American Soldier is just following General's Orders...

Wow, it is going to be a crazy month for many reasons. Unfortunately, my blog will be the one that suffers most. However, this blog has been running through my head since the idea was presented Thursday. I have been working nights lately, and when I was to be relieved last Thursday it was abundantly clear I wouldn't be leaving on time. Turns out I was stuck doing almost a double shift and fought pure exhaustion on my 35 minute drive home.

Upon arriving home, I quickly passed out in preparation for my hard earned night off. I was awakened later than I had planned with a text from my wife. Quite simply it said, "Put wine in the fridge, Seriously!!!" We had pretty much given up during the week drinking as part of our pursuit to lose 50 Lbs this year, and for the most we have done real good. But seeing how the text came in almost an hour after my lovely wife was suppose to be off work, I figured it was one of those situations in which breaking the rules were in order.

As I perused our selection, I quickly sent a quick text to see if red or white was in order. I was told white via text. That was little tougher, tonight's dinner was to consist of spicy black bean burgers and homemade backed sweet potato fries, so I need something a little heavier with good acid to stand up to the planned dinner. I selected a wine from the Chesapeake Region, specifically the Northern Neck and a wine we had picked up earlier this year on our winter trip.

I put the General Ridge GRV White into the freezer to chill, while I headed out to pick up my better half from the metro. Arriving back home, I quickly got to putting dinner together, while my wife opened the bottle for a pre-dinner glass. My initial thoughts were a little lacking. There was no acid back that I was looking for and the wine itself was rather tasteless, but I felt it was a bit cold so I was optimistic that it would get better as it warmed.

With dinner prepared, I did some quick research on the wine as a refresher. It is a blend of chardonnel and traminette, steel fermented, with a light 1.5% residual sugar. A little warmer, I noted lush white tropical fruit on the nose. It tasted of straw and unripe pear with just a hint of sweetness and balanced acid finish. It went well with dinner and was a good mid-week wine. It was versatile enough it could pair with lighter picnic fair, but probably not big enough to stand up to cream sauce pasta.

After two tough work days, it was just what the general ordered to clear away the stress of the day.

Flash back to Summer....

I had been torn with my decision on what to blog today. I was on my way back from a great day tasting in Loudon county. I was convinced that I would pick one of the great wineries we visited today and share our experience. However after discussing what we would be making for dinner, my plans got changed.

Our menu was to consist of steaks expertly grilled by yours truly with sauteed onions and mushrooms, and one of my wife's favorite salads. It is a fennel and arugula mix with blue cheese, green beans, and a balsamic dressing. As you can see in the below picture it turned our beautiful. The highlight was the steakhouse onions and mushrooms prepared by my wife. They were cooked in Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce. With such a beautiful dinner prepared it was my hope that the wine selected for tonight's dinner would stand up to such a delightful meal.

The wine selection for tonight was a 2006 Meritage from Delfosse winery in Faber, Va. It is a blend of blend of classic Bordeaux grapes, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Cab Sav. This was then aged 18 months in French Oak, and according to the bottle should age well for about ten years.

The wine displayed a great nose of dark red fruit, earth, and hints of tobacco. It then followed
that up with a black raspberry flavor with hints of burnt tobacco on the taste. The wine had a good balance of tannins and fruit with a smooth finish. Although it may age a few more years it is certainly ready to be drank right now. The nice part is that it is still available for purchase to anyone at the winery and online. Most wineries are on their '08 and '09 reds. It is nice to be able to find a wine that is just getting to the point where it is really good.