wine o. wednesday, #34

Last Wednesday we decided to start a tradition of eating dinner at Babe’s the night before Thanksgiving. It was kind of crazy idea because it is a TON of fried chicken and all you can eat vegetables. Nonetheless, our friend Matt wanted to go to a BYOB restaurant and enjoy some nice wines to kick off the holidays.

There were 8 of us and we had 6 bottles of tasty wine that didn’t survive the meal!

I took the 2004 Geyser Peak, Alexander Valley Meritage. Dad gave me this for my birthday last year and I had been holding on to it saving it for a fun occasion. It was very tasty and I was a bit hesitant to share it with everyone else, but I figured that was only fair if I wanted to try their wines. This Meritage was a very full bodied wine that would go with almost anything, including fried chicken.

Matt brought the 2005 D Cubed Zinfandel and it was one of the best Zinfandel’s I’ve ever had. It was unusually smooth but with a hint of spice. Though I think Matt’s description was the best, “It tastes like candy!”

Bill brought the 2007 Santa Carolina Carmenere. I had never heard of a Carmenere before but I really enjoyed the spiciness of this wine. It is from Chile and very similar to a Malbec in taste.

Meredith brought the Ghost Pines Merlot. When we went to Napa last summer we saw the Ghost Pines at Louis Martini. I have bought and tried the Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon but I didn’t realize they also produced a Merlot. I am not typically a Merlot fan but I actually liked this better than the Ghost Pines Cab. I’ll have to be on the lookout for this one because they are typically pretty well priced.

Beth brought the 2006 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon. This is great wine to keep around the house because it has great flavors, goes with everything and it is under $10.

Paige brought the Mirassou Chardonnay. I am not the biggest Chardonnay fan these days and in all honesty this was the last wine I tasted that night. But with that being said this Chardonnay wasn’t too bad.

As you can see we had some great wine, but more importantly we had a great time with good friends and good food!