Pink Sparkling Wine

To celebrate Easter & our friend Dave's 40 birthday, we traveled to Denver. Easter morning Michelle & I enjoyed mimosas made with this sparkling wine. It is a Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend. While I did not try it without orange juice, it did taste nice as I enjoyed 4 glasses!

Cameron Hughes Zin

A 2010 Lodi Zin. Lovely sweet cherries, a bit of spicy black pepper. Juicy, bold and full.

I really enjoy the Cameron Hughes wines. Simply Wine had a Cameron Hughes tasting about a year ago. The Lot series is interesting and I try to pick up a bottle whenever I see one. Bottles are typically around $10.99, so slightly above my comfort range but very worthwhile.

Middle Sister Pinot Noir

I found this at Target the other afternoon. Middle Sister is still on sale for $9.99. And as today is pay day I will probably pick up a few more. This was not part of our wine tasting, but I typically like Noirs so I wanted to try it (and the other Middle Sisters we did not taste). This is a nice Pinot. A little fruity and a bit if spice at the finish. Not too dry. This is definitely on my purchase again list.

Apothic White Blend

A beautiful white blend! Part smooth Chardonnay, aromatic Reisling and luscious moscato, come together in a great Tuesday (or Monday) evening wine. I found it at CVS for $9.99. I've had the red blend before so I thought I'd enjoy the white. I was not disappointed. The 3 grapes blend well together. A bit of honey & vanilla bring it together with a slightly spicy finish.

 

 

Visit Apothic's website for more information.

Caparzo Sangiovese Toscana

Final wine from the February wine club. This is one could have been kept for a while, but I forgot about that part until I opened it! This is a nice Italian red blend, mostly Sangiovese, blackberry aroma and taste. Slightly dry finish. Much better the 2nd day. I believe Simply Wine sells this for $14.99, so this is a splurge, but worthwhile. I'd probably keep the next one for a couple of years, just to see ...

Middle Sister Wine Tasting Party

Last evening, my friend Chris hosted a Middle Sister wine tasting party. I saw the idea on the Middle Sister Facebook page. They have it all lined up for you: wines to get, food to serve, tasting notes. The full list if all 12 Middle Sister wines aren't available in Billings, so we did what we could!

 

We started with Drama Queen Pinot Grigio. A beautiful yellow-green, we could really taste the apples and pears. Chris heard about putting your hand over your glass and swirling before smelling or tasting, which really brought out the aroma of those crisp fruits. Tori brought a wonderful appetizer of Gorgonzola, pears, and thyme that went beautifully with the Grigio!

 

Next we moved to the Reds. We blinded the reds as many tend to dismiss the reds thinking they don't like one grape or another.

Our first red was Forever Cool Merlot. We decided this is a "gateway" Merlot. With The taste of summer berries and a hint of vanilla, the clean finish pleased most everyone. This was one of my favorites of the night and is definitely on the purchase again list.

The 2nd red was my top pick for the evening, and it really didn't surprise me as I do love blends. Rebel Red is a blend of 4 grapes: Zin, Merlot, Cab, and Syrah. The fruity taste was similar to the Merlot, but The peppery finish gave it enough oomph to take over the Merlot for me.

 

Our final red of the evening was the Mischief Maker Cabernet Sauvignon. This was a pretty burgundy color with a jammy aroma and dry finish.

 

We ended the evening with the Sweet & Sassy Moscato. This is a typical moscato, sweet and thick with a long finish. I'm not sure the end of the evening was the best time for the moscato as most of us felt it was too sweet at that point. Not sure when would have been the right time for it. I think I would enjoy it more on its own on a hot summer afternoon. We did get a chance to see some great moscato legs though!

The best part about these wines is they retail between $9.99 - $11.99 and can be found at Target and Wal-Mart. Target has the best selection in Billings.

We all had a great time trying the different wines and coming up with the words to describe what we were smelling, tasting and feeling. We learned a more about how to taste and most of us decided that we prefer to just drink wine while enjoying the snacks and great company!

 

Salmon & Trout

New month, new wine club selections and another wine from "The Pairing Collection." (See Chicken & Turkey) this time it's a white Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon blend. The wine has a tropical feel, taste (the bottle mentions grapefruit and apricots) and this time I actually ate it with one of the recommendations: salmon. I made an orange/honey glaze for the salmon. Rocky and I enjoyed the salmon and I think the glaze really brought out the tropical feel of the wine.

I wish I had looked closer at the Chicken & Turkey bottle as this one has a recipe for pecan crusted salmon (or trout).

I didn't check to see what Simply Wine is selling it for, but a quick web search shows it between $8 - $12. I think I would buy this again. It might be fun to do a tasting with all of the varieties.