So, Mollydooker wines still haven’t arrived, still waiting for those.  I must say, Hubby hasn’t said too much about it so he’s been patient.  Hubby went to NYC this past week and he had a blast.  He said there were so many wine bars, he was “obliged” to go to them all.  Of course, he wasn’t able to but he had a blast.  He really didn’t mention any specific wine, just South Africa and Australia.  The other thing he mentioned was that he feels his taste buds have changed.  He used to love the Argentian and Chilean wines (I’m pretty sure he still does), but it seems he is leaning towards South Africa and Australian wines lately.  Ah! I’m lying – he did mention something about Zinfandel.  I dont think it is the rosé that I used to drink (actually it was my first wine).  I’m eager to check that one out.  It is probably a red wine. 

Went grocery shopping at Auchan this weekend with my friend Laura.  I wanted to get Hubby a bottle of wine, however, had no idea what to get.  Laura suggest a provence wine.  We asked the sommelier and he recommended something called Chateau Bernard.  It was a 2002.  I’m skeptical that he will like it.  He’s always told me that 2003 and 2005 (thus far) are excellent years.  We’ll see.  More on that on my next post.

Guess that’s it.  Until next time.

While at my cooking class, I tried two wines.  One while we were cooking, and one with dinner. 

The first wine was a 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape.   I dont remember the appelation.  So, let me begin to describe the taste of this wine.  The first word that comes to mind is smooth.  There was no acid taste.  Umm…let me try to use some wine words here.  I think it tasted earthy.  It was a deep flavor.  I really can’t identify the separate flavors yet…so sorry!

Next, is the 2007 Cotes du Luberon.  There was a completely different taste here.  First off, this is, from what I’m told an everyday wine.  It was very tannic and acidic.  Can that be possible.  It still had a nice taste, however, there was no smoothness.  I thought this wine was much stronger than the Chateauneuf du Pape.  Then again, what is the definition of strong?  Surprisingly, this wine paired great with the Spanish Flan.  From this I understood what it means for two things to really “marry” well. 

I wonder if I will ever get to the point of loving red wine as much as hubby does?  Maybe I will never like red wine as much as he does.  I guess that is okay too, right? 

So, there you go, my first official, documented, wine tasting.  Until next time!

Initially, the primary reason he was going was to see the Carcharodon carcharias. That’s the Great White Shark.  Oh yes, he is quite the shark lover – he can watch the movie “Jaws” over, and over, and over, and over – well you get it.  It has been his dream to get into one of those cages and get real up close and personal with the “jaws” of death.  Unfortunately – the dream carries quite a hefty price so he will not be able to do it this year. He is quite disappointed.  There is always next year So what else can he do in Australia besides the typical touristy stuff he will be doing in Sydney?  Wine of course!  Some of the biggest names in wine – Two Hands, Mollydooker, McLaren – all in Australia; Adelaide to be exact.

I called up several vineyards to see what type of tours I can get him. I was able to get him tours for Two Hands and Mitolo Wines vineyards. I believe he has already set himself up for Mollydooker.  What he doesn’t know is that I have arranged a surprise for him at both vineyards.  I bet you are wondering, “Why in the heck are you posting the surprise on your blog?!”  Well, I had to tell someone! [Looking at my stats, not too many people are reading it now - including hubby.]  I wont tell you the details of the surprise, but it’s a nice one.  It’s nothing too extravagant…but hopefully it will be a nice early father’s day gift.

So that is the surprise down under.  Im sure he will be bringing wine back and he will be eager for me to taste them. Oh joy! I better brush up on my wine vocabulary!

I guess I have this thing where “red” equals strong, heavy.  My hubby has determined the percentage of alcohol, I think it is below 12% alcohol Im okay with.

So I think when Im offered, Im not going to refuse, Im at least going to taste it.

Went over to a friends house for din-din and we were supposed to get together and go over some ideas for this new project we are starting together and a light dinner.  We should’ve been there by 7 but didn’t reach their house until 8pm.

As we arrived, their excited dog, Skipper, greeted us.  As we walked inside and settled in, I saw the starter.  Fruits, nut breads, and cheese.  As usual, there was a bottle of wine.  They were all tasty but one cheese blew me away.  It is a French cheese called Brillat Savarin.  Apparently there are two types – fresh and whatever the other one is.  Get the fresh one!  I was going to try it with the nut bread, but Laura suggested I put on a clementine.  A clementine I ask?  Oh goodness!  I trusted Laura, a professionally trained chef, there was no reason (thus far) not to trust her.  So I did, on top of a section of clementine, I generously added the Brillat Savarin cheese (…and fade to fireworks on the 4th of July!)  It was incredible!  I felt like Remy from Ratatouille when he found a new marraige of ingredients (I forget which one it was when he and Emil got electrocuted?!)  It was absolutely heavenly.  Of course I had some wine too.  We had a 205 Chateauneuf du Pape.  Not sure from which domain in was from…but it was nice.  It “married” well with the fruit, cheese, etc.

Onto the main course.  Where shall I begin – we had pasta with carrots and courgettes (Julienned to look like pasta) in pesto sauce (which was not with your normal pine nuts…it was with almond and pistachios!) We had breaded chicken breast, garlic bread, steamed asparagus (or maybe boiled…I dont know it was good!) with parmesan cheese shavings, cherry tomatoes (not sure how she did that but it was awesome).  Oh…my…goodness.  I must admit the pesto sauce had me scared a little…I dont generally like pistachios (my hubby does)…but it was so good.   Needless to say, the table was silent – and for having two teenagers at the table, that was incredible.

Then came dessert – sugarless chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and a swoosh of  chantilly (whipped cream).  As Ashante says…”ooooooooooooo mmmmmmmmmmmmy ggggggggggggooooooossssh!”  It was made with Splenda.

I didn’t finish my piece…I left a morsel.  It would’ve been to greedy of me to finish off my plate! LOL!

Oh…yes the wine…for dinner we had a St. Julien (or was it a St. Emilion?) I forget.  It was too strong for me.  It was a bit heavy for me.  Looking at the bottle, there was only a 13% alcohol content.  Again, I didn’t check to see which domain it was from or the year.  As you can see, since I am not the wine lover, Im not sure what is important and what isn’t.  My friend Laura has vowed to help me understand why my hubby loves wine so much.  She gave me a book and I think the first thing I am going to do is read up on how to interpret the label.

I’ve added my friends blog (Laura) to my blogroll.  She just started it, however, stay tuned as her meals are absolutely awesome!

Seeing his smile (especially on a Monday morning) makes me smile.  I guess that’s what passion is all about.  Loving something so much that any detail of your passion will bring a smile to your face, will enlighten your life,  will cause you to break into song on a Monday morning.  I truly am happy for him and all is good in the world.

For me,  I couldn’t get to sleep so I watched 12 episodes of House.  I can now almost diagnose you!  Ugh…tired today.

I must admit,   there are times that it is interesting.  When he talks about travelling to the far corners of the world to get that evasive 2003 blah blah blah – Im thinking, “Ooh, I’ve never been there.  That sounds like a plan”.  Or when he politely invites me to a big hoo-haw wine tasting that just happens to conflict with my mommy duties.  The look of joy in his face when I say, “No, I have a basketball practice to go to”, is absolutely priceless.   Oh yes, wine and wife – pretty important in his life – however, I think wine is winning.

So what does a wife do?  How does a wife compete with something that always changes, is fresh and new, and that their value increases – sometimes exponentially?  A wife doesn’t…at least I dont.

I love other things such as writing, photography, blogs, websites – stuff like that.   So, aside from trying to understand the how and why’s for his love of wine – I figure I can tag along and maybe learn a thing or two.  I mean it’s already happening – I now like red wine.   Before, I couldn’t bear it.

So this blog is dedicated to my stories.  You’ll probably hear about my frustrations, ah moments, and on occasion I may learn something.