Justin Isosceles wine review

It's been awhile since I've blogged about wine, so I thought I would talk about what we had with our Valentine's Day dinner last night.  (Disclaimer here:  I'm a mid-level wine nut.  I can describe bouquets and notes, but don't claim any ability to tell you what score it might get although Wine Spectator magazine and I do tend to agree most of the time.)

I don't know what it is about men and fire, but it seems they always know how to grill meat.  Hubby threw a few steaks on the grill and we enjoyed them with a blue cheese, garlic butter.  Oh yeah, they were as good as they sound.  I would have taken a picture, but hubby gets a little cranky when I have to hold up dinner to take pictures of what we're about to eat to share with the world on my blog.  In his words, "Why does anyone care what you're eating?"  Ah but he has no idea just how sophisticated all of you are.

Now, onto the wine!  I had been saving this bottle.  It was a bit pricey at $40, so I wasn't going to open this one just for a "My Name is Earl" marathon.  (Law and Order, maybe, but not My Name is Earl)  The cork crumbled as I was using the corkscrew, and it was the shriek heard through the neighborhood.  I always get nervous when this happens as I wonder if I'm about to drink a bottle of vinegar.  After filtering and aerating a third of bottle, it was time to taste.  Medium bodied, and a bit lighter than what I expected for a cabernet sauvignon blend.  Berry notes, a touch of vanilla, hint of oak.  Overall, a nice wine.  Too bad it wasn't the "blow my skirt up" I was expecting for $40.  I will enjoy the rest with dinner tonight, but will probably pass on this one next time.  Anyone else been mild to severely disappointed with a pricey bottle of red wine?

An nice, inexpensive red wine

I haven't blogged about wine recently mostly because I haven't been enjoying much of it.  I have been focused on getting jewelry ready for the Downtown Festival and Art Show and have found that drinking a glass of wine (or two) in the evening has sometimes kept me from focusing on the task at hand.  (*wink*)

However, on the advice of a friend, I recently bought a bottle of the Columbia Crest 2008 Two Vines Merlot.  This is a very nice, quality red wine.  It was less than $8 a bottle, so I don't feel at all bad about opening it up just for myself.  There is a bit of cherry and plum in this light to medium bodied red wine.  I would say the wine is a bit young, as I needed to let it breathe for a good 30 minutes for the full bouquet to come through.  I would certainly recommend having a few bottles of this on hand for when unexpected company drops by.

Any wine drinkers out there?

So I consider myself a wine enthusiast.  I like to try new wines and pair them with food.  It's my way of being "artsy" in the kitchen.  I opened two bottles of Malbec (from Argentina) this past weekend and was QUITE disappointed.  Is anyone else having this experience?  They were both 2009 vintages.  Perhaps I just need to let them mature a little longer and try again?  Wine drinkers, please comment!