Mother’s Milk

So much for not marketing.

I was really hopeful that this wine would be an exception to my general rule about Australian wines (I have had some decent ones). Somebody out there thought that his wine was great and I picked it up in the PLCB for about $16 (not so bad). I hadn’t had a decent Syrah in a while, and thought it might be fun for Erin and I to share something nice.

Unfortunately, this wine turned out to be a fairly typical marketing nightmare. Comic book label, catchy-name (hey, who doesn’t want to drink “Mother’s Milk”?) The wine turned out to be super-alcoholic, though. Not a lot of fruit quality, plenty of tar and heavier flavors, lots of rich spice (particularly clove), and hefty wood, but the main thing going here is that it smells mostly of alcohol. Yeah, OK, so they estimate an ABV of 14.5 % but still, I love Pax wines, which regularly creep up to 15% or more, but they manage to make something that smells like wine not ethanol. I should add that with a little time (and air) the wine mellowed out. So, long story short, it’s not all bad. When Erin first opened the bottle, she thought it was cooked (overexposed to heat, ruining the wine) and in a sense, it is. The grapes were more likely than not very over-ripe at harvest, and once you have too-developed flavors in the grapes, it’s hard to go back. I wish people would focus on making wine, not ridiculous stories.

One potential saving grace is that it is screw-cap, so if you want a catchy-looking wine with a cool label and a great tag, go for Mother’s Milk, if you want something that tastes like wine and that you can actually inhale the aromas without choking, then you may want to skip this wine, or give it an hour in an open bottle or maybe even decant it (if you’re into that sort of thing) and it should be decent.

2008 Seyval Blanc (Hunt Country, Finger Lakes, NY)

On a recent trip to the Finger Lakes, I stopped at Hunt Country winery to escape the rain. Hunt Country is usually a pleasant enough winery to visit, but recently their wines have been a bit too sweet for my palate–I don’t think it’s a major change in their production, just a change in my taste buds.

The 2008 Seyval Blanc stood out when I tasted it as a more refined wine that my very picky husband might like, and it was on sale for $8.99 on site.  Score.

Seyval Blanc is a French hybrid grape known for its resistance to the cold, which explains why it grows well in the Finger Lakes region.  It is often compared to white Burgundies and is a fair alternative to some Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blanc varietals.

This particular Seyval Blanc has a lot of white Burgundy (typically Chardonnay) characteristics, such as the tropical fruit nose and flavors like pineapple and honeysuckle with some grapefruit and vanilla thrown in.  It does lack minerality and there is no stoniness or edge to this wine, which most white Burgundies would have.

The wine has a moderate acidity and you can tell that it’s been held in the barrel for a while due to the oakiness in scent and flavor.  And just FYI, most French white Burgundies start at $20-$25 a bottle and can cost as high as $300.

Grilling with Easy Food and Fun Guests

Don’t you hate reading about parties like this?  Well throw your inadequacies on the flames as I take you through a tour of the most recent backyard bash we threw at our humble abode. There was onion dip. There were chips. There was home brewed beer and homemade mojitos. We also had some fun-loving guests and s’mores. Take that, Food & Wine!

Our impressive table of pre-dinner snacks and drinks (clockwise from bottom): vinho verde, home brewed hoppy beer, hummus, chips, onion dip circa 1950, and home made pesto.

You can find my pesto recipe here, although every time I make it it turns out a bit different.

The onion dip was a huge hit–and easy! Grab some packets of Lipton’s powered onion mix and mix with sour cream. Refrigerate until you want to eat it.  Serve with chips–ruffled are better.

We did have some Yards on hand, but in the glass is the home brew. So yummy and hoppy!

We did have a kid there! (There are always perfectly dressed, well-behaved photos of kids in the magazines.) But to protect his identity, here he is hiding behind a tree:

On the main menu: BBQ chicken, grilled corn, portobello mushrooms (recipes below):

One of our guests enjoying the mushroom sans bun:

For dessert: s’mores, grilled angel food cake, and ricotta cheesecake.

Angel food cake: buy an angel food cake from the store. Then dredge in equal parts jam and fruit juice, also bought from the store. Grill.  I think I’ll kick it up a notch when I make it next time and add some Cool Whip or ice cream. Watch out!

Full and contented guests like taking photos, I guess.

RECIPES

BBQ chicken: Buy chicken and BBQ sauce, marinate in BBQ sauce overnight, grill

Corn: Buy corn, husk, and grill

Portobello mushrooms: buy mushrooms, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and grill