Friday marked 100 days to the wedding, hurrah!  To celebrate, my lovely fiancé took me to a great local restaurant for fabulous martinis, an AMAZING salad of heirloom tomatoes with fresh burrata cheese, and the biggest baked stuffed lobster I have ever encountered.  He even surprised me with tickets to “Wicked!” which is currently playing in Boston!  Luckily I had the foresight to have a bottle of Moet chilling in the fridge for when we got home, otherwise I would have felt very under prepared.   Great start to a great weekend!

Tried the white last night as promised, did not let us down!  Especially since I paired it with one of my all time favorite recipies – Spinach & Pesto lasagna  :)  Boil the noodles, mix some thawed spinach, ricotta, salt & pepper, layer with pesto, mozarella & toasted pinenuts and bake for about 20 minutes at 350ºF.  You can also make it stove top in a skillet if you don’t want to turn on the oven.  A recreation from my favorite restaurant in Vernazza, Cinque Terre.  Paired with the Californian 2008 Tamás Pinot Grigio, it was a home run!

Amazing endive, apple and blue cheese salad

+ random red blend picked up in liquor store ambush

= really good weekday dinner and one very happy Sara

Wine: Tamas Estates “Double Decker Red” 2007, California - Blend of Cab, Petit Sirah & Barbera – Yuuuum, you know how I love blends!  This was literally a, “Driving fiancé home from train, in a rush, dash into the store an buy whatever is immediately in front of you without a second thought,” bottle and it turned out to be a winner!  Got the white too, will try that tonight

Ah, the fall… Bring on the foliage, football, leather boots and of COURSE the pumpkin ales! These days it’s so much more than just Sam Adams Oktoberfest.  There are dozens of tasty brews to choose from, just check out this make-your-own sampler pack we put together!  What’s your favorite fall fizzler?

Wahoo, the first of three short weeks for the month of September!  Already putting the pain of no more half day Friday’s behind me, for what’s better than a no-Friday Friday?  Or Monday, you get the idea…  Anyway, today we will be wrapping up (at last!) “Six Ways to Sideways – The Merlot Project,” with the final installment, McWilliam’s Merlot.  So without any further ado, here we go!

The Wine: McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate Merlot, 2006

The Region: Riverina, Southeast Australia

The Results:  That’s a spicy meat-a-ball!  Right off the bat you are innundated with cinnamon, mocha, and clove notes.  There are some nice black current and plum notes as well, but this is definetly a stronger Merlot so you need to watch out when you’re pairing it with food!  I would say chili, strong cheeses, typical Merlot-friendly grilled meats would pair well, this would also be a great wine to add to a spicy home-made arrabiata sauce if you’re in the mood for some Italian!  More dry than the other Merlots we sampled that evening, but it went over well all the same.  I think of the three, this was the boy’s favorite while my sister enjoyed the “Encore,” the best and I the 181.

So what did we learn from this little project?  There are some phenomenal Merlots out there that should not be overlooked just because some consider Merlot, “Your Mother’s Varietal!”  Granted, my own mother can’t drink Merlot, or any other red wine for that matter, but that’s besides the point…  :)  Merlot is going to vary from place to place.  Based on the 6 bottles we tried I would conclude that the Pacific Merlots (Four Sisters & McWilliam’s, both from Australia) are going to be a bit more on the spicy side, the Old World (Ecco Domani & Encore, from Italy & France) are going to be a bit more smooth and fruity), and domestic Merlots (181 & Bogle) are somewhere in between!  I hope you find this helpful next time you’re perusing the aisles of your local liquor store or selecting from a fancy wine menu.  I know I enjoyed the challenge 

(photo credit: www.mcwilliamswine.com)

Ok, seriously, full day Friday’s are a load of bologna.  I know it’s September, but couldn’t they just extend summer hours one more week until after the holiday?  I am DYING already, and to make things worse my future husband has the day off and is thoroughly enjoying his time doing laundry, recycling bottles, dust-busting cat fur and going to the bank.  Ok, at least we’re both a bit miserable with what the day has handed us.  But tonight we get to hang out with our LOVELY friends and drink wine and play board games and wait out this ever-less-intimidating “Earl” fellow…  I’m thinking a nice chilled rosé, I’m in the mood for something pretty and pink.  Mmm, and heirloom tomatoes if I can find them!  What are you up to this lovely last weekend of the summer?  Hope it’s something fun and relaxing!

Ah, and because I just can’t bring myself to wrap up the series just yet, I’m holding off until next week to finish the tale of “Six Ways to Sideways,” hopefully by then this photo issue I’ve been having will be resolved and I’ll be able to post in the full image glory that the project deserves!  Until then…  Prost!

(photo credit: winetastingguy.com)

Ugh, is it really only Thursday?  How is it possible that this week already feels so much longer if I haven’t even had to work my first full Friday since May?  Ok, I’ll shut up about that before people start to hate me…  Anyway, next up in our night of tasting fun – another Merlot from California!  What, it’s a big state and it’s easy to find California Merlots!  I’m not being lazy, I’m just trying to make it easier for you to find the wines I’m blogging about!  So here we go…

The Wine:  181 Merlot, 2007

The Region: Lodi, California

The Results: Great, solid Merlot.  This is a perfect variteal wine, the plush tannins you like with the black cherry flavor you love.  A great spice on the finish, this is the sort of bottle you get when you want what you expect from a classic Merlot.  The winery calls this a “Bordeaux style” Merlot as the soil makeup in the vineyard that produces this wine is similar to that of the right bank of Bordeaux.  I would say they are spot on.  Pair this wine with any bold dish like grilled meats or hearty sauces and stews.  And for $10.99 a bottle, you’ve got to love the price!  So sad, I can’t believe that tomorrow I’ll wrap up our little Merlot adventure!  Well, at least I have a fantastic wedding to attend this weekend at the Boston Public Library with (almost) all of my old college roommates!  Always good to have something fabulous to look forward to  :)  On that note, please start brainstorming and let me know what you think I should focus on next at MoreThanMerlot!  I’d love to take on another little project like “Six Ways to Sideways – The Merlot Project” (HA!  Said it again!)  Your feedback would be much appreciated!  Hasta manana…

(photo credit: 337wine.com)

Ok, down to business!  So this past weekend, as you probably know since I’ve talked about it incessantly, my lovely sister and brother in law came to town for my cousin’s wedding.  Since my parents were at the rehearsal dinner Friday night, I kidnapped my sister and BIL for a little wine tasting action.  To finish off “Six Ways to Sideways – The Merlot Project,” I selected three different bottles of Merlot from around the world.  I looked up some notes online to clue me in to the strength of each wine so that I could order them from softest to most potent, as I feel this is important when tasting multiple wines in a row.  Luckily, my ordering was right on!  So here we go with the first selection:

The Wine:  ”Encore” Merlot by Christian Moueix, 2005.

The Region:  Bordeaux, right bank (Right bank = mostly Merlot, left bank = mostly Cab)

The Results:  This bottle ran us a bit more than usual at $13.99, but it  it was important to me that we incorporated 100% varietal wines from different areas so we could compare and contrast.  And let me tell you, this wine was well worth it!  The few extra years of aging definitely show in the soft fruit and super smooth texture of this wine.   Bright cherry and subtile vanilla with soft tannins, a perfect sipping wine for a summer evening on the terrace.  The wine did not pack too much of a punch overall, so I would not pair it with stronger dishes like a normal Merlot.  This would be great for a mild brie cheese plate, a salad course, or with simple chicken or pork dishes.  I guess I would really pair this wine more as a light Pinot Noir than a Merlot.  So if you’re a big Pinot person looking for something different, you should check this wine out for sure!  How did this rank against the other wines of the evening?  Sorry, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow  :)

PS – You will also have to wait until tomorrow for some pictures, as I tried uploading this morning and the program timed out  :(  My sister looked beautiful, I swear!