Category Archives: Uncategorized

Wine: 2018 McManus ChardonnayWinery: McManus Family VineyardsLocation: River Junction, CA For lunch I decided to make some sauteed garlic shrimp and peas with rice pilaf, and I needed a wine to deglaze the pan with and have with the meal. Enter this lovely Chardonnay. The wine is lively with aromas of pear, melon, some peachContinue reading “What’s in the glass today? (1/30)”

Wine: 840Type of wine: Port styleWinery: Sandhill Crane Vineyards (Jackson, Michigan) Tis the season for Port and for today’s glass I am enjoying the 840, one of my favorite port-style wines from one of my favorite Michigan wineries, Sandhill Crane Vineyards. And no, I’m not saying that because I worked at SCV for over 13Continue reading “What’s in the glass today?”

Wine: Merlot (Lodi, CA)Winery: American VintnersCheese: Wensleydale with Cranberries The final day of Advent is upon us. For the wine we have Merlot and the cheese Wensleydale with Cranberries. Needless to say these two aren’t really the most compatible, but on their own are quite good. I will do a review of the Advent CalendarsContinue reading “Advent – Day 24”

Wine: ZinfandelWinery: American VintnersCheese: Cheddar Almost done with the Advent. The Zinfandel paired alright with the cheddar, but it was also good with the leftover duck I had from last night’s Chinese dinner. Tomorrow is the last day of Advent – most likely a repeat, but who knows? Maybe the end note won’t be soContinue reading “Advent – Day 23”

Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon (Lodi)Winery: American VintnersCheese: Jarlsberg Two days to go and not much to say… So I’ll keep this short and neat. 🙂 I like the cheese and the wine is good, but together? Not so much. Jarlsberg is a little too sweet and it doesn’t really add much to the wine overall. HopefullyContinue reading “Advent – Day 22”

Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot Blend (Lodi)Winery: American VintnersCheese: Red Leicester Three more days to go… For the 21st day of Advent we have a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Blend (the classic fruit-forward blend reminiscent of a Bordeaux) and the Red Leicester. Does this pairing seem familiar? It should because it was the exact sameContinue reading “Advent Day 21 and an early Christmas surprise”

Wine: Red Blend (California)Winery: American VintnersCheese: Applewood I really enjoyed the pairing of these two. For a while I wondered what is it about smoked cheeses and red wines I liked so much and then I realized it’s the tannins. The tannins of a red wine blend with the smoked cheese to create a bold,Continue reading “Advent – Day 20”

Wine: Pinot Grigio (Lodi)Winery: American VintnersCheese: Cheddar Day 19’s wine is the Pinot Grigio, paired with Cheddar. I mentioned this wine earlier, a tart, lively wine with flavors of lemongrass, grapefruit and honeysuckle. It paired nicely with the cheddar, the tart flavors holding up well to the sharpness of the cheese while the acidity cutContinue reading “Advent – Day 19”

Wine: Sweet RieslingWinery: American VintnersCheese: Wensleydale with Cranberries Day 18’s wine is a repeat of the Sweet Riesling or as my wife Carleen puts it, the “so-called ‘Sweet’ Riesling.” 🙂 Anyway, we paired it with the Wensleydale and it tasted pretty good together. The Cranberries really started bringing out the fruit of the Riesling, andContinue reading “Advent – Day 18”

Wine: 2019 Pinot Noir (Central Coast, CA)Winery: American VintnersCheese: Applewood Pinot Noir is today’s featured wine. I didn’t review this wine when I tried it a few days ago, so I get the chance the review it now. Let’s hear it for second chances.The wine is a mysteriously dark ruby. Not fully opaque but ratherContinue reading “Advent – Day 17”