Oxford Landing South Australia GSM 2007 Vintage

Oxford Landing Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2007 vintage from South Australia is a confusing wine to describe.  I will not try to go into detail here as I drank it last night and could not come up with the right words to describe the wine besides berries.  This is one you will have to try for yourself and get back to me!

MAIPE Andean Culture Malbec 2009

The second wine I have chosen to blog about is MAIPE Andean Culture Malbec 2009 from Mendoza, Argentina.  Now here is a nice wine that is not going to break your budget but that you will be able to enjoy from start to finish.  When you take your first sip of this Malbec, the first thing you will notice is a smokey, oakey flavor on your tongue.  This quickly fades as you swallow; the smokiness does not linger in your mouth so once you swallow that sip you're left wondering if it was ever really smokey at all.  This wine is quite mysterious that way.  You will also notice berry flavors.  The wine is very clean and mild and I enjoyed it very much.

Wine Tasting Blog #1

Since I have such a fondness for wine, red especially, I decided to start informing you all about the different wines I am trying.  Last night for dinner I made tilapia, simmered in a sauce of tomatoes, garlic, basil, and white wine.  I did an internet search to see what kind of wine would pair well with the meal; the search turned up Sangiovese.

I also handcrafted some sweet potato gnocchi and made a tarragon/arugula cream sauce, this was served with the fish.  In all honesty, the two were separate meals served together, which I do not recommend.   Both were tasty, but together they took away from each other.

The Sangiovese I bought to pair with the meal was Cantini Dei Colli Amerini Poggio Del Salici Sangiovese.  Now, it has been said that one should always pair red wine with food and it's never to be drank by itself.  I disagree.  I enjoy a glass of red wine by itself, it's like a food in its own.  So of course I opened the bottle and tasted the wine on its own: not good by itself.  I highly suggest pairing it with a strong cheese like a sharp cheddar, but not too strong of a cheese like a sharp provolone because it will overpower the wine, whereas I think the crispness of the cheddar will compliment the wine perfectly.  The Sangiovese was tart and somewhat acidic. 

Bri's Best Buffalo Wings

Armed with a margarita in one hand, Frank's Red Hot in the other, Bri attempts to make the tastiest, most kick-ass buffalo wings ever.  She competes with one person only: her husband.  He has been making them wings on a weekly  basis for months now, and his are always delicious.  His method is to parboil the wings for 15 minutes before baking them in the oven.  Bri has another idea.

She is going to oven roast her wings.  On a roasting rack in a roasting pan with 1/2 cup of water in the pan Bri places the wings.  She then brushes them with olive oil, sprinkles them with salt and pepper, and places them into a 400 degree oven that has been preheated to temperature.  She cooks the wings for 15 minutes.  At the 15 minute mark she takes the wings out and flips them over.  She places them back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

After that, she takes the wings out of the oven and tosses them in her own concoction made of Smart Balance melted butter, Frank's Red Hot sauce, Texas Pete hot sauce, and Sweet Baby Ray's hickory smoked barbecue sauce.  The wings go back in the oven for another 7 minutes.  At that point, they get pulled out of the oven and tossed in the sauce again.  They go back in for another 3 minutes.  Then they are finished, they get tossed one final time and served with a side of Ken's reduced fat bleu cheese dressing and celery.  Perfection!