For November, my wine club explored the wines of Australia and New Zealand. The hostess had a lovely spread of cuisine that included shrimp and lobster treats (and avocado ... so delish!) It was a delightful evening all around. Next week is our last Wine Club of 2010 (I can't believe we've been doing this for three years!) Next year, we're going to take the club outside of the home and do a different restaurant each month. I can't wait. Of course, we always take January off to recoup from all of the holiday festivities, but I can't wait for next week's venture into South Africa -- and if I'm good, I'll actually blog about that a little sooner after the event (it doesn't make it easier to remember things!)
On to the evening. We started with a lovely warm brie with ham and parsley and pinot noir. Now in full disclosure, the Pinot was from California. Unfortunately, the person assigned to bring it wasn't able to attend at the last minute and so our lovely hostess suplemented, but her only Pinot was a California treat. It was a very smooth sip and was just the right light flavor with the appetizer. It's definitely one that goes well with cheese or if you need a gentle glass on its own.
The next course was a greek salad paired with Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc. The wine had a lovely burst of grapefruit and was very light. It was a nice combination with the salad and a really good course after the cheesy wonder we had just enjoyed. At first I was nervous that the grapefruit notes would contrast with the acid in the tomato, but they counteracted. If there hadn't been snow on the ground, I would think I was having a nice light summer lunch. Cupcake is rather recognizable and I have had some of their other wines. I think it's all been pretty palattable, especially if you don't want to drop a lot of money on a wine. It's not going to win any awards, but it's not embarassing or nasty, either. 
We moved to a heavier wine for our next course which was a meltable blend of avocado,shrimp and lobster. The Virgin Chardonnay was buttery, with extra depth and definitely a rich finish. It went well with the pairing (butter with seafood - I guess it could be called a no brainer.) I'm not sure it's something I would purchase on again, as there are other countries who can definitely do a Chardonnay better.
The next course brought the wine that most often comes to mind when one thinks of Australia.
The Nine Stones Shiraz was definitely a dry wine with lots of pepper and very jammy. It was a pretty standard Shiraz, or at least pretty standard based on my experience. It went nicely with the pulled pork that was spiced and was a Thai pulled pork recipe (frankly, I could have just eaten the sandwich and spared the wine!)
From there we went to a three cheese course and tried a Sparkling Shiraz. This was even more peppery than the first Shiraz. And it was at the extreme level of effervescent. It was so dry that when you took a sip, it was almost like you were just drinking foam. It was appropriately chilled, so I'm not sure why it was so crazy, but I think we definitely agreed it was the bomb of the evening. The cheese course, well, you really can't go wrong with cheese.
The evening ended with a yummy cheesecake and a very sweet, raisiny Semillion. It was very smooth and probably could have just been dessert on its own. However, if you are not a fan of the very sweet dessert wine, then I would recommend you pass, because this was truly a sweet, sweet wine.
All in all, another successful journey to a new place in the world and another good time with friends, good wine and great food! It's amazing that I've still been able to lose weight and enjoy this club once a month!
No comments:
Post a Comment