wine – Page 3 – Peacock Orchard

Wine Bottle Hot Box

We have been saving wine bottles for awhile. We have the benefit of other people’s bottles as well. Husband and I discussed various ways to make a hot box from wine bottles and the results are pretty nice if I do say so myself. We scavenged another wooden trough type structure from the local Kubota. Husband drilled holes in it and bam, hot box. We will be testing this as time goes on. Hot peppers are the current residents of the hot box.

A little bit about how this works and why you would want it:

The sun heats up the air inside of the wine bottles. The hot air then pushes through the neck of the bottle and into the soil, increasing soil temperature. This is a good way to increase your growing zone. We chose to put hot peppers in the hot box because of their love for hot soils. I hope to see them take off soon!

Bauer Haus Spatlese 2009 Rheinhessen and German Buttercase Cheese

Wine:

Bauer Haus Spatlese 2009 Rheinhessen $9.99

[I’m paraphrasing various sources] This is a fruity wine, light and tasty with apricot, nougat and apple flavors.

Cheese:

Buttercase Cheese $9.47

[Wikipedia] Butterkase is a semi-soft cheese with a golden natural rind, very popular in Germany and Austria for its creamy texture, buttery like taste. Its name, when literally translated means “butter cheese,” but the cheese is butter free.

Wine Review-

The wine was fine. The flavor was acceptable. It wasn’t anything special but it didn’t make me want to vomit, as another wine we tried did.

Cheese Review-

The cheese was ok as well. It was very cheesy, or how an American would expect cheese to taste. We ate it with some bread and it was perfectly fine.

A combined review: Both were good, not special, just good. They both served well on their own. They did not particularly enhance the flavor of each other. I would consume both if offered but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to get them. So take that as you will.

Mumm Napa Brut Prestige and Cave Aged Gruyere

Wine:

Mumm Napa Brut Prestige $25.99

[From the makers website] Brut Prestige is Mumm Napa’s signature sparkling wine. It is a relaxed, yet elegant, wine that earns sparkling accolades from consumers and critics alike. Brut Prestige features fine bright citrus, red apple, stone fruit and creamy vanilla aromas, with hints of toast, honey and gingerbread spice. Its vibrant flavors are balanced by fine acidity and a rich, lingering finish.

Cheese:

Cave Aged Gruyere $14.55

[From Wikipedia] Gruyère is sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming with age more assertive, earthy and complex. When fully aged (five months to a year) it tends to have small cracks which impart a slightly grainy texture.

Wine Review- The taste is not unpleasant. I thought it was a bit less sweet than I had expected. It has good flavor though and paired very well with the cheese. The chocolate made it taste a bit dryer though. So I wouldn’t drink this with chocolate or sweets. Something mildly savory, like the gruyere, went very well with this. It was a nice celebratory drink. 11 years of marriage and looking forward to many more! We recommend this wine.

Cheese Review- This cheese was nice. It had a good flavor. I thought it was mildly salty but not bad at all. It paired quite well with the wine. We actually finished off this cheese on another occasion and would recommend.

2013 Chateau Ste Michelle Gewurztraminer and Jarlsberg Cheese

Wine:

Chateau Ste Michelle Gewurztraminer $8.99 on sale

[From the wine maker] A fan favorite, this Gewürztraminer is such a flavorful wine with beautiful, expressive fruit and clove spice. This is a lush style of Gewurztraminer with a lot of floral character, yet it still maintains the grape’s natural crisp acidity. Try this wine with Thai food or any cuisine with a little “bite” to it.

Cheese:

Jarlsberg $7.99

[From Wikipedia] Jarlsberg cheese has a yellow-wax rind (outer layer) and a semi-firm yellow interior. It is a mild, buttery cheese. The flavor is “clean and rich, with a slightly sweet and nutty flavour.” It is an all-purpose cheese, used for both cooking and eating as a snack.

Wine Review- We rather like Gewurztraminer wines. So much so that I bought a hybrid grape called Traminette. We are hoping to get enough grapes to make our own Gewurztraminer wine variety. We shall see. This wine is really rather nice though. Mild and flavorful. We had Gewurztraminer for Thanksgiving last year. Goes very well with turkey and fixings. Goes well with most foods really. It’s a nice, all around wine, imo. Not spectacular but quality and versatile. We will continue to buy it.

Cheese Review- I’ll be honest here, we ate 2 cheeses. The pictures did not turn out (must remember to check the photos before calling it good) and we ate all of the other cheese so we couldn’t remember what it was. It was good, we ate it all. The Jarlsberg was pretty good, we ate 1/2 of it. It has a stronger flavor but was nice with crackers. I could see eating it again.

We did this review for a date night in. We rented the movie “Lucy” (WEIRD!!!!!!!!!) and cuddled up on the couch. It was an enjoyable evening, in spite of the odd movie.

Chateau Maine D’Arman 2010 wine and Fontina Mauri cheese

This review has been updated HERE.

Wine:

2010 Chateau Maine D’Arman, Cotes De Bourg $12.99

[From the winery notes] A bourduaex blend. “70% Merlot / 20% Cabernet Sauvignon / 10% Malbec
This wine shows a dark ruby-red colour and develops a powerful and intense bouquet of candied fruits. The palate is warm and fleshy with elegant and pleasantly oaky tannins.”

Cheese:

Fontina Mauri $4.89

[From cheese makers website] An every day table cheese produced in Lombardy and adapted from the methods in Fontina Italy.

Wine Review- This wine was fine. Just fine. Not something that would make you put down your glass in disgust but not a wine that would make you lift your glass with glee. I had one glass and felt no need to get another. None of the things we set out to pair it with paired well.

However, We did see that red meat was suggested, so I decided to use the remaining wine in an abbreviated version of Beef Bourginoun. I browned the meat, carmelized the onions, chopped the carrots and simmered it all in the wine. I could not believe how heavenly dinner was. I used the meat juices to make gravy and it was the best gravy I’d ever had in my life. We really need to look at suggested pairings in the future because they were right on with this one. Fantastic!

Cheese Review- Like the wine we were not overly impressed with the cheese. I was putting a slice on bread and eating it with pepperoni. It was perfectly fine. Certainly a cheese you can use in your every day life. This cheese simply didn’t have the WOW factor our last selection had. On that I was disappointed.

La Vieille Ferme Recolte 2012 Wine and La Tournette French Raclette Cheese

Wine:

La Vieille Ferme Recolte 2012 $9.99

[Abbreviated from back of bottle] This full-bodied and fruity wine comes from vines grow high on the flops of mount ventoux, one of the best vineyards in the Rhone valley…..A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Chateu de grapes……..full of fruit and spice aromas, it has soft tannins and good body.

Cheese:

La Tournette French Raclette Cheese $7.61

[I made this up after minimal research] La Tournette is a mountain in France and Raclette is the process of scraping off the melted part of cheese for a meal. So, while I couldn’t find a direct definition for this cheese I imagine this is made in the mountain region and meant for melting.

Wine Review- Not too dry or bitter. Pairs well with the cheese. The cheese seems to bring out a sweeter flavor in the wine. A Honeycrisp apple also helps bring out a sweeter flavor in the wine. The wine has a spicier flavor on its own. Of course, the more you drink the better the wine tastes! We did end up drinking the entire bottle so it’s a winner in my book.

Cheese Review- Well, Daughter spit it out. She did not like it. I found it to have a smoky flavor that was quite pleasant with French bread or honeycrisp apple. I wished I’d bought grapes as I thought it would have been an amazing pairing. Alone the cheese is a bit bitter and sharp. Still, not unpleasant.

Ok, so this is our first review. Let me set the scene. I bake the bread, clean my cheese plate, cut the apple and plate everything. The kids can smell food from miles away. As soon as those platters of food hit the table both kids were surrounding it begging to eat. I insisted they clear out so I could get a few pictures with our crappy camera. That achieved, the family crowded around and began eating. It didn’t take long for Ella to end up on the table, the wine had to be removed. Then Ella was removed for fear she would fall off the table. Then we were trying to talk but the kids kept interrupting.

Finally I set both kids up with apples and crayons and we were able to review the wine and cheese. We were also able to laugh a lot about our life as Ella kept trying to color on her hands. I ended up making paper airplanes and reading books. A bottle of wine mellowed us out quite nicely though and we had fun chasing the kids about before researching whales on Youtube.