This summer is flying by and I apologize I haven't been as diligent as I should be given all the lovely, refreshing white wines I've been enjoying. My excuse is that it helps me get through the heat wave but to be honest, do you really need an excuse to drink great, white wine?
This past Sunday night I enjoyed a glass of crisp, Viognier with dinner. The Viognier grape originates from the Northern Rhone region, but it's currently being made in several different regions and the one I enjoyed on Sunday was a surprisingly dry, crisp and restrained one from Argentina. I say surprisingly because it was from the Mendoza region, which gets quite hot which can make it very difficult to make a dry, crisp white wine! In typical "summer weekend and thus brain dead" fashion, I didn't write down the info. That said, the wine was good, not great and the best thing about Sunday was the meal, not the wine.
My friend, Shawna, and I were braving the wilds of Baltimore to enjoy a few of my other loves - baseball and football. Yes, it seems like a major contrast, but it is possible to spout the stats of Joe Flacco while explaining what you would pair with a Stadium Dog (a red Zin, naturally). But a girl can't live on (crappy) stadium food alone and as a self-professed wine snob, I also love a good meal. We certainly enjoyed one Sunday night. Shawna and I visited Woodberry Kitchen, a farm to table restaurant in the Northern part of the city. Since this is not a food blog, I won't go into too much detail, but the corn soup was one of the best things I've ever eaten - savory and silky, yet light and refreshing. Moreover, I don't have much of a sweet tooth (except when it comes to Sauternes, Ports or Moscato D'Asti), but the peach pie with basil ice cream was incredible - the perfect mix of sweet, salty and creamy. If you live in the area or nearby and/or find yourself in Baltimore, you must "go to there" ("30 Rock" is yet another passion).
http://www.woodberrykitchen.com/Until the next sniff, sip, quaff or sports weekend,
Cheers,
Alli M.