Casa Lapostolle Cuvée Alexandre Syrah, 2002

Casa Lapostolle Cuvée Alexandre Syrah, 2002

Casa Lapostolle was founded by the Marnier Lapostolle family from France and the Rabat family from Chile in 1994. The winery is located in the heart of Chile about 100 miles south of Santiago, in the Rapel Valley. This 2002 Syrah has a deep, almost black color with some purple hues. The nose displays dark berry with notes of smoke, vanilla and caramel. This is a thick, chewy wine with expressive flavors of black fruit, espresso, licorice and smoke. There is an impressive concentration of these flavors along with firm tannins and exotic spice on the finish. This is a full-throttle full bodied wine that would pair well with some Beef Wellington. We have cellared this lovely Syrah for the past 4 years and found it to be a true gem.

Barbera D'Alba Superiore Bricco Cichetta, 2006

Barbera D'Alba Superiore Bricco Cichetta, 2006

Azienda Agricola Rinaldi is located in Piedmont, near Alba, in Madonna di Como, an area of Langhe which is known to produce excellent Barbera wines. During the Roman Age, the name “Como” indicated a group of young people dancing to celebrate Bacchus, the God of Wine. This estate, Agricola Rinaldi, has been producing Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto and Moscato since 1920. The Barbera D'Alba Superiore Bricco Cichetta, 2006, is a beautiful wine with a dark ruby red color. The nose is packed with dark ripe fruit along with some spice, licorice and vanilla. This is a medium bodied wine with an elegant, rich mouth feel and delicious flavors of plum, black cherry, dark chocolate and some delightful minerality. There are well integrated tannins and crisp acidity that make this wine a great companion for a hearty Italian meal. We enjoyed this Barbera at the excellent Veneto Trattoria, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Atalaya, 2007

Atalaya, 2007

This is new import from Bodegas Atalaya from Almansa, Spain. . The 2007 Atalaya is a blend of Monastrell, Garnacha, and other red grapes. The wine was aged for eight months in French and American oak. The color is deep purple with a violet rim. This wine has a lovely bouquet of cherries, blueberries and some new leather. On the palate it shows off beautiful dark fruit flavors of plum, black cherry and berry along with some light spice, coco and pepper. This is a medium bodied wine with a lovely mouth-feel and superb depth and complexity. This is an all-round delicious wine that will go well with any hearty meal or with a nice chunk of dark chocolate. We bought this yummy wine at Pete’s Wine Shop, in Bellevue, for about $14.

Campos Reales Tempranillo, 2008

Campos Reales Tempranillo, 2008

Located around 110 miles southeast of Madrid, Bodega Campos Reales is situated in La Mancha region, the largest wine producing region in Spain and the world. There are a few things that are quite interesting about this wine. First, this is another well made “new-world” wine, imported by Jorge Ordonez, that is being sold in the Seattle area for about $7.00. Secondly is the age of this wine. This new vintage came available in March, 2009, only 5 months after the grapes were picked off the vine. Wow, how youthful can you get… no oak aging here! This easy drinking wine has a deep violet color and a nose of fresh berries and cherries. On the palate, ripe blackberries, strawberries and pomegranate comingle on a zesty medium bodied backbone. The tannins are quite submerged and the fresh acidity makes this wine a good pair for any casual dinner. This is not a complex wine; however, it delivers some delicious vitality and freshness that is quite enjoyable.. We bought this nice “value wine” from Spain at QFC, in Bellevue, for about $7.00

Stuffed Sizzling Peppers

Stuffed Sizzling Peppers


When we were down in Scottsdale, a few weeks ago, we had a lovely dinner at the Sierra Bonita Grill. We started with an appetizer of Cheese Stuffed Sizzling Jalapeños. To our surprise, they arrived on our table in a specially made cast iron pan with 8 beautifully sizzling peppers. The appetizer was totally delicious and the owner was nice enough to give us the name of the company that sells these special pans. I promptly ordered two from the Sizzling Pepper Griddle Company, and got to try them out tonight. I made two "pan-fulls" tonight with one pan a blend of Mexican cheese and the other with ground lamb, chopped onion and the same cheese blend. The concept is simple, but the results are totally delicious. We enjoyed these as a savory dinner with some chip and salsa and a cold Wheat Ale.

Here is the special cast iron pan ready for some stuffed jalapeños.

Start with fresh, large jalapeños that you cut in half and de-seed.The peppers are filled with the stuffing and cooked on the stove or grill.Here are the cheese stuffed peppers after cooking.Here are the lamb and cheese stuffed peppers ready to eat.