Health & Fitness
Red Wines For a White Winter (Starting in October)!
For what's to follow after October snow: warm fires and the wines to go with them.
Snow in October?! Really? What a way to jump start the winter season. And a perfect time to try some new "winter" reds.
I love red wines in the winter. Big bold reds; light, bright, and refreshing reds. With the snow and cold weather this weekend, I had the pleasure of tasting a few reds in front of a roaring fire.
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Saturday night we opened a 2004 Dehesa LaGranja, a Tempranillo from Spain. Big, bold, and amazing comes to mind when sipping this wine! We popped and poured this wine right into our wine glasses. Luckily I have huge wine glasses because it needed a lot of air.
After swirling for a while the aromas rose up to greet us. Black fruit, herbs and smoke are just some of what I could take away from the wine. On the palate I tasted blackberries and plums. Medium-bodied with great tannins (that's what makes your mouth feel dry) the Dehesa is a perfect winter wine. Make sure to decant this wine as it is unfiltered and may have sediment at the bottom of the bottle.
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Sunday the cable and Internet went out so we built a roaring fire and cooked. Chicken tortilla soup with smoked chiles was on the menu for that night! I wanted a red wine but didn't want something that would overpower the soup. I picked the 2009 Acrobat Pinot Noir, a vintage from King Estate in Oregon. I threw it in the refridgerator for 30 minutes before opening it just to give it a quick chill.
Bright cherry, cranberry, and a little spice from the oak aging (just six months) greet the nose. This wine is crisp and refreshing, light yet lively. With flavors of cherry and pomegranate it was a perfect accompaniment to the soup and the fire.
Late Sunday night while the fire died down I opened another big bold red for us to taste, the 2006 Vall Llach Idus, a Priorat from Spain. The Idus is a blend of Cariñena, Merlot, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah. That's a powerful mix and this is a powerful wine.
Another wine in need of breathing I decanted it for 30 minutes before we started sipping. Dark cherries, spice and toasty oak aromas rose up to greet me as I swirled the glass. With dark fruit (cherries and blackberries) on the palate, along with savory flavors, a long finish and grippy tannins the Idus was my wine of the weekend!
Here's to more snow days!
Cin cin!
