RATING: Serve Proudly to Guests

I wrote a post recently about visiting the Adam Puchta Winery and sampling their Hunters Red.    I finally had the chance to open up a bottle and sample more than a mouthful.  True to our mission, we discovered a good cheap wine that you can serve to guests!  Yes, this wine quest was for a $12.99 bottle and not a great ten dollar wine, yet still well worth the extra three bucks.  Check out this cheap little red beauty and the other wines proudly created by Puchta and sons. 
What Others Say: From Adam Puchta Winery

“A velvety semi-dry red, medium bodied and non-oaked with a mild floral nose. A fun wine to pair with many Italian foods, peppery/spicy BBQ, hearty stews, venison and summer sausage. A choice red wine to cook with, especially when making those wonderful Italian tomato sauces (caution…more wine should go into the sauce than the cook!), great with pizza, too. Best served at room temperature.”

What I Thought: Really enjoyed this wine.  Set it out for alittle while to air, about 45 minutes while I tried to save my Fantasy Football team from week one disasters.  (I was luckier with the wine than I was with my trades.)  Great full round taste on the tongue with a mature fruit finish.  Good wine to put on the table like you would a good cheap chianti (like my current Trader Joe’s favorite).  Fill a glass full and swirl with pride.  The unique origin and local flavor also make great talk.  What’s good wine without good talk?

Interesting that the wine maker suggests cooking with this wine.  I wouldn’t.  If you know this blog, you know that we only choose to cook with wines that are not worth drinking yet not horrible enough to require a midnight trip to the local landfill. Sorry recipes, I’m not sharing my Hunters Red with you.

 Cheers from the wine oaf!

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Inglenook California Classic Burgundy

Rating: OK TO COOK WITH

During my “Dennis the Menace”-like childhood I served a stint as an altar boy.  I don’t remember being asked or actually volunteering, but just the same…I wound up serving.  I have very strong memories of putting on the hassock and preparing everything for the mass.  I recall the smoky issue of the candles, the strong intensity of the incense and…the very distinctive smell that came from the altar wine. 

This is all in the days of Latin mass and priests only drinking the wine during the service.  (I did enjoy serving at mass, especially funeral masses that were mid-day and got me out of class.  I know…that’s a strange way to look at the world.)  As a server, it was our job to prepare the water and wine vessels and carry them in procession out to the altar at the start of the mass.  (One priest always would start our procession with, “Tally Ho!” )  As a half-asleep 9 year old serving 6 AM mass, I always found the vinegary smell of the altar wine a little rough to take.  (Remember, kids already throw up a lot in church. )   During the service we would mix the wine and water into the Chalice for the priest to drink as part of the mass ritual.  Some priests would only want a drip of the wine into the Chalice and have almost all water.  (They were usually the strict ones.)  Some priests could have used a portion control device.  Like amateur bartenders, we had no idea how much to pour until directed by Father’s fingertips tipping the vessels with us.  Pouring that wine into the large bowled Chalice of course released all of it’s screwtop elegant aroma.  Yuck.

Why do I remember all of this?  (And maybe why do I bore you with it as well?)  A while back we bought the Inglenook Classic Burgundy at WalMart for a recipe.  My wife made a great Beef Burgundy that has become like comfort food in our house.  I’ll post it later.  Seeing the bottle in the cabinet I thought, “Hey WineOaf!  Here is a cheap wine that you would be good to add to your Quests and review!”  So I did.

What Others Say: Inglenook California Classic Burgundy
Winemaker’s comments: A blend of cherry, black currant and green olive flavors make this red a real crowd-pleaser.

What I Thought:I poured a glass of the Inglenook.  My nose took me back to being 9 years old and swinging incense on a chain.  I was that altar boy all over again.  Suffice to say that the Inglenook California Classic Burgundy is intended to be a good cheap wine and was probably never intended for medal competition.  A tart taste, unbalanced and no finish meant that this wine needs the strong support of a great recipe, other ingredients for homemade sangria or a spiritual ritual to be useful to society.  But hey, those are all important right.  So my vote, cook with it, make sangria, or serve it to your local priest.   It probably is a crowd pleaser, as long as that crowd kneels together with bowed heads.

Cheers from the Wine Oaf     

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Ruffino Il Leo Chianti Superiore 2006

Rating: Serve Proudly to Guests

Grilling is an interesting way to cook for others and entertain them at the same time.  Though fairly easy with experience, even simple dining choices can cause some preparation purgatory.  Example, some like their grill-fare rare, some like it medium and some like well done.  (except chicken, where all “rare” orders are accompanied with a signed release form)  That means you need to be cooking the same entree at different speeds at the same time.  Bit of a challenge but with experience, no problem. 

What also makes grilling even more interesting is the unique “style” every back yard expert displays along with their grill technique.  There are the “big flame” guys recognized by the spray bottle handy on the deck and their missing eyebrows.  There are the “grill gadget” guys who use rotisseries, temperature tools, side burners and special  cooking utensils that all combined fit nicely into a 4 foot by 6 foot weatherproof storage locker.  Don’t forget the $5,000 “my grill is better than your grill” guy.  Then there are the plain grillin’ joes.  Grill oafs like the wine oaf.  Here is the process.  The grill gets cleaned.  The meat’s put on. The sauce is brushed or spooned on.  The meat gets turned….and there is wine.  No big production, just a lot of relaxed cooking fun. 

My 11 year old grill and I understand each other.  “We” know when the red or white is properly brown.  “We” know just how much sauce or spice is enough and when it turns to gravy.  “We” have finessed our way through fish, foul and all things red.  But… still the debate rages on regarding one issue.  “Are brats best burnt?”  Personally, brats are like hotdogs.  They need some crunch to them.  A little sizzling crack here or there adds to the experience yet a frequent debate amongst other knowing grillers remains.  To some, a properly cooked batch of brats are plump, juicy, pink and casing intact.  ”NO!” I say.  Give me some crisp.  If by some rare quirk of fate we get a little too done, then I can then smother the whole thing up with kraut or grilled peppers and onions depending upon choice.  (another debate).  Just the same, a good chianti always goes well with brats…prepared properly my way or undercooked their way…and leads to at least one common agreement.  Open another bottle.

This time we talk about a great chianti, Ruffino Il Leo Superiore 2006.  Loved it.  Slightly chilled, because the deck is hot, and served from a glass pitcher for effect.  Enjoy.

What Others Say:  winemaker’s notes:

“Color: Ruby red

Aroma: Vibrant and generous. The first, flowery impressions are reminiscent of sweet violet, followed by hints of cherry and red berries with delicate spicy tones of vanilla and cloves, due to the aging in wood. The finish is elegant and impressive with notes of nutmeg.

Tasting profile: The attractive smoothness of the taste is a result of a good balance between tannin profile, alcohol and fruity body. The length on the palate is noteworthy with fragrant fruity notes.”

What I Thought: What a beautiful world to be enjoying a chianti with friends, family and cooking out.  What could be better…well let’s talk about the wine.  I really enjoy a good chianti.  A chianti is a table wine.  It  does not need to be pretentious.  Think…many chianti bottles spend their eternity as a rustic candle holder.  A true working man’s wine.  And what a better way to work up a sweat than to grill the meal.  This wine was light, crisp (good with a chill) and still sturdy in the flavor and aftertaste.  I would heartily recommend that you serve it to guests. ..that is if…they like their brats prepared properly!

Cheers from the wine oaf.

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OK, it’s March Madness time!  Conference playoffs are going on.  Time for real simple fare that doesn’t take you away from the tube.  (Would a 60″ flat panel look good over the stove?…hmm)  Anyway, got a great red sauce that we whip up.  Go Illini!

Ingredients:

2 jars Classico Traditional Basil pasta sauce

1 8 oz. jar mushrooms drained

5 oz Purdue cooked short fillet carved chicken breasts (ain’t got no time to be cutting up chicken!) 

 mild slice banana peppers to taste (I like a lotta banana)

chopped sundried tomatoes to taste

1/4 cup burgundy wine (only a quarter cup…buy a good cheap red wine and drink the rest, right?) 

diced onion to taste

Mix it up.  Heat it up and serve over whole wheat pasta (our choice)

Give it a go.  This recipe is a long standard that has been in our family for over 60 days. An heirloom.

Cheers from the Wine Oaf!

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Dirty Risotto

from:Giada De Laurentiis, Giada’s family dinners

Serve to Guests!

This is an AWESOME restaurant quality meal!

Ingredients:

5 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 ounces pancetta, chopped

6 ounces spicy italian sausage, casings removed (we use turkey sausage too)

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

4 ounces button mushrooms, trimmed and coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cup arborio rice

3/4 cup dry white wine

(buy a white wine you want to drink, you only need 3/4 cup for the recipe)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat.

In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over med heat. Add the pancetta and sausage and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms and saute until tender, about 8 minutes, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until is is almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 25 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

We have yet to serve this that people don’t go, “WOW!” Lot’s of other good recipes in the book. (At the dinner table, we do not give Giada any credit.)

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