D&D Wine Review

When Leslie & Brent were back in town briefly after their trip, we luckily found some time to enjoy dinner and wine together.  Based on their travels, they stopped at the store and picked up a Pinot Noir from the Marlborough region from Whitehaven.  I’d seen Whitehaven recommended for Sauvignon Blanc before, and so I was intrigued to try a red wine from the winery.   I must say I was very impressed with it - sometimes Pinot Noir can be too simple, but this wine didn’t fall into that category.  It does have some depth to it, and was quite earthly - definitely more than expected.  We really enjoyed the wine and I would definitely recommend it.  The tasting notes say it would go well with oily fish like salmon or wild game and I think that is very appropriate.  We had it with bison steaks which did go well, but I think it would be fabulous with a spicy salmon similar to the plank salmon recipe in our recipe section.

Winery: Whitehaven

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Region: Marlborough, New Zealand

Price: ~$24

Rating:

Cheers!

Kelly

Over the 4th of July, we were lucky enough to drink a couple of delicious celebratory wines with my brother and his family.  These are wines above the normal price range we blog about, but I wanted to share.

The first was Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay, I believe it was the 2005 Napa Valley - though unfortunately I can’t confirm or deny that a couple weeks later.  The white wine was very crisp.  Unlike many Chardonnay’s, it did not have too much ‘oak’ flavor, which is the way I like it.  The tasting notes mention pear and honey, and I think that’s a great way to describe this wine.   Crisp and fruity.  I highly recommend it, although the price point of $40 is a little high for an every day Chardonnay.

Winery: Grgich Hills Estate

Region: Napa Valley, CA

Varietal: Chardonnay

Time in Oak/Aged: 10 months

Price: ~$40

Rating:

After the Chardonnay, we moved on to a red wine, the 2005 ZD Cabernet.  ZD makes two levels of Cab - this one was not the reserve, which meant it was the lower price point - however, that still puts it in the $50 price range.  This was my favorite of the two wines, although I do like red more than white anyway so that might not be surprising.   My favorite reds tend to be Zinfandels because I find them spicy, fruity and complex.  I thought this Cabernet delivered along those same lines - it was very full of flavor with definite hints of fruit.  While it definitely has been aged in oak, that does not overwhelm all the other flavors but instead just compliments them.  If you want to splurge on a higher-priced Cabernet while not going too crazy, this would be a good one to try.

Winery: ZD

Varietal: Cabernet

Region: Napa Valley, CA

Price: ~$50

Aged: 24 months in Oak

Rating:

If you have a chance to try these out, let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Enjoy!

Kelly

A great way to use all those delicious summer berries.

5 Cups Fresh Fruit (Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, etc.)

1 Graham Cracker Crust

2/3 Cup Orange Juice

1/3 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Sugar (add more to taste)

2 Tbls. Cornstarch

Whipping cream for garnish

Combine ingredients OJ through Cornstarch in a saucepan over Medium/high heat.  Let mixture come to a boil and continue boiling for 1 minute.  Let mixture cool, fold in fruit.  Pour into crust and refridgerate for at least 1 hour.  Garnish and enjoy with a chilled white wine!

in posting pictures and writing reviews.  Hopefully I’ll catch up soon, sorry!

Kelly

Sorry for the delay in postings. We have recently arrived home from a wonderful 26 day “holiday” to New Zealand and Austraila. And we enjoyed wonderful wines on all of those 26 days! Many of the wines we tried are not exported, so I will try to focus on wines that are readily available here in the States. New Zealand is most well known for their Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough Region. Very crisp, fruity and great for summertime drinking. This region is also making a name for itself with delicious Pinot noir. 106 wineries call Marlborough home with some of the more popular vineyards along the wine trail including; Matau, Cloudy Bay, Montana and Saint Clair. Our top rated pick from Marlborough was a 2005 Kim Crawford Pinot Noir, which was available at our local Harris Teeter for $19.99. Another favorite was a young Pinot from the Matua Vineyard, a Shingle Peak 2007 Pinot Noir. This particular vintage is not available yet, however, we were told they hope to begin more exporting. A third favorite Pinot was the Montana, also 2007. I highly recommend checking your local wine stores for New Zealand Pinot….you will not be disappointed!
Cheers!