Moving back to the Wine Awesomeness monthly box this week, meant trying another type of wine that I had never seen before. This time, it was a Minervois. I quickly discovered that Minervois is an appellation, the title given to a specifically styled product from a specific place or region, for red wines in western Languedoc France. Although the Minervois title is usually bestowed upon red wines, it also covers rosés and white wines as well. This wine was made up of the most prominent varietals for the region. It was 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 10% Mouvedre. * It…
Day: November 29, 2017
Murrieta’s Well Red Blend
It was time for another “Out of the Box” week. This week, I was still sourcing my bottles from the haul that my husband had surprised me with and I chose a red blend from Livermore Valley. I had never heard of Livermore Valley before, so I started my research there. Livermore Valley is about 30 miles east of San Francisco, CA. It is one of California’s oldest regions, with grapes first being planted there by Spanish missionaries in the 1760s. However, it wasn’t until almost 100 years later that pioneers began planting there. Then in 1889, the valley earned…
Shatter Grenache
This week marked the end of the parade of Portuguese wines. I was ready to move on. We had also been having a cold few days so I had made a pot of chili and was ready to get down to work. This bottle of Grenache was gorgeous for starters. The label felt like a printed work of art and I know it sounds funny, but the chosen font appealed to me. I had never tried Grenache before so I started in on my research. There are three main types of Grenache wine, Spanish, French, and American. While Spanish and…
Caves Velhas Cardeal Selected Harvest Red
Well I can honestly say, that this week I had no idea what to expect from my last wine from Portugal. My first red was no good, but the second bottle, which was a white, turned out to be amazing. I was a little nervous about trying a second red, but I figured that an entire region would not be able to let me down twice right? This red was also made from a selection of Portuguese grapes. It was 35% Tinta-Roriz, 35% Alfrocheiro, and 30% Touriga-Nacional. I hoped that this would turn out to be one of the “elegant…
Caves Velhas Douro Branco
This week continued the Portugese wine trend with a Douro Branco from the same winery as last week. Needless to say, after last week I did not have high hopes for this week, but I was excited to see a white after what felt like a recent parade of reds. With the weather getting warmer I was also craving a lighter wine. This white wine was also made from a mixture of three different grapes. It was 40% Viosinho, 30% Rabigato, and 30% Gouveio. Last week I discovered that the Dao region of Portugal is known for elegant reds. I…
Caves Velhas Vinho Tinto
I received my next box from Wine Awesomeness this week and inside I found all Portuguese wines. I had never tried any Portuguese wines, so I was quite eager to get down to business on these. The first I chose from the box was the Caves Velhas Vinho Tinto. This red wine was made from a mixture of three different grapes. It was 35% Touriga-Nacional, 35% Tinta-Roriz, and 30% Touriga-Franca. After a little research, I discovered that Portugal is famous for Port. Which makes sense right? Port? Portugal? HaHa! Anyway… I went back to my Wine Awesomeness box to see…