Tasting Room Series

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Wine of the Week: 2008 Lenz Merlot

April 8, 2015 in Tasting Room Series, Travel, wine by traveleatlove | No comments

Wow is the word for this wine. Earlier in the week we debated on whether or not to open one of our beautiful new white or rose wines and decided against it because it was cold, windy, and raw. We reached into our cellar and found one of the last bottles from our North Fork Long Island wine trip, a 2008 Merlot from Lenz..  It was a very good choice, but now I want more.

Lenz Merlot

Garnet in color, this wine is a rare gem, with round bursts of black and overripe plum, a little bit of dust, earth, and black pepper. It is absolutely delicious. It’s the kind of wine to help that transition between winter and reluctant spring, and it would be perfect with a slow cooked meal like pulled pork or a hearty soup.

If you have read this blog in the past couple of years, you know I love Long Island wine and wine country, especially this time of year. For information on a spectacular North Fork Long Island wine country getaway, check out some of these posts from the archives:

Greenport, NY – Harborfront Inn, Noah’s, and Blue Canoe

Cross Sound Ferry to the North Fork – a delightful way to travel for a weekend getaway from the Boston area

Kontokosta Winery

Wine Tasting in Long Island – Sparkling Pointe, Shinn Vineyards, and Croteaux

Harbes Farm

Touring and Tasting at the Beautiful Bedell Cellars

Tags: Greenport, Long Island, merlot, North Fork, Travel, wine, wine blog, wine of the week

Wine of the Week: 2012 Two Shepherds Mourvèdre

February 26, 2015 in Tasting Room Series, wine by traveleatlove | 1 comment

We finally left the house this Saturday for a reason other to go to work. This winter has definitely put a wrench in many social plans, so it was a refreshing, wonderful change to get out for errands, a tasting at Night Shift Brewing, and dinner at the gorgeous home of my favorite wine PR maven and her family, including the cutest baby boy ever.

We tend to stock up on our favorite wines and bring wine along whenever we visit friends, and this time, without even knowing what was for dinner, the wine we brought turned out to be a perfect pairing.

porchetta and Mourvedre

I can honestly say that the Two Shepherds 2012 Mourvèdre we brought is one of the best wines I have tasted all year, and it was amazing with the porchetta with homemade sausage that we feasted on. The wine was a beautiful light, raspberry/violet color, and it reminded me of a Pinot Noir, making it excellent for the pork. The nose was simply gorgeous, again, raspberry and cranberry, aromas that had me going back to the glass again and again to breathe it in. The wine’s slight peppery notes brought out the fennel in the sausage in the loveliest way. This wine is so elegant and refined but juicy and bright at the same time. I am seriously in love with it. Two Shepherds wines are not available in many stores yet, but you can buy the wine online here. The winemaker also happens to be one of the nicest people I know and has kindly introduced us to so much of his Sonoma County, wineries and restaurants we might not have found ourselves. I believe tasting is by appointment only at this point, but well worth it if you can make it happen.

Our hosts are cooking through the Jerusalem cookbook, and I wish I had taken more photos of dinner. They made the Butternut Squash and Tahini Spread with homemade bread. . . to die for. While there I thumbed through the Jerusalem vegetable cookbook as well, and I decided I definitely need to have it. I have been craving creative veggie dishes, and it is just perfect. I can bet that most of them will go well with this Mourvèdre.

Have you discovered any delicious food and wine pairings lately?

Tags: mourvedre, rhone, Two Shepherds wine, wine, wine and food pairing, wine of the week, wine tasting, Wine Wednesday

Wine of the Week: Anna de Codorníu Brut Rosé

February 18, 2015 in Tasting Room Series, wine by traveleatlove | No comments

Sparkling pine wine is always in season, in my opinion. I don’t care if it’s 90 degrees and sunny (Please God, make it 90 and sunny someday soon.), pouring rain on a dark Spring day (I’ll take rain at this point!), or snowing and blustery on a freezing cold Valentine’s Day.

I had the great joy of visiting my family this weekend for Valentine’s Day. My mom put together a feast of lobsters and filets and brownies, and I picked out a pretty pink wine for the occasion.

Anna Codorniu Brut Rose

Anna de Codorníu Brut Rosé is a beautiful and festive cava that is also a great value at around $15.  The pink bottle was just the icing on the cake when it came to this Valentine’s Day wine.

Notes of bright summer strawberry, citrus, and minerals all wrap up in a very bubbly bubbly with nice acidity, making this cava, like many others, a perfect food wine. The acidity made it go really well with buttery lobster but also with red meat, and worked well right through to chocolate brownies. It’s a fun, versatile wine that could very easily become our house sparkling wine.

I definitely recommend an affordable bottle of bubbly in the snow as a mid-winter pick-me-up!

Did you eat or drink anything special on Valentine’s Day?

Tags: Anna Codorniu, cava, rose wine, Spanish wine, sparkling rose, sparkling wine, wine, wine of the week

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