Good Morning!

Last weekend a group of us got together for a birthday party for my friend Sara and her fav wines are the big ass cabs from Napa. Since it was her birthday we built the whole weekend around the best foods and wines that she loved.

First wine was Decoy, second was Chimney Rock and 3rd bottle was Crocker & Starr. The least expensive was $39.99 the most was $215 (at the restaurant). We had a total of 17 bottles of wine over the weekend, most was Moet’s White Star by the pool and they were awesome, but I want to focus on these reds and what we ate with them.

It really was a foodie and wino weekend. The first night we fired up the big ass grill and had a seafood extravaganza, lobster, shrimp, crab legs and clams we started out drinking bubbles but busted out a bottle of Truchard Chardonnay to pair with the buttery rich lobster and seafood. But after dinner someone said, I’d love a big red wine and sit outside by the fire place…..it was by the way her birthday so I opened the Decoy, made by the folks at Duckhorn, we paired this with laughter, old stories, new stories and as girls do a little catching up.

Decoy, was very balanced, not overly fruity or too hot from the alcohol, which can be found in a lot of the Napa area Cabernet Sauvignon. That wrapped up our first night and after the dishes were done we slept like babies. (Maybe from the wine or long travel day).

Next day was bike riding and then the pool with margaritas in the afternoon. For dinner we headed to Ruth’s Chris steakhouse for a birthday celebration and the amounts of NY Strip and lamb chops would have stopped the heart of most NFL teams but with the wine we ordered Chimney Rock Cab from Napa. We had all had this wine before and actually we all visited the winery in Napa together a few years ago and we thought it would be great to share the wine again. It was a perfect pairing with the screaming hot grilled steaks and chops. The boldness of this wine, really can handle the fatty, wonderfulness and richness of the meats. This wine is smooth, rich and lush. It is so full of berries and smokiness and so velvety on the mouth. It was also a perfect pairing with cheesecake!

Last great red wine was the Crocker & Starr on the patio of the last afternoon we were all still together. I have written about this wine and winemaker before and I hope someday to make a wine as amazing as the Cab Franc 2009 that Pam Starr made. I decided to open a bottle and let everyone enjoy the wine. All these women are red wine lovers and they went crazy for this and I had to bust out the laptop and show them the pictures I took from the winery and the Casili House when we were in Napa a few months back. I told them I joined the wine club, I love this wine so much.

My friends are from Indiana, California and Texas and they all fell in love with this wine. I just know when I drink this Cabernet Franc, I want to slow everything down and concentrate on this wine and really savor it. I want to remember the moment, the taste, who I am with, what we talked about and just soak it all in. This is my 6th bottle of this wine since January and I react to it the same every single time. I am thinking I want to order a few cases to have in my cellar for occasions I want to create something special, anniversary, birthdays, Tuesdays, just got a new dog, son gets good news, company just left, found my keys….

You get what I am saying about this wine. We had an awesome weekend and these are the 3 wines I really wanted you to experience sometime. But then I am thinking, was the wine good or was the company great….the answer is yes to both!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi