A Celebration with Cab Franc....#WinePW

We had our first dinner party of the season last night.  And so it begins....we will be entertaining and/or being entertained nearly every day from now until the 6th of January when we celebrate the Epiphany which ends our Christmas season.  Then I am leaving to sunny California on the 7th to relax and recoup from the whirlwind of activity.

Christmas isn't the only thing we celebrate during the month of December.  December 4th is Cab Franc day so we celebrate by drinking this varietal and our friend, Lori, of Dracaena Wines invited us to join her this weekend to drink and chat.  You are welcome to join our discussion of this wonderful varietal at 11 am EST on twitter.  You will find us by looking for the #WinePW attached to our comments.  You can learn more about this event and who is participating by going to Lori's preview post.

So I went into the city and bought a couple of bottles of Cab Franc from South Africa.  These bottles came from the Raatz family winery and has gotten wonderful ratings.  I think this is the first time I have had a pure Cabernet Franc.  I normally drink Cabernet Sauvignon, whose father is Cab Franc and mother, is Sauvignon Blanc.

I planned my menu around the wine.  We started with a mushroom soup, followed by a chopped salad.  Our entree was a prime rib roast served with fully loaded potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts and cranberries.

Cabernet Franc is a very food friendly wine.  I set my table, started my dinner and greeted my guests. As they enjoyed cocktails and appetizers, I finished up some last minute things in the kitchen and decanted the wine.  Then I joined them for cocktails and the merriment began.  As so often happens when I entertain...that was the end of the photo taking.

We all enjoyed the wine very much.  It paired as easily with the soup as it did with the roast.  It is a smooth, medium bodied wine that was less harsh than the Cabs I normally serve making it a perfect dinner wine for guests who may not care for as heavy a wine as we like.  

Please stop by and enjoy the Cab Franc's the others have chosen to share with you today.

• Nancy from PullThatCork chose to have An Elegant Cabernet Franc Pairing for #WinePW
• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla decided to make Apple-Braised Duck Legs + Dracaena's Cab Franc 
• Michelle of RockinRedBlog has a Bountiful of Cabernet Franc 
• Lori of DracaenaWines will be examining Cabernet Franc; the Versatile Cab 
• Cindy of Grape Experiences will Wine and Dine: Cabernet Franc and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
• Jeff of FoodWineClick declares Cab Franc: Never Say Never 
• Gwendolyn of ArtPredator found some Cabernet Franc Winners With Osso Bucco, Squash Casserole
• Lauren of the SwirlingDervish created a Super Fast, Super Good: Sausage and Potato Pan Roast with Dracaena Wines Cabernet Franc
• Jade of TastingPour will be talking about Leah Jorgensen Cellars: Faces of Cab Franc 
• David of CookingChat will be preparing Roasted Sirloin Steak with Avocado Sauce for #CabFrancDay 
• Wendy of A Day in the Life of on the Farm will be having a A Celebration with Cab Franc
• Martin of enofylzwineblog has found A Captivating Cab Franc Paired with Sushi