To Syrah with Love #FrenchWinophiles

These are strange times in which we are living.  I find myself doing things that are completely out of character.  Like enjoying this $35 bottle of Crozes Hermitage Syrah from Jean-Luc Colombo during the middle of the week.

The French Winophiles are virtually traveling to Northern Rhone Valley in France today.......

This little trip was planned by Rupal of the Syrah Queen. You can learn more in her invitation post.  Perhaps I should have named this post To Syrah Queen with Love.

I didn't think that I was going to be able to join in today.  I had ordered up a bottle of Cotes du Rhone and paired it with my Leftover Beef Soup with Noodles that I also posted today.  Then I went to give Rupal my title and realized my wine was not from Northern Rhone.

I went to wine.com and punched in Northern Rhone Wines and they all came back unavailable in my area.  I reported this to our Facebook group and Jeff of Food Wine Click suggested I go back and check for Croze Hermitage and recommended the bottle I ended up purchasing.

I normally wouldn't spend over $20 for a weeknight wine but I figured that during this pandemic little indulgences are important.  So this is how I happen to be enjoying this glass of wine while writing this post.

The nose is full of berries and a little bit musty.  The wine is smooth, dry and medium bodied. This surprised me because it pours a deep, rich, almost black color so I was expecting a heavier wine.

But drinking this wine while I type away isn't the strangest part of this story.  Last night, during dinner, the Teen asked if we could have pizza for dinner tonight.  I said "Sure, we can make pizza".  She replied that she was "dying" for real pizza.  Real pizza, to the Teen, is the stuff you get from chain pizza parlors.  She prefers Little Caesars.

Due to the pandemic, the pizza parlors near us are closed.  There is a local party store though that has pizza, so we were happy to support a local small business during this time.

I guessed if I was going to indulge Frank and I with expensive wine it was only fair that we indulge her wishes too.  Which is how we came to be pairing this beautiful bottle of Syrah with a store bought pizza.

The wine transformed that piece of pizza into a gourmet dinner.  We sat around the table, laughing and joking and continued to sit at the table playing games once the pizza was gone.  It was a good night and I am looking forward to chatting with the others about my experience.

We would love if you would join us as we discuss these wines from Northern Rhone.  You will find us on twitter chat today at 11 AM ET following #winophiles.  Here are the topics that we'll be talking about........

• Cindy from Grape Experience writes Strength and Power Meet Balance and Elegance in Syrah from the Northern Rhone.
• Wendy from A Day In The Life On The Farm presents To Syrah with Love.
• Lauren from Swirling Dervish explores Old World Syrah from the Northern Rhone: 2016 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage.
• Jeff from Food Wine Click offers A View of Northern Rhone’s Saint Joseph through Three Wines.
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass posts Crozes-Hermitage: A Gateway to Northern Rhône Wine.
• Jill from L’Ocassion asks What's the Difference Between France’s Northern Rhône and Southern Rhône Valleys?
• Gwendolyn from ;Wine Predator writes In These Times, Drink from Deep in The Cellar: Two from Northern Rhone’s St Joseph’s.
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles is Finding Connections in the Northern Rhône.
• Susannah from Avvinare writes about Virtually Visiting Crozes-Hermitage Through Chapoutier’s Wine.
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures With Camilla pairs Chicken Chasseur + Guigal Crozes-Hermitage 2016.
• Nicole at Somm’s Table serves A Simple Spring Lamb Feast with Maison Nicolas Perrin Crozes-Hermitage.
• Jane from Always Ravenous pours A Taste of Hermitage Marsanne.
• Martin from Enoflyz Wine Blog suggests Looking For Value in Northern Rhône? Look For Crozes-Hermitage!
• Lynn from Savor The Harvest goes Exploring Treasures of the Northern Rhone.
• Terri from Our Good Life sings Hey Syrah, Syrah, Whatever Will Be, Will Be.
• Our host, Rupal on Syrah Queen is Exploring Côte-Rôtie –Syrahs With A Twist.