New Year New Wines!

Do you know what I am doing today?  I’m taking down my Christmas tree and the remaining Christmas decorations.   A tinge of sadness because I really love how my house looks with the Christmas decorations up!

However, I love the beginning of a New Year.  It’s a 365-page blank slate.  And a great time to get out of your wine rut and try some new wines.   About 2 years ago I found I was in a bit of a ‘wine rut’ and decided to try at least 1 new wine per week.  And I’ve kept it up for 2 years and I have found some amazing new wines in all price ranges.  I share some of these new wines as my ‘wine of the week’!  So if you are up for the challenge of trying a new wine, please share with me the experience, as I am always on the lookout for new wines to try.

First I have to share a favorite that I got to enjoy again on New Year’s Eve. I haven’t had the Katnook Founder’s Block Cabernet Sauvignon since I left Newfoundland.  And a group of 10 of us went to a restaurant on New Year’s Eve and it was on the menu so we ordered it.  Delicious.  Made from grapes harvested in their Coonawarra vineyard, this particular Cabernet was generous with fruit flavors but gentle with the tannins.  Which makes it so food friendly, in my opinion.   It’s not a Cabernet that has to go with a big chunk of beef.  Because the wine is softer with the tannins, it went well with the different plates we ordered that night.  I had beef tenderloin so it was a match made in heaven, but it also went really well with the lobster dish, so I was told and the variety of dishes the remainder of our group ordered.

Here was my last new wine of 2016, it was the first bottle we had New Year’s Eve.  The Chakana Malbec hails from Argentina and we enjoyed the 2015 vintage.  It is made by winemaker Gabriel Bloise using 100% Malbec grapes, and is matured in french oak barrels.  This is a great expression of a Malbec from Argentina but it’s a big wine, containing 14% alcohol.  Some may find it a little ‘hot’, or boozy.  (Those are the words I use to describe some of the high alcohol wines I try).   In a store, this wine is around $20 a bottle, and good value for the money.

And now for my wine of the week…..

A brand new Zinfandel, it comes from the Puglia region in Italy, where Zinfandel is normally called Primitivo, but they have named in Zinfandel.  I was a little hesitant at first becuase it was aged in ‘Double American Oak’.  I was concerned that the oak would overpower the fruit, but I worried for nothing.  That didn’t happen and the wine was fantastic.  Gorgeous inviting fruit with notes of peppermint, vanilla and some oak.  But again the oak does not overtake the wine.  Full-bodied and a great wine for ribs, pasta and pizza and I loved the fact it’s around the $20 mark.  A great wine at a great price, and that’s why it made my wine of the week.

I had a wonderful holiday season but one of my favourite gifts came from a friend of mine Who is in Veterinary School in Prince Edward Island.  My regular readers will know that I had a cat named Tigger for 20 years.   He died in April 2016.  My friend Kelsey  had an artist do you his portrait on a wine glass.   All the gifts I received from family and friends were wonderful but this one definitely holds a special place in my heart.  A big thank you to my friend Kelsey!

Well there is stormy weather brewing in Atlantic Canada.  But I’m not worried, my wine rack is fully stocked.

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene