William Hill Cabernet Sauvignon

I know I am guilty of this...


FAIL.

Picture it: You go to a restauant, and order a glass of the house red with your dinner. It's (surprisingly) freaking delicious. You rave about it alllll night, and continuously exclaim that you WILL buy this wine next time you're at the store. Then, a few weeks later when you've forgotten the varietal, name of the winery, and design on the label, you wander around your local wine store, assaulting the assocites with your pleas to help you figure out what that one wine you had at that restaurant was, only able to provide them with the following description: "it was red, and had a goat on the label. Or a chicken. Or a bear. Or some kind of flower. It was a red wine with something on the label."

Guess what you probably don't walk out of that store with.

Well, if this sounds familiar to you, there is a good possibility that the wine in question was William Hill Cabernet. Popular in local restaurants, this wine was MADE for a good meal. With an earthy scent and deep red color, you're mouth is going to be watering before you even take a sip.

WH Cab is quite dry, and maybe it's just me, but William Hill Cabernet reminded me a little of drinking a Chainti-- a hearty (read: STRONG) wine to wash down your dinner with. The sip was tannic and herb-y, with hints of dark fruit (think blueberry) and spice (the pumpkin pie kind, not pepper).



Ok, this is just chicken stew, but for the
purposes of this review, let's pretend it's
game meat. YUM.

William Hill Cabernet was a welcome partner to my lasagna, but would also pair nicely with pesto, game meats (venison stew, perhaps), or red-sauced pasta of any kind. It's not great as a sipper, though. I found that when unoccompained I did not want to finish my glass.


Price: $$

My Rating: B+

Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio

I can't put my arms down!

I'm not usually the sort of person to state/complain about the obvious, but damn it's cold! I'm wearing three shirts, two pairs of pants, and the fluffiest socks available this side of my pajamas, and I *STILL* can't feel my fingers (note to self: put on hobo gloves). So logically, I'm going to blog about a wine best served chilled. Because I enjoy frostbite. Don't you?



In my mind, persnickety people all have
 fancy moustaches for some reason...

Pinot Grigio is the sort of wine that people get all persnickety about, and I'm not 100% sure why. I mean, Santa Margherita is good and all, but it's a little pricey, and you can get a Pinot Grigio that's just as nice for much less. Enter Santa Cristina. At something like half the price, Santa Cristina is a similarly dry-yet-fruity white that goes great with a variety of dishes.


Best lightly chilled, you'll first notice its light straw color and fresh scent. The sip is best defined as crisp and full--I know, I know, "crisp" is a vague-ish wine term that doesn't necessarily carry any real-life applicability (don't even get me started on "full"), so I'll just tell that you once you sip, you'll want to click your tongue and say "Ahhhh!" You'll notice a burst of light citrus, and maybe even some pineapple that lasts through the sip and well after.

Or, you know, with a hot pocket...

Pair this one with crab cakes, light pasta/seafood dishes, or with appetizers at your low-key dinner party. I'm thinking a smoked meat and cheese platter, and maybe some spinach and artichoke dip. With pita chips, not tortillas. 'Cause we're classy like that.


Price: $


My Rating: B+

Jorge Ordonez & Co. Bontani Moscatel Seco 2010

I've discovered a bit of a milestone today at CWT: I crossed the 1100 views threshold since starting this blog. Neat-o! It doesn't sound like much, but I am thrilled that more people than my husband and my mom are reading. So thanks!!

Anyway, to celebrate I decided to DRINK SOME WINE. Even though it's not super warm out I went with a light white that is perfect for "Haf Bach Mihangel" -- you know, when you get summer-like weather in the fall. In case you're wondering, "haf bach Mihangel" is the PC, less offensive, Welsh term for this phenomenon. But I digress.

Looks like water and tastes
like wine:
a great party trick.

With dinner I had a glass (okay, okay, two glasses) of Jorge Ordonez & Co. Botani Moscatel Seco. Boy is that a mouthful! You might think because of the grape varietal (Moscatel and Moscato are essentially the same grape, just grown in different places) that this would be a sweet wine. It's really not.

Sadly, my kitchen is not a
"super clean" one...

When poured into your glass you'll notice first off that it is very light in color. It ALMOST looks like a glass of water. But don't be fooled. Give it a whiff and you'll smell a refreshing, albeit misleading sweetness. It's also a clean smell-- crisp and citrus-y, like something you'd scrub your kitchen with. There's nothing like a super clean kitchen.

An interesting thing to note: the
cork has the vintage printed on
the top-- 2010.

The flavor was a bit difficult to nail down, as the Botani is the sort of wine that changes depending on what you're ingesting with it. It's all around acidic, with some mineral qualities and a cheek tweak at the end, courtesy of that citrus-y acid. For dinner we had seasoned pork chops and saffron rice, and while I ate I kept tasting butter in the sip. Without the saffron rice accompaniment I tasted grass, dry and tangy minerality. And might I recommend, stop drinking it by the time you get to eating your pumpkin pie. This wine does NOT go well with pumpkin pie.

The bottle suggests pairing the Botani Moscatel with seafood, sushi (aka seafood) or company. This wine would be great with a spider roll (flash-fried soft shell crab with spicy mayo). Yummy! But Reader, please, don't chow down on your dinner guests.

The Jorge Ordonez & Co. Botani Moscatel is best served cool, not cold. So throw a bottle in the fridge but be sure to give the temp a little time to come up before drinking.

Price: $$

My Rating: B