Our Nations Capital

Wow, it's been forever since I've posted. We travel often during the summer months. Justin and I were in Washington D.C. last week visiting family. I was thankful that it was overcast most of the time. It helped cool off the streets of D.C. We had a great time. My sister-in-law, Brittany, took us to some delicious restaurant's like Matchbox, Sonoma, and Zaytinya. We checked out the Holocaust museum (which is depressing), Air and Space, and the Natural History. My dad and his wife came to visit and we wondered around the National Mall.

We knew Virginia has wineries??? And they have an Annual Virginia Wine Festival. I never knew. We drove out of the city one day and checked out Pearmund Cellars. We tried some great wines and sat on the back deck and drank a bottle. I personally enjoyed the Cabernet and the Riesling. Check them out at /www.pearmundcellars.com

Back to Reality

We are back from my birthday vacation. We had such a great time. Lots and Lots of wine tastings and exploration the finger lakes region of New York. If you haven't been to this area of New York, you should definitely check it out. It's beautiful and the people are very friendly. Special Thanks to my New York family for the hospitality and our boston friends for coming to spend the weekend with us.

On my birthday night, Justin took me to this little gourmet cafe at Red Newt Vineyards. It was the perfect setting for a quiet, romantic dinner. The food was excellent. For dessert, I had a slice of blueberry lemon cheesecake. It was heavenly.

We bought a bottle of Hermann J. Weimer 2005 Pinot Noir. It had flavors of bing cherry, touches of vanilla and earthy notes with a smooth, long finish. Very yummy. Unfortunately, we did not make it to Hermann J. Weimer's Vineyard.

Cain Concept - Library Edition

The 2000 Cain Concept Library Edition is a real treat. The Cain Concept is based on the classic blenchland Cabernet Sauvignon that made Napa Valley famous. The Concept is a blend on Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot. This combination of flavors develop into a complex bouquet and a refined, rich and balanced finish. The Library Edition was bottled without filtration.

Bold Pinot Noir

I love wine, Justin love's wine, We all love a glass of wine. But there's nothing greater than drinking your favorite grape varietal that is everything you want in a red wine.

Z'ivo Winery is located in Williamette Valley, Oregon, which produces some excellent Pinot's. At 14.5% Alcohol, this 2004 Z'ivo Pinot Noir is one of those big, bold, jammy, and absolutely delicious Pinot Noir's. Z'ivo only produced 800 cases of this wine. This Pinot Noir has flavors of plum & black cherry with hints of earthy notes. Ripe tannins balance the fruit with a smooth finish.

Unique Merlot -- both inside the bottle and outside

One of our favorite Merlot's is the Meeker Hand-Print Merlot. A few years ago, We discovered this wine at Winestyles in Palm Beach Gardens. Since then, we have opened numerous vintages. Meeker is distributed by Opici Distribution Company.

The Meeker Vineyard was established in 1977, their tasting room is in a historic bank building in Geyersville, California. Meeker's signature wine is the Handprint Merlot. One of the winemakers (Matt or Charlie) handprints each and every bottle to confirm their pride in this super Merlot, which they make in only the best vintage years. In the Meeker tradition, this wine is truly a “handmade” wine. They leave colorful "handprints" that ensure your Meeker Merlot is a work of art ~ both inside the bottle and outside. Their motto for this wine is "From our hands to yours!"

2003 Meeker Hand-print Merlot is from Sonoma County, California.

Packed with deep, dark berry fruit and nuances with hints of cocoa, herb and earthy notes followed by soft structured tannins. Its velvety texture makes Merlot instantly appealing and an obvious alternative to similar, more tannic Bordeaux varieties. Loaded with flavors of rasberry and pepper on the finish.

Fresh Fish Tacos

Our good friend, Adam, is a Florida Sportsman who enjoys the hunt and sharing his captures with friends. Recently, he caught an African Pompano off the coast of Palm Beach. The African Pompano is a large fish normally found off oceanic islands. It is a white, fleshy fish and is excellent table fare. He graciously brought us a couple of filets.



When we opened the package of filets, they smelled just freshly caught from the salty ocean. The smell made me develop a craving for fresh fish tacos, which brings back many fond memories. In preparation, I coated them in panko breadcrumbs and sautéed them in canola oil for a minute or two on each side. They took about 10 minutes for 10 fish "fingers".













I prepared all the fixings to go with the tacos including strips of cabbage, chopped tomatoes, sweet baby peppers, onions, grated cheddar cheese, hot sauce and sour cream. We used warmed soft flour tortillas. Adam brought a delicious chipolte ranch dressing to go with the tacos, which kicked them up a few notches.











The fish tacos paired perfectly with this crisp and dry 2008 Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc. The New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is from their Marlborough vineyard. The wine is a classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with an intense bouquet of grapefruit followed by flavours of guava and passion fruit.

http://www.spyvalleywine.co.nz/

Introducing The Gourmet Groupie's other love... WINE

No meal in my home is ever complete without a great bottle of wine. My husband, Justin, and I met in college talking about wine and both share an extreme passion for the juice. Two years ago, Justin became a wine consultant with Opici Distribution Company of Florida. We have the opportunity to taste endless amounts of wine. Justin and I will work on the wine part of this blog together.


Recently, we opened a bottle of 2003 Falcor Cabernet Sauvignon. Falcor is a small boutique winery in Napa Valley, California. The winery was established in 1999 by two attorneys, James Peterson and C. Micheal Bee, from West Virginia. As enthusiastic wine lovers and regular visitors to California’s North Coast wine country, Bee and Petersen decided to take the plunge and start their own winery. They teamed up with winemaker Ray Coursen, then owner of Napa Valley's Whitehall Lane and now owner of Elyse Winery, he has made their wines from Day 1. Falcor winery focues on producing limited quantity, handcrafted wines.

http://www.falcorwines.com/



The Falcor 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is a complex and full bodied wine with a silky mouth feel, great length and classic expressions of spice, chocolate, dark fruits and cigar box flavors. This wine pairs great with grilled or roasted meats as well as grilled vegetables like portobello mushrooms and bell peppers, to compliment the dark, rich, earthy tones the wine expresses.

Varietal Details: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petite Verdot

14.5% Alcohol