By demand, an update to the wine blog. First update in a year!! So I usually write about "new world" wines: California, Australia, Spain - basically anything is considered new world except for France, Italy and some German whites. Why? Well the biggest reason is new world wines typically have the better values and I'm all about finding cheap wines that taste great. HOWEVER, I do also enjoy splurging once in a while with Bordeaux and Barolo (the 2 kings of red wine). Hence the update below of two tasting parties we hosted in the last couple of months. The first 4 pics below just occurred this past weekend and was a tasting of 3 Italian wines: a white Pinot Grigio, a Cabernet-Sangiovese blend and the king of them all a red Barolo. Barolo is never cheap, but when you taste a good one, you'll know why. Awesome. It is made from the Nebbiolo grape and typically needs about 5 years from harvest to open up to be drinkable (in fact I believe it is Italian law that Barolo's can't even be exported unless it's 5 years past it's harvest date - the vintage on the label). The one listed here is a 2003 Boroli. I poured it from the bottle into a decanter to allow oxygen to quickly aerate the wine. This softens the tannins and oh man does it work! This was served with our famous seared beef, chicken with grilled vegetables. Awesome. PS - the Pinot Grigio we started with was served with some artisanal cheeses and an Italian loaf. The white listed below was pretty simple, but a refreshing "Appetizer" wine to prepare us for the heavier, complex Barolo.




The 2 pictures below are from a few months ago and was a very nice 4 bottle Bordeaux tasting. Without getting too geeky, these 4 bottles represent different regions in Bordeaux, France. Unlike the Barolo above which is made from a single grape (Nebiolo), Bordeaux is always blended from 5 different grapes in differing ratios: Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The Cab Sauv gives Bordeaux it's "muscle", the Merlot gives it it's softness and fruitiness the others are typically used for additional complexity and texture. Not cheap here - each of the below bottles cost at least $30 - some approaching $45. Wow. But if you're going to drink lots of wine, it's nice to know what exists at the upper end of the spectrum. Because this was so long ago, I forget what exactly we served with it, but if memory does serve I believe it was a grilled rack of lamb with roasted potatoes. And in both tastings, what makes it most enjoyable is having good friends over to help get through the bottles.




As you can tell, when we host wine parties, it's always with grilled food. Why is that? I guess it takes me back to my MSU days with brats and burgers and a tiny Hibachi and a keg of Busch. I guess this is the adult version of that!

Happy drinking!