Washington Wine and Cheese

It was my intention to put together a very nice Malbec tasting for this Tuesday evening. I, along with a few friends, went to Pearson’s and asked Michael for his recommendations. We started with a wonderful Malbec which was medium bodied, nice fruit, good balance, etc. All agreed it was a good start to completing a good Malbec tasting.

Then a funny thing happened. Perhaps it was something someone in the background said. Perhaps it was an unexpected astronomical alignment. Whatever the reason, the next wine that we tasted wasn’t a Malbec. Michael opened a blend that was wonderful. Everyone agreed that this had to be in the tasting. Before I could ask if Malbec was one of the grapes in the blend, Michael had opened another amazing wine. This one was clearly not a Malbec, but the reactions of others made it
clear that I couldn’t pass this wine up.

By the end of the evening, I had picked out 5 beautiful reds and only 1 was a Malbec. I thought to myself, “What happened? I wanted to do a Malbec tasting and I only have 1 in the lineup.” No sooner had I completed that thought, I hear Michael say “You really have to try this before you leave.” And thus, the Malbec was replaced.

Join us this Tuesday evening for “The Malbec Tasting That Almost Was…” We will be having 5 wonderful reds, among them a beautiful grenache, a big and bold Rhone, and a bordeaux-style blend that are sure to please. If the crowd as Pearson’s that evening was any indication, these wines will be sure to please.

1. 2005 Bogle Petite Sirah - California $15
2. 2004 Mestezaje - Spain $16
3. 2005 Las Rocas - Garancha Spain $17
4. 2002 Furque Syrah Roble 2002 - Argentina
5. 2003 Grandy Vacqueyras - France

Cheeses:

1. Horlick’s Farm Cheddar - $12.99
2. Belletoile - $11.98

Tuesday, September 18! The return of Two Blondes, A Brunette and Five Reds presented by Lori Draheim, Carol Rentz and Jill LaPanna. Our theme for this tasting is Big Bodacious Blends! These are some tasty juice!

The wines we will feature are red blends made up of three or more grape varietals. We will start the tasting with a gold medal winning Bordeaux style red from Dry Creek Valley, next will be a gorgeous Australian MSG with a 90 point rating, then on to an easy-sipping Cal-Italian blend from Sonoma, from there we will have a Bordeaux blend with classic Napa flavors and texture at a great price, and finally, a big nicely proportioned red said to be spicy with a long finish from THE hot brand from Australia right now. You won’t want to miss this variety of red blends that are additionally great values!

1. 2004 Forchini - Beauseirra (Sonoma) - $12.99 - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carigane
2. 2005 Rutherglen Estate - The Reunion (Australia) - $14.99 - Mourvedre, Shiraz, Grenache
3. 2004 Ferrari-Carao-Siena (Sonoma) - $21.99 - Sangiovese, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon
4. 2003 Paoleti - Piccolo Cru (Napa) - $17.99 - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc
5. 2006 Molly Dooker - The Two Left Feet (Australia) - $19.99 - Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

The two cheese that we had were:

1. Provolone Picante - $11.99 - Provolone originally comes from the south of Italy but is nowadays produced in several regions of North Italy.
2. Fromage d’ Affinois- $12.99 - a creamy French cheese that is silky and smooth.

The wines came from multiple locations listed below:

1. Bell’s Wine and Spirit (DC)
2. Total wine and More (multiple locaions)
3. Total wine and More (multiple locaions)
4. Out of Site (VA)
5. Pearsons (DC)

The cheese and bread both came from Calvert Woodley’s.