December is almost here… and it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.. So many opportunities to enjoy some great wines. Decorating the tree, putting up lights, Christmas cooking.. no matter what you’re doing to get ready for the holidays, here are some of my favorites. Remember though, please do not drink and drive. This is only for chores around the house, when you know you are home for the night.
Looking for a wine while you’re decorating the Christmas tree? Here’s a new wine I tried this past week. The Wolf Blass Gold Label Shiraz from the Barossa Valley in Australia. This is on for a fabulous price right now where I live, but even if it’s not on sale, pick it up, you won’t be disappointed. I just went back and got two more. The Barossa Valley and Shiraz seem to go hand in hand, and here’s one of the reasons why. It’s elegant, well-balanced and full of flavor with rich fruit and some spice. Some people don’t like Shiraz because of the spice. Those people should try this wine, as the spice doesn’t dominate the wine. An Australian Shiraz is also a wine I like with grilled pork, pork tenderloin, pulled pork and a whole variety of meat dishes other than pork. And who am I kidding? This wine was delicious all by itself.
Here’s another Australian Shiraz I’ve tried recently. Koonunga Hill from Penfolds. I love Penfolds wine and this attractively priced Shiraz is so easy to drink, it will become a regular in your wine rack.
Do you have Christmas cooking to do? Christmas cookies to bake? Well, do I have the Riesling for you. Tried this Thursday evening, with my friend Rayell. The Wachenheimer Riesling from Villa Wolf. This Riesling comes from a single-vineyard site, called Königswingert (“King’s Vineyard”), but is labeled only with the village name. I dare you to have a couple of glasses of wine and say Königswingert three times fast.. heck, say it once fast. When I pick a Riesling, I have to confess I don’t normally head to the German section. I love Riesling, and I’ve recently picked up the Wakefield Riesling from Australia, and I’m looking forward to trying that one. Some German Rieslings tend to be a little too much petrol for me. This one I really liked. A little petrol on the nose, but no sign of it on the palate. It has a real good full mouth feel, its elegant, and very yummy.
Every once in a while, a wine comes along that blows my mind. I had such a wine this past week. It’s the Pierre Andre Mersault. This is from the famous Cote de Beaune region of France, and is composed of 100% Chardonnay grapes. I looked at Rayell when I bought the wine to my nose and said ‘Wow, that is aromatic’. Rich intense aromas of peaches, lemon and a hint of vanilla. From my reading, I learned that 80% of this wine spent 13 months in French oak. No one does subtle oak quite the way the French wine makers so it. They have mastered the art of subtle oak that enhances a wine. And my favorite part was the persistent finish, this wine stayed on the tongue and I kept enjoying it for moments after. Treat yourself this Christmas to this wine. You’ll be happy you did.
I saw this sign this past week, and had to share it with all my friends at the Larry Uteck NSLC. I thought it fit me perfectly.
That’s it for this week, I love a week when there are all new wines. And as the regular readers can tell, I do drink more red than white, especially in the winter, so a wine blog featuring mostly whites is nice.
Drink responsibly and have fun. Till next week, Cheers
Darlene
Wine-It’s Just My Opinion 