Winner Winner Chicken Dinner,.....with a little torrontes to help out

Ahh, I do like chicken dinner.  Aided by some Phebus Torrontes To wash it down this makes for a fine evening of food and wine.  Tonight I just put together a very easy dinner.  Chicken tenders, grilled up in a pan, not fried (trying to be a little healthy).  I made sure to season them well with salt, pepper, garlic powder and juiced up with a little soy sauce.  Cook them over a medium heat so that they do not get dry and crisp on the outside.  The seasoning will add a coating over them that gives them a fried appeal without the calories.  Tonights sides are green beans and corn.  Easy enough..  Use frozen never canned. The canned veggies are just awful,  they become flat and soggy and the only flavor is salt.  Go with the fozen.  Green beans are easy enough, just add bacon, yes I said bacon, what kind of beans can you make without bacon I don't know.  Add a little salt and pepper and you are well on your way.  Corn is even easier,  just add butter, salt and pepper and you are ready to eat.  Simple enough.
With dinner tonight I am offering a Torrontes, the white wine from Argentina.  Phebus torrontes to be exact.  Now, a little information about torrontes.  Most people have never even heard of torrontes much less tried it. There are three distinct types of torrontes; riojano, sanjuanino, mendocino.  The wine can be highly acidic if not handled by an expert wine maker. It can produce many flavors usually tree fruit such as peach and pear.  It is very similar to muscat.
The Phebus Torrontes from the Bodega Fabre Montmayou,  This wine will not break the bank usually found under 10 dollars.  And well worth picking up several bottles.  the distinct golden color is remarkable. It is highly aromatic with strong notes of citrus, lemon, lime.  The taste is very fruity, peach is detected here also.  Crisp and dry.    The mouth is perfectly balanced.  A lingering but not long finish.  Easy to offer with chicken or seafood.  Just an enjoyable wine to serve.
Enjoy

Phebus Torrontes 2013

Look at that, anybody hungry?

Jennie, Jennie,...... Jenner Chardonnay

Treasure hunting can produce some exciting adventures and finds.  That is what happened here.  While I was doing some research on Fritz winery ( I will  post about these another time) I came across another of their brands, Jenner. Well what can I say.  I stopped what I was doing and went to work on the Jenner chardonnay.  A Sonoma coast offering.  The wine is partially fermented in tanks and French oak which gives it a lighter color, taste and aroma.  This gives the wine a chance to show off the fruit and winemaking  techniques  of Brad Longton the winemaker.  He really does a job on this one.     Bright yellow color like the rays of sunshine shining down on the Sonoma Coast in the early morning.  The nose is pleasant and inviting.  Citrus notes exude from the glass as I tip it toward my nose  and stick my shnoze in to enjoy the ripe aromas.  Ample fruit that also hints of melon and orange.

The flavor- as it hits your tongue - has so many characteristics going on.  Your head will spin as you try and decipher all of the notes going on here. Thankfully not a wood chomper (you know how I hate chewing on a piece of wood like a beaver).  Lots of complexity here.  Tropical fruits, mango, orange, with a little bit of minerality.  

A great balance with just enough acidity to meet the needs of the wine and make it a pleasant drinking experience.  Crisp and light bodied  with a lingering but not long finish.  A taste of vanilla sets in at the end giving it a pleasant finish, oh wait what is that...a little bit of toasted nut too, wow it just keeps delivering.  

Enjoy

Ho My Dear...Chateau d'Agassac Haute Medoc 2009

Whoa, talk about something big and bold.  This wine delivers the knock out punch like it was the winner in a Frazier-Ali fight.  A high rating from Wine Spectator doesn't hurt either.  A traditional bordeaux blend, an exceptional value at less than 25$. 

The nose is very aromatic with strong notes of dark ripe fruits, cassis and hints of tobacco.

To the mouth, watch out, an intense concentrated wine FULL of so many flavors.  Yes, a little tobacco, but also that rich dark ripe fruit, licorice, cassis, That smack of currant and oh such a sweet note of French oak.   The finish is long with full tannins.  So much character, depth and structure perfectly balanced and proportioned.   What a wonderful find.  This is the wine you want to be drinking when you meet that certain someone.  

Scrumptious and delicious. 

Enjoy

have you ever seen something so deep and rich.

Incredible

The Garden Of Eden Ridge..

Eden Ridge 2013. A fantastic chardonnay from Mendocino.   Truett Hurst (Phil Hurst), is the producer, a Mendocino expert.  Ginnie Lambrix is the winemaker, one of my favorite women of wine.  She crafts this wine like an artist creating life on canvas. The nose has pleasant aromas of tree fruits apple, pear, peaches and lemony citrus notes.  A variable garden of Eden, get it ????   The fruit is abundant in the mouth.  Full forward and finishing long into the night.  Citrus flavors, hints of oak, but not the whole tree, and definite apple, and oohh is that butterscotch and maybe even vanilla, yes definitely vanilla I notice. Exceptionally balanced pulling all of the flavors and acidity into perfect harmony.  So much going on here and less than 15 dollars.  What else on earth do you need. Pair this wine with chicken, fish, seafood, or just enjoy it by the glass.
Enjoy

Look at that color, just beckoning you to partake!!!

E  

Le Freak So Chic, Dirty Little Freak, again from DuClaw Brewing

Well Well Well where do I go from here.  This is the Dirty Little Freak from DuClaw.  What an experience. This is a fantastic Ale  that bursts on the scene with so much going on, just like every little freak I've ever known.  It has an appealing dark brown appearance. Perfect head pour (freaky) and nice legs on the glass.  It has a strong and inviting aroma of roasted nuts and coffee.  The taste is full and powerful.  Depth of flavors including coconut, coffee, caramel and hints of chocolate.  Not a take off of the Sweet Baby Jesus, more hints of coffee and coconut, not as sweet as Jesus but lively and active in the mouth.  Again another great offering from DuClaw.
Enjoy

Just keep pouring.  

Sweet Baby Jesus !!!!!!!

Tonight I veer away from my typical wine drinking and discussion to offer up some beer notes I also enjoy.  Just because I drink more wine doesn't mean I don't enjoy beer and spirits.
Sweet Baby Jesus is a porter style beer from Duclaw brewing.  Now my friends know how I love chocolate and peanut butter.  Now added with a beer ...unbelievable.
The appearance,  color is a deep dark chocolate brown (what else).  It has an aroma of a peanut butter cup.  Tantalizing you from the get go, a little tease.
The taste of the beer offers you the flavors also of chocolate, peanut butter, and a little coffee  shines through also.  Sounds like a perfect breakfast for me.
The mouth is coating, a little thinner than I expected but still quite nice.  And the lingering finish just keeps you dreaming of the ecstasy of chocolate and peanut butter. (better than sex?)  Maybe not, but it will keep you satisfied on some nights.
Keep this one in mind when you want to try something different.
Enjoy

SWEET BABY JESUS

Spier it is.... Spier Pinotage

Pinotage is a red wine grape typically from South Africa.  It is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. 

The wines are typically deep red with hints of smoke and earth tones.  This particular one is Spier from the Stellenbosch of South Africa. Spier is a multi award winning winery.  The farm has been owned by

 Dick Enthoven since 1993, with Frans K. Smit serving as cellar master. 

 The wine has  a deep rich red color.  The nose offers you  ripe fruits, aromas exploding with plums and raisins.  The palate fills your mouth with rich red fruits almost sweet sensations, offset with tobacco and earth tones. A medium body that will pair well with red meats even bar b que.  Spier is aged in oak for 10 months which gives even more complexity to the wine.  A smooth easy finish.  Tonight I am pairing this with dessert, Nutella cupcakes.  You can get the recipe off the internet, I did not give you a picture because I tore them up getting them out of the pan, but they sure taste great.  

Enjoy

A delightful Pinotage for tonight.