Viognier

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What a heavy week. The anniversary of the Boston Marathon brought a lot of heavy heartedness to the city, and another suspicious backpack brought flashbacks and nerves. I hope the rest of the week brings peace and cheers and at worst sore muscles as we look forward to welcoming the Boston Marathon back.

Before the week began, I got away to enjoy some seriously warm temperatures (80 degrees!) and belated birthday celebrations with my family in NJ. Originally we planned on going out to dinner, but when the weather turned out to be perfect, we decided to grill at my sister’s.

I knew I wanted a luscious white for sipping on the backyard swing while my brother-in-law kindly cooked dinner, and I was pretty sure it had to be a Viognier. Luckily the Wine Chateau, a store near my mom, offered a good selection, including my choice, this 2010 Fess Parker Viognier from Santa Barbara County.

Fess Parker Viognier

Just as you would expect from a Viognier, this wine was full of stone fruit flavor like ripe peaches. The mouth feel on a Viognier is such a huge part of its beauty, and this one certainly had weight, along with slight oak and vanilla notes. This Viognier goes perfectly with sunshine. I also highly recommend pairing it with a grilled dinner.  We had a serious feast of grilled shrimp, chicken sausage, lobster, mushrooms, asparagus, corn, and salad, followed by homemade chocolate ice cream. It was pretty much the best birthday dinner I could have asked for, and it was a nice preview of summer.

grilled lobster

Tags: Summer wine, Viognier, wine, wine and food, wine and food pairings, wine of the week, wine pairing, wine tasting

Good Monday, friends! I say it every week, but I can’t believe the weekend flew by so quickly. We got a ton done as far as setting up work appointments on our old condo and our new house. I feel like I will be qualified to be a contractor by the time all of this buying and selling is over. It’s been nonstop roofing, plumbing, heat conversion, solar panels, painting, etc. It will all be worth it in the end, but for now it is definitely a part time job!

One thing that always makes us happy is finding a new wine and learning about/reading about wine in general. I pin a lot of wines to my wine Pinterest board so that I can keep track of what wines I have liked and certain wine and food pairings. It’s fun to check in every now and then to share wines I am loving, and that’s the purpose of today’s post. As always, I love hearing from you, so if there’s a must-try wine you want to share, please let met know in the comments!

Cartograph Pinot Noir

Massachusetts wine shipping laws make it difficult for us to get all the wine we want from outside the state, so I am thankful for a mom who does not mind receiving wine shipments! We discovered Cartograph on a trip to Sonoma County a couple of years ago, and have been huge fans since. First. they are the nicest people ever. Second, their wine is outstanding, which just makes us want to talk about it. Their Floodgate Vineyard Pinot Noir is simply a joy, with bright bursts of berry and a little earthy funk. It’s everything Pinot Noir should be, and it makes us dream of a trip to their new Healdsburg tasting room!

Fetzer ChardonnayFetzer Sundial Chardonnay is all about flavor and big value. You can pick up a bottle for around $8, and this Chardonnay is just easy-drinking and fun and fruity with a rich, yet not overwhelming finish.

Stylo Old Vine GarnachaWhile we lean toward California wine a lot of the time, we have also been making an effort to try and buy wines that are from outside the US, as well as wines from other regions in the US. This Stylo Old Vines Garnacha is all fruit and a nice touch of acidity. Think cherries and strawberries, with a mouthwatering finish, all wrapped up in a lovely, light garnet color. We picked this wine up after a wine tasting at Bin Ends, and we are wishing we purchased more.

 

La Marca ProseccoThis LaMarca Proscecco was part of a recent Sunday brunch at Steel & Rye. We drank bubbly because we were catching up with good friends, it was Sunday Funday, and because sparkling wine is a great addition to any meal! I don’t always love Prosecco because there are times pear flavors completely overwhelm my palate. The LaMarca Prosecco is different and had more tart notes of citrus and brioche. It’s a great brunch bubbly!

 

The wines on tap at Beat Hotel are also a great addition for Boston area wine lovers. Beat Hotel has become one of my favorite spots, and I love their wine list, which is heavy with Rhone varieties from California. The Topanga Vineyards Grenache Blanc and the Black Sheep Finds Rousanne are both favorites I discovered, thanks to the restaurant’s variety of pour sizes.

If you are interested in reading more wine posts and photos, stop by The Collectionary Wine Club, where moderators share photos of wines and other information.

Tags: Beat Hotel, California wines, chardonnay, Garnacha, Grenache, Italian wines, Pinot Noir, prosecco, Rousanne, Spanish wines, Viognier, wine, wine tasting

Just when I think I have exhausted ideas for healthy, delicious meals, Pinterest shows me something new. Thank goodness for Pinterest! (Are you annoyed by my Pinterest love yet?)

I love browsing through Pinterest food pics, seeing something that looks yummy, and then following through to the website the image originates from. That’s how I got the inspiration for the parmesan truffle quinoa muffins I made for dinner one super exhausted evening last week.

The ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons truffle oil

parmesan cheese

quinoa

black truffle oil

Making this dish is super easy; just mix up all of the ingredients.

carrots and cilantro

Heat the oven to 350, and fill a lightly oiled muffin tin with scoops of the quinoa mixture. I made six large muffins; you could easily also make minis.

quinoa muffin

quinoa muffins

I cooked the muffins for about 20 minutes at 350. The tops got browned and crunchy, while the middles stayed warm and soft with a bit of gooey-ness from the cheese. The scent of truffle oil permeated the entire room; the salty, nutty parm complimented them perfectly.

I served these with some spicy homemade marinara sauce, but they would have been great alone. I didn’t expect them to be great, but they were absolutely delicious.

This meal was served up with a Pie de Palo Viognier from Mendoza, Argentina. Viognier has passed all other grapes to become my favorite white. This wine is fresh, with citrus and pineapple notes, a lovely, rich mouth feel, and a balanced acidity that made it a great dinner wine. I wish I had purchased more; it was only $11 at Bin Ends!

Viognier

Long runs, especially when they feel awful, call for a great glass of wine and a hearty meal. This certainly did the trick.

Have you come across any surprising recipes lately?

Tags: healthy, quinoa, recipe, Vegetarian, Viognier, wine

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