Happy Friday everyone!  Today I want to share with you the much awaited details of my recent organic wine collaboration with my darling friend Nina!  When Nina approached me with the concept of an organic wine tasting I instantly loved the idea.  Why organic you ask?  Well, organic wine is made from grapes grown on organic farms, which means no chemicals, pesticides, herbicides or unnatural flavor enhancements.  It has greater health benefits, it has a reduced environmental impact, and it is delicious!  I had not had a lot of experience with organic wine and felt it was important to better educate myself.   I decided upon Bonterra, Frey and Parducci.  Bonterra and Frey are both organic and Parducci is sustainable.  I felt that even though Parducci didn’t quite fit the mold of what we originally set out to do, it was still created with noble intentions of being green and responsible so decided to let it play.  Now, each winery produces a variety of wines.  I selected the red house blend for all three.  That way the tasting would be more apples-to-apples.  It is hard to compare a Merlot from one winery to a Cab from another, right? They were even all from the same region, Mendocino County, CA!  So with an even playing field we dove into these bad boys and didn’t look back.  Let me tell you, I was impressed!  Here are our reviews:

Bonterra – Merlot (52%), Syrah (22%), Cab Sauv (20%) & Zinafandel (2%) – $10.99/bottle

Light tannin with a somewhat vegetal nose and a combination of stone fruit (from the Cab) and black olive (from the Merlot) on the palate.  A softer wine, didn’t pack as much of a punch as you would expect from a wine dominated by Merlot, Syrah & Cab.  But pleasant and easy to drink, good for sipping on its own.  I thought this was a good wine, but after seeing Bonterra wine all over the place I guess I was expecting more.  Granted, this is a table wine and not one of their pure varietal wines, so you should not expect it to be super well defined.  But of the three this is probably the one I would least likely buy again.

Frey – Carignane, Zinfandel & Syrah – $10.99/bottle

Lovely wine with bright, ripe fruits (from the Zin) and a touch of floral/herbal notes.  A nice hint of anise on the finish, unless you’re paring it with a flavorful food in which case you may not detect it.  Much rounder than the Bonterra, very smooth tannins.  This wine was great!  I had never tried Frey going in to the tasting but I am glad I did.  I would buy this wine again, it is soft and easy to drink.  I would most likely drink it on its own as with food I felt it got a little washed out.

Parducci – Zinfandel (39%), Syrah (26%), Cab Sauv (23%) & Carignane (12%) – $9.99/bottle

Pronounced, bold flavors.  The Zin really shines through, this wine clearly has the most pronounced alcohol of the three.  Paired well with the cheese plate we created, especially the pungent Camambert/Blue hybrid.  Big and beautiful – a wine after my own heart!  This was my favorite of the three.  Really held up against the food we were eating but super smooth and delightful on its own.  Love the Zin characteristics and I think the blend was done very well.  I will be buying this again for sure!  Definitely my favorite of the three.

This is totally one of those wines that you see all the time and think, “Really?  TRUCK?  That does not make me want to drink this wine.  It makes me think of dirt.”  So in hopes of discovering something new and fabulous I grabbed a bottle as part of a 3 for $25 deal.  And you know what?  It was pretty decent!  It was light but had a substantial amount of fruit.  If I hadn’t known better I may have thought I was drinking a merlot, that’s how much ripe berry I found.  I brought it to temperature with my wine chill drops and I think that made a big difference in taking the edge off, I would recommend you try this wine a little on the cooler side as well…  Great for a casual mid week dinner when I didn’t really know what I was going to pair with it.  At 3 for $25 I think Red Truck is right priced and I would definitely get this again if I wanted an easy drinking red for just hanging around the house.  A very pleasant surprise from a wine I affiliated with dirt, I must say!  :)

(Image via)

I saw the most adorable picture of a friend’s baby on facebook the other day.  She is 7 months old and gnawing on a bottle of white wine – she clearly gets this from her father because her mother is lovely, not some crazed bottle-chewing fiend…  :)  Then I noticed that the bottle she was gnawing on was one of my favorite go-to wines, Ménage à Trois White from the Folie à Deux Winery in Napa.  Ménage à Trois is a blend and we ALL know how I feel about blends (read-LOVE).  This mix is a Chardonnay with Muscat and Chenin Blanc.  It has a mild sweetness that makes it super easy to drink by itself (honey, pear, yum) but enough acidity and citrus to hold its own against mild-moderate cheeses as well.  This would be great with a nice flaky fish or a margherita pizza too, softer dishes.

Folie à Deux Winery also produces a great red, aptly called, Ménage à Trois Red (PS – Ménage à Trois coming from the French “mix of three,” because they all have 3 grapes in the blend!).  The red is a blend of Zin (my current favorite varietal), Merlot and Cab.  This one has a little more bite to it, a little more spicy and in-your-face.  Holds up great against more powerful dishes, pretty much any foods you would normally pair with a single varietal wine of any of the three grapes.  These wines are relatively easy to find and will normally run you around $9-$11 a bottle.  So check it out and let me know what you think!  And happy 7 month-a-versary to the little lady who inspired this post, you’re truly a girl after my own heart!

(photo credit: Folie à Deux)

BAM!  Just when you thought a fancy-dancy place like Whole Foods would never stoop so low as to attempt to recreate the success of Trader Joe’s “Two Buck Chuck” (or Charles Shaw wine) purely for the sake of making a quick buck – I come across Three Wishes, a California wine from the emerging wine-producing area southeast of San Francisco.  At $2.99 of COURSE I had to pick up a bottle to try when I stopped by for some bread during my lunch break yesterday.  Granted, I only bought the Merlot, but I already had 6 bottles of wine (nice bottles) in my bag and couldn’t manage any more.  And at $2.99, the wine was more of an after thought.  Something you keep on hand for when it’s late and you want more wine but you know you’ve had enough that you won’t really taste the next bottle so you don’t want to open something more expensive.  Never something to start the evening with, right?  So I come home with 7 bottles of wine, 3 pieces of cheese, a baguette, fresh tomatoes and quicos (or corn nuts) ALL for just $80!   Thank you lady who bought our old furniture on Monday  After the gym I picked up the hubs and headed home.  I told him to pick his favorite cheese, slice up the baguette and open an interesting bottle of wine while I was changing, and when I came downstairs he had opened none other than the Three Wishes.  For serious.  I don’t blame him, there was no price tag on the bottle and he thought the bottle did indeed seem interesting (recycled glass made a somewhat thinner, even smaller looking bottle than normal…)  Against my better judgement, we started the evening with a $2.99 bottle of wine.  And let me tell you – my alert wine sense knew I was drinking a cheap bottle of wine.  But was it an awful cheap bottle?  I can’t really say it was!  Did it have a robust cherry nose, a silky smooth palate and a pleasant after taste?  No.  Did it pass for being a decent bottle to have on hand for cooking or late night celebrations?  Sure, why not!  If you’re a fan of Two Buck Chuck and want to read a funny if not occasionally scathing article comparing it to this new line of Three Wishes wine I highly recommend an article I found in SF Weekly, it is pretty hilarious.  Has anyone else tried Three Wishes?  I’m kind of dying to try the other varietals, just to see…  I hope to come back tomorrow with a review of something that is not strange or overly cheap, it’s been an interesting week for me so far, hasn’t it?  Until then, Happy Hump Day, hope I don’t loose internet in the blizzard we’re expecting tomorrow!

(photo credit San Francisco Weekly)

Good day to you all!  My, I have an interesting wine to share with you today…  At no ones suggestion in particular, this weekend I picked up a bottle of Kelley Creek 2005 Merlot as part of a 3 for $25 deal.  I didn’t think we had tried the bottle before and I thought it was worth a shot.  Well, we opened it last night to use/pair with a beef stew we were whipping up to try to warm ourselves from the -2 degree temperature (Why, Boston?  Why??) and had quite a time even just opening the bottle!  Normally I am an advocate for synthetic rubber corks but this one was nearly impossible to remove from the bottle.  Moving on to the nose.  I suppose most professionals would describe it as tinny or canned vegetable.  I thought it smelled like olives.  Green olives in a dirty martini to be exact.  Great if you are drinking a dirty martini, somewhat off putting if you are smelling a red wine.  The taste also echoed the olive-ness, it wasn’t bad, just a little odd…  It worked fine in the stew so that is good, and after a glass I didn’t really mind the vegetal quality any more.  But then we got to the end and I lost a good inch of my glass to an enormous amount of sediment.  Yes, with a 2005 bottle I should have expected or at least checked for sediment so it is no ones fault but my own, but it was still annoying.  Normally I don’t like to put negative reviews on my blog as no one likes a Negative Nancy, but I thought I would share this one because it is not entirely negative.  Like I said, I was able to get to the end of the bottle rather easily, despite the strange nose/flavor combo.  And I think there would be some people out there who would really go for this wine, people who like dirty martinis perhaps, or admire the vegetal profile.  So I share it with you just in case.  Speaking of case, we just sold some old furniture last night and now have a couple hundred in cash lying around the house.  Should we put it towards the bill for the new furniture purchased or towards a mixed case of some new fun wines?  We are getting ANOTHER snow storm tomorrow and we DO have dinner plans with a couple of our wonderful couple friends this week, so I think having some good wine on hand is a MUST.  Besides, it’s RESEARCH, right??  :)

(photo credit Kelley Creek)

Ok, so it’s “Crab cakes and football,” but yesterday we went to a favorite local hang out, Fat Cat Restaurant, and when the bartender read our order of “Crab cakes and merlot,” back to us it made me think of the “Wedding Crashers” line…  ANYWAY, so yes, last night on our way to our final flower appointment we stopped for a much needed glass of wine and a little snack.  The crab cakes were awesome, as is pretty much everything I have ever has at Fat Cat in ever (seriously, their fries are outstanding, lobster mac and cheese to die for, and the best pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever had not at a BBQ joint).  And the merlot was a great compliment!

I love Fat Cat’s wine program, affordable house wines at $7 a pop along with a good selection of interesting bottles and a GREAT beer list as well.  I tried the Gerard Bertrand 2008 Merlot and it was just what I was hoping for.  Smooth, the right balance of spice and fruit, a great wine to sip on solo or pair with the mild crab cake starter.  Plus, Gerard is pretty darn cute, isn’t he?  A successful snack break and a successful flower appointment, hurrah Tuesday!  Now if we can just have a successful end to the work week – and by that I mean a QUICK one…

(photo via)

My major accomplishment for the weekend, Skull & Bones Orange Creme Whoopie Pies.  Pretty spooktacular, don’t you agree?  Pair the whoopie pies with a liter of Roundhill on sale for $9.99 (which is what I paid for the regular bottle when I reviewed it initially!) and a Patriot’s win and I’d call that a successful Halloween!  We tried out the Roundhill Merlot this time around, it was great!  Along with the whoopie pies, we paired the wine with an amazing ribeye that Mr. Fiancé cooked up.  He also used some of the wine in the sauteed onion and mushroom steak topping he put together, delicious!  Did you do anything fun for Halloween?  Now that the ghosts and goblins have come and gone, we get to look forward to my favorite holiday of all time – THANKSGIVING.  Oh man, I’m hungry already…

Ok, not really, that would mean something bad has happened, right?  Well trust me, all is well in Merlot-land,  apothecaries need not come a’ running…  A little play on words for a nice little wine I discovered, Apothic Red from California.  I found Apothic on sale at Fresh Market for $9.99.  Of course I always pick up a right-priced blend, so I grabbed a bottle of this Syrah, Zinfandel & Merlot mix to try at home.  For three strong varietals, this blend turned out to be much smoother than anticipated, particularly notable was the sweet vanilla on the finish (the fiancé attributed the sweetness to the fact that the wine label described the blend as a “smooth red,” like the last “smooth red” blend we tried…  Are the wine makers onto a new adjective trend of which I am not aware?).  Full bodied and delightful, I would totally grab this bottle to sip on its own after a meal.  I could also see using this in a marinara sauce.  You know that old trick of putting brown sugar in your sauce to neutralize the acid?  I feel like the sugar in this wine could serve a similar purpose.  But that’s just a thought, not science.  If I remember to try this the next time I make sauce I’ll report back on my findings…  Anywho, I enjoyed Apothic Red and I think you will too!  Until the next time, happy-almost-Friday!!

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)

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)