Happy New Year

Hi Everyone!! I hope everybody had a wonderful New Years and are geared up to cook!! I want to let you all know that if you ever have any cooking questions, comments, tips, tricks, or anything that you would like to share, please feel free to tell me. I would love to hear from you.  Just go to the comment section, or you could e-mail me.  If you would like, I can post the questions you offered for others to view. 

                  

On another onion leaf, we have decided to add a “wine of the month”…or maybe two.  I love having a nice bottle of wine to go with dinner or lunch. When you have to decide what wine to pick it should not be a hard decision.  There are a few basic tips that I go by when pairing with food; white wine with white meat, fish and light white sauces, and red wine with red meat and red sauces.  Also always read the label and see which foods the vintner had recommended to pair together.

In the world of wines there are so many choices.  I can see why it would be overwhelming when choosing one or two for your dinner.  I would suggest starting out with a wine that is moderately priced and made in whatever country you feel moved by.  If you would like to find your favorite wine it might take purchasing and tasting a few bottles before you find it.

When choosing a wine maybe you could start with one category like a Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, etc. and then your first bottle can be from France, then Australia, and then California.  It’s a good idea to have one red and one white (example: Pinot noir and Shiraz) then every time you need a wine depending on what you are eating, choose one from a different country.  By doing it that way you already know what category to look in, now you just have to choose what country.  It cuts back on the choices, and makes the wine aisle look less intimidating. 

This month my first wine choice is going to be a 2010 Sauvignon Blanc from the Cupcake Vineyards located in Monterey County, California.  It’s price is $12-$14 depending on where you purchase your wine.  This wine is delicious, when you look at it you would immediately think that it’s sweet, not at all.  It has the flavor of citrus, Meyer lemon and key limes.  It is extremely refreshing, with a bit of a zing and not a hint of bitterness to it, in the finish. 

                       

Make sure your wine has been properly Chilled in the fridge or your wine cooler.  Your white wine bottle should be much colder to the touch then the red wine.  It’s best to open your wine an hour or two before you sit down to eat, it allows the wine to aerate and really opens up the flavor.  When you open your wine pour it into a decanter, or a glass pitcher that you have lying around your house.  Ahh, I can breathe!

 

 

Enjoy!