Friday Nights IN: A Romantic Dinner for Two

Friday Nights IN is a regular feature at GWU$20 that's intended to trim a few dollars from your entertaining budget by replacing a meal out with a meal in. Some suggestions are dinners for four, six, eight, or even ten. Some are for romantic dinners for two. And some suggestions are perfect for when you need time to yourself!

If you are looking for a special, affordable meal to share this weekend with the one you love, look no further. I've got the dinner and the wine for you. And if romance isn't in your plan for this weekend, save this combination for when it is.

The Recipe: How does a pasta dish made with cream, vodka and smoked salmon sound? This recipe is fast, easy, and tastes like restaurant food in terms of sophistication and layers of flavor. With its eggs and cream it's not a dish if you're on a strict diet. But it is a good choice if you want to make something that is special and decadent.

The Wine: To go with such a rich, creamy dish you'll want a wine with plenty of freshness and acidity. I thought I would color-coordinate it, too. We had this with the NV Mumm Napa Brut Rose (suggested retail $24; often available for $15-$20). This sparkling wine is a rosy salmon in color, and it looks perfect next to a plate of this pink-flecked pasta. Aromas of yeast, lemon peel, and under-ripe strawberries are fresh and inviting. In the flavor department, I was reminded of those tiny wild strawberries we picked as kids in that the strawberry here is not jammy but a bit tart. There is a nice, bitter note in the yeasty, doughy aftertaste. The bubbles are large and a bit rough without food, but they were a nice accent to this dish and helped to keep the overall meal light and lively on your tongue. An excellent QPR rose sparkler.

Fast, easy, affordable, delicious, and decadent--this is a meal that is sure to get anyone to agree to be your Valentine.

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

Mysterious Meritage

In your travels you might see wine labeled "Meritage" and wonder --not surprisingly -- just what it is.

Meritage wines are California's answer to Bordeaux blends and to labeling restrictions that require at least 75% of a wine's juice come from a single grape (like Cabernet Sauvignon) in order that it be labeled Cabernet.

In Bordeaux, however, where fabled and sought-after reds and whites are produced, the blend of juice in a wine is often much more even--say 60% Cabernet and 40% Merlot. These wines are simply labeled "Bordeaux" after the place they were made.

Here is the US, where bottles made with a single variety are the norm, consumers have sometimes looked askance at blended wines and assumed they represented lesser quality. Not so, says the Meritage Association, an organization founded in the US in 1988 to promote and produce blanded wines in the Bordeaux tradition. Blended wines can provide wine lovers with greater complexity, age-worthiness, and also a more affordable price--so what's not to like?

I recently tried two very good QPR Meritage blends that I think warrant a second look if you are looking for an affordable red blend that will go well with winter foods such as soups, stews, casseroles, and roasts.

The 2006 Hayman & Hill Meritage Reserve, for example, is made from a blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Malbec, 11% Petit Verdot, and 6% Cabernet Franc fruit from Monterey County. (sample; available from $12-$17) Upon first opening, I smelled the traditional Bordeaux aromas of cassis, plum and spice. Flavors of plum turned more towards cherry as you sipped, and there were some oaky notes and good acidity. Over time, with air, the flavors became much richer and plummier and developed milk chocolate notes. I would expect this wine to improve over the next 12-18 months, although it is delicious now.

The 2006 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Meritage, on the other hand, is made with 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 10% Petite Verdot, 7% Malbec, and 1% Cabernet Franc fruit from California. (sample; available for $8-$11). This is a very new release and was a bit hot upon first opening, but at 13.5% alc/vol I think this is a sign of youth. Once again I smelled the typical Bordeaux aromas of cassis and plum, and the flavors are dominated by rich plum. There are vanilla and mocha notes in the aftertaste which added complexity and contributed to the enjoyment of this easy-drinking red.

If you haven't tried Meritage and like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, you should give one of these blended reds a try.

Finding Wine Values on Park Avenue

You probably don't think of "value" and "Park Avenue" in the same breath. (image from Sherry-Lehmann)

When I walked into Sherry-Lehmann Wine & Spirits recently, I wasn't sure if there would be much on the shelves that would be interesting and affordable, given its swishy location and upscale feeling.

Instead, I had a terrific time shopping for some seriously good value wine in one of Manhattan's best neighborhoods. The service and the selection were outstanding, as well.

Sherry-Lehmann, for those of you who don't know it, looks and feels like an exclusive wine boutique. There is warm wood paneling, tasteful displays of wine, and a bevvy of knowledgeable sales assistants to answer questions and help pull your order together. Instead of being intimidating, however, the store feels warm and welcoming--as if you've wandered into a wine library full of people who want you to find the perfect bottle for your needs. If your needs run to $3000 Armagnac, they have that. If, like me, your needs run to a wide variety of under $20 treats, they have that, too.

In California, we don't always have the best selection of French regional wines at affordable prices so I made a beeline for those displays and quickly got lost browsing among the options. The store was crowded, but a member of the sales staff approached and asked if I needed help. I took them up on the offer. I was looking for all kinds of things--wine to go with Chinese takeout, sparkling wine, and affordable bottles of red and white wines for a big party--and we had dinner reservations. I could have spent all day there, but instead my friend and I who were selecting the wine went for a more efficient approach.

The staff member grasped what we were looking for immediately after I squealed at seeing the 2006 Chateau Pesquie Cotes-du-Ventoux Cuvee des Terrasses for $12.95 a bottle. After putting four bottles on the order, she suggested a 2007 Sauvion Quincy "Les Glaneuses" ($14.95) for the party white that would go with the Ch. Pesquie. We also left with a bottle of 2007 Duboeuf Moulin-a-Vent Gamay ($13.95) and a 2006 Trimbach Gewurztraminer ($18.95) for the Chinese takeout. And for toasting? After discussing the pros and cons of various options we happily purchased several bottles of Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgone Rose Perle d'Aurore ($13.95). As a special treat I snagged a bottle of 2005 J. L. Chave St.-Joseph "Offerus" ($23.95).

This staggeringly good selection of affordable wine was purchased after 7 pm on December 30--and I wanted it delivered the next day. That's right. New Year's Eve. Manhattan. All in less than 18 hours. The wine arrived, safely and on time, just as Sherry-Lehmann promised.

In the end, I had to conclude that there is wine shopping and then there is Sherry-Lehmann. It was the most fun I've had buying wine in a long, long time--and it was a total delight to have a person helping me who really knew what she was doing and didn't try to sell me a single inappropriate or overly expensive bottle of wine.

There's just one problem. Sherry-Lehmann is in NYC and I'm on the other side of the country.

Any chance you'd open a branch in LA?

If This is Soave, What Have I Been Drinking?

Soave, the Veneto's most widely-distributed white wine, sits on the shelves of most supermarkets and wine stores. But much of the Soave available in the US is beyond ordinary, made to be drunk very cold on patios under hot summer sunshine. Frankly, I've never been that much of a fan.

This is not all there is to Soave, as I discovered lately.

Properly made, non-industrial Soave is a far cry from the stuff you might have had in the past. Critics like Eric Asimov have recently been struck by the improving character of these Italian whites--although some find that the changes are not to their taste. Smaller producers are returning to the grape and exploring what it can do if its grown carefully and treated with respect through the winemaking process.

I tasted Soave made by a family of winemakers with deep roots in the Veneto--and I'm on Asimov's side in this debate.

I tried two of the wines made by the Tessari family, and I enjoyed both of them. I was absolutely knocked out, however, by the 2006 I Stefanini Soave Classico Monte di Toni (suggested retail $15-$17). This wine had bright, luscious aromas of bitter almond, honeysuckle, and pear. The flavors were an intriguing blend of smoke and honeysuckle, with pears and apples underneath. This wine sees no oak, so the smoke notes come do not come from how the wine was aged. Excellent QPR on one of the best white wines I've had in a long time.

I Stefanini makes an entry level wine, too, and it's proof that even a more basic Soave bottling can be excellent. I tried the 2007 I Stefanini Soave Il Selese (suggested retail $11-$13). Faint, fresh aromas of buttery pear and yield to flavors of creamy pear with bitter almond and honey nuances. This wine is very drinkable with a lush, medium-bodied mouthfeel. I suspect this very good QPR wine would appeal especially to Chardonnay drinkers who are ready to try something different.

Both wines left me thinking, if this is Soave, what have I been drinking? No matter what the answer is to that question, I know I'll be looking for more white wines from the Veneto and paying attention to how they're made and who makes them because this is proof that they can be excellent and affordable.

Full Disclosure: I received these two wines as samples from the importer, Domenico Selections.

This Week on Serious Grape: Wines for Your Sweetie

If you're looking for ideas on what to share with the one you love on February 14, I've got some in this week's Serious Grape column over on Serious Eats.

Rather than something that sparkles, why not try a dessert wine? (photo by robertpaulyoung)

Tasting notes for a few dessert wines I've enjoyed recently--along with some pairing suggestions--are just a click away.