Our Diary
May 5th, 2009
Let’s get a little back ground on the concept first. If we rewind to April 14th you will see three close friends on a couch enjoying cuisine expertly prepared. The first bottle of wine an average Chardonnay, we drank and enjoyed both. Then a wonderful dark chocolate was brought out and with it a Sherry Creme to accompany it. While enjoying the chocolate and sherry the three of thought wouldn’t it be great if we got together more often and enjoyed wonderful parings like this! So thus was born The WineKeepers Club and this our diary.
April 16, 2008
Our first adventure… We have decided to take turns in our small group of six, each team of two will prepare the fare for the evening.
Food for the evening… Blocked Cheeses: Parmesan, Gouda and Gorgonzola; Fresh Grapes and Cantaloupe; and fillet Mignon toast points with a sun dried tomato & shallot bed (awesome).
Wine for the evening… NV Silkwood Cab/Shiraz, 2006 Menage a trois (Cab, Zin & Merlot blend), 2006 Giesen Riesling and a 2006 Tobin James Sauvignon Blanc
We took our time paring each wine with some of the food. Our first wine was paired with the cheeses and we found that if you took the Gouda and placed it on a wheat cracker with a little honey that the pairing was perfect! Our second wine was the Giesen Riesling, we paired this with the fruit, we found that the fruit made it seem dryer and that it was best suited for the grapes. Our Third wine was the Silkwood, it’s velvety texture was amazing with our main appetizer the fillet toast points. We found ourselves wishing we had more!! Last but not least we saved some toast points for the Menage a trois. WOW this is now my favorite red economy wine. At a mere $9 a bottle it was phenomenal with the fillet on toast points. We sat there that night very content and happy with ourselves. We had learned that Gouda on a wheat cracker with honey is awesome and came away with a recipe that is sure to impress anyone!! So take this recipe with you and impress your next dinner party!!
Olive Shallots thin 1/3 C, Chop sun dried tomatoes in oil 1/4 C, 1tsp olive oil, 1 tsp of chopped garlic, saute these items together for one minute, add 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, and saute until caramelized, add 3 tbsp red wine vinegar and heat until absorbed. Remove from heat. Toast bread drizzled with olive oil and salt/pepper. Grill fillet until med rare, slice fillet and top bread with first the shallots and then the fillet. Serve! It’s awesome!!
Winekeeper’s Night – April 2009
Wine Host: CruZin’
Food Host: PetitePetit
Theme – Favorite Wines of the Napa Valley
How we chose our favorites: We sent a survey to our Winekeepers to find out their favorite wine type, and place they would choose to wine taste. The winners were a range of reds from Pinot Noir to Cabernet. The winning area was a tie between Napa and Paso Robles.
How we chose the specific wines: By a spark of inspiration CruZin’ was given a bottle of Dante for a party as a gift and in some research, found a whole wealth of wines and so our four non-dessert selections were all from the Michael Pozzan Winery labels.
So the Winekeepers gathered, tasted, talked and found some tasty wines!
Here is our overall ratings for each wine:
Pozzan 2007 Back Barn Zin – 4
Dante 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve – 4
Quady Muscat Dessert Wine – 4
Annabella 2006 Merlot – 3
Michael Pozzan Winery 2006 Pinot Noir: Special Reserve– 1 before food, 2 after food
The Winekeepers Tasting Notes
#1 – Michael Pozzan Winery 2006 Pinot Noir: Special Reserve ($15.99 at BevMo)
Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 14.5%
Color/Appearance: Cherry colored with hints of brown
Aroma: Alcohol, Blackberry, Woody, fruiter the longer it sat
Taste: Tart, Acidic, Lots of Alcohol, Not so Fruity
Body: Light
Finish: Short
Score: 1 before food, 2 after food
Paired with: Summer Salad (corn, tomato, onion, basil, rice wine vinegar). The salad was a good complement and made the wine more earthy and we liked it better.
#2 – Annabella 2006 Merlot ($11.99 at BevMo)
Grape Variety: 97% Merlot, 3% Cabernet
Alcohol: 14.5%
Color/Appearance: Blackberry, a darker red
Aroma: Fruity, Juicy Fruits, Floral
Taste: Floral, Fruity
Body: Medium
Finish: Medium
Score: 3
Paired with: Vincent Gouda (from Whole Foods Market). The wine really enhanced the taste of the cheese, which we really liked.
#3 – Pozzan 2007 Back Barn Zin ($14.99 at BevMo)
Grape Variety: ???
Alcohol: 14.9%
Color/Appearance: Plum
Aroma: Lemon Pepper
Taste: Fruity, Tart
Body: Full
Finish: Medium
Score: 4
Paired with: Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup. We loved the soup and we loved the wine with the soup!
#4 – Dante 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ($10-15???)
Grape Variety: ???
Alcohol: 14.9%
Color/Appearance: Plum, Burgundy, Brown
Aroma: Subtle, Fruit
Taste: Fruity, Tart
Body: Full
Finish: Medium
Score: 4
Paired with: Pasta with Vodka Sauce. Didn’t really match but we loved the sauce of the pasta. The pasta devalued the Cabernet that we loved a lot.
#5 – Quady Muscat Dessert Wine ($10.99)
Grape Variety: Black Muscat
Alcohol:
Color/Appearance: Pale Garnet
Aroma: Baby Powder, Perfume
Taste: Cranberry without the tart taste, prunes
Body: Full
Finish: Long
Score: 4
Paired with: Dark Chocolate. Makes it more “wine-y”