Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

Tags

2011, beverage, Cabernet Sauvignon, cocktail, gnarly head, review, wine

With each passing month, I am trying to branch out my tastes – in food, in wine, in everything. When I first started drinking wine, I preferred sweet white wines. Slowly I am working my way into drier wines and red wines.

The other night I fixed Grammy’s Spicy Spaghetti for dinner. I wanted a nice red wine to accompany it. One that was not too dry and that would have enough flavor to stand up to the robust sauce. I liked the fruitiness of the wine without all the sweetness. There is just enough bite from the tannins without being pucker-y.

Gnarly Head describes the wines as this-

“Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon embodies bold. It’s rich, fruit-driven, and dense, with a juicy core of dark fruit. Our winemakers carefully select grapes from California’s finest growing regions, choosing only the best fruit. Some say that Cabernet is the king of wines and our bold Gnarly Head Cabernet proudly wears the crown.

Our dark, bold Cabernet has solid tannins and jammy fruit, with aromas and flavors of black cherry, currant, dried cranberry and black peppercorn followed by a trio of clove, earth and light toast. Gnarly Cabernet Sauvignon is a worthy companion to the heartiest meals, be sure to try it with grilled lamb, New York strip steak with roasted potatoes, baked manicotti or some bold blue cheese.”

I paid $9.99 for this bottle and it was totally worth it! I’ll be buying this again.

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Clean Slate Riesling 2009

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clean slate, cocktail, review, riesling, wine

I bought this wine because of the packaging. It is inviting and simplistic. It just begs you to try it. I’m glad I did.

The taste is very similar to the packaging. Clean, neat, pure. Fruity without being too sweet. A slight earthy flavor adds an interesting edge; this comes from the Mosel region which has slate based soil (so says their website).

I really like this wine, especially since it is cheap ($11 and change) and it has a twist off top. I will probably buy this in the future, especially when there are some wine-loving ladies present.

Sottocenere Cheese with Truffles

Tags

cheese, Italy, review, sottocenere, truffles

Look at this gorgeous cheese. Love those pieces and bits of truffles. MMMM!

Originally made in Italy, it has bits of black truffles nestled in the off-white cow’s milk cheese. The outside rind of the cheese is actually composed of ash, herbs, and spices. Wonder who discovered that aging technique?

The cheese is a semi-soft with a mild scent of truffles and a stronger flavor. I sampled the cheese with the rind, without the rind, and the rind separately. I have to say I love the cheese. It is mild but flavorful. The truffles are nice, especially since there are some obvious pieces included.

Not so much on the rind, though. It is grainy, gritty, and there was little flavor. I will probably cut it off in the future.

I can’t imagine pairing this cheese with much of anything. The whole point of the cheese is the truffles. Why smother that flavor? I suggest you try this one. It is special.

Fontina Val d’Aosta

Tags

cheese, fontina, food, Italy, review

When I unwrapped this cheese, I noticed right away that it had a much stronger smell than many cheeses. Earthy and almost mushroom-like, the strong scent is forbearance of the equally hearty taste. This semi-firm, cows milk cheese originates in Italy.

Two types of rinds are found on fontina- Italian fontina has a natural rind from aging; Dutch fontina has a red wax rind. I tried this cheese with the rind, without the rind, and the rind alone. The rind is very thin and doesn’t have much stand alone flavor. I don’t see the point of removing the rind, though if you want to I don’t know why you shouldn’t.

Artisanal Cheese has a wonderful little tool to help you design a cheese plate found here. This cheese is full bodied enough to serve with a nice red wine. I really like this cheese and plan on purchasing it again in the future.