Hello all!  So I know I’ve blogged about 181 Merlot before, but apparently I’ve never blogged about it’s dear cousin 337 Cabernet Sauvignon!  Well, they just released their 2008 vintage and let me tell you – YUM.  The vines they use for 337 are clones of Bordeaux vines and they have taken remarkably well to the terroir of Lodi, California.  Dark berry flavors with balanced acidity and tannins, this is a great Cab.  We paired it with grilled veggies and an aged cheddar with cranberry pepper jelly and felt it held up superbly to the strong flavors.  But it is absolutely smooth enough to drink without a food pairing as well!  We grabbed this bottle as part of a 2 for $20 deal (another Monique suggestion, I love that woman).  Highly recommended!

 

(photo credit 337 Wine)

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)

Greetings from the Windy City!  I’m in Chicago for the week on business and while I don’t have a lot of free time I just have to share a bit about my first couple of days in this wonderful city.  First of all, work has put me up in a schwanky hotel right next to the House of Blues – very cool!  Second, they have a wine bar in the lobby.  Ah, good thing this is a business trip because otherwise things could get dangerous.  I stopped in my first night planning to order a bottle to bring up to my room.  After they insisted on pouring me samples of almost a dozen wines, I opted for just a glass instead.  The wine bar is called Bin 36, and to top it all off, Bin 36 has its own cheese refrigerators!  Like, imagine a huge, floor-to-ceiling wine fridge, then picture three of them lined up on a wall, each with 4 temperature controlled zones to keep the assorted cheese at the appropriate temperature.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I’ll get into more detail later on, but two wines of note that I tried are Massaya from the Bekka Valley in Lebanon, and Windmill, a petit syrah from Lodi.  Tonight I’m going out to dinner with my college roommate who happens to be in Med school here in Chi-town, and since she is fabulous I am sure she will take me somewhere fabulous and that tomorrow I’ll have even more exciting wines to tell you about!  Darn work always getting in the way, there is so much else I’d rather be doing!  If you have any must-see spots I should hit up while I’m in town, let me know!

Happy Monday, my dears!  I am very happy today.  Not because it’s Monday, obviously, but because I have a wine that I am SUPER excited to tell you about.  My favorite new wine in a long time.  I mean really, really long time.  Acting upon the suggestion of the always dead-on Monique (adorable, eccentric little French lady at my local wine store), I picked up a bottle of 2007 Zinfandel from Axis.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I love this wine because it has the bold flavor of a Zinfandel but it is delicate at the same time.  We paired it with balsamic glazed rosemary lamb chops and it complimented the meal perfectly.  Anyone who is a fan of Cabernet would like this wine – powerful yet very smooth.  Definitely more potent that Wily Jack, another Zin I recently reviewed, but I think Axis would be a good next step for someone who wants to get into Zins, or just change up their normal red routine.  The bottle was on sale, 2 for $25, so a bit more than I normally like to spend on everyday wine, but I have already purchased more and can tell you that it’s well worth it.  Would it be overkill to grab another bottle for tonight?  It is Monday after all…  Cheers!

(photo credit:  prestigewineimports.com)