Canaiolo

So far the "C" grapes in this journey have been blends in some really delicious red wines. The next "C" grape, Canaiolo (kah-nah-YAW-loh) is an Italian red grape found in the Italian regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Latium, Marche and Emila-Romagna. Its official name is Canaiolo Nero. It's traditionally part of the blend of Chianti but less than 10%. The wine that I chose to explore this grape was a bottle of Querciavalle Chianti Classico 2005 that I found at Jimmy's. I served the wine to Meredith and my niece, Devon with a large platter of Mama's meatballs (from Jimmy's), pasta and an Italian cream cake. Heaven!! The wine had such a beautiful floral aroma, that both Meredith and Devon commented that it would make a great perfume. It was light, fruity and very refreshing. We even paired it with two different cheeses, a blue cheese and Drunken Goat (both from Whole Foods Market). The blue cheese overpowered the wine and the wine brought out the flavors of the drunken goat. We were amazed at how much the wine enhanced the oregano spice in the meatballs and was the perfect match to the Italian cream cake. Since we all agreed that this wine was a keeper, I ran back to Jimmy's to pick up a bottle for Devon's birthday.

Three C's

Cabernet Franc (KA-behr-nay FRAHN), Cabernet Sauvignon (KA-behr-nay soh-vihn-YOHN), and Carmenere ( car-men-EHR) are 3 of 4 grapes that make up this spectacular bottle of wine from Colchagua Valley in Chile. I found this bottle of wine while I was visiting my friends, Linda and Jim's wine store, Corner Wines in Plano. Estampa Gold 2007 is a blend of 60% Carmenere, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. The rich jeweled color of the wine, heavenly aroma and smooth and balanced flavors have moved this wine up to the top of my "keeper" list. My daughter Meredith and I decided to enjoy this wine with a plate of olives and two delicious cheeses, Manchego El Trigal (sheep's milk) and Seaside Cheddar (cow's milk). Wow! Corner Wines is closed for the evening but I can't wait to call Linda tomorrow and "brag" on her great selections of wines and of course to ask her to put back a couple of bottles of Estampa for me~

Bonarda and Bourboulenc

Another trip to Jimmy's ( http://www.jimmysfoodstore.com/) and with the assistance of Alfonso, I purchased a bottle of Marchese Adorno Oltreò Pavese Bonarda with the grape Bonarda. This Italian red wine had an aroma of dark cherries, was slightly effervescent and reminded my niece, Devon of bubbly cherry Robitussin poprocks. Devon and Meredith, who joined me in tasting the wine, both agreed with the description on the back of the label-"Vigorous Personality"!

The next grape variety in our tasting was Bourboulenc (boor-boo-LAHNK), an important white grape of Côtes du Rhône, France. We explored this grape in a 2008 La Vieille Ferme white wine that is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Ugni Blanc and Roussanne grapes. I was pleasantly surprised at the great value of this light, fruity and "easy to drink" wine, less than $8.00. Dinner was a hit as I paired the wine with a whole chicken, fresh herbs and vegetables baked in a Romertopf clay pot. How wonderful to be able to taste one wine and cross off 4 grape varieties from my A-Z list.

Blaufränkisch

Blaufränkisch (blouw-FRAHN-keesh) is a red grape variety grown throughout Austria, Germany and Central Europe. In Germany it is known as Blauer Limberger, in Hungary it is called Kékfrankos, in Slovakia and Croatia it is known as Frankovka and it is called Game in Bulgaria. I explored this grape in a bottle of 2006 Prieler Blaufränkisch Johannishohe from Burgenland, Austria. Since this was one of the many grapes that had not crossed my radar, I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed the wine especially when served with a cheesy vegetable lasagna with loads of mushrooms, spinach and eggplant while watching Sawyer fight the Black Smoke Monster on "Lost". Now, any suggestions on what wine to sip while watching Jack and Renee on "24"?

Bacchus, Baga and Barbera

I decided to involve my sisters, brother-in-laws, parents and daughter in a wine tasting Saturday evening when we explored 3 different grapes in the next letter of the A-Z project. How appropriate that the first grape on my "B" list was named for the Roman god of wine, Bacchus (BAK-uhs). This white grape variety is native to Germany but is also grown in western Canada and the United Kingdom. The wine that we tasted with this grape was a Peter Brum 2008 Bacchus from the Rheinhessen region of Germany in a beautiful, slender, tall, red bottle. I was fascinated with the wine before I even tasted it~ Did I expect a genie in the bottle or the Roman god of wine? The wine was actually quite tasty with its fruity and floral aspects and I have already decided to add this to my list of summer sipping wines.

The second "B" grape that we tasted was the Portuguese grape, Baga (BAH-guh) in a bottle of Mateus Rosé. Mateus Rosé is an inexpensive, semi-sparkling wine in a green bottle shaped like a flask. "Mateus Rosé was launched in 1942 and introduced to the UK in the early 1950s where, together with Black Tower and Blue Nun, it helped introduce wine as a mass-market drink." (guardian.co.uk) Now I remember this green bottle from my early college days and quite honestly... it hasn't changed. This pink wine still has little aroma and little flavor but great memories of the green bottle.

The 3rd grape in our "B" marathon wine tasting evening was the Italian grape Barbera. We tasted this red grape in a bottle of 2007 Michele Chiarlo Barbera D'Asti from the Italian town of Asti in the Piedmont region of Italy. The consensus of the group was that the wine had a very nice fruity aroma of plums and strawberries. Dad, who is my biggest grape tasting fan, picked up on some "woodsy" notes. We served the wine with parmesan cheese toasts and a platter of pasta and meatballs. Then we indulged in warm Nutella pound cake topped with a scoop of Tin Roof ice cream. I would highly recommend this wine before dinner, with dinner and definitely after dinner with dessert! How I love sharing these "wine moments" with my family!