Wines from France
Nov 18
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From the label: ‘This elegant Vouvray is supple and balanced, with notes of ripe apricots, stone and honey. Enjoy chilled with fresh fruits and soft cheeses.’ Price: $14.99 This clear, light pale yellow wine has a very floral bouquet with a strong scent of pears and apples. It’s a sweet, medium-bodied wine with strong tastes […]
Nov 11
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From the label: ‘There are 38 villages entitled to the name Beaujolais-Villages. This wine is tender, wonderfully fruity with the aroma of fresh grapes and when served slightly chilled will compliment most lighter foods.’ This wine is made from Gamay grapes. I believe it was my first foray into this variety and I really didn’t […]
From the label: ‘Created in 1930 by my father, the legendary Baron Philippe, winegrower and poet, Mouton Cadet Rouge combines the Bordeaux winemaking tradition with the values of authenticity and exacting standards that have always been the pride of our family. In an elegant bouquet of flavours, it thus unites several fine appellations of the Bordeaux region, planted with classic grape varieties: Merlot 65%, Cabernet Sauvignon 20%, Cabernet Franc 15%. Through its balance, roundness and ageing capacity, the fruits of generous Nature and the work of human hands, Mouton Cadet Rouge expresses all the richness and diversity of one of the world’s foremost winegrowing areas.’ – Philippine de Rothschild
Website: http://www.MoutonCadet.com
Price: $10.99
I received this bottle of Bordeaux from my brother as a Christmas gift. He told me that this was on of the first real bottles of wine that he had bought when he first got into wines. He also stated that he always has a bottle of Mouton Cadet in his wine collection to be called upon when he has a bad day. It offers him comfort and he hoped it would do the same for me. I loved the fact that this bottle of wine meant so much to him that he wanted to share it with me and enhance my new found passion for wine.
I decided that I would have this bottle of wine for a special occasion so I chose to have it with a special Valentine’s Day dinner with my love, Matt. I served it with Spaghetti Carbonara and a dessert of Creme Brulee.
This clear, ruby red wine boasts a fruity bouquet of plums, grapes, and vanilla. The taste was full of plums with a hint of vanilla and a slight dash of spiciness. It had a nice light and quick finish as well.
Overall I really liked this wine and have ranked it in my top red wines. I rated this wine at 96 points. I really enjoyed this wine and will do the same as my brother and keep a bottle in my wine rack for those days when I want a dependable wine to celebrate with or comfort me.
Here I would like to introduce you to a new series of posts called ‘Interesting Wine Facts’. This is where I will share a few interesting facts that I’ve learned about wines recently. So without further ado here’s fact #1.
FACT #1: Red wine should be served at a temperature of 65 degrees.
Most people have heard that red wine should be served at room temperature and never put in the fridge. The fact is that in the old days in European wine country that was indeed true and for the most part is still true however, ‘room temperature’ there is different then say here in Florida. If I serve my red wine at room temperature you’re going to get a nice hot wine most of the time.
The fact is that it is best to serve wines at their suggested temperature rather than some arbitrary, nondescript instruction of ‘serve at room temperature’. The actual serving temperature for most red wines is 65 degrees F. If you are in a cooler climate you probably can achieve that by leaving the wine at ‘room temperature’ but if you’re in a warmer climate it’s perfectly okay to put the bottle in the refrigerator for an hour or so, use a bucket of ice to chill it for 15 to 20 minutes, or any other method to get it to reach its optimal temperature. No one is going to take your head off for doing that especially if they really know their wines.
Jan 30
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Hey, guess what? It was my birthday last week! So I figured what better excuse to make a really celebratory meal with an equally celebratory sparkling wine. So being the person I am (one who likes to cook, have a celebration, and enjoy the nice things in life) I proceeded to create the menu for […]
While planning my menu for my birthday celebration last week I decided to make a cheese souffle and with that came some new knowledge (at least to me anyway) that I would like to share with you all.
You see, all of the resources that I looked up in order to see what I should serve along side of my cheese souffle said the same thing – serve with a nice green salad, crusty bread, and a nice champagne or sparkling wine.
With that knowledge I headed off to my local Total Wine and More store to procure that nice bottle of bubbly for my celebration. I told the nice man there what I was making and how it suggested either a nice bottle of champagne or a sparkling champagne to accompany it. He suggested a nice sparkling wine from France.
As he retrieved the bottle for me I had to ask the silly question that was floating around in my head – What’s the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine? I found the answer was simple and along the lines of what I expected.
In France their laws are very strict when it comes to wine making. No one can call their sparkling wine Champagne UNLESS it actually comes from Champagne, France. If you’re even so much as a millimeter outside of Champagne, France you’ve created a sparkling wine! If you want to make a Champagne well then you better move your vines!
As Americans we are pretty much used to calling everything with bubbles Champagne because our laws couldn’t really care less where it’s made and we are just trained to call bubbly Champagne. However, if it doesn’t come from Champagne, France it technically isn’t Champagne….but it is really the same thing.
Italy has a similar law when it comes to their bubbly called Prosecco although technically to our American minds we’d probably call it Champagne too.
While researching this whole thing I found that apparently Prosecco is one of the most consumed bubbly in Italy. They even have a lower end version that they sell to the masses that’s in pop top soda-like cans that is consumed regularly although the quality isn’t going to be like you find in the traditional bubbly-type bottles.
So that’s our little lesson for this week. I hope my learnings have sparked an interest in you to try some bubbly really soon be it Champagne, Sparkling Wine, or Prosecco. I’ve decided that we waste so many opportunities to enjoy a great bubbly because our society says it has to be a special occasion. I think we should all find reasons to celebrate and enjoy the finer things in life. That’s what it’s all about really, isn’t it?
I’ll share my review of the Sparkling Wine that was recommended to me by that nice man at the Total Wine store on Sunday. It just might be a great place for you to start too. 🙂
Ropiteau Pinot Noir 2009 – Southern France/Burgundy
Description from Total Wine & More
“This super value is proof positive. Bright cherry and berry fruit is complemented by earth tones and a smooth soft finish. Enjoy with salmon, chicken, or pork.”
Okay, it’s time for another confession from me….I am a known Merlot addict! You see I tend to love red wines and in particular Merlot but this addiction stems more from inexperience rather than some finely tuned ‘knowledge’. Some time ago I stumbled upon a bottle of Merlot that was nice and ever since then I’ve identified myself as a ‘Merlot person’.
So in an attempt to ‘break out’ of my Merlot addiction I’ve been blindly trying different red wines. This week’s pick was a French wine from the Burgundy region. Why did I pick it? Because it was inexpensive ($8.99) and in the Total Wine & More ‘best sellers’ section.
So now without further ado I will attempt to give you my review of this wine. When I first opened and poured a glass of this Pinot Noir and took a sip I almost poured it down the drain. Why? Because at first taste it was, for lack of a better words, ROUGH and HARSH.
However after letting the wine breathe for a few minutes the character totally changed. It became a quite drinkable wine. It’s a very earthy wine with oaky overtones.
So here’s my overall rating of this wine:
Buzz factor: 9, after two glasses you’ll have a buzz on.
Overall likability: 6, after it was left to breathe a bit it was enjoyable but a little too rough for me. I prefer my wine a little smoother than this.
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