Wine Tasting Lucious Reds

One of my dear friends was concerned about my well being and inquired........."Hope the wine tasting 'practice' is going well!"

Why yes my friend it is, thanks so much for asking.

I thought I'd share just a couple of the wines we've imbibed in over the past couple of days.

We had an Italian Ruffian 2007 Chianti with dinner. And dinner was......what else? Lasagna. And it was good. During the summer I like the Chianti with Italian cuisine, but in the winter it's Valipolicella. It's so nice to have a choice. This Chianti was the definition of Chianti. It's nose was an aroma of cherries and chocolate. The flavor was perfect for the food with light tannins and berries. An undramatic finish that enticed us to take another bite of pasta so we could drink about gulp of Chianti. The perfect wine at only $8.99.

With the ribeye steak we had the next day, we popped open a bottle of 2006 Cline Zinfandel. When eating steak, I always prefer the Zin over the Cab Sav. The Cabernet Sauvignon can hold its own with the beef, but it lacks the complexity of the Zin when pairing it with the peppery, garlic flavors grilled into a good size slab of meat. This Cline Zin is tried and true. When in doubt of what to buy to go with steak, buy a Zin. (No, I am NOT getting a kick back from the Growers of American Zinfandel, but maybe I should, shoot) This Zin's nose was filled with cherry and tannins. When the elixir went down, it coated the tongue with flavors of licorice, more cherry, and pepper. Leaving me with a jammy, tannin aftertaste that left me feeling satisfied with my $9.99 purchase.

Imbibe and Enjoy!