My Very First “Gluten Free” Beer!

I know…this is supposed to be a wine blog, but I just had to vent about yesterday’s experiense. Since I went “gluten-free” about 6 months ago, I haven’t had a single beer, not even a drop, until yesterday afternoon. I was spending the day in New Brunswick, a college town about 30-40 minutes away, and they have a few good restaurants and bars. We ended up checking out a bar called “World of Beer”, thinking they might have some fun beers for my friend to try, and in the back of my mind I was hoping to get to try a gluten-free beer.

They actually had 4 or 5 different gluten-free beers. I chose to try one that they said tasted like regular beer, with no special flavor ( I don’t like the idea of my beer tasting like a fruit, beer should taste like beer…), so I ended up with Omission Lager. This beer is made of barley, but has been crafted to remove gluten. It is an easy-drinking light beer, and if I didn’t know that this was a gluten-free beer, I would have never guessed it. It tasted so good, I was amazed. No reason not to drink beer no more.

I will not be afraid to try more gluten-free beers, that’s for sure. Cheers!

Zinfandel, The Perfect Pairing With Norway’s “National Dish”!

I had no idea that there was such a thing as a “National Dish”, and in the USA there isn’t, but in Norway they have named “Fårikål” the national dish. Fårikål is a lamb and cabbage casserole that is perfect for the slow-cooker. The meat gets very nice and tender that way, and the flavors really gets time to combine and come out. It was when I was googling to find out what wine to pair with the meal, that I found out about the “national dish”. I was a little on the fence on going red or white with this dish, fatty rich meat with cabbage, so I decided to do some research, and truthfully, the research didn’t help me much. They suggested anything from Champagne to Riesling or Chardonnay on the white side, to Pinot Noir, Barbera or Valpolicella on the red.

I had four of my friends come over to try out this dish, it was the first time that I actually cooked this myself, (I have very brave friends) and it was the first time that my slow-cooker was to small…I didn’t get enough space for my cabbage, so I had to let it cook down for a while, and then add more.  Anyway, the food turned out ok, at least everyone seemed to like it, and me myself was brought back to my Norwegian roots for a moment.

As to the wine, we went red, but not with any of the ones suggested. My friend that just returned from a trip to California brought a bottle of 2010 Three Vines Zinfandel from Manzanita Creek, and I thought it was perfect with this dish. A full-bodied wine that was very smooth and a little sweet. The aroma of black pepper was accentuated by the black peppercorns that was in the casserole. I also found pepper in the flavor, together with plum, wich gave it that rich, smooth and sweet flavor. I thought this wine went very well with the meal, not sure how to explain that, because this wine was about as far from those red wines suggested, as you could get, but it worked.

I suppose the lesson learned is; drink what you like! Cheers!

Argentinian For Super Bowl!

I really didn’t get into football at all this season, and I blame the Giants for that! But still, the Super Bowl is a great excuse for a party, right? I went in cheering on Peyton Manning, and the Broncos, we all know how that went lol. Anyway, let’s get to the important stuff; food and drinks… We had the best munchie foods ever, my friend made her awesome nachos (where she left a part dairy free, I know, I’m such a pita), we also had some really good crab cakes (yummy). I brought a new recipe that I found on Facebook that looked like a perfect snack food for watching the game, “bacon wrapped sweet-potatoes”, and they are definitely a “do-over”.

Our wine for the evening was a bottle of Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 Sottano. I remember that my first Argentinian wine was very good, and I was hoping this one would live up to my expectations, but I must say that I got a little disappointed. This wine was to sharp and I would say unbalanced to be great. It did improve after given a little time to breathe thou. A full-bodied dry wine with aromas of black currant, and flavors of black currant with a hint of vanilla.

My sipping wine tonight is a much more pleasant surprise, for the huge amount of $7. This Spanish Cabernet Sauvignon is delightful, 2011 Opera Prima, has a nice fruity aroma, medium bodied with soft tannins, and flavors of blackberries, black currant and vanilla. Very enjoyable, easy to drink wine that is just missing a little debt to be a top wine, but for the price, I would say a “winner”.

 

I actually picked up two bottles from this winery, and the other bottle, a 2012 Tempranillo, was not quite as good, but still ok. This wine was a light-bodied and fruity wine, with aromas of ripe berries, and flavors of strawberries and cherries. A little dry, but well-balanced.

Have a great “day after the Super Bowl day”, Cheers!

A Couple Of Aussies Worth Mentioning!

I do give Australian wines a lot of credit, because they are the wines who got me to start drinking red wine. And my old roommate from Australia introduced me to Lindeman’s, wich was her favorite. These wines are very affordable (under $10) and I’ll say that you get a very drinkable wine for your money. The other day I picked up a couple of bottles and I must say that I would more than likely buy these wines again.

First up was my new discovery (not really, but I have been scared to try them) the Shiraz, in the rest of the World known as Syrah. It is the same grape and Syrah has a long documented history in the Rhone region of southeastern France, but it was not known if it had originated in that region. Legends of Syrah’s origins come from one of its homonyms – Shiraz.Because Shiraz, a very old city in Iran, produced the well-known Shirazi wine, legends claim the Syrah grape originated in Shiraz and then was brought to Rhône.

Since the name Shiraz has been used primarily in Australia in modern times, while the earliest Australian documents use the spelling “Scyras”, the name Shiraz has been speculated to be in fact a so-called “strinization” of Syrah’s name via Scyras. However, while the names Shiraz and Hermitage gradually seem to have replaced Scyras in Australia from the mid-19th century, the spelling Shiraz has also been documented in British sources back to at least the 1830s. So, while the name or spelling Shiraz may be an effect of the English language on a French name, there is no evidence that it actually originated in Australia, although it was definitely the Australian usage and the Australian wines that made the use of this name popular.

No matter where the name comes from, the Australian Shiraz is very enjoyable and full of flavor. The one I picked up was a 2012 Bin 50. Fruity aroma, full-bodied with flavors of plum and spice. Starts out sweet and finishes a bit dry and a little short.

  

My other bottle was a 2012 Bin 99 Pinot Noir. We all hear about New Zealand Pinot, but not much about the Australian. And this wine would absolutely compair with any Pinot Noir in the same price range, I would go to the extent of saying that it is the best Pinot I’ve had under $10, and maybe even under $15.

Showing  a light to medium color in the glass. A great fruity aroma of cherry and eartyness. It is a medium to light bodied wine with well-balanced tannins and acidity, and a smooth cherry flavor. I will definitely buy this wine again. Cheers!

Discovering Tuscany!

I’m back after spending a week realizing that I’m allergic to curry…..not fun, specially since I love the taste of good Thai or Indian food. My very last Thai dinner (last Friday) will be my last, but it was great, spent with good friends, good food and of course good wine. I paired my dinner ( salmon curry ) with a Riesling from Covey Run, an inexpensive pleasant wine, just sweet and crisp enough to pair well with the dish. One of my friends brought a Tuscan wine, I forgot to take a photo so of course I can’t remember the name, but I believe it was a blend of Sangiovese and  Chianti (hope I’m not messing this up). This wine had an unusual flavor and was a bit to dry for me, but it spiked my interest to explore the region a little more.

Tuscany is located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, and is home to some of the World’s most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunelli di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are primarily made with Sangiovese grape whereas the Vernaccia grape is the basis of the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Tuscany is also known for the dessert wine Vin Santo, made from a variety of the region’s grapes. The Sangiovese grape is Tuscanys’ most prominent grape, however, many different clonal varieties exist, as many towns have their own local version of Sangiovese.

So to do some “research” I picked up a bottle of 2011 Luiano Rosso Toscana Sangiovese. I paid $11 for this wine, it came with a real cork, and has a nice color in the glass. It showed lots of fruit and minerals on the nose. On the palate, a medium bodied wine that was very smooth with a perfect balance of fruit and minerals and a medium dry finish. Would recommend to pair with pizza or any tomato sauce pasta dish. Very enjoyable.

Looking forward to many more “trips” to Italy, Cheers!

I Love My Slow-Cooker!

I feel like I can cook! This thing doesn’t seem like such an incredible machine, but I’m telling you; it makes me look like a professional…. I never was a big cooking fan. If I was hungry, I wanted to eat NOW, there was no time for cooking. I often snacked my meals, or had a sandwich, unless I ordered take out, or went out to eat. When I decided to go gluten-free, I had no choice but to learn how to cook. In the beginning I eat a lot of salads. And sure I lost a bit of weight, and thought it was great, but eventually that same old salad became kind of boring. Over the past year I have been looking into healthy cooking, and I have been experimenting a lot. My most resent thing is the venison. I try to stay away from corn-fed meat, and as an animal lover, not a big fan of the way a lot of the meat industry is run. The most logic way to go for me (since I don’t want to go vegetarian) is wild caught. Todays project was a venison stew. And must I say “oh so good!”.

I paired my stew with a 2012 Yellow Tail Shiraz Cabernet. Aromas of sweet dark fruit, on the palate it was very sweet, with flavors of plum and raspberries, and a smooth vanilla finish. This wine was a bit to sweet for this stew, but a great sipping wine otherwise.

   

This afternoon I went for a walk with my dog, and when I got back home, the house smelled so good I could hardly keep myself from digging into the slow-cooker. I contained myself, and grabbed some lentil crackers and hummus paired with last nights leftover wine, a 2012 Smoking Loon Steelbird unoaked Chardonnay. This wine didn’t impress me last night, but paired with roasted garlic hummus and lentil crackers, it was perfect. This really shows what a difference it makes with the right pairing some times. In the glass this wine had a light straw color. Aromas of tropical fruit, and flavors of grapefruit and pear with a vanilla finish.

Now I really have to get my desert ready, airborne Norwegian Cloudberries with coconut cream! Cheers!

Wich Wine To Pair With Venison…Bold Petite Sirah!

After I received some venison from some of my friends that like to hunt, I’ve been experimenting with how to cook it. A few failures has occurred, but three dishes stand out (to me, anyway). Meatballs, Chili and the best one is what we call “Finn-biff” in Norway (in Norway we make it with rain-deer).  This dish is made by slicing the meat thin, and cook it on low heat for several hours. I found out that my slow-cooker was perfect for this. We serve the meat with potatoes and the vegetable of your choice ( I like to use brussels sprouts), and lingonberry preserves. The slow cooking makes the meat so nice and tender, and the flavors really come out.

I had invited some of my friends over for dinner on Sunday, and we had Finn-biff. I was interested to see if they liked it as much as I do, because it has been one of my favorite things to eat when I go home to Norway. And from what I could tell (I did consume my share of wine that night), they all seemed to like it.

We paired our main course with a Petit Sirah from California, Cantiga Wineworks 2009 El Dorado. One of my friends had picked up this bottle while on vacation in California and Hawaii. A bold full-bodied wine with high alcohol (14.9), but still very smooth and pleasant. Aromas of spice and blackberries. Some of us tasted bacon at first, but that might have been the smokey flavor wich mixed with the dark berries, and gave in to a nice long finish. A very enjoyable wine.

We did uncork  a few more bottles that night. I had unscrewed the cork on a bottle of Cheap Bastard Basement Red, before my guests arrived. It was kind of an average bottle. Easy to drink and affordable. Soft tannins, medium bodied with flavors of plum and vanilla.

Next up, was a bottle one of my friends brought, a 2011 Kendall-Jackson Sonoma County Vintner’s Reserve Merlot. This was a great wine, and I’m starting to expect it when I open one from Kendall-Jackson. Nice smooth flavors of plum, spice and minerals.

From Merlot to Zinfandel, a 2010 7 Deadly Zins from Michael David. I have been looking forward to trying this wine, and it delivered. Nice full-bodied wine with soft tannins. Rich sweet raspberries with a little smokey flavor. I’m glad we had this bottle before the Petit Sirah, because I’m afraid that anything would have seemed flat after that wine.

The unlucky bottle that had to compare itself to the Petit Sirah, was a Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Dante Vineyard California, and it was a disappointment. I expected more from this wine, it came across flat and light, it did pick up a little on day two, but not enough for me. Black currant on the nose, medium bodied – almost a little light for a Cabernet. Medium to high acidity and medium tannins. I picked up flavors of raspberry and black currant.

We finished of the night with a Blueberry banana tart with whipped cream, wich was both gluten and dairy free. A fun time with friends, and I’m looking forward to doing it again. Cheers!

Deutschland Deutschland Über Alles!

This is the words that enter my mind when I think about Germany. Kind of funny how this is so stuck in my mind still, after all these years. Anytime Germany was mentioned in any way, my mom and dad used to sing these words. I still don’t know why they did, but at least now I know it’s the first few words of the German national anthem, “Das Deutschlandlien”. I’m thinking that it could have been because Germany kept beating us (Norway) in sports, you know, we got to hear the national anthem when they climbed on top of the winner’s stand, but it could just as well be some joke that I never understood as a kid. I must find out lol.
Anyway, this was the week of leftover sipping, and after drinking days-old Pinot Noir that wasn’t that good on the first day (the leftovers from my blind Pinot Noir tasting)….it was very refreshing to find out that the bottle of Riesling that had been open since last Friday, was still just as good. It was a 2012 Liebe Winemakers Collection Riesling. A sweet wine that also gave me a nice and crisp feel. The flavors of citrus and pear finished off in a slightly dry finish. I paired this wine with salmon in coconut curry sauce over cauliflower, and it was the perfect match. The sweetness of the wine cooled off, and mellowed the spiciness of the curry sauce.

I’m now done with all my leftovers, and I’m looking forward to uncorking something new. What will the first bottle of 2014 be? Stay tuned. Cheers!

Blind Pinot Noir Tasting; Setting The Record Straight!

Who has the best Pinot Noir in the under $20 category? Drumroll……….California! Yes, I had to arrange this blind tasting. Two Oregon Pinot Noir’s, two California and one French facing off in a totally blind tasting. Four non professional tasters (thou I think we were very professional last night), got together munching on foods that supposedly pairs well with Pinot Noir. Gluten free chips and veggies with hummus, stuffed mushrooms, and mushroom risotto, all gluten and dairy free. And I believe the food turned out to be perfect because all the wines improved when tasted with the food, except maybe the dessert, wich was “key lime energy bites”, the lime crashed with the acidity in the wines.

I asked everyone to taste all the wines without food first, and then again with the food. And we all wrote down anything that came to our minds, and we rated the wines with a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest.

The winner with a total of 13.5 points was the 2010 Forest Glen from California. We all agreed it had a nice color and a bright and fruity aroma. On the palate we got cherry, with a nice long finish with a hint of vanilla. Three of us guessed that this was the French wine, and we were so wrong, wich is what makes a blind tasting so much fun lol.

In a close second with 13 points we had a tie between the other California wine and the French wine. The California wine, a 2011 Robert Mondavi, had a good color in the glass, and a sweet cherry aroma. We got flavors of cherry with medium acidity and a little dry medium short finish.

The French wine was a 2011 Couvent Des Jacobin. The color in the glass was a little lighter, but still good. Some of us picked up earthiness in both the aroma and the flavor. A bit high acidity and flat. Some said bland.

On the bottom of the barrel, Oregon…..not very surprising to us, but considering the reputation of Oregon Pinot Noir, they should be on the top. In fourth place with 9.5 points the 2011 Rainstorm. Medium light color in the glass. I got a light cherry aroma, while some got a musty smell. On the palate this wine also left us with bland, flat feeling.

Last one was the 2011 Primarius with only 7 points. Very light color in the glass. The nice cherry aroma was probably the best part of this wine, because it was so light that it felt like it was watered down. Flavors of cherry and red currant was so vague that one taster said she felt cheated.

Conclusion; California rocks the under $20 category of Pinot Noir, with France in a close second. It is hard to find Oregon wines in this category here on the east coast. Who knows what the outcome would be if we did this on the west coast, or even in Oregon. I’m sure the selection would be a lot better there. Or we could imagine a whole different scenario, lets just say my wine-budgett increased to around $50 per bottle, and then do this test all over again……

The conclusion could also be as simple as, my friends and I just don’t like Oregon Pinot Noir…

Anyway, this was a lot of fun, and we are looking forward to more challenges like this. I’m already coming up with ideas for future blind tastings, how about “wines of Italy” or “Cabernet, guess the price of this bottle”. I’ll think of something good while finishing the 4 half full bottles of Pinot Noir that’s sitting on my counter. Cheers!

Drinking Wine-A Good Deed!

It sure can be, thanks to Colby Rex Groom. At ages eight and nine he endured back to back open-heart surgeries, and developed a desire to help others with heart disease. He inspired his winemaker father, Daryl Groom, to make a red wine to help raise money for heart research. Every bottle sold of Colby Red supports charities that promote heart health.

Colby Red, a 2011 California Red Blend is a very enjoyable blend. Medium bodied, with great fruity aromas of cherry and plum. On the palate I get smooth and velvety cherry and plum, with a nice soft finish. And it always feels good to be able to support a great cause.

    

This Monday evening I’m sipping a 2012 Old Vine Zinfandel from Twisted Winery. This wine is surprisingly sweet with a fruity plum aroma. On the palate I pick up plum and vanilla. A very smooth and round wine, that is OK for the price of $10.

Here we are a little over a week until Christmas, and braising for snow storm number 4…. What’s going on? It’s not even officially winter yet. But let’s look at the bright side, snowy weather pairs well with red wine…. Cheers!