Wine Tasting and Spaghetti Night

So, that’s called a cop-out for “I got home late and don’t really feel like cooking anything complex.” Last night was wine tasting Wednesday (our weekly wine group), so we didn’t get home until after 8 pm. At that point, I wanted something quick and easy. So, brown up some beef, throw in some garlic and tomato sauce, and boil some Barilla pasta. Grate some parmiggiano-regianno over it, and life is good. Simple, filling, easy.

I do have one tip of my hat to my gourmet tendencies. Last fall, when tomato season was wrapping up at the farmers market, we bought seemingly tons of “tomato seconds” for a little of nothing. The fruit wasn’t pretty, we had to trim out some green parts, and some brown spots. But, cooked down with onions, garlic, and some spices, it makes a wonderful alternative to that jarred stuff. Just pull a container of it out of the freezer, add it in, and life is good.

Now, as to the wine tasting—that’s a blast. The owner of our local wine shop gathers a group of about 20 or so of us each week to taste through around 18 wines new to the shop. It’s a great mutualism: Dick gets to open and taste through his new stock, while getting opinions from other wine-heads, while we get to try out and learn about a lot more varietals and producers than we’d otherwise be able to do. I know I’ve been inspired to order several of the Wednesday night wines, and I’m sure everyone tends to do this, so it helps the store’s bottom line, and we have made some great new friends among this group.

This week’s wine lineup was as interesting and diverse as any – some very old style German Rieslings, a couple old school Italians, along with a very modern-styled super-Tuscan (mixing Sangiovese, merlot, cab, and syrah) that I hated, and Julie loved. Also some over-oaked, over-extracted California plonk. Some strange white wines from Spain – who ever heard of growing moscato and gewürztraminer in Spain? And there is a reason it probably shouldn’t be done. Two outstanding wines, and both good bargains—a lovely dry marsala for under $10, and a beautiful French rose from the Loire valley. Whoever thinks pink wines are all like the nasty, cloying Beringer White Zin needs their eyes opened with this.