Sunday Wine Down Summer Tasting Party

Sunday is a day for rest, relaxation and WINE... We hosted our Sunday Wine Down Summer tasting party last weekend and it was fantastic. Along with some great wines from Wine Shop At Home we also enjoyed some tasty bites including crab cakes from "The Little Onion". We welcomed our guests with a sparkling wine called Petit Cadeau Semi Seco. Petit Cadeau is french for "little or small gift". This wine was lightly sweet with a delicate balance and the perfect amount of bubbles. It is an ideal partner for celebrating life's simple pleasures and special occasions. This delicious sparkling California wine is a blend of French Columbard, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Muscat, Viognier, PinotBlanc and Sauvignon Blanc. With flavors and
aromas of green apple and pear with hints of orange and anise. It was one of the favorites of the evening. At only $19.50 a bottle this is a perfect gift as this wine can be ordered with your own customized label for weddings, corporate gifts or holiday gift giving!

Our second wine of the evening was the Frisch 2010 Riesling. I am becoming a huge Riesling fan and this wine was a good one but the third wine was a surprising favorite, the 2010 Nouveau Muse Rosato. I don't normally care for Rose's but this wine is far better than most I have tasted. It is a delightful pink color and tastes light and smooth with hints of strawberry, raspberry, cherry and aromas of spice. This central coast Rosato is a blend of 80% Pinot Noir, 10% Syrah, 10% Chardonnay and only $18.00 a bottle. Next in line was the 2008 Milano Barbera which we have talked about in a previous post. As of today the Barbera is sold out so that tells you just how good it was. On to our next red which was the EVO 2009 Mendocino Merlot. This is a special bottle with each label showing a beautiful tiger in half-profile, with one side of the face barely visible, communicating that a species, without our help, will fade quickly from view.
A dollar from every bottle purchased goes directly to the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative with a guaranteed contribution of $25,000.00, now that feels and tastes good! Our last red was the Fog Vineyards 2009 Valley Mist Blend. This weekend wine is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Petit Sirah. This wine has aromas of blueberry, chocolate and raspberry with hints of leather and spice. This is a big bold wine with a long fruit driven finish. Last but not least was the 2010 Fleur Blu Muscat which was paired with dark chocolate mini brownies. We also shared some fun summer cocktail recipes like the Dirty Rose: 1 part Rosato, 3 parts grapefruit soda. Or the one we call Dusty's wine cocktail: 1 part Barbera, 3 parts lemonade. Our dog Dusty was kissing everyone on Sunday so we thought it only fair to name a drink after him. We finished all the bottles and enjoyed every drop. You can check out all the wines from Wine Shop at Home on my website: www.wineshopathome/dominiquesimon.
Cheers!