#61- Pinot Blanc

It sucks to write about wine when you're doing a cleanse and can't drink (or eat for that matter). But the blog must go on. I have four blogs to catch up on and hopefully they'll all be done by the time I can drink again (bring on #65!).

Mom provided the meal for this wine- she made a ton of chicken jumbalaya and it was delicious. I know it's not hard to make, I've just never made it. Must do that sometime soon. Anyway, trust me when I say this dish was delicious.

The wine for this week and kicking off the next 20 wines is a white wine from France- the Pinot Blanc. While it sounds like it should be a pretty easy grape to find (just like the Pinot Gris or Pinot Noir) it's not actually that easy to find so I was pretty happy to find it at Liquor Depot in Callingwood for a very reasonable $16.79. The wine is Alsace Willm, the first winery to export its wine to the U.S.

The wine did remind me of a Chardonnay though it's not related to that grape at all. It wasn't at all oaky but it had similar dimensions to the wine as the Chardonnay does. It was straw coloured and I found the wine very much complimented the jumbalaya, especially the chicken and the sausage. With a hint of spiciness to the wine, I think overall it was a great combination. There may have been some fruit flavours in there as well but I couldn't really discern them.

The Pinot Blanc grape  is apparently a genetic mutation of the Pinot Noir grape (basically one vine on the pinot noir vines creates a white grape rather than the black grape-- almost an albino of sorts). Learned something didn't you?

It's often used as the base grape for sparkling wines (it does lend itself well for the crispiness of the wine) as well as Burgandy and Champagne wines.

Overall, I really enjoyed this wine and it's too bad this grape isn't more readily available.

Craig really enjoyed the wine as well describing it as smooth and fruity with a sweet taste.  He tasted hints of grapefruit (good for him as I did not!)

#43- Xynomavro

I've always wanted to go to Greece. It's definitely on my list of near future travels. And the Greek wine I just drank- well, I am now wanting to go more than ever!

Greece doesn't get a good reputation here for making good wine but I've had some pretty good experiences so far and this wine- the Grande Reserva Naoussa Boutari- is bloody fantastic!

But first let's back up a bit and learn about the grape shall we? The Xynomavro grape (besides being the best new word you've learned to play Scrabble with!) is founs in several areas in Greece and is often considered the "Bordeaux of Greece". I would agree. Man it's easy to digress....the name itself means acidic black / bitter. It's not an easy grape to grow so the quantities are limited.  This is a Grande Reserva so it is implied that is a of higher quality or has been aged. This wine is both (the bottle notes it's been aged 4 years). The winery is the Boutari Winery located in Naoussa.

Let me set the scene for you shall I? So I'm single, mid (ahem) thirties with no kids and living in a pretty nice condo. I haven't decorated for Christmas in a while (why, just for me? really?) but for some reason this year I decided I would put up the tree and a few decorations around the place. Perhaps I'm just in a better place, or perhaps I'm in complete denial that my life is a bit of a shambles right now (have I mentioned at all yet that I got laid off? Nor fired- laid off) yeah, happy Christmas to me!

In any case, the boxes came down from storage and I went to town! But what is decorating without a little rum and eggnog? Well, with no eggnog in the house, I decided to bring out a bottle of red. To go along with the bottle, I made myself a platter of (spicy havarti) cheese and crackers with some Mundare sausage and edamame beans in a red garlic spice. The bottle recommends spicy food.

I took my first sip. As it hit my tongue, I was underwhelmed. Ah well, you can't win them all. I swallowed. I took a step and then suddenly it hit me-- the taste was overwhelming in my mouth. It was like a lovely warmth had blown itself into my mouth. This wine was all about the lingering, the after effect, the pregnant pause after the swallow. Oh my God this is a fabulous wine. I'm not even one to really appreciate an oaky wine but this- this one is just perfect! The delectable taste of oak danced delightfully on my tongue as my lips eagerly made their way back to the wine glass for more. This wine will be gone in no time! I so can't do the description of this wine justice so you can read about it- I need to get another bottle before everyone else finds out about it.

The spicy cheese enhanced the flavour of the wine beautifully and before I knew it, the tree was decorated, the house was Christmassy, and I was full of red wine goodness. A good night wouldn't you say?

If Craig doesn't like this red wine, I will have no doubt left in my mind that he is part alien.

UPDATE: Craig has tried the wine-- and he likes it!! Damn rights. "Dry, but not too dry" he says. So now you know. This is damn good wine.