Kientzler Pinot D' Alsace 2002

Again, I had Thai tonight. (I'm noticing a run on Thai food with us lately...). So, looking at our wine rack at home, we decided to chill some Pinot D'Alsace 2002. Quite a nice choice for Thai.

Gene had a very spicy Pad Thai, and I had Drunken Noodles w/ Shrimp. Pinot Blanc from Alsace can sometimes be good - but not "great". This is quite nice; a great compliment to the spicy food - it really brought the sweetness out of the wine. It's sweet without being too sweet; and it's got a great mineral taste to it. It's got a finish that lingers - and the fruitiness is just right. It's light, but so "there".

Definitely well worth trying. And as fall approaches, think about this: sauerkraut, roast pork, sausages, bacon and potatoes - with a nice glass of D'Alsace. I'm thinking that would be a great dish to try this with if you're not in the mood for Thai.

Cheers!

Kim Crawford 2004 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Don't let the screw cap fool you...for those of you who don't know, Kim Crawford who is one of NZ's leading and award winning vineyards has been using screw caps for years. This is wine is one of my favorites....rated 91 points from Wine Spectator. It is refreshing, crisp with acidity,yet full. This is an amazingly "fresh" tasting wine, it wakes your palate with every sip. Drink now - good until 2009; This was #44 TOP 100 of 2004 from Wine Spectator Magazine.

I have two words for this wine "pha-nomenal". It's one of my all time favorites. I had it this evening with Pad Thai; would be excellent with seafood of any kind, or as a counterbalance to a spicy dish (as I mentioned, I had Thai). But I have to be honest, I love this wine so much, I'd drink it with anything.

2001 Domaine des Causses Lirac: Surprisingly Soft

I'm not usually a fan of Syrah, I tend to favor Shiraz... however, the Lirac is a pleasure to drink! This is a French wine, from the Southern Rhone Valley - and is made of 100% Syrah grapes. This particular type of wine is usually made with a blend of grenache and syrah, so this is a particularly interesting wine. As a result this wine is very lavish, almost hedonistic. The flavors you will pick up on the strongest would be blackberry and black raspberry fruit flavors. This is a full bodied wine, and the interesting thing about this wine is that it’s got lots of great color -- without all the tannins -- so it’s softer than you would expect. This would be best with strong blue cheeses and / or Leg of Lamb.

Reynella Shiraz - Not your average Shiraz!

Let me warn you - this is not your average Shiraz, in quality - or price. This is an award winning, BIG shiraz. For those of you who don't know, Shiraz is the leading grape of Austrialia – and it is the same grape as the French Syrah. This is an Australian wine, rich in texture, with warm chocolate flavours and blackberry overtones. Shiraz is a very soft, jammy, wine with a wonderful aroma and is a wonderful wine to drink, especially for those who think they don’t like red wines. Its not nearly as dry as it’s French counterpart, Syrah. Shiraz is perfect with just about any kind of meat: beef, lamb, venison. And let me tell you - it was fantastic with the grilled steak I had for dinner tonight!

Shiraz is one of those great, grill friendly wines, and as I said - for those of you who don't think you like red wines, try a Shiraz. Reynella may be something you might want to work up to - or.... give it a shot! For experienced wine drinkers, this is a must.

For anyone who lives in the Boston area, we're having an instore tasting tomorrow at 2pm. For more information, check out our newsletter

Cheers!

Is that a Martini you're drinking - or are you just happy to see me?

Okay. So I'm going to go a little off topic of wine - and give a HUGE plug to a local restaurant that makes the absolutely BEST Martini's....ever. Even if you think you aren't a Martini fan, you will be after visiting this place (those of you local to MA).

It's called Venetian Moon, on Main Street in Reading Center. (Rte 28). If you do a search online for them, it appears there's no website, but CitySeach seems to have an outdated menu there - with NO Martini's listed. So you're going to have to trust me on this one.

The food is very good - eclectic Italian style dishes; good sized servings and one of the best Marsala's I've tasted. As simple as Marsala is - it's difficult to find a good one at a restaurant. Average entree is between $14 - $20.

BUT - the point of all of this is the Martini bar and selection. I didn't count so don't hold me to this number, but I believe they offer 50 different kinds. Our goal is to try each one of them, of course! Not only are they creative and fun -- they're all made really well. If you like Martinis, then you know how dissapointing it is to order one and have it be all wrong. I've had 6 different ones there, and yet to have one that wasn't made just right. Just a little FYI about me: I'm not really into "fou fou" sweet drinks (e.g. Green Apple, Watermelon, etc..) - I'm more of a "plain Jane" Vanilla Vodka kind of girl... ;)

On a wine note -- I drank a few average wines over the week, nothing worth noting really.
Cheers!

Cha..Cha...Cha...Cheap, Chilean Chardonnay

Okay. First off, let me preface this by saying that I am a big fan of NZ whites. I love steel casked wines.

Now that we've established that, let me introduce you to the wine I had tonight.
Los Vascos Chardonnay: Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) 2004
This is a really fruit forward, crisp Chardonnay from Chile, that at my first sip - I thought for sure it was a Sauvignon Blanc from NZ. It's got a great balance of acid and fruit. Its not as "big" of a Chardonnay as some that I've tasted (Kim Crawford, for example...) but at $9.99 - it's a great summer white. Check it out, see what you think.

Thanks for visiting us...

We're hoping to use this space as a way to share information about wines that we're drinking personally - as well as selling. Feel free to add your own tasting notes if you'd like!

For those of you who have found us via the Blog - visit our site: http://www.beaconhillwine.com

We specialize in eclectic, boutique type wines - but we also carry not so unusual wines as well.
Feel free to share your thoughts, comments, and suggestions.

If you have a wine inquiry, you can leave it here, but for an immediate response (since this might take some time to catch on...) you might want to email Rebecca@beaconhillwine.com, Gene@beaconhillwine.com, or call 617-742-8571.

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Cheers!