WineLife365 » Torrontes http://www.winelife365.com Enjoying Life with Wine 365 Days a Year Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:43:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Oh Baby…What a Terrible Fall! http://www.winelife365.com/san-telmo-esencia-torrontes-2009/ http://www.winelife365.com/san-telmo-esencia-torrontes-2009/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:36:42 +0000 Mark http://www.winelife365.com/?p=6687 In the immortal words of ABC’s Wide World of Sports announcer Jim McKay,

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat…

 

Was I so naïve to think that it was impossible to have a bad Argentinian Torrontes wine?  I know it must have been foolish thinking on my part, but it almost seemed automatic that whether it cost 8, 10, or even 20 dollars – I knew I was going to have a beautifully floral, fresh and electrifyingly acidic bottle of wine.  I believed this because I’ve been batting nearly a thousand with this fantastic type of wine for over a year.  With this in mind, I was really looking forward to opening the 2009 San Telmo Esencia Torrontes. 

As the saying goes, “there’s a first for everything” and inevitably I would have to taste the agony of defeat with my beloved white wine.  The 2009 San Telmo Esencia Torrontes really let me down.  It’s odd, uneven, lacks mile-high acidity and possesses tropical banana and coconut flavors that reminded me more of Tropical Flavored LifeSavers (in a bad way).  Incidentally, it also didn’t possess the signature floral bouquet of Torrontes wine.  Crash!

 

1 Star out of 4.  Shaken by the experience, but not deterred.
(Price: $8.99)

]]> http://www.winelife365.com/san-telmo-esencia-torrontes-2009/feed/ 4 Don’t Give Up On A Good Thing http://www.winelife365.com/trader-joes-tilapia-citronette/ http://www.winelife365.com/trader-joes-tilapia-citronette/#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:40:32 +0000 Mark http://www.winelife365.com/?p=6488 You gotta love Trader Joe’s!  I recently came across their Tilapia Citronette, and it has quickly become one of my favorites.  If you’re not familiar with this dish – its marinated tilapia fillets topped with grilled asparagus and sliced carrots.  However, I just have one little problem with it – the cooking directions.  The peeps at Trader Joe’s say that you can either nuke this dish or cook it in the oven.  Nuking this entree, per the instructions, makes the fish taste more like rubber chicken and the oven directions take way too long.

Luckily, I did not give up on this tasty dish even after having less than stellar results using their instructions.  I think that I may have struck gold, though, by using a combination of both suggested methods with my own little spin on them!

First, poke a few holes in the plastic and cook it in the microwave for about six minutes.  This will thaw it out a bit and get it ready for oven cooking.

I have 2 different recommendations for completion:

1.  Pan sear it a bit on the stovetop and then finish it off by placing it in a 385 degree oven for about 12 minutes.

 -OR-

2.  After taking it out of the microwave, cook it up on a medium/high heat stovetop for about 2 minutes on each side.

Either way works perfectly and yields the warm, white, flaky decadence that’s pictured on the packaging label.  Just remember, with either option, to coat your pan with plenty of olive oil to keep the fish from becoming permanently affixed to it forever!

Finally, to give this dish the Love TKO, serve this up on a dinner plate over an arugula salad.  While you’re at Trader Joe’s pick up a bag of baby arugula.  In a mixing bowl – Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt –n- pepper, and the arugula.  Mix together.

On a dinner plate, place a portion of the “arugula salad” down first.  Then top it with the Tilapia Citronette.  Pair it with an Argentinean Torrontes like the 2009 Alamos Torrontes and you’ve got a party!  If you want a little something extra, you can also add your choice of steamed vegetables.

Salud!

]]> http://www.winelife365.com/trader-joes-tilapia-citronette/feed/ 10 A Few Winners of Our Own http://www.winelife365.com/finca-la-linda-torrontes-la-corte-solyss-negroamaro-review/ http://www.winelife365.com/finca-la-linda-torrontes-la-corte-solyss-negroamaro-review/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:35:48 +0000 Mark http://www.winelife365.com/?p=6218 Like a lot of other people this past Sunday night, we were glued to the TV set sayin’, “Man, she looks terrible!” or “Wow, she looks really great!”  We were also wondering if James Cameron and Jon Landau’s 10 year project, “Avatar”, would runaway with all of the Oscar trophies.  But just like so many other past Oscar nights, there was that dark horse in the bunch that surprised everyone.  This year, it was a night to remember for the folks involved with the film “The Hurt Locker”, which won six Academy Awards including “Best Picture”.

As we watched “The Hurt Locker” put a hurtin’ on fellow nominees, we were putting a hurtin’ on a couple great bottles of wine!

The first of the evening was the 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes bottled by Luigi Bosca.  This wine was produced in Argentina and consists of 100% Torrontes grape.  Torrontes is the wonderful and distinctively aromatic signature white grape of Argentina.  If you’ve never tried a Torrontes before, this one will certainly make a great first impression on you!  There’s a lot of interesting layers of flavors swirling around in this wine.  It’s a bombshell of racy, crisp acidity, packed full of tropical flavors, that reminded me of a Pina Colada.  The 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes was a big winner and left us wanting more.  Costing less than $10, it secures a lofty 4 star WineLife365 taste rating and also earned itself many repeat visits as the weather in our neck of the woods continues to warm up.

Next up was the 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro.  This red wine is from the South of Italy in the Puglia (Apulia) region.  Negroamaro, also known as Negro amaro, is one of the most widely planted native red grapes grown in the Southern regions of Italy.  It’s grown almost exclusively in Puglia (Apulia) and also in Salento, which is located at the “heel” of Italy.  The Negroamaro grape and the winemakers in this region tend to allow these wines to express rustic, earthy, and natural tasting characteristics.  This particular Old World red showcases some really interesting mineral, herbaceous and cherry twists that will undoubtedly make you question whether you’re a fan of it or not.  We were fans of 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro and give it 3 stars out of 4 on our taste scale.  One final note on this wine – I paid $12 for it at a local retailer, but I’ve seen it as high as $25 online.  I’m not sure whether or not I’d be willing to fork over 25 bones for it, but if you can find it for less than $20, it’s certainly worth a shot!

With the 2010 Oscars behind us, I can’t say that there were many moments that will replay in my mind for any length of time.  However, I did find some winners that will have repeat performances in my glass.

]]> http://www.winelife365.com/finca-la-linda-torrontes-la-corte-solyss-negroamaro-review/feed/ 4 Wine Review – 2007 Inca Torrontes / Chardonnay http://www.winelife365.com/inca-torrontes-chardonnay-2007/ http://www.winelife365.com/inca-torrontes-chardonnay-2007/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:00:27 +0000 Mark http://www.winelife365.com/?p=1411 inca-torrontes-chardonnayFrom: Argentina

Price: $8.99

ATTENTION ALL CALIFORINIA CHARDONNAY DRINKERS:  Please place your glass of wine down on the table and step away.

I want to share with you yet another outstanding value white wine from Argentina that you’re probably not paying attention to because it comes from a lesser known place in Argentina called the Calchaqui Valley.  It also contains that unfamiliar native Argentinean white grape known as Torrontes.  However, this Torrontes has a splash of that old familiar favorite in it – Chardonnay! The 2007 Inca white blend consists of 80% Torrontes and 20% Chardonnay.  The splash of Chardonnay is terrific.  It really gives this wine some serious backbone that allows it to hold up to just about any food that you throw at it.  We started drinking this white blend just before dinner.  Our dinner was some Tex-Mex chicken and steak fajitas.  We liked this wine so much that we continued to drink it with dinner, and it held up really well.

 

The 2007 Inca Torrontes / Chardonnay has an awesome crisp apricot and citrus (think grapefruit) flavor that is light on the “tree bark” (oak in wine geek terms).  This wine is very enjoyable and skillfully blended to near perfection.  And I almost forgot the best part – it can be purchased for less than $10…cha-ching!

 

This wine is an outstanding value and the Torrontes grape is quickly becoming one of my favorite white wine grapes. 

WineLife365 Rating: 4-Star

]]> http://www.winelife365.com/inca-torrontes-chardonnay-2007/feed/ 0 Wine Dictionary – Torrontes http://www.winelife365.com/wine-dictionary-torrontes/ http://www.winelife365.com/wine-dictionary-torrontes/#comments Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:00:36 +0000 Mark http://www.winelife365.com/?p=3261 torrontesTorrontes is the most popular and widely grown white grape in Argentina. This native Argentinean white grape is grown mainly in the provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan and Rio Negro.  The Torrontes grape produces wine with a very strong floral scent to it – and I’m not joking when I say a strong floral scent!  It hits you like you’ve just walked into a flower shop.  The Torrontes wine shares many similar attributes to a Viognier wine:  Torrontes wines exhibit a floral scent and generally have a powerful punch of peach and citrus flavors, similar to Viogniers.

Torrontes is a great sipping or “stand-alone” wine.  It’s terrific with salads, cheeses and grilled/smoked meats.  It’s really awesome with spicy dishes as well!

]]> http://www.winelife365.com/wine-dictionary-torrontes/feed/ 0