Cork Poppers Go South of the Border!

It's time to go South of the Border with Cork Poppers and check out some wines from South America. (Actually, our theme included wines from Mexico but no one could find one!) We gathered at Bob's house with wine and food in hand for a delicious and tasty tasting day!

Our first wine was from Roger, a Lolea Frizzante White Sangria, No. 2. Comments ranged from "It smells great" to "I can see why this is a summer beach wine.

Many of us thought it was too sweet, though it was a sangria and super cold would indeed be tasty on a beach. I thought it was too sweet for just sipping a glass of wine but on a hot day at the lake, I'd like it! Anne called it "Very tasty" and Bob said "I think it is very good," but I think many of us agreed with Roger who said, "I was first attracted to the bottle." Cost: $15.99 at World Market.

Cheryl was next with a Gouguenheim Valle Escondido Torrontes 2016, a white wine from the Mendoza Valley in Argentina. This was a nice and quite dry white. Kate called it "The red wine drinker's white." Cheryl, our white wine fan, said she didn't "enjoy it as much as I hoped to." Cost: $16 at Vine and Brew, a local wine store.

At this time, hostess Heather, Bob's daughter, said, "I'm a cheap wine drinker" and then said, "I have to behave." Mike M. reassured her. "Only for about a half hour or so."

Bob was up next with a Long Country 2018 Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. This one the budget price of the day -- $5 at Meijer stores. Cheryl, Mike S. and I liked this one better than the white before us (at $16!). Barb and Kate liked the second wine better.

In any event, it makes for an excellent Neti pot and sinus cleaner, which I discovered when I was laughing so hard -- well, you get the idea.

Dick offered our first red -- Echeverria Family Wines' Gran Reserve Syrah 2014 from Chile. This group was named as Chile's Producer of the Year and the description described it as as "deep red with violet gleams." None of us knew what violet gleams were and in any event, most of us heard it as "violent greens," which was equaly confusing.

Rick said, "I might get addicted to it," and Bob added "Even if you don't like red, you'd like this." Heather said she liked "any wine you don't have to pay for" but Kate smelled "new cars and plastic" when she sipped it. It was a little light for me. $15 at the local Vine and Brew.

Kate was up next with Colome Vineyard Autentico Malbec 2017 from the Mendoza region of Argentina. Barb said, "It has a little barnyard in it," (referring to its earthy quality, not aroma). Kate and Barb agreed it had a gorgeous color and was very earthy with a lot of body. This one was $24.85 at Vine and Brew.

Around this time Barb realized that the towel Dick was using to pour looked like a Rorschach test and decided it was a man walking an English setter.

Clayton offered a Cantina Malbec 2016 from Argendina's Mendozea by Bodea y Vinedos Cardena. It's a high mountain wine and he found it at Meijer stores but I forgot to write down the price. Barb called it "soft" and I thought it more fruity than the one before. Clayton said it had notes of "leather and cinnamon" which Barb heard as "liver and cinnamon." Kate said that at this point, she was past intelligent comment.

This and the one before it were both malbecs. I thought the first one would be better with food, this one for just enjoying a glass of wine.

Barb and Mike offered up a Pirca 2015 Carmenere from Vina Marty in Chile. This was $10.

My notes say "Buy this now!" I thought it was very good and Kate said, "I love it! I love this!" It also smelled wonderful and I called it my favorite so far. And yes, it would be delish with a cheese toastie and a bag of Doritos.

Rick was last with Serie Riberas Gran Reserva Carmenere 2017 from Chile. This cost $20 at Tiffany wine shop in Kalamazoo.

This one was quite good too. Indeed, there was none left in the bottle as it was passed around after the first tasting. To be honest, I didn't really have a preference between this Carmenere and the one before -- they were slightly different but both good.

Well, after all that merriment, it was time to hang out and chat, and eventually move upstairs for dinner! Bob and Heather had made wonderful floral table decorations for our South of the Border theme!

I loved these!

And the food was to die for. There were tacos, beans, rice, two wonderful salads, a Topopo and a taco salad.

All this was topped off by Meredith's fabulous Mexican Chocolate Cake and tons of equally delicious conversation!

It was like being in a field of beautiful flowers with your friends taking all the time in the world to just enjoy one another's company.

Because really, that's what it's all about!

If you enjoy wine and want to check out some of the other Cork Popper tastings, check the tab on the menu at the top of this page. Wines are organized by category and theme.

Sharing with:  Follow the Yellow Brick Home    /  Best of the Weekend    /    Pink Saturday    /     Let's Keep In Touch     /     Share Your Style          /     Tuesday Turn About     

Cork Poppers Go Southern Hemisphere with Chile, Argentina, New Zealand

I'm not sure what happened with our last Cork Poppers gig -- usually we are so organized. Wine from France or Northern Italy or a specific type. This year we'd planned to go with Aussie-New Zealand wines. But then Chile and Argentina were added to the mix, so we enjoyed the wines of the Southern Hemisphere!

Of course, my first stop is always the cheese tray. The array of cheeses, combined with Rick's baguette's (barely out of the oven!) is always the best way to start the day!

As always, everyone brought a favorite to present. And as always, most were red! But we started with the white that Dick and Cheryl brought and for me (and I think many of us) it was a taste revelation!

It was Nautilus 2013 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, new Zealand.If you want to talk about a fabulous aroma, this is it! "I could wear this as perfume," I said, while others called it "Yummy," "Clean and fresh" and lots of "I love it!" Cheryl found it to have a wonderful finish.Dick's notes mentioned a review where it stated that "This is a wine that holds little back and grabs a hold -- kind of like the naughty girl in high school you know you shouldn't like but you couldn't stop thinking about her."

The only downside is that at $17, it probably isn't going to be your everyday bottle of wine. (It has a relatively short cellaring potential, too -- if you are lucky enough to find a bottle of the 2013, note that it should be enjoyed before mid-2015.)

The Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec 2011 brought by Barb and Mike was a 100 percent Malbec from Mendoza at the base of the Andes. This, too, was popular. with our red-loving Poppers who agreed it would be delicious any time! Aged for 12 months in old barrels, it smelled delicious and at $14 was reasonably priced.

Rick and I brought a Malbec, too -- Ruta 22 Malbec, 2012, from Patagonia, Argentina. When I picked this up, the wine guy I spoke with was very enthused about Patagonia, both as a travel destination and as a wine region. Our tasters agreed on the wine -- "Smooth, like a baby's butt," one noted.

Here's a detail I learned about Malbec. It was originally a French grape, always used as a blend in Bordeaux wines. When immigrants brought it to Argentina, the adopted it and found that in the fertile Mendoza region it thrived and became the signature grape of the region. The climate of Patagonia is very dry and has great climate swings, so grapes grown there must be sturdy and consequently produce very concentrated juice. The 2012 was considered a terrific vintage year (cellar through mid-2015 or possibly beyond.) It was $10.49.

My notes get a little sloppy here (we did this the first week in November and only the three above had typed up notes.) Clayton and Anne offered Root:1, a 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colchaugua Valley in Chile. We all agreed that it was very tasty and one commenter noted, "I'd buy that again.

The retail on this wine is $16 but they bought it on sale for $12 -- and that's a point worth noting. Most stores have regular wine sales and it's an especially good time to buy a wine that might cost a little more than you would usually buy -- and maybe more than one bottle.

Next was a Castillero del Diablo 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, offered by Pat. It had wonderful cherry and red-fruit overtones. (Or is it undertones?). It would be excellent with red meat, chocolate or a hearty stew. Retail: $11.99 (purchased for (9.99 on sale).

Pat also brought a Trapiche Pinot Noir 2013 from Argentina. I'm not big on Pinots but thought this was quite nice. It comes from the fifth largest distributor of wine in the world. Again, a sale wine -- again, $9.99 for an $11.99 retail.

With a November 1 date, the decorations were still decidedly fall -- like Pat's "Phantom of the Opera" pumpkin! She also had some trick-or-treating games.

And then there was dinner! I think the Cork Poppers like the dinner as much (or maybe even more) than the wine! A beautiful table setting is a wonderful way to start a feast!

And  then there is the food itself -- ham, scallopped potatoes, a delicious salad and carrot cupcakes.


Yes, we were happy!

Our next Cork Poppers is at the end of January and I won't wait so long to write the notes! Look for more on both red and white Bordeaux wines soon!