Winey Wednesdays

So today we decided to do a pair of Chardonnay's - each from a different region of California.

Entwine
2010, California
Pale yellow in appearance, almost clear with a hint of green
Smell of Apple and leechee fruit
Taste and pear and fall fruit, light buttery (less than normal Chardonnay's)

Very enjoyable - goes well with light cheese 

Rate:  7.2/10 for wine under $15

Charlone Vineyard

2009, Monteray County California

More gold in appearance, but still very light

Heavy ammonia smell, what winos refer to as "cat urine"

Full for a white, buttery throughout with a butterscotch finish.

I was not pleased with this wine at first - it was hard to get past the smell, but it does grow on you.
Rate 7.3/10 for wines under $15

As I said previously, the boyfriend and I are not familiar with whites, and because of that we are not familiar with food pairings for whites.  However tonight, he nailed it.  The boyfriend made the above plate to go with our side by side tasting.  The is a large triangle of Camembert, thinner slice of Gruyere, and young cows milk cheese with cranberries.  There is also a roasted apricot that is stuffed with Moroccan spiced almonds and pine nuts in a orange, honey syrup. 

Winey Wednesday (plus food!)

I decided this week to review a white wine.  I'm a red drinker, so I'm not versed in white wine, but I shall try.  PLUS this week I have a food pairing courtesy of the boyfriend who is wonderful with food.  (If anyone is interested in hiring him to do a food pairing for a wine party, let me know!)

So, I picked a wine from Cotes du Rhone, as I love their red wines.  I'm not familiar with this vineyard, but when I spoke to one of the wine specialists at Total Wine, I was told this is a fuller body white, and I was not disappointed.

The Wine:

J.V. Fleury
Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2010
100% Vigonier grapes.
$13.99 at Total Wine

Appearance:  Straw like, very light
Smell:  Full fruit, heavy on apricot, orange and some lychee - perhaps some floral?
Body: light but full - hows that for oxymoronic?  It was full for a white wine, but obviously light in comparison to what I'm used to drinking reds.
Taste:  Wood, apricot, light honey and floral in the finish.

The finish was dry, which almost mimicked the tannins you find in red wine.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this white.  I normally find whites either too dry or too sweet, this was neither. 

Rating: 7.6/10 for under $15.00.




The food:

As I mentioned, the boyfriend loves to cook.  Whether its small plate fair, or massive amounts of protein, he loves to play with different tastes and spices - I am a lucky girl (although my pants don't thank him)  When I told him I got a white for the review tonight, he came up with a few food pairings to go along:

Spiced apple slices poached in butter, lemon juice and a touch of honey, dusted with cardamom, an aged Italian parmesan style cows milk cheese, a young cranberry cows milk cheese and some Italian bread.
I beleive the boyfriend was doing a deconstructionist version of food, which explained why taken separately, the apples were fine, but not mind blowing.  Now, when you mix the young cow milk cheese with the apple on the bread - you get to experience the different flavors of the apple spices.  Somehow the mixture of the foods brings out the different flavors more than eating each separately.  In all honesty, I was not a fan of the aged cheese, but that's not surprising, as I don't like the texture of block Parmesan cheese.

All in all, a fabulous pairing of interesting wine and wonderful food.