Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode 10: Beer (Greg) vs. Wine (Mike)- Mussels Part I
Beer vs. Wine. Mussels vs. Mussels. Michael vs. Greg. Good vs. Evil..well you get the picture. Today Michael has friend and beer expert Greg Bissonette over for a friendly dual of mussels paired with beer and wine. Don’t forget to check back for Part II- “The Battle Continues”!
(Main image credits: wikipeida.org commons: Photograph taken by Mark A. Wilson (Department of Geology, The College of Wooster). [1]) Read more
April Wine Club Roundup: “Darker Than Blue Cafe” - and some good Zinfandel
On April 29, 2008 the foodandwineblog.com wine club met up to enjoy upscale yet traditional American cuisine and try our luck with some Zinfandel. We had a great turnout (including many newcomers) and ended up trying three sparkling wines (one Cava, two Prosecco), 8 Zinfandels, and one Petit Sirah (no notes taken!). The food was great as it always is at Darker Than Blue Cafe (read my review here). Huge thanks to Chef/co-owner Casey Jenkins and our server (Hassan) for keeping the food and waters coming! I highly recommend Darker Than Blue Cafe for a comfortable, laid back dinner of traditional American Cuisine. The serving sizes are more than generous (just ask anyone who ordered a roasted chicken or slow-cooked beef ribs!) and the restaurant is BYOB - it is it one of the best BYOB restaurants in the Baltimore area. If the blackened tilapia is on the menu…it’s a must try.
Great job by Krista and Eric (pictured here) in bringing the only Primitivo of the bunch and providing two of the top three wines (actually, great work Krista!). By popular vote, the top three Zins were:
- 2005 Rosa del Golfo Primitivo: smokey nose, dark fruits, but I thought it fell apart on the finish. We adhere to the rules of democracy though, so this was the overall winner! My rating: 84 pts, PV
- 2005 Ridge Three Rivers Zinfandel: A solid bottle from one of the best producers of Zinfandel in the world. Notes of dark fruit, chocolate and a touch of spice. My rating: 89 pts
- 2006 Rabbit Ridge Zinfandel Central Coast: Good concentrated fruit flavors but not jammy with nice acidity and a long finish. My rating: 88 pts
