Wine Wednesday - Talmage Cabernet Sauvignon

I have a confession to make, I actually don't like Cabernet Sauvignon wine. I know since Sideways, it is easy to 'dis' on Merlot and bow to the power of Pinot Noir but to me Cabernet Sauvignon should be put in the same class as Chardonnay. This class is the 1980s and these wines should be stowed away with your neon green leg warmers, parachute pants, Def Lepard paraphernalia, and the A-team (wait there making a movie out of the A-team).

Truthfully I've only ever enjoyed one Cabernet Sauvignon and that was made by the Gallo brothers. Yes, those Gallo brothers of the six gallon jug of wine your Mom and Dad used to drag home for the holidays in the 1980s. However, if you make enough crappy wine your bound to grow a few nice grapes and the Gallo Reserve winery stuff is pretty good.

So how did this weeks wine hold up. Not well, the wine was a little over tannic and left a bitter aftertaste. So I'm going to have to give it a 3.2 out of 5.

Wine Wednesday - McKenna Sauvignon Blanc

This weeks wine is a 2009 McKenna Sauvingnon Blanc from the north coast of California. As you can tell by its name Sauvignon Blanc is a white wine, the grape is green in color and is ind indigenous to the Bordeaux region of France. An interesting note is that this grape was paired with Cabernet Franc to create the Cabernet Sauvignon grape in the 19th century. The wine is usually described as fresh or crisp.

I would definitely say this wine fit the bill of crisp. It was excellent for a hot summer day in south Texas, especially if it has been allowed to chill. We paired it with pasta, red sauce, and salad. The fruity taste paired well with the olives in the red sauce. I give it a 4.3.

Wine Wednesday - Wine Tasting

Supermom, hosted a wine tasting this weekend. We survived five types of wine (1 white, 1 rose, and 3 reds) seen below. Each wine was paired with different types of food. I have ordered the wine in my preference and listed their pairings


This is what the evening started out like.


Food Pairings - Apple, smoked salmon, Jarlsberg - maybe I just liked this one because of the lox but was a good wine. A very refreshing wine and maintains a good balance without being too heavy. Nice wine for relaxing with.


cherries, mushroom spread with garlic bread, Gorgonzola (although Supermom suggests may be better with Morbier). I've already blogged about this wine


Food pairing: prunes, dark chocolate, Romano. This went best with the Romano although some others liked the dark chocolate. The kids ate most of the prunes so ended up being a humorous day as they spent a good deal of the day running to the restroom.
Food Pairing: Buttered popcorn, pumpkin and apple mouse, brie. I liked the popcorn better than the wine for this one but then I'm biased against most Chardonnays as being over done in the 80s and drunk by women with enough hairspray do have their own atmosphere.


Food pairing: raspberry, sweet potato fries, sharp cheddar. The wine sucked but the sweet potato fries were pretty good. I'm also biased against most Syrahs as I just don't like the tast of the grape and most wineries don't seem to get these right.

Of course after a wonderful evening of wine tasting (and playing for the kids) we ended up like this.