So we bought a box of Bota Box

In keeping with the August Assignment, the Big Dubya went out and bought-a-box of Bota Box Shiraz (2008) (sorry, couldn't help myself).

It was really hot this afternoon and after a day chasing kids and catching up on housework, the thought of firing up the stove or even the grill was more than I could bear.... so the Big Dubya agreed to grab a couple of pizzas on his way home and what better Friday-night pizza cocktail than a good old glass of red wine.... in this case, a 2008 Shiraz.

The Big Dubya and I agree that we were both pleasantly surprised by the first glass. It didn't taste like what I would expect a boxed-wine to taste like. It was full flavored, not over powering -- there were distinctive fruit undertones.... the tannins weren't at all severe. The Big Dubya noticed a definite cherry influence, whereas I thought the oak flavor was more present. It paired well with pizza, I think it would also stand up well to steak or a grilled dinner.

The typical bottle of wine is supposed to yield 5 glasses -- we usually get 2 glasses each (4 glasses). The box is supposed to yield the equivalent of 4 bottles/20 glasses (well, 16 in the Dubya house) and I'd say at this point we are probably ¼ of the way through it...... the night is still young!

Bottom line, I think this is a decent (and fairly versatile) table wine. The Big Dubya seemed to like it a little more than I did -- I wouldn't rush out and buy it again, but I wouldn't caution anybody against it either -- at $20ish for 16-20 glasses, it's certainly a good value.

Too Hot, Too Cold--Am I Goldie Locks?

We made friends with the guy who orders wines and beers at our local shop—his card reads “Wine & Spirit Educator”—but let’s just call him Ken. He called the other day to say that a wine that we requested was in, and I said “No Torpedo though, huh?” “The customer comes first,” he muttered and confessed that he had five bottles—not quite a six-pack. I said I’d be there that afternoon to pick it up. Score! We brought home four bottles and gave Ken the fifth. Apparently, he’s yet to enjoy a Sierra Nevada Torpedo himself—they can’t keep it on the shelf long enough for him to get to it.

In any case, along with the Torpedo, a bottle of Strong Arms Shiraz 2007 came home with us, too. It's a screw top from South Australia which I will be reviewing for this month’s assignment a bit later. Before I do, however, I wanted to share a little something about wine temperature. I am not a wine snob, I mean, I drink wine from a box, so I can’t be, can I? A few years back, my husband and I decided to sign up for a single evening wine class at the wine shop, and the one thing that has stuck with me from the two hours of trying all kinds of wine (we’re lucky I retained anything useful from the evening!) is that temperature matters. White wine should be served chilled, but not at 38 degrees, as I had previously thought. White wine is best served a bit warmer than right out the fridge, say, about 20 minutes warmer. Red wine, on the other hand, should be served cooler than room temperature, about 20 minutes in the fridge cooler. Why does it matter? I asked that very same question. My answer to you is to try it. Get two identical bottles of wine and try one as you normally would--fresh out of the fridge for a white or straight from the wine rack for a red, and the other, pour it a bit chilled or warmed, depending on the color. Try both side-by-side and I promise you'll notice a difference in taste. In fact, you might even question that both glasses contain the same exact wine.

I tried this myself, with a red wine I quite like, but don’t love. Even a wiff of the stuff at room temperature smelled off to me. It smelled “dirty” according to my husband and that's a fitting description. It had a strong alcohol odor, as well as a strong alcohol taste. The chilled red wine, however, smelled fruity and tasted nothing like the warm wine, and had alcohol burn on the back of my tongue. In the room temperature glass I couldn't find a hint of the cherries I tasted in the cooled wine.

Generally, a white that’s served too cold or a red served too warm can cause certain unsavory aspects of a wine to overpower more favorable characteristics. Now, if I were a real wine snob, I might be able to tell you that your chardonnay should be enjoyed at 48 degrees Fahrenheit, but your sparkling wine could stand to be a bit cooler and I won’t tell you that port should be served closer to room temperature, unless it’s vintage. I don’t test the temperature of my wine before I drink it, but I do drink my reds a bit colder than most folks I know, and if I happen to have a white, I generally drink that a bit warmer. Give it a try and tell me how it works out.

The Perfect "10"?

The other night my hubby and I stopped at a local eatery for a quick bite to eat after a movie. I had wanted to try this particular restaurant because they tout themselves as a haven for localvores—which I try to be—and I was not disappointed. Even the draft beer was local. I ordered my first Ten Penny Ale, the debut brew of the Olde Burnside Brewing Company in East Hartford, Connecticut. I've just recently returned to Connecticut after a 20-year-long hiatus, so if you have already discovered the gold-mine that is Ten Penny or any of the other brews from Olde Burnside, please just bear with me.

I did not even finish reading the beer descriptions on the menu before I made my selection. I chose this particular beer because I am pretty familiar with Burnside Avenue in East Hartford. My mom is from East Hartford and my uncle still lives in the house that they grew up in, which is not far from Burnside Avenue. My sentimentality took over and I’m glad it did.

The beer arrived and although I did not take a lot of time to admire how it looked, it did display a short, fairly dense head and a strong amber hue. It looked good enough to drink—so I did—the first word that came to mind with my first sip of Ten Penny was clean. This is not a light beer, however. It has a good malty body and a smooth caramelized taste. The menu description categorized it as a Scottish ale, but it’s not quite a full Scottish ale in my opinion, but still quite tasty. Not surprisingly, Ten Penny’s ABV is 5.5%, which accounts for some of its smoothness.

In preparation of writing this review, I visited the Burnside Brewing Company’s website. You’d think I stole my review from them: Ten Penny “is a smooth, amber-hued mellow version of a Scottish Ale.” But then again, how many words are there to describe a good beer—and Ten Penny is a straight forward beer—it does not have tremendous depth, but it is neither flat nor thin. It paired perfectly with our tomato pizza with mozzarella, roasted garlic and basil pesto.

Ten Penny and several of Burnside’s other brews, including Dirty Penny Ale, are sold only in growlers at your local (if you’re in Connecticut) liquor store. You can’t buy a six, but the ½ gallon gives you enough to share with a friend or two. It’ll run you a bit more than a six, but you're paying for local and it’s worth it.

August Asssignment

Swheeze hit upon it in her inaugural post earlier this week -- I've got myself convinced that wine that comes in a box is crap...... screw top wine too (I know, I've got some issues), but for now, let's stick to wine in a box.

Cognitively, I know that boxed wine is perfectly fine -- some of it is high quality, even expensive -- yet I can't seem to bring myself to pull the trigger and buy a box. I walk by them, read the labels.... and then saunter back over to the traditional bottles.

After some reflection, I think it's because once upon a time, my mother drank Riunite and her best friend drank Paul Masson.... from what I recall, both of these wines were both simply awful. My Mom's friend switched to wine-in-a-box, I can't remember what kind it was -- just that it was terrible and took up half a shelf in her fridge.

Anyway, it's time to get past this boxed-wine-phobia I have -- so, join me won't you?

August's assignment is to try and review wine that comes in a box (or some alternative packaging).

If you are dead-set against the boxed wine idea..... how about a wine with a screw top, although I've had them and it appears to be the "wave of the future"-- I'm still skeptical about that too.

Thinking Inside the Box

Perhaps it is not a great idea to have my very first post be about something as taboo as boxed wine, but it’s what’s on my mind right now.

Boxed wine has a not so nice reputation, with good reason. If you have ever tried Franzia, you know why. I do recall our local wine seller talking about the idea of boxed wine actually being a good one—you open the wine but it never has contact with air so it stays “fresh” for much longer than an open bottle of wine. He also explained that in France and Australia, boxed wine did not have the same reputation that it does in the U.S. and that boxed wine was widely accepted and there were currently several very good options on the market. I noted that he did not have any boxed wine for sale, we laughed, and that was the end of that.

Until now. My father-in-law has consumed boxed wine for several years. I think he started out with Almaden in a box—it was not very good. He’s now moved to Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon. He has a glass every day with lunch for his health—seriously, I think a doctor recommended it. Of course we have all heard that red wine, in moderation, is good for you. Apparently, there are beneficial anti-oxidants in the skin of the grapes—not to mention, sitting down with a glass of wine to unwind has its benefits, as well. So, for those who drink wine for their health, wine becomes almost like a medication, and therefore the wine box is just the “easy open cap” version.

I noticed this year that there was more and more boxed wine to choose from at our local liquor store. I had to walk right by it on my way to the beer cooler in the back. Then my husband noticed it, too. We bought a box. I think we went with Black Box. It was fine. Really. I mean, nothing special, but it was a far cry from the Franzia or Almaden crap that was served at neighborhood parties when I was a kid. (Or, as Mr. Big Dubya noted in November, the kind of wine that woo-girls drink.)

Okay, so my point is, boxed wine might be worth some exploration. I have done some myself. I really like Bota Box Old Vine Zinfandel—I like bolder flavors in my wine and this one in particular stands up to spicier and heavier foods. It is surprisingly complex. I’ve tried the Bota Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the Shiraz. All are pretty good and are worth a try. Amazingly enough, Bota Box Old Vine Zinfandel, along with all the others I mentioned, also fits with July’s tasting assignment—it’s made it the U.S.—Cali, of course.

Boxed wines are not what they used to be. I am curious to know if anyone else has tried boxed wines and found some hits? I am seriously considering have a tasting with only boxed wines and sharing the results here, but, that’s a lot of wine (most boxes are equivalent to three to four 750ml bottles—or about 20 glasses of wine). I’d need to have a lot of guests, not to mention a lot of glasses. I’ll keep thinking about this. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on boxed wine.

Welcome Swheeze!

I am so excited to announce our newest contributor..... the gorgeous Swheeze (don't let the name fool you!)

Not only is she a career woman -- she's also a great friend, a fabulous cook and a lover of wine.... actually, she loves all kinds of adult beverages.

I'm confident that she and Mr Swheeze will not only be sharing their wine reviews, but will also be injecting their fabulous humor into our little wine club.

Please join me in welcoming Swheeze!

Sangria Anyone?

Recently, a friend of ours posted his sangria recipe on Facebook and I'll confess, I was immediately intrigued.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should probably offer two points of information

1. I am not a sangria drinker -- have maybe had it once or twice in my life..... if at all -- so I honestly have no frame of reference whatsoever.

2. This friend is, like myself, insanely competitive. He would never post a recipe as his own unless it was tried & true and in his opinion.... damn near perfect. This is a "go big or go home" kind of guy, he plays to win.

I think it was the latter point that put me on a mission..... a mission to try this baby out.

The recipe:
1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
1 Lemon cut into wedges
1 Orange cut into wedges
1 Lime cut into wedges
2 Tbsp sugar (use more sugar if using a Cab or Shiraz)
Splash of orange juice or lemonade
2 Shots of gin
1 Cup of raspberries or strawberries (may use thawed or frozen)
1 Small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
4 Cups ginger ale
Chill overnight

So, last Friday I went and grabbed all the necessaries and set about assembling a big ole pitcher of Sangria. I went with a bottle of Little Penguin Merlot we already had on the wine rack (not bottom of the barrel, but good enough to drink -- should work okay, right?) I used orange juice (not lemonade) and raspberries (not strawberries).

We ended up having a few beers that evening, so the sangria would have to wait.... and wait, and wait some more. On Thursday night we put the kids to bed and poured a couple of glasses. The Big Dubya thought it was good -- but there was some underlying flavor that was distracting him -- he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. I asked -- is it the lime? maybe.... the lemon? maybe..... the gin -- yeah, that's it!

I found my glass a bit too strong for me -- I added some more ginger ale to see if that helped -- but it was still just really strong, I was tired and not in the mood to experiment. We kind of walked away a little unsure of whether or not we liked it..... but, neither of us was ready to discount it either.

On Saturday night we had a small dinner party and, as is par for the course at casa Dubya, the cocktails were flowing. I pulled out the pitcher of sangria and everybody tried some. We got some mixed reviews.... one fellow came looking for another glass saying that he couldn't say that he loved it -- but did find it oddly compelling. Another fellow coined the term gin-gria, noting that the gin was most certainly a detectable undertone.

In fairness, the above recipe is a little loosey-goosey so it's entirely possible that I screwed it up. The size of the fruits, the definition of a splash.... all subject to interpretation.

Bottom line, this is a good solid base-recipe that I'll probably tweak a bit to make it more my own.... but I'm interested to hear -- anybody got a good sangria recipe they'd like to share?