May: Earth-Friendly Wines

This month's theme was "Earth-Friendly" so we tested wines that were from organic or sustainable vineyards, or had earth-friendly packaging. 

The Whites:
We started with the Candoni Pinot Grigio (Italy) - certified organic and no added sulfites.  We all liked this wine, it was citrus-y and crisp - a great summer choice.

Next we tried the 2009 Jelu Torrontes (Argentina) - We were divided on this wine (I liked it though).  It has a thicker mouthfeel than the Pinot Grigio and was very aromatic.  I got apples on the nose, but the reviews say white peach, orange and lemon.  Eh, everybody's different, right?

The Reds:
We started the reds with a 2008 Green Truck Organic Petite Sirah, which I'm pretty sure we liked (but that I failed to take notes on, duh).

Next was the Frey Natural Red Table Wine (Cali) - Organic, no sulfites detected.... horrible.  This either needed to be decanted for hours or needed a steak along with it.  It seemed young, harsh, and alcoholic.... like any good teenager :)  We didn't like this at all, in fact, most of us dumped it out.  Weird seeing as it has won quite a few medals and accolades... maybe we got a bad bottle?  It sat in the hot sun for days before we got it?  Who knows, it was worth a try, but I won't be buying it that's for sure.

The 2007 La Fortuna Malbec (Chile) was next up - This organic wine was a very typical Malbec. Plummy, and smelled of tobacco and leather.  It was the strip-club of wines.  And I loved it. 

Our final red was the 2007 Shannon Ridge Wrangler Red (Cali) - Fruity and leathery.  Maybe that leather was leftover from the Malbec, but I swear I got leather on this one too... perhaps psychosomatic since "Wrangler" was in the name?  But then wouldn't I also smell bad denim and Walmart? Hmmmm.....

We didn't make it to my personal favorite daily wine, the Old Vine Zinfandel Bota Box.  4 bottles worth of wine that takes weeks to go bad (not that we ever have a box around that long).

The Food:
We started with an appetizer of Caprese Salad (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinaigrette).

We had a baguette and multigrain crackers to go with our various cheeses - Parmesan, La Fur (?) a super creamy goat and cow's milk cheese that I MUST find again, Maine Salsa Jack (local, hormone & antibiotic free), and a Vermont Cheddar.  The local fruit scene is still dormant up here, but we enjoyed some Vermont apples with our wines (especially good with the whites).

For dessert I made "Dirt Cake", which is basically crushed up mint Newman-O's layered with vanilla pudding to look like dirt.  I put them in flower pots with mint and cilantro to make them look like real plants.  So cute!  I had a lot of fun making these :)

All in all, a wonderful night.  We saved the earth, one bottle of wine at a time.