Dinner With My Daughters

This week my daughter that does not eat beans was down at the Outer Banks in North Carolina, so I could make a dinner for my other two daughters that contained beans. I searched my vegetarian slow cooker cook book for something that would be great. My choice was a tamale pie. What a great dish, there was a thick soft crust that was on the top of the tamale filling, my girls and I all enjoyed it.

The crust on top was made with flour and corn meal not the traditional corn husk. Tamale, as you know, has a nice spicy flavor with a little bit heat which I added by using dried whole chili peppers. Now the dilemma, as always, what kind of wine to serve with this dish on a warm evening on the deck. I am lucky that most evenings we always have a cool breeze that comes off the lake, so it is not as hot. The wine I served was a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Malbec blend called Eagle Eye Infatuation from Napa Valley. It had great fruit that stood up to the tomato, and the Malbec hammered out the heat to make it less obvious. Another great meal!

Jerry Hampel
Queen Anne Wine Specialist

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At WineMasters, we taste thousands of wines every year and base our selection on our belief that the value of a wine lies not only in its price, but in the experience it provides. Our commitment to quality was recently validated as one of our exclusive selections, the vintage 2007 Rocca Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, was named the best Cabernet Sauvignon in California by the prestigious Vintners Club of San Francisco.

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Just got back from a beautiful week in the Outerbanks, NC better known as OBX.  While lounging on the beach and poolside sipping pina colada’s we also enjoyed a few wines that I had brought down with us.

One night in particular was truly exceptional.  We steamed clams on the grill in beer, while also grilling up some shrimp and lobster tails! But, as to not forget the non-seafood lovers in our group, also grilled up some NY strips and corn on the cob!!  Umm, ummm good, the food was amazing and the wines, well, we started off with a Sauvignon blanc from Eagle Eye while we were cooking. It’s hard work and you definitely work up a thirst!  It satisfied our thirst perfectly. It was crisp and clean with lovely fruit!

On to the actual dinner, we started off with a Cabernet from Killer!  Well, it truly has earned it’s name, it was just that.  Nice, big and full for $10 bucks, you can’t beat this wine!!  We then moved onto a luscious Zinfandel from Rockslide.   It married well with  all the spices and was just a perfect match!  We finished off the meal with Stealth 4 Voices which is a beautiful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot. A true Bordeaux blend. This wine just rounded off the meal, it was  big and  juicy, yet soft and elegant. This wine truly left you smacking your lips and wanting more. I was bummed that I didn’t bring 2 bottles!  Sitting out on the deck, with good friends, listening to the ocean! Could not have been a better night……until we hit the hot tub later with a chilled glass of Eagle Eye dessert Muscat. All I can say is wow! An incredible ending to a great night, full moon and all over the ocean enjoying the hot tub and the stars!

Kris Savoye
GM/Wine Specialist