Pinot Grigio

Sorry for not posting in a while it's been a busy week.

A couple of weeks ago my daughter celebrated her birthday. In addition to her friends coming over for a Friday evening their moms came over too. One of the moms brought a bottle of Robert Mondavi Pinot Grigio.

This is not only a very nice white, since it is not too fruity or sweet but it is a safe wine to bring as a gift as it goes with just about everything. This particular friend brought a magnum which costs about $14.00 and is plenty of wine for a small group of people. It's better chilled, at least I prefer it chilled but it isn't half bad at room temperature if you must drink it right away. And sometimes you must.

We had the wine with a very rich fudge cake and it went very nicely with it taking away some of the sweetness of the cake which was just a bit much. This wine does not pair well with citrusy foods like tomato or citrus fruits, this is due to its high acid content. Don't let the word acidity scare you however this wine has an almost silk like texture on the palette.

No wine tonight

Just got six inches of snow. I'm tired of winter. No wine tonight, I'm having Scotch.

Big House Red and Meatloaf

I love Big House Red and Big House White. Both are great table wines that go with just about anything. One of the things I love about this wine aside that it goes with everything and it has a fantastic label is that it has a screw off top. No corkscrew needed. I love the ease of opening this bottle but the plugs for the wine vacuum do not fit snugly in this bottle so you have to drink it in a couple of days. Usually that isn't a problem but just so you know the wine vacuum will not work with this wine.

Since this wine goes with just about anything I am posting a recipe from my other blog, Redhead Ranting. I don't usually post recipes on that blog but this meatloaf was so good I wanted to share it with everyone. Enjoy!




Between recuperating, standing up to bigots, defending human rights and being a semi-super mom I managed to outdo myself in the kitchen today. I made this fantastic to-die-for meatloaf as well as some yummy cookies. My house smells wonderful. Smellovision should be brought back just for the wonderful smells coming from my kitchen today.

Cornbread Stuffing
1 box Jiffy Corn Bread Mix prepared as a loaf or muffins
1/4 onion
2 stalks celery
1 red pepper
2 or 3 tbsp beef broth
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp butter
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, celery, garlic and red pepper. Add broth, honey and salt and pepper. Remove from stove and place in bowl. Crumble up cornbread, cut in butter and mix with sauteed ingredients.

To-Die-For Meatloaf

2 lbs lean ground beef
3/4 of an onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cubed bread crumbs toasted
1 cup beef bouillon
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1/2 tsp Penzy's Prime Rib Rub
salt and pepper to taste
Sharp Cheddar Cheese

In a bowl place the bread crumbs. Prepare bouillon and pour piping hot over bread crumbs. Add onion, red pepper, garlic, salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Let cool (this is a good time to make the stuffing mixture) before adding eggs and ground beef. Mix well. Place half of the mixture on a cookie sheet or lasagna pan and make a sort of boat out of it. Place the cornbread stuffing in the boat and cover with the remaining meat mixture.

Bake at 350 for about an hour. Remove from oven and place slices of cheddar cheese on top and put back in oven for about 4 minutes or until bubbling but not where it has melted away. Remove from oven and try to keep the kids and dogs from tasting it until you can serve it.



Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe is on the back of the package but I added lots of extra love to them.

Liberty School Wine

Tonight I am having a Liberty School 2006 Paso Robles Cabernet. I started drinking this wine years ago when I learned that it was a second label of Caymus. In 1997 the brand was sold off and is now a second label to the Treana brand, a pricy wine as well. It is not a Caymus wine anymore but it is still very good for a $14.00 bottle of wine.

This is a juicy wine. It has a deep color and you can taste the hints of oak in it along with blackberry, cherry and chocolate aromas. It ends firm, meaning it has a bit of an edge to it at the end.

This is a great wine to pair with beef or lamb smothered in garlic.

Great websites about wine

Great sites about wines

Wine Express

Wildhurst Vineyards

Wines dot com

Healthcastles

Malbec

If you have not tried these lovely wines from Chile then get your coat and head on out to the liquor store.

I have fallen in love with Chilean wines lately. Malbecs especially.

Known as Côt throughout much of France, Malbec is the dark-skinned variety that put Argentinian wine on the map - and likewise, Argentinian Malbec saved the grape from near obscurity. The Cahors appellation in France still relies on Malbec to distinguish many of its wines, but the area is exceptional in this regard. As the grape can be quite difficult to cultivate, it has become far less popular over the years, even in its Bordeaux home. Its South American renaissance has ensured, however, that Malbec will be sticking around for a while. -Astor Wines & Spirits

Right now I am having Punto Final vintage 2005. This is what Wine Spectator had to say about it:

"A juicy, modern style, with tasty fig, boysenberry, mocha and spice notes, followed by a ripe, vivid finish."

Depending on the source of the review it gets an 89 to 91 rating. Not bad for a bottle of wine that costs under $20.00.

And even better Malbec, for about the same cost, is Alta Vista Premium. This is an exceptionally wonderful wine. Deep ruby in color with aromas of very ripe red fruit and spices, this wine is round and full-bodied on the palate with excellent balance. I first tried it when a rep was putting out samples at the liquor store I worked at part time several years ago. I had one sip and I was hooked. I have bought it by the case ever since. It goes with so many things and is great to always have on hand.

Wine Vacuums

If you love wine but can't drink the whole bottle you must have a wine vacuum. I got mine at Target last year and have purchased many more to give as gifts since then. I bought a Houdini wine vacuum but there are many on the market that work just as well. I chose the Houdini because it was inexpensive and looked rather slick. There are much more expensive brands out there that come in a variety of styles and colors. As long as they suck the air out they are all good.

Wine vacuums are a wonderful invention. They not only seal the wine so it can be stored on it's side without dripping but they also prevent the wine from further oxidation. Once a bottle of wine is opened the air immediately changes the wine. This is good to a point and why people let good bottles breath but too much air can ruin the wine.

Usually a bottle of wine is good for about two days after removing the cork. After two days it's usually cooking wine. It has lost it's aroma and might even begin to taste vinegary. Using a wine vacuum and airtight stopper extends the life of the bottle from a couple of days to two weeks. I don't usually have a bottle of opened wine that lasts for anywhere near two weeks but it's nice to know I don't have to down an opened bottle if I'm not able to finish it.

If you are serious about your wine this is a must addition to your bar ware.

*This is not a paid advertisement. I don't do them. I talk about the products I use and like. I also talk about the products I don't like but I am not paid to talk about any of them.