Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

Grilled Lemon Herb Pork Chops

July 30, 2013 by Kristina Manning

Delicious pork chops that can be marinated overnight for a quick no-fuss meal, perfect for a summer barbecue! Try pairing it with a Sauvignon Blanc, such as, this month’s Yali Winemaker’s Selection Lolol Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2012.

Original recipe makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 (4 ounce) boneless pork loin chops

DIRECTIONS:

In a large resealable bag, combine lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, oregano, and pepper. Place chops in bag, seal, and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Turn bag frequently to distribute marinade.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Remove chops from bag, and transfer remaining marinade to a saucepan. Bring marinade to a boil, remove from heat, and set aside.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill pork chops for 5 to 7 minutes per side, basting frequently with boiled marinade, until done.

Recipe and photos from www.AllRecipes.com

Naked Turkey Bruschetta Burger

July 25, 2013 by Kristina Manning

This is a great alternative to the turkey burger. Lean, delicious, juicy turkey burgers made with zucchini and topped with a summer garden tomato bruschetta topping over a bed of baby arugula – no bun required!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
3 medium vine ripe tomatoes
2 small cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
3 oz part skim mozzarella, diced

For the turkey zucchini burgers:

1.25 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
1 small zucchini, grated (1 cup, or 5 oz)
1/4 cup seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tbsp red onion, grated
salt and fresh pepper
oil spray

For serving:

2 medium tomatoes, sliced into 10 thin slices
4 loose cups baby arugula

Directions:

Combine the red onion, olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside a few minutes while you chop the tomatoes, then place in the bowl. Add the garlic, basil and additional salt and pepper, to taste and mix well and set aside. Toss in the cheese when ready to serve.

Squeeze the excess moisture from the zucchini in a paper towel. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, shredded zucchini, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Form into 5 equal sized patties about 5 oz each, forming them as flat as possible.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. When hot, lightly spray with oil. Add the burgers to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes, then flip and cook another 4 minutes, careful not to burn.

To serve, arrange 3 slices of tomatoes on each dish, then place 1 cup arugula on top in the center, then top with the burger and finish with the bruschetta (don’t forget to add the cheese), serve right away.

Servings: 5 • Size: 1 burger • Old Points: 6 pts • Weight Watcher Points+: 7 pt Calories: 288 • Fat: 14 g • Carb: 10 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 27 g • Sugar: 0 g Sodium: 169 mg (without the salt) • Cholest: 10 mg

Recipe and photos from www.SkinnyTaste.com

Where to Find the World’s Best Wine Values

July 18, 2013 by Don Lahey

Where do you find the world’s best wine values? I think that depends on one’s tastes and how adept a person is at ferreting out wines from relatively unknown viticultural areas. It never ceases to amaze me how much good wine remains undiscovered and appreciated, simply because they hail from relatively obscure wine regions and undiscovered wineries and wines makers. Many of the world’s good wines, even some of the world’s great wines, flow from places not exactly on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

Let’s take Uruguay for example. Yes, I do mean that tiny prosperous South American country with a stable democratic government, a temperate climate, and a centuries’ old tradition of winemaking – all of which remain hidden from most wine lovers in North America. Why? Two reasons appear as culprits. First, the folks in Uruguay truly enjoy wine and drink most of what they make themselves and secondly, we in the U.S. tend to be mistrustful or at least oblivious to anything we haven’t seen highly advertised or rated by a dozen or more critics, whom we tend to believe are more adept at determining our tastes than we are.

Happily, Uruguay is no longer content to keep its best wines to itself. And Artesana, an ultra-premium producer from Uruguay, is another example of a very good wine producer from a relatively obscure locale. Artesana recently featured some of their estate wines at the International Wine Bloggers’ Conference to considerable acclaim. Artesana’s 2011 Tannat/Merlot comes across as a crowd pleaser, though the winery’s more traditional and tannic 2011Tannat (a French grape, which lends its name to the word tannin) shows well, too. And Artesana is just one of a growing number of producers of fine wines from Uruguay whose wares can now be found in the U.S. Artesana’s wines are well worth seeking out.

Cheers!
Don

Don’s July Collector’s Series Top Picks

July 16, 2013 by Don Lahey

Collectors July California wines earn both of my Top Picks this month beginning with Pietra Santa’s 2006 Signature Collection Cabernet Sauvignon, a packed, powerful, yet charming Cabernet Sauvignon with nearly seven years of bottle age. Cabernet doesn’t get much better than Pietra Santa’s Signature Collection at less than $100.00 a bottle. My second Top Pick goes to Girard’s beautiful 2010 Russian River Chardonnay.

For my taste, this Chardonnay offers the ideal combination of fruit, butter, spice, and everything else that’s nice about California Chardonnay. In short, Girard’s Russian River Chardonnay comes across as impeccably balanced. However, I must confess that had it been a different month, I could easily have chosen Girard’s 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon as my second Top Pick. This youthful Napa Cabernet from a truly great vintage appears to have many great years of drinking pleasure ahead of it.

A votre santé.
Don

Don’s July Premier Series Top Picks

July 15, 2013 by Don Lahey

July offers an especially fine summer line-up that spans three continents. For starters, Tridente’s 2009 Tempranillo from Spain garners my first Top Pick. It’s a smooth, full-bodied, crowd pleasing red wine that works equally well at a barbecue as it does at an elegant dinner party, which is no doubt why it has earned many 90 plus point ratings. Moreover, it makes many more expensive Tempranillo wines from Ribera del Duero look like simpletons.

My next Top Pick is a tough one. Why? Painted Wolf’s 2010 Guillermo Pinotage from South Africa is an outstanding Pinotage that has earned all the high praise it’s received. And most importantly, it drinks great. Pinotage isn’t very well known or represented in the United States, but Painted Wolf’s Guillermo Pinotage could change that. Yet, Yali’s 2012 Sauvignon Blanc from Chile’s Lolol Valley captures the essence of Sauvignon Blanc with the just the right balance between fruit, acidity, and minerality. Besides, I’m a sucker for Sauvignon Blanc, especially in summer. And then there’s Domaine Wachau’s 2011 Federspiel Terrassen Riesling, another wonderful effort. Domaine Wachau has a penchant for producing exceptional Austrian Riesling and Gruner Veltliner and their 2011 Federspiel Riesling may be the finest of its type to date.

So, what’s this month’s Second Top Pick? As much as I love Sauvignon Blanc and I could easily pull the trigger on the Yali, and Domaine Wachau’s Riesling is a real winner, I have to go with Painted Wolf’s Guillermo Pinotage as my second Top Pick, simply because Pinotage is a hard wine to make and no other Pinotage we’ve tasted on this side of the Atlantic can beat it. A votre santé.

Salud!
Don

The Language of Wine

July 11, 2013 by Don Lahey

Every field of study has its own language, and wine is no exception. But what is the language of wine? It’s simile and metaphor, simply because we humans have such a limited sense of taste. Sweetness, bitterness, acidity, and saltiness are our main taste sensations. Most of the rest of what we taste is actually what we smell, and scent for Homo sapiens evokes a collective memory from past experiences. Consequently, when tasting wine we resort to expressions that sound something like the following: “This Pinot Noir smells and tastes like ripe strawberries and the Cabernet in my glass reminds me of blackberries and currants, chocolate and coffee.” Are these descriptors just a bunch of hogwash? Can Pinot Noir really taste and smell like strawberries? And could the Cabernet in my glass truly possess the scent or savor of all those organic compounds? Certainly, though the perception of their appearance in wine can be subjective, depending largely upon one’s collective experiences. Nonetheless, research studies have revealed that organic compounds share many common characteristics, which can be accentuated by fermentation. During the fermentation process phenol compounds in grapes undergo changes that release esters (the combination of acids and alcohols that carry scent and flavor in plants and fruits) similar to other organic compounds. So, the next time you drink a wine that you think smells or tastes like berries, vanilla, or some other organic compound, you are probably evoking your collective memory. Relax and enjoy the reminder from your collective memory!

Salud!
Don

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

July 9, 2013 by Kristina Manning

A quick and healthy summer dish that is sure to please everyone!

Ingredients

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato dressing, divided
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil leaves

Instructions

Place a large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; heat grill to medium heat. Meanwhile, place chicken in resealable plastic bag. Add 1/4 cup dressing and seal bag.

Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 minutes (I marinate it all day if I remember in time). Remove chicken from bag; discard bag and dressing.

Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill for about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/4 dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.

Turn the chicken over and place cooked-side up, on foil on the grill. Top with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill 8 minutes or until chicken is done.

*Sometimes we add a splash of balsamic vinegar to give it a bit more zip.