back to store

800.625.8238

Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

A wine blog written by the experts from The International Wine of the Month Club

Don’s September Collector Series Top Pick

by

This month’s Top Pick belongs to a relative newcomer.  Despite my fondness for William Fevre’s Champs Royaux Chablis, shipped this month with a cool green jacket, and my longstanding love for Castello di Monsanto’s exceptional Chianti Classico, I have to go with Valle Secreto’s 2011 Private Syrah, Cabernet, Carmenère as this month’s Top Pick.  For starters, it’s hard not to marvel at this wine’s soaring full-blown aromatics and rich polished flavors.  Reminiscent of classified Bordeaux, this highly allocated production of 2011 Valle Secreto Private offers up a staggering bouquet of blackberry, cassis, wood smoke and dark chocolate, all of which are framed by subtle hints of oak.  Better still, deep, complex flavors reminiscent of the wine’s voluminous bouquet emerge in the center of this wine, bolstered by ripe tannins that add energy and lift as well as a balance to this tasty offering.  I love this wine’s larger than life, in your face personality, so this month’s Top Pick it is.   Enjoy!

Salud!
Don

Don’s September Premier Series Top Pick

by

This month offers four exciting wines from four different countries: Australia, Chile, Italy and New Zealand.  To my palate, each of the wines this month makes a compelling case for Top Pick because “there ain’t a dog in the bunch,” as the old saying goes.  For starters, Mount Fishtail’s 2013 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc comes across as more than a cut above your typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  It’s received well-deserved accolades from the Wine Enthusiast, too, and it earned a top spot on the magazine’s list of Top Ten Best Buy New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, so believe me, this Sauvignon Blanc is no pretender.

Bisci’s 2013 Verdicchio di Matelica is another winner.  I have always loved this wine for its elegance and depth of flavor.  Frankly, Verdicchio doesn’t get any better than Bisci, and the 2013 from Bisci can charm a crowd.  And then there are the reds.  Casas del Bosque’s 2012 Reserva Carmenère is simply delicious.  A better wine for the money would be hard to find.  Besides, I love Carmenère and everywhere I have shown this wine, it is the first wine to disappear off the tasting table.  It’s hard to argue with personal preference or success.  And we still have Tait’s 2012 Wild Ride to consider, a smooth satisfying Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro blend that over delivers in every way.

So, this month’s Top Pick?  Despite some misgivings and a dose of guilt, I have to go with the 2012 Casas del Bosque’s Reserva Carmenère because you can’t argue with preference and success, and as cooler weather is around the corner, I tend to drink more reds.  Moreover, this Carmenère truly merits the 90 point score it received from Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar and then some.  Enjoy!

Salud!
Don

Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad

by

This fast and easy recipe is perfect for any type of barbecue!

“This delicious salad features all the flavors in a virgin Bloody Mary: horseradish, Worcestershire, lemon and celery. It’s perfect with grilled skirt steak.”

Salt and Pepper Steak with Bloody Mary Tomatoes Beauty A130423 Food & Wine Handbook August 2013Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup drained bottled horseradish
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
  • Coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 small celery ribs, thinly sliced, plus 1/4 cup leaves
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 pound skirt steak, in 2 pieces

Preparation:

In a bowl, stir 2 tablespoons of the horseradish with the lemon juice, Worcestershire, celery seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the canola oil in a steady stream; season with salt. Add the tomatoes and celery ribs and leaves, season with salt and pepper and toss.

In a small bowl, stir the sour cream with the remaining 2 tablespoons of horseradish.

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Rub the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil all over the steak and season with salt and black pepper. Grill the steak over moderately high heat, turning once, until nicely charred, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steak to a work surface and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice the steak across the grain and serve with the tomato salad and horseradish cream.

Recipe and photo from www.FoodandWine.com

Easy Slow Cooker French Dip

by

This easy recipe uses rump roast slowly simmered in beef broth, onion soup, and beer, perfect for game day!

French DipINGREDIENTS:

  • 4 pounds rump roast
  • 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
  • 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French
  • onion soup
  • 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
  • 6 French rolls
  • 2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Trim excess fat from the rump roast, and place in a slow cooker. Add the beef broth, onion soup and beer. Cook on Low setting for 7 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3. Split French rolls, and spread with butter. Bake 10 minutes, or until heated through.

4. Slice the meat on the diagonal, and place on the rolls. Serve the sauce for dipping.

Recipe and photo from www.AllRecipes.com

How to recycle wine corks?

by

As someone who has spent his entire career in wine, popping hundred of corks a week, I figured out a long ago that wine corks readily serve more than one purpose.  Why throw away a good wine cork?  Here are a few suggestions for recycling wine corks. With a little imagination I am sure you can come up with more.

  •  Cork floats.  Attach a wine cork to a key chain.  Keys don’t float as many bathers and boaters have come to find out the hard way, unless they are attached to a cork.
  • Make a cork wreath and decorate the wreath with the appropriate holiday regalia: bows flowers, fruit, holly etc.
  • Make cork figures and ornaments using small finishing nails to keep the corks together.  Angels, rocking horses, and just about any figure you want can easily be made from corks.  Glue the desired regalia onto the figure and another holiday gift is ready present.
  • Wine corks make great buffers between walls and the metal parts of furniture, especially screws and sharp protrusions.  Just screw or push the cork onto the protrusion and stop worrying about scuffs and gouges to your walls.
  • Create a dart board with your old corks but cutting the corks in half and using the smooth flat insides as the board’s surface.
  • And after you have exhausted all other recycling efforts, what’s wrong with putting some of the wine corks from your favorite wines on display in a clear glass bowl or vase?  The corks will serve as a reminder of the most memorable wines and can be reused to stop an open bottle or container.  And if nothing else, the wine cork vase will in time become a conversation piece to regale visiting wine geeks.  Better still, you can have some fun with the snooping wine snob by planting a few choice corks.

Salud!
Don

Pork Scaloppine with Mustard Pan Sauce and Baby Carrots

by

With fall right around the corner, Pork Scaloppine with Mustard Pan Sauce and Baby Carrots will please the whole family but is ready in under an hour!

Pork Scaloppine with Mustard Pan Sauce and Baby CarrotsIngredients

  • 1 pound baby carrots, halved lengthwise
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut crosswise into 12 pieces, and pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
  • 1/4 cup minced shallots
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
  • 1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
  • 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine carrots and olive oil on a jelly-roll pan; toss to coat. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until tender, stirring after 10 minutes.

3. Sprinkle pork evenly with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon canola oil; swirl to coat. Add 6 cutlets; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with 1 teaspoon canola oil and remaining pork.

4. Return skillet to medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add stock and mustard; cook 1 minute, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in sour cream; cook 1 minute. Serve pork with sauce and carrots. Sprinkle with parsley.

Recipe and photo from www.MyRecipes.com

Pesto Halibut Kebabs

by

Easy and delicious, this comes together in jiff and is perfect for a last minute summer dinner party or a busy weeknight!

Pesto Halibut KebabsIngredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds halibut, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 3 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Place fish and bell pepper in a shallow dish. Drizzle pesto and vinegar over fish mixture; toss to coat. Let fish mixture stand 5 minutes.

Thread fish and pepper alternately onto each of 4 (12-inch) skewers; sprinkle evenly with salt. Place skewers on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Broil for 8 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning once.

Note: If you can’t find fresh halibut, substitute another mild, firm white fish.

Recipe and photo from www.MyRecipes.com

The International Wine of the Month Club

The International Wine of the Month Club | 1-800-625-8238 (Outside USA call: 949-206-1904) | P.O. Box 1627, Lake Forest, CA 92609