Comfort Food – Comforting Wines

This is a picture of my home town…. Corner Brook Newfoundland.  A gorgeous place to be in the Autumn of the year.  Last week we welcomed the Fall with some comfort food and great wines.  And I said I would expand on that again this week.  So, as I sit in my sunny den looking at sunshine and temperatures of 24-degrees, it feels more like Summer than Fall.  As a matter of fact, I have used my air conditioners more in September than I did in July.  But regardless of what the thermometer says, it’s still Fall, and I’m going to enjoy the summer-like temperatures while I can, because I know before too long, it will look like this.

The annual Port of Wines Festival is taking place this weekend in Halifax.  I’m going tonight and I’m really excited, because I was visiting my hometown this time last year and missed this great wine festival.

As you can see, this year they are celebrating France, and the theme is ‘A Place for Every Taste’.   I am so excited to be tasting some new wines from France.  My friend Anthony told me yesterday he stays away from France, because he never knows what it is he is buying.  And I have to admit…. France can be very confusing if you don’t know the signature grapes from each region.  But my goodness, they have been making wine for a very long time and they are so very good at it.  In my next wine blog I’m going to be sharing the new wines I discovered at the show, but for this week I thought I would share some of my favorites in every price range.

In case you missed last week’s blog, this great wine for the great price of $16.99 is a beautiful blend of Grenache, Syrah and Merlot.  It’s a flavorful medium bodied wine that goes great with BBQ ribs, chicken done on the BBQ and although I don’t eat duck, for those of you that do, I understand this wine to be a great match.

Here’s a new wine from France that I tried this past week.  Yum.  First of all, I love wines from the Right Bank of Bordeaux.  They are Merlot dominant.  Bordeaux is always a blend, and if from the Left Bank tends to be Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, with Merlot added most times.  Right bank – Merlot dominant and usually some Cab added as well.  Bordeaux produces some of the most expensive wines in the world, but this reasonably priced beauty comes in at $23.99 and packs a flavorful punch.  Plum and vanilla flavors, it has some complexity which will go well with any pasta dish you want to serve.  And when I think comfort food, I think pasta.  Yum

If you love Malbec as much as I do, you’ll love this one.  Know that if you are in the French section, and the red wine is from Cahors, it’s a Malbec.  This beauty from Chateau Famaey is grown on older vines, is shown special care by being handpicked, and is aged for 2 full years in French oak.  This wine has layers and definitely a wine I would decant.  This is a great wine to go with that tasty beef stew you have in the slow cooker or any steak you throw on the grill.

If you’re buying a red wine from the Burgundy region, unless its Beaujolais – which would be labeled as Beaujolais, it’s Pinot Noir!  And Burgundy produces some of my favorite Pinot Noir wines.  However, if you’re picking a white wine, you are buying a Chardonnay.  This Burgundian Chardonnay from Thomas Bachelder is rich and dreamy and the perfect accompaniment for seafood or poultry.  I can’t eat seafood, allergic, so that’s why I’m not great at pairing wines with seafood, except what my training has taught me.  But chicken… let me tell you, I know chicken!  And everything from turkey to roast chicken, to your favorite chicken dish in sauce, this wine will match very well.

Well, that’s it for this week.  Next week will feature all brand new wines, that I’m trying for the first time tonight.

Till then, Cheers

Darlene