Cabernet Sauvignon - Velvet in a Glass

The 2013 Wine Club has officially begun. For our sixth year, we decided to revisit the book that started it all.

Apparently, shortly after purchasing this book it went out of print. (Which means the universe totally wanted me to have this book.) However, you can still buy it through places like Barnes & Noble marketplace (one seller is selling it for $112 - yes, you read that right - sort of makes me wonder how much the book could be worth in a few decades.)

Anyhow, the book does a really fantastic job of laying out a month-by-month course on a different type of wine. She also provides a great complimentary menu (and a no-cook option if that's more your style.) We decided to take January off (which happens to be bubblies, and I don't think many of us were too sad not to revisit that chapter.)

February has us starting out bold with Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a wine that I normally can only drink if I know it's been able to breathe a bit or is paired with a nice cut of steak. I forgot to take photos of the food, so I'll need to be sure to do that going forward, but it was a pleasant spread and some food I would never think to eat on my own, including grapes wrapped in blue cheese and walnuts, peaches with blue cheese wrapped in prosciutto, fabulous cheeses and fig jam, beef tenderloin, chocolate and basil ice cream. 

Now on to the wines:

This first wine, Yali, was a Chilean Cab. It was very bright and fruity. Definitely felt like drinking a glass of velvet. Very light on the tannins . You could call it a sippin' Cab it was smooth enough. 

Our second Cab was a California Cab. The clubby who brought this admitted she selected it based on its label. The label worked. This was also a light Cab, even though it hailed from the light of big bold, cult Cabs. Clearly based on the label, you can tell the winery doesn't take itself too seriously, and in this instance, that worked out well for us.

The third Cab also happened to come from the lands of California. This was much more reminiscent of what I used to think of when I thought about Cab's. It had a bigger, bolder, oakier taste. It would work with a larger burger or steak, but on its own, it was just a little too big for me. 

The final Cab happened to be the one I brought. This is a kosher Israeli wine. I had it at the wine tasting at my local wine shop, so I knew I liked it. Surprisingly, it had the highest alcohol content of all the Cabs (which is why we had it last) but it was really smooth and fresh. A lot of cherry to it. I selected it because I don't think I've ever had an Israeli wine, and thought it would be a cool one to bring to the mix. Fortunately, it tasted it good. 

The nice thing about wine club is the low-key no-pressure aspect to just learning about and enjoying wines with great girlfriends. It's one day of the month I always look forward to!