WineLife365

Posts Tagged ‘Wines under $20’

Wine clubs are a fun and easy way to experience different wines from around the world.  Many offer its members an opportunity to try award-winning boutique wines that in most cases are not available for purchase through traditional retail channels.  One particular wine club that recently caught my attention is the Worthwhile Wine Club.  The Worthwhile Wine Company is an importer of only South African wines that are “made sustainably.”

Founded by Mr. Tom Lynch in May 2009, the Worthwhile Wine Company was formed as a result of an inspirational trip that he took with his daughter to South Africa in the summer of 2008.  Mr. Lynch and his daughter spent part of their trip volunteering in a small, poor remote Zulu village.  When they returned home, Mr. Lynch soon started a nonprofit to help South African villages learn how to sustainably grow more of their own food, and provide the materials they needed to get started.

In the book, The Triple Bottom Line, Mr. Andrew Savitz describes a sustainable corporation as “one that creates profit while protecting the environment and improving the lives of those with whom it interacts.” Or, said another way, sustainability is “the art of doing business in an interdependent world.”

The vision of Tom Lynch and Worthwhile Wines is to only import “wines that go about the business of making great wines with an eye toward taking better care of the earth and those with whom they interact”, taking place in a number of different ways.

Worthwhile Wine Company operates as a Fair Trade Certified Importer that buys carbon offsets for every shipment of wine that they import and uses alternative energy whenever possible (down to the servers that run its website), and the company donates a portion of its net proceeds to charities in both the US and South Africa.

Among the company’s extensive portfolio, I was offered the opportunity to sample the 2008 Rooiberg Winery Reserve Chardonnay (MSRP: $13 US).  I didn’t really know what to expect when opening this environmentally–conscious South African Chardonnay, but I was definitely hoping that the smokiness that I detect and detest in many South African reds like Pinotage was not floating around in my glass of Chardonnay.  To my surprise, I found this wine jam-packed with gobs of butterscotch, citrus, and vanilla-oak flavors.  This Chardonnay reminded me more of a big, “in your face” California-styled Chardonnay – it was a far detour from South Africa’s usual light and lively flagship Chenin Blanc, also know as Steen, wine.

The biggest surprise, however, was that this Chardonnay sustained life in my refrigerator for over 5 days!  I had nearly forgotten about it, but while poking my head around in the fridge looking for the tuna-fish salad that my wife had made the day before, I stumbled across this half empty bottle of wine and decided to give it a go with lunch.  To my amazement, the 2008 Rooiberg Winery Reserve Chardonnay was still very much alive and kicking and was absolutely perfect with my tuna-fish sandwich topped with lettuce and tomatoes on whole wheat bread.

3 Stars out of 4.  Worthwhile Wines is definitely not your ordinary wine club, and from a quality/price standpoint, lovers of the big oaky style Chardonnay can feel good that their dollars are paying it forward to help others and the planet.

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What’s the day of the week that has so many of us down in the dumps?  It’s Monday, of course!  The weekend was fun:  you probably drank some great wine, ate some terrific food, and spent time with friends and family.  Basically, you did everything that you wanted to do all weekend long, but then it’s all over and the start of another frenzied week begins.  Here’s a thought:  Why not turn Monday, or at least Monday night, into something to look forward to with a “special” meal?!

Here’s a Poor Man’s Chef creation to wipe away the Monday Blues:

1 package of boneless chicken breasts (Approx. 1-1/2lbs.)
1 large Yellow Onion (sliced, diced, whatever…)
1 bag of Baby Spinach (You know, the bagged salad stuff in the produce aisle)
A handful of sun-dried tomatoes
A handful or maybe 2 or 3…of fresh watercress
A few slices of VA baked ham lunch meat (chopped)
1 lemon for some fresh squeezed juice
About one cup of Near East Mediterranean Curry Couscous  (leftovers from Sunday night’s dinner)

From my spice rack

McCormick Fennel Seed
McCormick Montreal Seasoning
A dash of Chef Paul Prudhommes Magic Seasoning

Directions:

Coat a large pot with olive oil on the stove top. Add pieces of chicken breast, sliced onion and sun-dried tomatoes.  Sauté a bit, then add the spices.  While cooking, add the ham, the entire bag of spinach and handfuls of fresh watercress to the pot and simmer it all down.  Douse with freshly squeezed lemon juice and add some fresh black pepper.  After everything is totally cooked, throw in your cup of couscous.  Toss it around and maybe even add a splash of white wine to the mix.  Why not…it’s Monday! 

Consider pairing this kaleidoscope of flavors with a couple of kaleidoscope wines.

For a white wine – consider a box of Big House White Wine.  It’s a potpourri of different grapes blended together to produce a crisp wine with floral notes ($20 for a 3L Box).  Try to avoid drinking the entire box though – it’s only Monday!

For a red wine, consider a Cotes Du Rhone like the 2008 Kermit Lynch Cotes Du Rhone ($12 US).  This rouge is blended to perfection to make just about any “thrown together” supper seem extra special.

Bon Appétit.  There’s only 4 more days to go until the weekend…Woo-Hoo!

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The label alone on this bottle of wine should have been a clear indicator that the 2008 Fat Cat Cabernet Sauvignon was one tune worth overlooking in the catalogue of hot licks in the California Cabernet aisle.  However, I’m a lover of all jazz music and if you tell me that you’re one ‘Fat Cat’, then you better Blow Daddy!  You dig?

The 2008 Fat Cat Cabernet Sauvignon had a cornball taste:  like that old-fashioned, cherry-vanilla syrup soda pop I used to get on the boardwalk as a kid. 

2 Stars out of 4.  A lot less noodlin’ and more variation in its chording is needed for this cat to really wail.

Price: $9.99

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Admittedly, it was only a few years ago that I believed you should set aside sparkling wines for special occasions or other life-changing events only, much in the same way as say…eating chicken noodle soup and drinking ginger ale soda only when you’re sick.  Okay, so maybe this wasn’t quite the analogy that I was looking for, but you catch my drift.  Each seemed to serve a particular purpose in life, and “wine with bubbles” was only reserved for something “Special.”

But I’m all grown-up now, and I realize that sparkling wine is great any day of the week!  It can be great alone by the glass, along with some appetizers, and pretty swanky with dinner on any given night – even an ordinary Monday night!

Such was the case this past Monday night.  It was Monday, August 16^th – that’s it:  nothing on TV and still several weeks to go before the start of the NFL season.  It was just your average, run of the mill, Monday night.

I decided to liven things up a bit for dinner to turn this ordinary Monday night into something “Special.” 

First, I started by putting together a simple tossed salad with an added twist:

Romaine hearts (cut up)
Butter lettuce (cut up)
A couple slices of Virginia Baked ham – lunch meat I had in the fridge (cut up)
1 avocado (sliced)
Several fresh strawberries (sliced)
Top each salad with Briannas Chipotle Cheddar Salad Dressing

Next, for my “Special” main course, I created a “Pan Seared Almond Encrusted Salmon with Charred Sun-Dried Tomatoes.”

I’ve developed quite a love affair with salmon, but on this particular night the salmon dish would become something extra special with the aid of some tiny pink bubbles from Alsace, France and some salty-sweet goodness in the form of charred (i.e., almost burnt) sun-dried tomatoes and toasted sliced almonds. 

Here’s what you’ll need to do with the fresh salmon:

Heat up a large pan and completely coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil.  Next, place your piece of salmon into the pan and season it with Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Salmon Seasoning, which I already had in my spice cabinet.  You can also use a simple combination of salt, pepper and fresh lemon as an alternative to the seasoning mix. *Note: Also adding fresh dill and lemon juice will take this salmon recipe to another level!  Sear the seasoned portion of salmon (skin side down) for about 3-4 minutes on the stove top. Next, top the salmon with sliced almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, and a few lemon slices before moving the pan into a pre-heated 380°F oven, and bake it for about 10-11 minutes. 

Ok, now on to those fabulous tiny pink bubbles.

For the wine, I decided to pair both the salad and the salmon dish with the Lucien Albrecht Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rose (MSRP: $19.99, Sample).  Domaine Lucien Albrecht is one of the oldest and most respected Crémant producers in Alsace, France.  In 2004, this family-owned estate made history by winning an unprecedented four gold medals at France’s National Crémant Wine Challenge.  For those unfamiliar with “Crémant”, bubble lovers can find some high-powered sparkle on the cheap (relatively speaking) in places such as Alsace, the Loire, and Burgundy.  Crémants are made with the same care and attention as Champagne (méthode Champenoise), but because of its lack of name recognition, you can find many Crémants priced under $20 USD.

The Lucien Albrecht Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rose is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes.  This delicious sparkler was both outstanding on its own and paired incredibly with both the salad and salmon creations.  The Lucien Albrecht Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rose had a light, mildly sweet taste with very subtle hints of strawberry.  It felt right at home with the salty sweetness of the charred sun-dried tomatoes and toasted almond slivers that were on top of the salmon.  All in all, it was a wonderful marriage of flavors that, without a doubt, made this typical Monday anything but ordinary and quite “Special.”

Do you have a food and wine pairing idea that’ll jazz up a run-of-the-mill weeknight?  If so, I’d love to hear about it!

3 Stars out of 4 for the Lucien Albrecht Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rose.

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