WineLife365

Archive for April, 2009

I was visiting my parents the other day and Mom asked me if I was interested in some chocolate cake.  Not one for saying no to any of my mother’s baked goods I said, “Sure, that sounds good!”

When she handed me the chocolate cake it was missing the frosting.  It looked very much like a bundt cake.  She said, “Try it, it’s called Chocolate Kahlua Cake”.  Yep, you guessed it – it’s actually got good old Kahlua in it.  This cake was delicious.  I ate a second slice drizzled with chocolate syrup and walnuts over it.  Yes, I’m a glutton.

Here’s the recipe:

1 package devil’s food cake mix

1 – 4-1/2 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding

1 Pint of sour cream

4 eggs

3/4 cup of oil

3/4 cup of Kahlua

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Beat eggs.  Add oil, sour cream, Kahlua, pudding, cake mix, choco-chips, and finally the nuts.  Mix well.  Bake the mixture in a greased bundt cake pan for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Bon Appetit!

From: Argentina

Price: $9.99

I may need to stand on my soapbox and scream, “Torrontes is the best white wine that you’re not drinking!”.  Torrontes is slowly becoming one of my favorite white wine grapes.  I really enjoyed the Lo Tengo Torrontes earlier this year and now this one.

The 2006 Alamos Torrontes is an awesome, food-friendly wine.  This Torrontes wine has a terrific grapefruit and peach flavor, and it finishes strong!  The 2006 Alamos Torrontes just keeps telling your brain, “This wine is really good…” over and over again until its all gone.

2006 Alamos Torrontes is an outstanding value in my opinion.

WineLife365 Rating: 4-Star

Amarone (pronounced “Ah-ma-ROH-nay”) is properly known as Amarone della Valpolicella Classico.  Amarone is a big, rich, and “raisiny” tasting full- bodied Italian red wine produced in the region of Veneto in Northeastern Italy.  The three Italian grapes used to make an Amarone are Corvina, Molinara, and Rondinella.  Typically, Corvina is the main grape used in the blend.

Amarone comes from the Italian word “amaro”, meaning “bitter”.  Most Amarones have a tart or even an astringent taste to them.  However, there are some that can end up with a rather sweet taste.  This occurs when the sugars become more concentrated during the drying process of the grapes.  With regard to this drying process, a winemaker will take the harvested grapes and lay them on a straw mat, often in an attic or other warm room. The grapes are left to dry over the course of several months creating a “raisiny” flavor that is the backbone of all Amarones.  

You can drink Amarone while it’s young, but they can also age very well – for thirty years or more.  Amarone wine is rarely released until five years after the vintage.  A typical drinking age for an Amarone is 10 years.  Because of the high concentrated sugar level, the alcohol content in an Amarone can easily surpass 15% (the legal minimum is 14%). 

Because Amarones are super rich wines, they’re really great as an after dinner wine with blue cheeses, nuts and a little chocolate.  They should be served at room temperature.

From: South Africa

Price: $10.99

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve never been a fan of red South African wines for one primary reason:  I think that they’re way too smoky tasting.  It’s like I’m drinking wine from a cigar box.

Recently, I decided to go back to South Africa to see if anything had changed in the two years since I quite “smoking” them.  I thought that things had changed after being blown away by a terrific 2007 Cabernet/Pinotage blend from Sebeka that cost me $7.50.  So, I decided it was time to try some more fresh and new South African red wines.

I picked up this 2007 Graham Beck Pinotage and was looking forward to another great “new” experience from a South African red.  It took me only one sip to say, “Yuck”!!  There’s that old cigar/tobacco smoky flavor from the past that made me stop buying them two years ago.

The back label on this bottle reads, “A chunky red wine for princes and paupers, jesters and Kings.  Maybe they all smoke?  Consider pairing this with your hookah pipe…if that’s your thing.

WineLife365 Rating: 2-Star