Over the weekend we traveled out to Seattle, WA to get acquainted with the Pacific Northwest. Not only did we find beautiful weather and scenery but there was also wine there! On our first day we took the ferry out to Bainbridge Island and were delighted to happen upon a couple wine shops.
We purchased this Lodi Zinfandel during the BevMo 5cent sale. (http://www.bevmo.com) I have heard that Lodi is the Zin capital of CA so I had to check it out! According to the Lodi website, http://www.lodiwine.com/vineyards/old-vine-zinfandel, the wines are known for their “intense red and black fruit flavors of cherries, raspberries, and blackberries.” The BevMo description of this wine recommends pairing a strong cheese so I figured the Gruyere would fit the bill. We’ve used this cheese once before at the very beginning of WineAndCheeseFriday and I remember it being a little too intense for me. (http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/46997403195/pinot-noir-and-gruyere-sunday-march-24-things) Let’s see if my palate has changed?
For this week’s entry, we’ll comment on some of our favorite entries this year. I’ve been enjoying the “new flavors” and noticeable reactions that have happened in a couple of our past entries; these are the ones I chose for my selections. Neil has had a couple where he exclaimed about the pairings, so I chose these entries for his favorites. They are listed in order of Maria’s Favorites, entries 1-3 and Neil’s Favorites, 3-5, with the overlap being Entry 3.
We purchased this wine a couple weeks back at Cline Cellars, http://clinecellars.com. Cline was an impromptu stop after visiting Morton’s Warm Springs, for a day away from our “SF summer” (www.mortonswarmsprings.com) Our friends, Sabrina and Geoff, have visited Cline Cellars a few times and they were excited to share it with us. It didn’t hurt that Cline offers complimentary tastings.
A few weeks back, we went to Lake Tahoe to visit some friends. Our friend Pam is who introduced me to wines, so I figured I should thank her by bringing a nice bottle of wine from work. (www.winerycollective.com)
I purchased the Boccalino wine back in May at Enoteca Vino Nostro. (http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/86667854043/enoteca-vino-nostro-wine-class-my-friend-karen) I asked Maria, the sales associate, which white wine would be smooth and creamy, maybe aged in oak? She said Italian wines aren’t really like that but recommended the Boccalino as something that would be easier to handle than the Vermentino wines I’ve tried in the past. Funny thing is that when I researched this wine online, it said it was the “midweek wine for when you don’t really want to think about wine.” So let’s see what this mystery wine actually tastes like.