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Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label

Veuve Clicquot Champagne enjoyed to ring in 2012

We had this delicious champagne–a favorite of Bec’s–to celebrate the start of 2012!  Having slipped away to upstate New York, we were staying at the “Sky & Water House” near Woodstock for the occasion with our friends Angela and George.   It was a nice place and we enjoyed thoroughly the peace and the quiet afforded by the place.

Veuve is amazing under any circumstances, and certainly a great treat to celebrate such a milestone as the coming of the new year.  Our dinner consisted of steak (grilled on our deck!), fresh asparagus, and even sweet potato fries.  All were great but none so much as the champagne and the New Year’s celebration.

The winemaker itself writes as follows: “Clicquot’s signature Brut is loved all over the world for its crisp, full flavors, consistent quality and celebratory yellow label.  This classical dry champagne is a blend of two thirds black grapes (pinot noir and pinot meunier)  for body, balanced with one third chardonnay for elegance.  It has a fine, persistent sparkle and golden champagne color.“

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Buena Vista Ramal Vineyard 2008 Pinot Noir

One of our absolute favorites, from our trip out to the Carneros region of Sonoma Valley several years ago, is the Buena Vista pinot noir–this one from their Ramal Vineyard.  It’s so smooth, so polished.  While lacking the wine taster’s vocabulary or lexicon to adequately describe this pinot noir, I can say that I’ve never tasted its equal in all the pinot noir’s I’ve had.

This time enjoyed in the Catskills at the “Sky & Water House”, Becca and I had this Buena Vista while readying for the New Year’s holiday. A tray of italian peppers, onions, and sausage accompanied this particular bottle–which we started with hors d’oeuvres and finished after dinner in the great outdoors.

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Estancia Pinot Noir 2010

Estancia Pinot Noir

This enjoyable Central Coast pinot noir we enjoyed (okay, several of them) with Christmas dinner with the Heuseveldts and both Ma and Steve.  My brother had picked this out previously and knew it would definitely be a hit while we celebrated the holiday.  I think the delicious spread included the pinot, a perfectly cooked prime rib, smashed potatoes, a cheesy-cauliflower vegetable medley that Ma prepared, some scrumptious breads, and a light but tasty green salad (with dried cranberries!) that Laura had whipped up.

I didn’t actually remember to shoot the bottle until after we left our hosts’ house so I’m guessing on the year based on what I presume Steve paid, and this label is from an online source rather than showing our actual spread.  It was a fun and delicious wine to accompany our fun and festive dinner–the only shame being that we didn’t have more than the three (3) bottles to enjoy!  I don’t see this offered downstate here in NJ as much as I do up in Rochester but I’d gladly buy and drink it again!

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Tosca Prosecco

Prosecco Tosca

While shopping for holiday wines at our local Bottle King, I had an idea that a prosecco would be a fun buy…possibly as an after dinner drink but just perhaps to jumpstart the day in a mimosa or two.  This one is from the Prosecco de Valdobbiadene region, Veneto, Italy and, according to Wine Buyer, is supposed to be “…fresh peaches and apricots with a hint of nuts and fruit on the nose, clean and refreshing.”

Historically speaking, Prosecco is the name of the wine, the grape from which it is made,  and the town where the grape is believed to have originated.  The wine has a long pedigree, stretching back to the Roman Empire, and was our breakfast treat.  We did ultimately rock the mimosas, having them together with our traditional egg casserole, slices of cinnamon roll, fresh berries, and lemon scones.  Each of us poured his or her Prosecco to taste and it was a fun way to begin celebrating Christmas.

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Henry of Pelham 2009 Pinot Noir

Forgot to take a photo of this pinot noir (I think it is the 2009) that we enjoyed on Christmas Eve in Rochester, NY, with family.  The experts say it has “medium, ruby red color, with aromas of raspberry, cherry, and spice with light, tobacco notes; dry, medium-bodied, quite fruity with oak notes on the finish.”

Now, I don’t know all that, but I do know it was delicious and I’d gladly enjoy another bottle.  Dad poured, Pat cheffed it all up, and the whole family traded stories and smiles while noshing down on seafood newburg, asparagus, delicious bread, olives, and some of the most perfectly cooked prime rib I’ve ever eaten.  Perhaps the end of a tradition, the above, but hoping the Pelham makes it on to whatever the future holds for us all!

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Finca Copete Malbec 2009

This malbec we had over the course of two nights.  We opened this originally to enjoy with a pork loin–really perfectly cooked–and a fresh salad of mixed greens, sliced apples, and crumbled blue cheese.  The food was great but the wine needed more time to breathe.  Thus, we pulled it again a night later, after working through appetizers and a bottle of Mark West pinot noir, and finished the malbec with ravioli.  We like a malbec and thus had to give it a try but probably would put others on the list ahead of this one.

Finca Copete Malbec 2009

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Mark West 2009 Pinot Noir

This one is usually a favorite but tonight something is off. The wine smells funky, to the point where I switched glasses initially–thinking my glass smelled like an old sponge. It’s actually the wine.
It’s a shame too, because we were having this bottle as we embraced the holiday spirit by sorting through gifts, watching Christmas Vacation, and sampling some delicious shrimp cocktail and little neck clams. Throw in a crusty, warm, buttery hunk of wheat bread (yes I said wheat bread) and we were all set for good wine. Not in the cards for tonight, though.

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Les Vignes de Bila Haut 2010 Cotes du Roussillon

We are totally hooked on the 2010 Cotes du Roussillon Les Vignes de Bila-Haut, a French wine from the Lanquedoc Rousillon region.  Again, I credit the folks at Bottle King for drawing our attention to this wine.  They were having a tasting this fall, including several other reds and this white (all from Michel Chapoutier), and I thought this one the baddest of the bunch and grabbed up several.  Here’s how the big shots from the Wine Advocate describe it (at 90 points):

“A strikingly colorful aromatic display features pink grapefruit, peony, honeysuckle, and golden raspberry, all of which combine on a juicy, mouthwateringly saline palate, finishing with superb refreshment and length. What a fine introduction to Roussillon whites and terrifically versatile accompaniment at table this will make over the next 2-3 years if not beyond!”

2010 Cotes du Roussillon Les Vignes de Bila-Haut

Regrettably I cannot remember what we first ate with this–perhaps some Rosarios Italian pasta dishes?–but it’s become a favorite so it will surely get more play herein in the future.  I’m just too much a neophyte to know if I should call this a Grenache Blanc or what?