downing of the markets has made for a really long week, so I decided a glass of wine was in order..... and Camelot seemed like a good mid-week choice.

The bottle's label doesn't offer much in the way of a description, and their website only mentions the 2003 Merlot, which has won some awards -- but wine.com includes the following winemakers notes for the 2002:

"Appealing cherry aromas carry onto the palate with deep plum richness and a subtle herbal distinction. Well balanced throughout, this wine has soft, round tannins without angular distraction. Delicate vanilla oak accents are apparent in a rich and complex finish."

I'd say that I agree with the majority of that -- this wine was very mild and as I was drinking it I said to the Big Dubya that it would be a perfect wine to just have on hand -- it's mild and unassuming enough that it would work with pizza or even something more involved -- and then I joked that it was a decent "table wine".

Bottom line --Ray was right -- for $6.99, it is good value. I probably wouldn't serve it to company, but it's perfect for a middle-of the week glass, to cook with or to accompany a casual dinner...... and, lucky me -- I've got another bottle.

Off the Wall

Ok - this has nothing to do with July's assignments. And, it's not like I/we haven't been drinking either. I've just been experimenting with some microbrews and getting reacquainted with some old favorites (I had forgotten how good Magic Hat #9 actually is). Anyway, when I was at the packie a few weeks back looking for a South African selection, I stumbled on something that only people in the five New England states (and Connecticut) might enjoy/appreciate.

CaberKnuckle. That's right. CaberKnuckle. And there, on the label, Tim Wakefield. I thought it was pretty cool - Wake's got his own vintage. Sweet. Then I see the unmistakable visage of Manny on another label. Manny being Merlot. And there's Schill - Schilling Schardonnay. Ha, such clever word play all around. Ok, ok I'll admit it - I am a fanboy. Sue me.

What's that? Of course I bought a bottle. The wines are distributed under the Longball Vineyards label through Charity Wines (VinLozano Importers). The sales proceeds benefit each player's selected charity: Charlee Homes for Children, Curt's Pitch for ALS and Pitching in for Kids.

Like I said, I picked up the CaberKnuckle and brought it home to try that night with Mrs. Big Dubya. She's not that big a fan of Cabs and only had one glass. I finished the bottle - surprise, surprise. It was okay. I'd love to be able to throw in some knuckle-ball metaphors here, but I think I'll let them go for now. It wasn't an impressive bottle - not one that made me say, Wow or anything. I picked it up for its novelty factor, not because it was a rare vintage and I was hoping to collect it. It was, by far, better than the vitamin water we had at the end of June. It was smooth, light on the tannins (a huge plus for me) and subtly fruity. Not one that I'd call a Bold or Big red, but mild.

However, it didn't stop Mrs. Big Dubya from picking up the Manny Being Merlot. Hopefully it's big and bold and not lackadaisical and aloof.

Keep a LookOut for this one

Unlike the Cape Buffaloes, we didn't couple our wine with dinner -- no, we waited until the 'lil Dubya was asleep and the 'lil Dubyette was chillin' under her Flutterbye Gym to uncork Lookout Mountain's Merlot (2002).

This is a bottle we already had on our wine rack, but a label we'd never tried before -- the Big Dubya picked it up the last time we were in the Berkshires at a favorite wine shop of ours -- the same guys have similarly themed wine shops in the Boston area that I frequented when I was living/working there. The gimmick of the shop is extremely effective -- the lion's share of their wines are less than $15 and they are categorized by flavor, rather than strictly by type. The selection is constantly changing -- so it's never the same place twice -- terrific if you like to try new wines all the time, but kind of a bummer if you find one that you love, love, love...chances are it won't be there the next time you stop in.

This particular Merlot was $10 and classified as a "Smooth" which is defined by Grape Finds as "Medium bodied-red wines. Velvety. Graceful. Deliciously refined."

The thing that struck me immediately was that this wine is subtle...very subtle. There was nothing hitting your throat after you sipped it -- it's very, very smooth and kind of light for a red.

Bottom line -- this is a nice, solid red -- it's got some good berry flavors with a subtle hint of wood -- giving it a little complexity without being too deep or rich. The label suggested a hint of dark chocolate...I didn't pick up on that. And, despite busting it out on a Wednesday night, I felt just fine this morning. If you aren't really into red wines because they tend to be too heavy -- you might like this one, as it's lighter than the typical red.

I would definitely buy it again.