Wines I'm loving right now: 2006 Tommasi Valpolicella

First off, I apologize for being such a lame-ass with posting lately. Explanation as to why, at the bottom of my post.

Bought this on a whim and ended up really enjoying it so I thought I'd share! Especially because I drink more French and Spanish wine than anything else and haven't found many Italian wines yet that I loved (not saying there aren't many wonderful Italian wines!). And I'm always happy to find more to love!

Valpolicella is a lighter Italian red (a little like French Beaujolais or Burgundy) and you actually drink it at a slightly cooler temperature than you drink other reds. Pop it in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so before serving. You don't want it to be ice cold but it should be cool enough to enjoy on a hot day (not that we have many of those left here in NH!).

This Tommasi Valpolicella was light bodied, tart and had a lot of cherry flavor without being too sweet. It retails for about 16.99 but I got it on sale for $11.99. Score! It's surprisingly smooth so be careful you don't throw it back too fast! I definitely plan to grab a few more bottles of this before it gets too cold out.


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I'm too distracted with the whole house buying thing to spend much time blogging. I'm not going anywhere or giving up this but until I move and get settled in, I'll probably be a little quiet. I hope you'll still come visit! It's looking like we might close on the house towards the end of the month and not on the 18th like we thought. I'm antsy and want to move in already! The apartment is filled with boxes and we're running out of room! I do have a couple of recipes I want to post but that might have to wait a few more days!

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley

Wines I'm loving right now: 2007 Tapena Tempranillo & others

1) 2007 Tapena Tempranillo

For an inexpensive wine ($9.99 at NH liquor stores), this tempranillo is surprisingly smooth. It's a lighter red wine. For those of you who can't handle merlots and cabernets, this tempranillo might be easier to handle. It's fruity without being sweet and while it's light enough to drink in warmer weather (62 degrees today!), it's got enough body to it to be paired with hearty ingredients like lamb and beef. Delicious-I'll be buying more.

2) 1998 Jean Noel Gagnard Santenay Clos de Tavannes 1er Cru

Mmmmmm, love on the tongue! Clos de Tavannes is a Pinot Noir grape, from the Burgundy region of France and while Pinot Noir's have been hugely popular for the last several years, I've never found them as exciting as others have. This wine was different. So delicate and soft, unlike any other wine I've ever had. The color was slightly darker than a ros'e but it had a lot less sweetness and a lot more body than a ros'e. Wonderful stuff but I can't seem to find it anywhere (I tried it at a restaurant renowned for it's wine cellar). I've found other vintages (2001 and 2000) but I am really hoping to find the 1998 somewhere. The 2001 and 2000 retail for about $25, the 1998 probably retails for $35. Jean Noel Gagnard's winery is still creating wines but I can't seem to figure out if this one if still in production. Fingers crossed.

3) 2006 Ghost Pines Winemakers Blend Chardonnay

I am not a white wine drinker. Sure, some of it is tasty but I get serious acid burps (aren't I a classy lady???) from it. So strange, you would think red would be more likely to cause that. Anyhow, I usually avoid white wine unless I stumble across something spectacular. This ended up in my hands as a gift. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have picked up a couple bottles of it since. It's smooth, dry and buttery with apple and pear flavors. No really. Sometimes they say a wine tastes like certain fruits and you drink it and say "Bullshit! It tastes like alcohol!" but no, this really has hints of fruit. It retails for about $15.99. And no acid burps. Score!!!

All text and photographs © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley