Vinilicious

Friday night was a big night; the Sox game was on, and we had a dinner of grilled zucchini, mashed sweet potatoes, and steak. What better accompaniment than a nice big Cabernet Sauvignon. We happened to have a ten year old bottle that I got from work (retail value $90) that I was eager to try. It's not everyday that I drink $90 wines, so I had rather high hopes. The one thing that worried me was Bryan's quick research online, revealing reports of it being past its prime...

This is part two of an ongoing series related to direct-to-consumer wine shipping. If you are in the least interested in wine, especially wine that you read about but can't find in your local wine shop, this information should be interesting -- or at least important -- to you. You can read part one, which dealt with the three-tier system, here.

Every Saturday morning I make the trip out of the city to Russos to buy fresh produce. I wish I could say that I go there for the inexpensiveve fruit and veges, the great Italian deli, the freshly baked bread, or the selection of imported olive oil. And I can say this, because it's true. But the real reason why I drive out of the city to shop instead of finding a more convenient place in the city is to visit Mark, the head cheese guy at the front of the cheese counter.

Mark is passionate about his cheese. Every week I show up, and even when he's busy, he invites me over. "Hey, I got something really cool in, you gotta try this," he'll say.

Continuing my wine pairing education, I attempted to do the (near) impossible by cooking a spicy Asian seafood dish and pairing it successfully with a wine of my choosing.

I am happy to admit that I failed miserably.

Here we are with part two of the big wine tasting of two weeks ago - I'll reveal up front that there are only 5 more wines to go, as I got a bit tired at the end and maxed out at a total of 10; even when you're a wine enthusiast, sometimes you cannot fathom drinking any more.  Fortunately (and surprisingly), I did not even get a hint of a buzz, despite not having any water to drink and only a few cubes of gouda.  They had a nice spread of various cheeses, oysters, and bread, and boy did it get destroyed!

Buon giorno! (or buona sera, depending on when you're reading this.) Another month, another wine tasting over the Tubes. This month's tasting, brought to us by good Dr. Vino, focuses on indigenous grape varieties, grown on their native soil.  We're talking about grapes that are not "The Big Six" -- Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. We're talking ancient wines from ancient places.

Since my wine class is over, I've been attempting to use my newfound "expertise" by pairing my weekday meals with wine based on what I know.  I've successfully paired several meals lately, but those meals have primarily been classics: California Cabernet with steak, Chablis with shellfish. I wanted to try pairing wine to notoriously difficult to pair cuisine: Thai food.

This is part one of an ongoing series related to direct-to-consumer wine shipping. If you are in the least interested in wine, especially wine that you read about but can't find in your local wine shop, this information should be interesting -- or at least important -- to you.