Enjoyable wines during a Hurricane!

 

This morning I had to go out and detach my BBQ from the side of my patio, look at the damage it had done to the siding, and think ‘Is it too early to start drinking wine’?   I am writing this blog on a Saturday morning as Halifax gets walloped by Hurricane Arthur.    So it got me thinking on a play on words, and as we sit through the first Hurricane of the season, here are some wines that may do us well throughout the fall.

From De Bortoli in Australia, comes this lovely Pinot Noir called Windy Peak!  Very fitting for today.  And very fitting if you’re serving chicken or pork this evening.  A great Pinot Noir from Australia with vibrant cherry flavors, soft tannins, and a very well-balanced wine.  It’s light to medium bodied, so it’s perfectly fine to drink as you sit and watch your barbecue go flying across your patio.

From Australia once more comes a more full-bodied wine to enjoy during Hurricane Arthur.  Many of us woke up this morning with things going bang!   Ooops, did I forget to tie down those patio chairs.   Whiz Bang Shiraz from the Barossa Valley in Australia is one of the best around that $20 mark.   Full rich fruit, with hints of vanilla, cherry, spice and some oak.   If you’ve got Pulled Pork in the crock pot today, here’s your wine.  This is one of my favorite BBQ wines, because it will go well with any piece of meat you throw on the grill, but that’s probably not happening today.

   

Here’s a couple of great wines from the same family.  Dreaming Tree, fitting, as many of us sit here dreaming those trees don’t come crashing down.  These wines are from a vineyard owned by the great musician Dave Matthews.   The Dreaming Tree Chardonnay is a rich full-bodied white wine, buttery and creamy, with notes of citrus and spice.   This Chardonnay is one of the food friendliest wines in my wine rack.  And the red is one of my favorites.  A blend of Merlot and Syrah, it’s full-bodied with gorgeous round flavors of plums, spice and a hint of mocha.  My God this is a great BBQ wine as well, and since tomorrow is calling for sunny skies and temperatures around the mid-20’s, you may want to pick up a bottle.

And last but certainly not least, I couldn’t do a wine blog about Hurricane Arthur without the Arthur Metz Brut Prestige Cremant D’Alsace from France.  A dry sparkling wine to enjoy on this windy day.  It a delightful blend of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris and was named as one of the Top 10 sparkling wines at a competition recently.  Apple and pear flavors with a gorgeous effervescence, sparkling wines go great with a list of foods.  Smoked salmon, all fish and shellfish, and one of the very few wines that go well with popcorn and potato chips.

Till next week, stay safe and enjoy some great wine.

Darlene