Saturday, July 15, 2017

Southern France at a Midwest BBQ #Winophiles

I thought it only proper that I open this bottle of Rhone Rouge to go along with our 4th of July Celebration for Independence Day.  After all, France was a constant ally to us during the Revolutionary War from which we gained independence from England.

God Bless the USA and Viva La France.

Ad you may have guessed, we are celebrating the wines of Southwest France today over at The French Winophiles.  This month's party is being hosted by Jeff of foodwineclick and he invited us to head down south in France to explore the wine regions available to us.

Image result for map of southern rhone valley

I know next to nothing about French Wines but I am learning slowly but surely by taking part in these monthly adventures.  One of the problems I have is that the nearest wine store that has selections from around the world is an hour away on a good day.  The last time I made a visit I took my list of upcoming Winophiles events and just handed it to the owner, explaining that I needed wines from these areas and that I preferred dry wines, normally drinking Cabs for red and Chards for white.

This is the bottle he provided for this month's Southwest France event.  Now when I look at a map I think the Rhone Valley appears to be more Southeast but being geography illiterate, I wasn't going to argue with a professional.  I gladly paid for three bottles of wine and headed home to cook....I am much better at cooking than map reading.

Evidently, though, this time I am better at map reading than the owner of that wine store.  This wine is not from the region which we were assigned.  Jeff graciously invited me to go ahead and post anyway stating that many were finding that locating a bottle from southwest France was very difficult.


Thanks Jeff.....we had a great Independence get together where the star of the buffet were New York Strip Steaks accompanied by Grilled Mushrooms and Onions.  I opened this bottle of Cuvee des 3 Masses Besses from Cotes du Ventoux.


It poured a beautiful rich garnet with aromas of black pepper.  It was spicy on the tongue, which I absolutely love.  This is a wine that I would enjoy drinking all on it's own.  It didn't require food to make it enjoyable but it did pair very nicely with the grilled steak.

Make sure you stop by to see what the other's are sharing from Southwest France.  I'm sure that they did a better job than I.


French Winophiles Explore Southwest France Take a look at all the discoveries made by our Winophiles group!
Join our chat on Saturday at 10-11am CDT (11am EDT, 8am PDT, and 1700 hours in France)! See what we think of Southwest France, and tell us about your experiences with the wine, food, or travel in the region! Simply log into Twitter and search for the #winophiles tag, and you’re in!

14 comments:

  1. Great pairing - I love Rhône reds almost fanatically! What a bummer you were given the wrong wine, but if it had to happen at least it was yummy!

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  2. Agreed, it's a bummer that the wine shop gave you one from the wrong region but the Rhône is one my faves! And of course the food looks wonderful! (Incidentally, I think you should gently point out the mistake when you're next in the shop-- help the learn as well since it isn't a well know area.)

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    1. Yes, well the wine shop is about an hour and a half from my home so I don't get there too often but I will mention it the next time I visit.

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  3. It seems wines from the Southwest really are challenging to get hold of in some places! I like the sound of this wine because it goes well with food but could be enjoyed on its own too!

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  4. I'm sorry you weren't able to find a wine you wanted. I always find it frustrating when I'm relying on someone's expertise and I seem to know more than they do! But the pairing sounds delicious.

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    1. It was and I am used to not being able to find wines here in Michigan LOL

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  5. Despite the geographical stumble, this sounds like a wonderful pairing. I'd definitely be happy with an invitation to your house for this, Wendy! Cheers.

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    1. If your travel ever bring you and yours to Michigan, we have plenty of room for you.

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  6. It's all part of our learning, Wendy! I did get some wines from Southwest, but a very knowledgeable local wine buyer set me up with some additional wines that weren't from the region. Even the experts are confused!

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    1. Yes, I enjoyed the wine and the pairing none the less. Thanks for including me Jeff.

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  7. Your Fourth of July feast sounds really tempting, Wendy. And the wine seems like it worked really well, too. This was a challenging topic for most of us who don't live in strong wine markets, but it turned out to be lots of fun and very informative. See you next month!

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    1. Thanks Lauren....I'm not giving up.....see you next month.

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