Renwood Zinfandel

It’s been just the past three years that I’ve really gotten into zinfandels. I became hooked after a friend pointed me to Amador Valley, an up and coming zin region in Northern California (I will have a post on Amador in the future). Now when I shop for wine, I always look for zinfandels from Amador. One that I have found is Renwood. The Renwood is full of fruit and is fully accessible. There is very little bite or alcoholic after taste. I enjoy it as an after dinner treat.

On of the things I enjoy most about Renwood (and most Amador wines) is its obscurity. I love surprising friends with a glass. Most are shocked by the quality and flavor for its appellation. If you get a chance to try the Renwood Zin, or any other Zin from Amador, do it!

Renwood Zinfandel

Color/Appearance: 4

Nose: 4

Taste: 4

Consistency: 4

Overall: 4

Purple Moon Shiraz

Christmas 2005 I got a pleasant surprise. A friend of mine gave me a bottle of Purple Moon Shiraz. It came in a green felt wine bag. As I pulled the wine out of the bag I was greeted by the deep Purple Moon label. I had never seen this wine before and the front of the bottle did not reveal much. Only the name Purple Moon and the facts that it was a Shiraz, vintage of 2004 and the origin of California were on the front. The back of the bottle was much more telling. There is nice little story on the wine and some tasting and pairing notes. And at the bottom of the back label finally you find out about the winery and location—Purple Moon Winery, Manteca, California.

Manteca, California? Manteca? I remember Manteca. Manteca isn’t wine country. The only thing of import in Manteca was the Manteca Waterslides water park (which closed down not too long ago). Well I guess Manteca can now lay claim to a pretty good Shiraz as well.

I cracked open the Purple Moon one Friday night while doing some work on the computer. It was a little cooler than room temperature, so I could not get the full development of its aroma. However, I was greeted by a nice spicy, fruity taste. There was very little trace of the cask, it was all fruit.

There is no presence on the web for this winery (or I can not find it). I would like to know more about the makers of this wine. Thanks again to my friend (Ms. Perfect) for this wonderful wine!

Purple Moon Shiraz 2004

Color/Appearance: 4

Nose: 3

Taste: 3.5

Consistency: Unknown

Overall: 3.5

An interisting direction in meats

I wanted to share something that I ran into on a NPR news story. Unfortunately, I live about as far away from this shop in Seattle, so if any one has tried their meats, I would be interested in hearing about it!

After hearing about Salumi, an artisan store, I became very interested. If you take a look at their web site, you will that they take an avant-garde approach to their cured meats. For two of their offerings, they blend cross culture techniques and ingredients for what seems like something completely new--the prosciutto style cured leg of lamb and the Mole Salami.

Lamb and prosciutto are two of my favorite things. I often say that government should add prosciutto to the list of daily recommended item needed in a diet! Prosciutto is a meat curing process normally performed on ham. The result is a dried, slightly salty meat with a spiced taste. How will the rich taste of lamb lend itself to this process? I can only guess and hope one day to enjoy.

The Mole Salami is named after and uses the Mexican spice tradition of mole. Mole is a sauce made of a blend of spices and Mexican chocolate. Salami as we know it is cured with spices and wine native to Italy and its neighbors to the northeast. Adding mole to the curing process will make this hard sausage more like chorizo, I assume. Again, another combination, I can’t wait to try!

The rest of the offerings seem to be just as rewarding to partake of. I have to plan a trip out to the Northwest!

J Lohr Cab, my first love!

My first post is devoted to one of my favorite wines—the J Lohr Cabernet. It is big and bold and full of fruit and cask oak. This Cab’s taste is so smooth and almost creamy.

I used to frequent a wine bar Fermentations in Seaside, Florida. The J Lohr Cab was a house wine and while I sampled many different wines at this bar, I could not go long without having a glass of J Lohr. Fermentations served tapas styled appetizers and their specialty was a smoked trout dip served with artisan crackers. There is no better paring in the world than that cab and the dip! A sip of the creamy, oak kissed Lohr complimented the smoky creamy taste of the dip. What a way to spend the day on the emerald sea and snow white sand! I so do miss those days.

J Lohr Cabernet

Color/Appearance: 5

Nose: 4

Taste: 5

Consistency: 5

Overall: 5