At some point (two Boston Wine Expos ago I believe), I tasted several dreadful sparklers . One was a sparkling white zinfandel (I'm fairly sure it's Beringer, and I wouldn't recommend it), another was a sparkling Shiraz. In any event, despite loving sparkling wine in general (and I'm not opposed to sweet or unsophisticated!) these two wines left me cold.
As will happen when you drink 100+ samples of wine in a few hours, I mixed up the name of the sparkling Shiraz and Banfi Rosa Regale, a delicious frizzante--lightly sparkling--red dessert/aperitif wine we had last night at Icarus. I was denouncing the Rosa Regale during one course and loving it in the next. I'm not too proud to admit I was wrong!
And I was wrong--the Rosa is a sweet and fruity treat, great with the peach compote/poundcake combination it was paired with, but also delicious with the decadent chocolate cake I had. It's low in alcohol and gorgeous in color. And it definitely has a celebratory tingle. Drink it with a smile!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
Lightly Chilled Beaujolais and Date Night!
Mike and I had a hell of a good time last night.
We'd gotten some lamb chops at the grocery store...which I let sit in a cup or so of Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages 2005, five or so garlic cloves (minced roughly), good olive oil, a little apple cider vinegar, some salt and pepper.
While that was marinating, I made panzanella (an Italian bread salad--the bread is toasted in olive oil--with shallots, tomatoes, cucumbers, red and green peppers, plenty of fresh basil, and a yummy mustard vinaigrette). Letting that sit, I threw the lamb chops in the broiler (if we ever get a house, a grill is absolutely a must!). We had that spread with the Louis Jadot Beaujolais, lightly chilled (maybe half an hour in the fridge). Not the most complex of wines of course, but the fruity flavors really paired nicely with the pepper and sweetness in the salad. I also liked the contrast of the intense earthiness in the lamb chops with the slightly rustic flavor of the wine. By far the best red wine drinking experience I've had in the summer months.
If you're curious, the recipe for the panzanella is here (I changed the red onions to shallots and left out the capers).
We'd gotten some lamb chops at the grocery store...which I let sit in a cup or so of Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages 2005, five or so garlic cloves (minced roughly), good olive oil, a little apple cider vinegar, some salt and pepper.
While that was marinating, I made panzanella (an Italian bread salad--the bread is toasted in olive oil--with shallots, tomatoes, cucumbers, red and green peppers, plenty of fresh basil, and a yummy mustard vinaigrette). Letting that sit, I threw the lamb chops in the broiler (if we ever get a house, a grill is absolutely a must!). We had that spread with the Louis Jadot Beaujolais, lightly chilled (maybe half an hour in the fridge). Not the most complex of wines of course, but the fruity flavors really paired nicely with the pepper and sweetness in the salad. I also liked the contrast of the intense earthiness in the lamb chops with the slightly rustic flavor of the wine. By far the best red wine drinking experience I've had in the summer months.
If you're curious, the recipe for the panzanella is here (I changed the red onions to shallots and left out the capers).
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