Monday Night Wine

Monday Night Wine is a fabulous group of friends I have & we get together a couple Monday nights each month to taste wine. Each month we try a different varietal and I pair it with a dinner, as the wine will change once you introduce food to your palate.

January 2024 Cabernet Sauvignon As we went through the holidays, one of the first wines we selected for our dinners was Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a full body red wine, that can be dry dry dry or very fruit forward. We are going to taste several Cabs and see which is our favorite. Cabernet is a wine that will warm you up by the fire on these cold winter nights just sipping on them. We paired our wines with my Meatloaf, 5-6 Cheese Mac and Cheese, Roasted Broccoli, and Chocolate Silk Raspberry Tart.

5th/1st 2019 Scarlet Vine Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile
1st/2nd 2020 Twenty Acre Cabernet Sauvignon, Clarksburg, CA (85% Cab Sauv, 15% Petite Sirah)
4th Tie/2nd 2020 H3 Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills, WA (98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot)
2nd/1st 2021 Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Coast, CA (87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petite Sirah, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec)
4th Tie/6th 2021 Iron & Sand Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, CA (86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 3% Petite Sirah)
3rd/5th 2021 Decoy Limited Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, CA (98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot)

February 2024 Merlot This month we are going to taste Merlot. When I first started in the wine business Merlot was the hottest wine around. They were so popular and there were some really good ones available. Now 25 years later, Merlot is one of the smallest sections in the store. The movie sideways years ago, was a marketing nightmare and literally destroyed the reputation of Merlot, but we are not going to give up on it! Come check out this varietal and see what you think. We paired this months merlots with Salisbury Steak w/ Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus and 6 layer chocolate cake.

4th/6th 2021 Bliss Merlot Mendocino, CA (100% Merlot)
2nd Tie/1st 2021 J Lohr los osos Merlot, Paso Robles, CA (89% Merlot, 7% Malbec, 4% Cabernet Franc)
1st/2nd 2021 Maggio Family Merlot, Lodi, CA (82% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 6% Petite Sirah, 5%Malbec)
2nd Tie/3rd 2021 Murphy Goode Merlot, CA (96% Merlot, 4% Petite Sirah)
2nd Tie/4th 2020 Raymond Reserve Merlot, Napa Valley, CA (86% Merlot, 12% Cab Sauv, 2% Petit Verdot)
3rd/5th 2021 Textbook Merlot, Napa Valley, CA (76% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon)

March 2024 Odd Reds & Petite Sirah So as spring is teasing us with grilling weather, we know we are on the verge of Spring and Summer which means the grill is open. That means we need some great reds that are easy to drink and not too dry. The Petite Sirah grape is one of my favorites, we will have a couple of them, and also check out some of the other grape varietals that we don’t drink every day for example: Grenach, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, etc

You will have to come and see what is in the lineup! We paired our wines with BBQ Country Pork Ribs, Corn Pudding, Green Beans & No Bake Cheesecake w/ Blueberries.

4th/3rd 2021 Albert Bichot Beaujolais Village Chateau de Varennes, France (Gamay)
3rd/5th 2019 Vicente Gandia Ceramic Monastrell, Valencia, Spain (Monastrell)
2nd Tie/6th 2021 Thistledown Wine Company Gorgeous Grenache, South Australia (100% Grenache)
2nd Tie/4th 2021 Spicerack Syrah, Sonoma County, CA (97% Syrah, 3% Viognier)
1st Tie/2nd 2020 Vina Robles Petite Sirah, Paso Robles, CA (100% Petite Sirah)
1st Tie/1st 2020 Barra Reserve Petite Sirah, Mendocino County, CA (Petite Sirah)

April 2024 Red Blends This is our last month of red wines until fall. Red Blends are always some of the easiest wines to drink, they are not as dry, and usually quite smooth. Red Blends are great wines for spring and summer BBQ’s, Potlucks, Patio Parties, Picnics etc. They are great with Burgers and Pizza but also with other grilled meals and simple but elegant dinners. Come check out the wines and see if you can find a few new favorites! We paired our wines with Baked Chicken Parmesan w/ Pasta, Roasted Asparagus and No Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake.

2020 Herdade SÃO Miguel SUL Red, Alentejo, Portugal (Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Trincadeira, Cabernet Sauvignon)
2020 Michael David Dan’s Blend Lodi Red, Lodi, CA (35% Petite Sirah, 18% Cinsaut, 20% Syrah, 14% Zinfandel, 13%Petit Verdot)
2020 Smith & Hook Proprietary Red Wine, Central Coast, CA (65% Merlot, 20% Petit Sirah, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Malbec)
2021 14 Hands Stampede Bold Red Blend, Columbia Valley, WA (58% Syrah, 23% Petit Verdot,13% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon)
2021 OVZ Old Vine Red Blend, Lodi, CA (55% Zinfandel, 35% Petite Sirah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon)
2021 Wente Mount Diablo Highlands Red Blend, Central Coast, CA (23% Cab Sauv, 19% Petit Verdot, 16% Merlot, 11% Barbera, 11% Tempranillo, 11% Cab Franc, 9% Malbec)

May 2024 Chardonnay Happy May Day! So let’s drink some Chardonnay! Known also as White Burgundy, but I don’t know that we can get an affordable French Chard, but I will see. Chardonnay is usually a little heavier and some can have some hints of dryness to them. They can have tropical fruit, lemon, creamy vanilla, some may be nutty and my favorite, butter on their palates. This month we paired our wines with Lemon Thyme Chicken w/ Creamy Citrus Orzo, Asparagus and Apple Pie.

2019 Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay, CA
2022 Robert Mondavi Vint Buttery Chardonnay, CA 
2021 BarDog California Chardonnay, CA (100% Chardonnay)
2021 Frei Brothers Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Sonoma County, CA (100% Chardonnay)
2021 Phantom Chardonnay, Clarksburg, CA
2021 Smith & Elliot Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, Sonoma County, CA

June 2024 Sauvignon Blanc Wow we are looking at JUNE, that is halfway thru the year of 2024! This month we are going to taste Sauvignon Blanc, my favorite white wine! Sauvignon Blanc is a clean crisp wine, off dry, but it usually has some very strong flavors of grapefruit, jalapeno, lemon/citrus, passion fruit, etc This wine will wake up your mouth for sure and make you pucker in a good way. It is great with salads, crab, chicken and dill to name a few. This month we paired our wines with Grilled Greek Chicken w/ Dill Yogurt Sauce, Spanakorizo, Salad w/ Crab Cakes & Key Lime Bars.

3rd/1st 2022 1749 Sauvignon Blanc, Loire, France (Sauvignon Blanc)
5th/4th 2022 Angeline Reserve California Sauvignon Blanc, CA (100% Sauvignon Blanc)
4th/5th 2023 Textbook Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, CA (100%Sauvignon Blanc) (96% Stainless Steel, 4% Neutral French Oak Barrels)
2nd Tie/6th 2022 Taonga Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ (100% Sauvignon Blanc)
2nd Tie/2nd 2022 Koha Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ
1st/3rd 2023 Clark Estate Riverside Terrace Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ

Note: Dill Yogurt Sauce recipe is: 1 ¼ cup Greek yogurt, 2 Tblsp dried Dill OR 1 cup fresh dill, 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/2 lemon juiced, 1 tsp siracha, 1/4 tsp kosher salt (I used combo of fresh and dried Dill… & I didn’t exactly measure ;o)

July 2024

August 2024 Odd White Wines

September 2024

October 2024

November 2024 Pinot Noir

December 2024 Dessert Wines

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Monday Night Wine is a fabulous group of friends I have & we get together a couple Monday nights each month to taste wine. Each month we try a different varietal and I pair it with a dinner, as the wine will change once you introduce food to your palate.

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