I'm off to my monthly wine club meeting tonight and hope to walk away with some wonderful wine recommendations for us all. If the thought of a "wine" club is intriguing, check out my friend, Kate Murphy's, article in the Missoulian on forming a club of your own. It's a great way to learn more about wines, wine regions, grapes, even food pairings.
For now, we're recommending our latest find: The 2006 Shooting Star Syrah. I'd been sipping Malbec and Rioja most often of late so was thrilled to re-visit this varietal. The first bottle we opened (yes, there have been a few) wowed us immediately with it's big nose and deep, vibrant hues. It seemed to stand up and announce, "drink me!"
We, of course, obliged, pairing it with grilled steak, lightly steamed green beans (tossed with olive oil and Stilton crumbles) and roasted red potatoes. Since then, we've enjoyed it "picnic style" with a variety of cheeses, sourdough baguette, grapes and chocolate. It's an easy wine to linger over with subtle fruit flavors, a hint of pepper and the "earthiness" that syrahs are known for. And, at $11.99 to $12.99, it's budget-friendly. Try it and tell us what you think.
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I will definitely pick up your recommendation -I have another wine club next week and my assignment is California Syrah.
ReplyDeleteWe drank some interesting Zinfandel's last night at wine club, which are currently some of my favorite wines. I am a big fan of the Seghesio Zin and also Turley. We tasted the Truchard, Rancho Zabaco and the Chateau Montelena Zinfandel. They were all so different. The Truchard was so fruity and in a blind tasting, I thought it was a Syrah. The Montelena was my favorite and my next mission will be to taste it against the Seghesio. The Turley Zinfandel is in a category of his own. Cheers my fellow Oeniphiles.
For those of you that might be intimated by all the fancy wine speak - don't be. Wine club is a great reason to get together with friends and enjoy some good (and different) wines. Plus, you're bound to learn a little something along the way.
ReplyDeleteI heart wine clubs. Last week, I poured wine and did tastings for two events at Lake Missoula Cellars, Missoula's newest winery that has been drawing attention for its locally made wines. The great thing about that was that people were able to come in not knowing a thing about the wine and we walked them through it and explained some of the differences about the wines. Long live wineries, wine club and locally made Montana wines!
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