Uno Mas more please! Review: Cotes du Rhone Villages “Khayyam”‘

I was lucky enough to enjoy a wonderful bottle of red the other night with my roommate from college on her birthday! I brought the bottle for HER technically, but you all know better than to think I wouldn’t insist on perhaps trying a little myself… The bottle came from one of my favorite wine shops: Dave’s Fresh Pasta in Davis Square, Somerville. I truly adore this place for many reasons: wine, chocolate, beet salad (best in town), meats, cheeses pretty much anything you could really need in life, they serve. However, I can’t lie, this isn’t the place to go on the cheap. The shop carries the best, unique treats, from sandwiches to homemade pastas, they’ve got the a most UNIQUE selection around, which is quite true of their wine selection as well.  That means… they don’t really sell to the under $12 per bottle crowd. If you’re looking for a birthday present for someone who loves wine though… this is ideal! (HINT HINT, my birthday is coming up….) Haha.

These are the college roommates: I’m so lucky 3/4 of us enjoyed this bottle together because we live THAT close!  #notreadytobeonmyown 🙂

A Cambridge Cellar (Red White Boston Event!)

This post is brought to you in large part by @RedWhiteBoston, @WholeFoodsRVR and @PantherVin who joined forces to host a really dynamic, interesting and informative wine tasting last week!  The setup for the tasting was simple; RedWhiteBoston knows wine and wine events,  Panther Distributing distributes (yes, you guessed it) wine to the greater Boston area… and WholeFoods on River Street has a wonderful little room with space for wines, appetizers and people!  The evening was attended by people throughout Cambridge and Boston- who really know their wines.  After each tasting, we were asked to “judge” the wines with some fun… albeit vague… badges.  For example “off the beaten vine” and “easy drinking.”  Rarely do I find wines NOT for “easy drinking,” so luckily (for the lushes in the crowd) we were given a ‘cheat sheet’ for appropriate badges per bottle.   In addition to this fun setup, we were also doing out part to help inform the Whole Foods crew which wines to purchase for the store.  Thus, I’d call this, among the most productive of wine tastings I’ve attended 🙂

(apologies for the photos and lack thereof. Mine came out very poorly!)

Fine Wine Experience!

Last weekend, I was very fortunate to be hosted by my boss and his wife at their lovely home on Cape Cod.

Some icing on the cake is that my boss is a connoisseur and collector of excellent, unique wines from around the world.  See, I told you: I’m one lucky girl.  We tasted several incredible bottles over the course of an evening that included a cocktail hour, appetizers, salad and dinner!  The night was capped off with a fantastic video of a classic jazz concert from Pittsburgh (my home town! and the same band that played my mom’s wedding!).  And, if you know me at all, you know that a night of (excellent) wine, shrimp and jazz is probably one of the best nights I could enjoy.  The quality of the wine made the evening all the more unique and celebratory!  (Especially unique as the “aging” I have come to know is more like that in the comic –>)

Mysterious Vino: Morse Code!

I can’t lie: I bought Morse Code for its name and label.  Who wouldn’t!?  Some friends and I started the evening wine tasting at Ball Square Fine Wines!  It’s a weekly tasting,  pretty casual, and I’d totally suggest trying it out!  We tried a variety of wines and then I perused the shelves looking for something fun after that.  Don’t worry (I know you were…), I bought one from the tasting too, but that’ll be another post.

So, onto Morse Code Shiraz!

Viva Vino Italiano!

Small news flash about JuliaUncorked: I don’t normally drink Italian wines.  I’m not even sure why that is. Sometimes I’m just more enthused by the idea of a spicier region, like Chile, Spain or bolder like those in New Zealand and Australia.  I‘m not sure I appropriately appreciate the nuanced, refined balance of fine Italian and French wines.  But perhaps that’s a good reason to try them more often!  In this case, I can’t take credit for “boldly” trying to expand my palette; rather, a dear friend brought this to a party I threw a few weeks ago and *shocker* we DIDN’T drink it! So, lucky me!  Enter: the 2007 Cantina Numa Tolenus Rosso Piceno.

When life delivers wine…

You drink it!  There are certainly drawbacks to being in the office until, say, 9pm.  Sure.  However, I can tell you there is hardly a  situation not improved with a bottle of wine.  Ergo, late in the evening, whilst hard at work, my coworker and I decided that wine would be a fun addition to the work at hand.  Going to GET wine wasn’t really an option- no local wine shop and hey, we had WORK to do!  Enter: foodler.com.  Enter: search term “wine.”  Enter: resounding shout of joy by julia, “WHAT?!  We can get wine delivered!”

Grazie, Graziano!

Long time, no blog!  I haven’t found the time to blog in a while, but that does not mean I haven’t been “researching” plenty (read: drinking delicious wines on regular occasion).  I’m going to try to do a few posts to catch up a bit.  So… the subsequent reviews will be from summer/fall 2010 events.  Luckily, my friends have obliged and joined me for the fun.  So- first up!?  Graziano- a Zinfandel from Mendocino, California!

Drink with Ease…

Last weekend, I tried a Cabernet suggested by my sister that’s both light on  the palate… and light on the wallet.   A very nice combination as it turns out! The wine was the 2006 Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s a well-balanced, light red that went marvelously with a some crudites and chocolate.  Yes, you read that right.  I often have veggies and chocolate in close succession on a regular basis… I’m a girl, what can I say? 

Honoring the World Cup! (with wine, of course)

Recently, I decided to try a South African wine, in part to honor the World Cup that I understand many people have enjoyed.  Not exactly my cup of tea for TV sports?  But that’s alright, I appreciate the game’s athleticism and, ahem, aesthetic qualities.

Without further ado, allow me to introduce the bold….  Goats do Roam Red 2008. Just an editorial note, because it’s hilarious… this is actually a word play on “Cotes du Rhone,” as the vineyard uses a blend of Rhône varieties such as Shiraz, Cinsaut, Carignan and Mourvèdre with a dash of local Pinotage.  The Goats do Roam vineyard now claims a history about an old herd of goats actually selecting the grapes for the first bottles…  I’ll let you decide what to believe.

Fireball Firebelle: Guest Post!

Larkmead Vineyard’s 2007 Firebelle

Angela and Whitney graciously agreed to co-author a wonderful red wine post for me!  They’ve done a fabulous job and I trust had some fun in the process.   They tasted an interesting blend from a vineyard in Central California with dynamic bits of soil that make for very different varietals: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.  As for the rest, I’ll let you read the review!

Firebelle Blend