Dead soldiers = empty bottles.
Let's get that out of the way before you think this is some sort of treatise about the state of United States Imperialism abroad... which I think is deplorable... but it's not what I'm talking about right now.
No, I happened to look through my wine collection last week and discovered that two bottles of Kendall-Jackson Great Estates wines had corks that were leaking. Both of these bottles contained red wine: one was cabernet sauvignon and the other pinot noir. Out of fear for the integrity of the wines and the carpets of our apartment, I decided that I absolutely had to open at least one of them soon.
I opened the pinot noir tonight with some leftover homemade Texas chili. It was delightful, with a delicate balance of fruit with earth tones. It was a shame to open it up without guests in attendance. Truly, it was the kind of pinot noir of which Miles from Sideways would have approved. I need to find some friends to come over to drink the cabernet.
Speaking of which, I am awash in a sea of good wine. Wine club shipments have been turning up faithfully for the last few months, I haven't been keeping up. I need to have a dinner party for some folks who appreciate a good wine. I have a cabernet vertical from the same winery going back nearly a decade. I have a lot of very tasty California Zinfandel (which at 13+% alcohol can quickly knock the unsuspecting on their posteriors). I have an excellent 1998 Merlot that probably needs to be opened and enjoyed. I live in an apartment, and do not have a cellar to properly store wine in the long term! Does anyone want to come by and crack a few bottles? Please? We tried inviting some people over last weekend, but everyone was busy.
In a related matter, I know that I have some vegetarian readers... do you have any recommendations for a vegetarian dish that pairs well with a hearty red wine like a merlot, old vine zinfandel, or cabernet? We have some vegetarian friends, and we want to eventually include them in this party... but red wine traditionally goes with red meat or strong cheese, which might not be appropriate. Is there a good cajun-style tofu recipe or a hearty vegetarian stew that goes well with red wine? If so, I'd like to know.
said drgeek
on 2006-09-07 at 9:59 p.m.
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