Manoavino Taste!

Chinon Wine comes from a tiny comune the Loire Valley, France Les Chanteaux is a fine example

Chinon is a lovely commune nestled along the banks of the Vienne River, it has a population of less than 10,000 people. The most noted wines from this region are red Cabernet Francs, but we really love the white wines made here with Chenin Blanc. Like this one called Les Chanteaux by Couley-Dutheil.

The bottle bears a label that looks like a cover of a fairy tale book. Inside there is an elegant, rich, complex wine with deliciously abundant mildly sweet floral fruit flavors.

An exciting new drink for before or after dinner, Noval Black Porto

This is an exciting new entry into the "super-premium, multivintage Porto style" by renowned Quinta do Noval which is the oldest and argue ably the best port house in the world.

So how does an old world port maker breath new excitment into a wine category that brings up images of old men in over-stuffed leather chairs, reading the London Times and smoking cigars?

Well by making a super delicious, high alcohol, smooth and enticing wine and packaging it in a sexy black bottle and giving it a sexy name, Noval Black. I served it a a party last night and my guests went wild for it.  

New Jersey Shore Restaurant Week 2011 Updated

Click Here for Jersey Shore Restaurant Week November 2011

We love the Jersey Shore and love how many great restaurants and bars are popping up along the coast. This April you have a chance to check out these great places during New Jersey Shore Restaurant Week 2011. I can assure you we will.  More Here:Good Jersey Shore Restaurants and Foodie Destinations

Marilyn Schlossbach Brings Colorful - Fine and Fun - Drinking and Dining to the New Jersey Shore

Great Dining at Black-Eyed Susans Harvey Cedards, LBI

Check out our New New Jersey Beer Page Here

 

A Very Good Chilean Wine from Santa Carolina, Enjoyed with Dinner at Raymond's

My friend and wine savant, Constance Chamberlain, posted that she liked this winery on Facebook. So, when I saw two of their wines at one of my local wine shops for under $10 I had to grab a couple of bottles.

I thought their Pinto Noir was good but the 2009 Carmenere Reserva amazing. It is an easy drinking fruit forward wine packed with with deep rich red berry aromas and flavors. This is no surprise given the reputation the Santa Carolina vineyards enjoy.  

That is a view of the Rapel Valley where the grapes for these wines are grown, it is located to the south of Santiago, and named after the Rapel river which runs through its heart.

Monday Night is a Vegetarian Italian Baked Pasta with Every Day Wine Suggestions

Tonight we are having a baked pasta dish out of the current issue of Bon Appetite which features an article entitled, "Baked Pasta" and exclaims that it "is kitchen alchemy at its best. A turn in the oven takes these recipes to a melty, rich, transcendent level."

We are trying the Rigatoni with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch, a recipe by Roxanne Gold.

So what are some good Italian wines to serve with this dish? It is a week night so it has to be an inexpensive every day wine. The dish has no meat but a lot of tomato so that tells me a medium bodied red. Many would say Chianti and we do have two you might like, but I would also suggest something different a Dolcetto, or a Sangiovese, the predominant grape in Chianti, from outside of Tuscany.