+2007 Beringer Chenin Blanc

Today we had our Thanksgiving dinner, Erin and Maria came over. When they were picking out a wine for our lunch I mentioned that I thought we should open the Sauvignon Blanc. Between Maria and Andy a bottle was placed in the fridge. When it was time to open it and serve I grabbed it. I realized that it was Chenin Blanc and in fact we didn't have any Sauvignon Blanc. Anyway I opened it up. It was good! I liked it a lot with the food, typical Thanksgiving fare. Later this afternoon I had a glass without food and it was so much more dry. I liked it but I think if we aren't having turkey dinner I'll have to find something else to enjoy it with. Everyone seemed to like it. I've not seen Erin and Maria have a second glass of wine before but they each did. Yummy! BevMo. CHEERS!

+2007 Talus Chardonnay

This wine is SSOOO heavenly with Gruyere! I discovered it by accident when I was cooking with both and tasted them together!!! Serendipity! I can't wait for an occasion to turn this into a treat. :) Nugget Market $6(ish). CHEERS!

++2007 Anaba Pinot Noir

We have found a new winery that we LOVE and not least of all, we like their Pinot Noir! This is amazing because we have never tasted a Pinot that we like and this was bad especially because we hail from the Willamette Valley!
I visited this winery with Erin and Maria a few weeks ago and brought home their blend, Red Coriol and the Pinot Noir. Last night we went all out for a Pinot meal and it was fabulous!
As an appetizer we had Chevre and bread as well as Caprese Salad. The Pinot was really good with both, it cut the 'gamey' taste of the Chevre and enhanced the wonderful taste of the Caprese.
For our entree I made a Pinot Noir reduction with shallots and mushrooms, this accompanied fillet Mignon that we grilled. The steak was superb, my opinion was that the sauce was delightful but too much when trying to drink the wine as well. My vote was for one or the other. On the side was buttery mashed potatoes and green beans.
After the kids went to bed we tasted white chocolate and strawberries, which had been recommended. Of course we liked them together but with the wine wasn't good. We really didn't like the berries with the wine, the chocolate was okay.
In summary I'd say that we really like the wine with the appetizer and steak! YUMMY! Anaba Winery, Sonoma, $25. CHEERS!

Addendum: The Pinot Noir that I bought to make the reduction was Black Mountain 2008 Pinot Noir Painted Ridges. We did not like it for drinking! Trader Joes $6.

2005 Bolla Valpolicella

Andy & I bought this wine several months ago because we were wanting to try something different and Alyssa recommended it to us. I recently got a bolognese recipe from her and thought this would be a great time to try out this tasty Italian red. Our first course was Caprese salad and the wine was delicious with this! Next we had the pasta and bolognese sauce, it was very good paired with that also. We will certainly have this wine again sometime and definitely with the Caprese salad! BevMo $14.99 (ish). CHEERS!

Charles Shaw Collection

We were at Trader Joe's the other week and saw this winery had their wine on sale for $1.99 per bottle! Well, how can you pass that up? We tried three different ones and liked them all.
2008 Chardonnay was good. We had it with some sort of chicken, I can't remember. Not my fav Chardonnay but drinkable.
2007 Merlot also was tasty. We had this with our flank steak and it was definitely drinkable. I'd buy this one again if I were having to pinch pennies.
2007 White Zinfandel very good. I opened this the other evening to sip on after dinner and to watch a movie. Great sipping wine! Will buy this over and over again! CHEERS!

+ 2007 Talus Chardonnay

Before we moved down to wine country we heard crazy stories about wine at the market being 3.99 or so and we thought "ya, not good wine". Well the other day we found this vineyard and bought a couple bottles to check it out. It is good! This is a sipping wine- bright and fresh with notes of green apple and citrus. I don't remember what we ate with it but we will buy this again! Nugget Market, $3.99. CHEERS!

+ 2006 Pepperwood Grove Viognier

Vinted and bottled right here in Napa, this wine is smooth and a bit sweet. Not really sweet as much as it doesn't bite. I saw an article in Everyday Food Mag about Viognier and then she suggested a couple of recipes to pair with it. One of the recipes was this sauteed chicken in an herbed butter sauce. The recipe was amazingly tasty and the wine was a good match. CHEERS!

+ 2006 Talus Merlot

We discovered this Lodi, CA winery at Nugget Market a month or so ago. We had heard of really inexpensive wine at the store down in wine country but we had no idea! This Merlot is smooth and doesn't have a bitter after-taste. We will repeat! CHEERS!

+ 2006 Pepperwood Grove Pinot Grigio

I liked this wine, we had it with chicken (I think). The flavors are lite- floral, lemon, yellow apple and white peach. Grown and bottle in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. I remember liking this but don't remember much about it, I think we'll try it again. Then I'll add to my post. CHEERS!

+/- 2005 Pepperwood Grove Shiraz

This wine is pretty good. Nothing wrong with it but we have our Cline Syrah that we love so much, it's hard to have a second. It is a South Eastern Australia wine. CHEERS!

+ 2007 Late Harvest Moscato

I picked this bottle up at Trader Joe's for Thanksgiving and we didn't get around to opening it up for a while. When we did, I looked up what would be good to pair with it and I found, possibly, the most sinful dessert we have had yet!!! We had this Paso Robles Estate bottled Muscat with peaches and cream and it was DELICIOUS! We haven't had it since but it is there in the back of my mind for the really special occasions. Trader Joe's. CHEERS!

+/- 2007 Snoqualmie Riesling

This Riesling is the 'Winemaker's Select'. It is from Columbia Valley, Washington. I love Riesling and thought this one was okay. It is very sweet. We had it with pork the other night that had a peach, ginger glaze. Then last night we had it with gouda, pear and crusty Italian bread. Being so sweet it seemed to turn to honey in my mouth when paired with the gouda. I didn't care for that...too thick and sweet. However, with the pear and bread the wine took on a bit of a spice that was nice. Andy said he thought the same thing. All in all, we loved the gouda, pear and bread and thought next time we'll try another Riesling. Nugget Market, $8.99. CHEERS!