I’m a sucker for wine recipes

I got this wine. It had a BBQ sauce recipe to go with it. The wine is aged in bourbon barrels. I love Bourbon, my dolls. I don’t know that this gave too many bourbon-y notes but the only time you’ll hear me say “it has notes of coconut” in positive light is when speaking of things aged in American oak. As Bourbon is.

The grapes? 30% Merlot, 20% Zinfandel, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Pinot Noir, 14% Petite Sirah.

Oh what’s the wine?

1000 Stories Gold Rush Red 2017

The wine and its accompanying recipe gave me a tempeh excuse. I mean a tempting excuse.

After all, the BBQ recipe was meant for ribs. But as a vegetarian I prefer to put meat ON my bones as opposed to sucking it from…okay this is getting graphic. But if you fatten my ribs, do it with red wine and BBQ tempeh.

And/or do it with bread and butter and/or fries but that’s a given.

What does a vegetarian put BBQ sauce on? Tempeh! And fortunately the recipe only uses a half cup of the wine so you and your dining companions can have the rest of the vino.

So I poured the wine, I made the sauce, I sautéed the tempeh, I set the table (lies I have no table) and tucked in.

The wine:

Looks deep but frivolous

On the nose I smelled purple raisins running in vanilla fields. It’s not paradise but it is a happy place.

On the tongue: medium acid med + tannin, high alcohol, full body, medium plus intensity…more prunes. Actually, dried fruits of every sort. But someone smashed them into a fresh plum mush

Dang that’s tasty.

I tossed BBQ sauce coated tempeh into my maw then took a swig and…for two seconds I thought eh it’s okay. I mean the wine IS less sweet than the sauce which is SUPPOSED to suck if the wine is less sweet but this held the floor.

I’m in.

For Zin.

For bbq tempeh.

For ribs. Mine.

oh ps I got this as a sample but I get a boatload of wines as samples. I only write about ones I find worthy.

Oh wait. The sauce:

GOLD RUSH RED BBQ SAUCE

• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion (mine was more like diced whatevs)
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated (mine were more like minced but dubs whatevs)
• 1 tsp. cumin (used a smidge more)
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp. golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup 1000 Stories Gold Rush Red
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchupsee-through-is

Heat the oil over medium. Sauté your onion and garlic until onion is see-through-ish. Add cumin and cayenne and stir. Add sugar and wine, stir until sugar dissolves. Add vinegar and ketchup and bring to low boil. Adjust heat to bring sauce to a vigorous simmer (don’t know what that mean but it was somewhere in the simmer-plus range). Keep doin’ it til thickened. At that point I added a packet of tempeh–8 oz I think–that I had chopped up into various sizes (I like bite variation not bit consistency). Then eat. I like using chopsticks but go with fingers forks tongs I don’t care. Neither does your wine. Enjoy it my darling.

 

football wine, baseball post

I am a Cardinals baseball girl. But I have yet to stumble on wine made by a Cardinal.

In St. Louis they inject baseball into your veins on birth. For some it is a delayed reaction love. I grew up going to games, but they terrified me because a) it was a lot of screaming adults and b) when you are little you are short and close to the ground and the ground smells like beer and I do not like beer.

Then, a few months before leaving for Los Angeles I was in a play with a bunch of baseball fans. It was 2006, and we made it to the World Series. The cast’s enthusiasm caught me. Last game of the series we did that play (“The Birthday Party” by Harold Pinter) faster than ever before so we could run backstage to our tiny television and see what was happening. We took our bows and RAN off the stage in time to see the final pitch. Oh what a night! Glorious.

Fantasy baseball will be my next step.

But can sports people make wines? I could not help but wanna try a sport person’s vino. I was recently given Intercept Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It is made by Charles Woodson–his love of wine started while playing for the Raiders and living in Napa. I decided to give football some damn respect.

Also really liked the fact that while Woodson stilled played he had/has (?) a label called TwentyFour. But the NFL would not allow players to endorse alcoholic bevs. And yet he made wine anyway. Now that he’s not a player he can be totally public about his vinous life.

This is my review. Take from it what you will.

The labels:

Supes into them. I’m a cat person and there is a lion leaping. I am nothing if not a leaping lion fan. you know the leaping lords of the 12 Days of Christmas? Fuck that, I want leaping lions.

Then I smelled and tasted. It smells like California Pinot Noir. It has a bite and a spicy burn and is cherries for days. It looks garnet-ish own the glass. It tastes like cherry preserves but not sweet. It has little tannins and much alcohol. Totally a pleasure. Sometimes a girl needs a ripe Cali Pinot Noir like…I dunno I guess sometimes a girl just needs a ripe Cali Pinot.

Now for the Chard. I am always concerned about California Chardonnay. Will it be an oak bomb? Will there be so much butter I need a piece of bread?*

*trick question I always need bread

But no! It really is quite pleasant. Rather boozy, yes. But that’s okay. The body is full but merely hints at butter and oak and has quite a bit of…quince? Let’s call it quince.

What do you know–football (American football that is) players make tasty vino.

Now I’m off to check my baseball app. Please let me know if there are baseball wines I need.