Rex Goliath Pinot Noir

Roq the coq!

I've been holding out on you.  I'm sorry.  I've been waiting for the Muse to sing to me so I have just the right words to do this wine justice...

Apparently, the bitch is off helping James Patterson crank out yet another book, so you'll have to bear with me.


Rex Goliath Pinot Noir.  Rex Goliath Cabernet.  Rex Goliath Just-About-Anything.

In previous posts, I've alluded to the fact that I love wine with pictures of farm animals on the labels.  This is the wine that got me started on that.

Rex Goliath wine is named after a 47-pound rooster.  Take a moment to think about that.  A freaking 47-pound rooster.  My five year-old niece weighs about that!  So as far as I'm concerned, that's reason enough to try this wine.  Honor the rooster.

My husband first met Rex at a liquor store attached to a gas station and bait shop on a long and winding road in the back hills of northern NJ.  It was $7.99.  So, you know, expectations were high.

This stuff is so freaking good!  It's a "big" wine, but it's not overpowering.  It pairs with anything.  It's good on its own.  The Rex Chardonnay is an easy drink, too.  Their website has some recipes that I'm probably too lazy to try, but I will tell you that the Pinot Noir is just lovely with a Lean Cuisine lasagne.  (I wouldn't recommend eating the Lean Cuisine lasagne without this wine, actually.)

Rex is The King.  (King of our wine fridge, anyway.)  So...a little less conversation, a little more drinking.

Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages 2011

Beaujolais-me!

Louie, Louie.  Oh, yes.

Louis, my man.  Where have you been all week?

In my previous post, I was a little cranky about Georges.  Well, now it's Friday, my husband has been in effin' Arkansas all week, so Louis Jadot is my new luva.  He's my first, my last, my everything.

What I like about Louis' label, besides all the Frenchy details and sculpted face, is that he tells me all about him, but not in a self-absorbed ex-boyfriend way.  His grapes are 100% Gamay.  I have no freakin' clue what that means, but I don't care.  Louis likes to be paired with "hors d'oeuvres, mild cheeses or poultry dishes--especially turkey," but he works just as well with cheese-its and frozen pizza.  (Did I mention my husband's been away all week?)

I believe in miracles.

This wine is a "plump wine with notes of strawberry, black cherry, and spice."  It's strong, but not overpowering.  Smooth.  You know the beginning of "Can't Get Enough of Your Love Baby" when Barry White is talking over that wee-oooh, wee-oooh, and his voice is low and deep and...smooth?  Yeah, like that.  Only with wine. 

It's strong, full, and smooth.  Qualified to satisfy you.

  

This is the Barry White of wine.  I scream your name.  Look what you got me doin', Louis.

Homage Ravenous Red--$8.99

Can't turn off the flash.

"Subtle as a kick in the head."  --My husband. 

I agree, but I'm not complaining.

See, most of the time, we're doing the healthy eating thing--chicken, fish, rice, veg, salad.  But tonight is the Superbowl, and all that's out the window.  I'm eating bar food.  I'm eating "mac n cheez bites."  I'm not sure that what I'm eating qualifies as real food.

Homage is  a blend of cab, merlot, zinfandel, and petite syrah.  This wine is not mild.  It's got a little legs, some tannins, and a strong finish.

So I offered my husband a sip, and he said, "Whoa."  Then I handed him the battered glob of cheez and told him to try again.  The verdict?

"It totally works."

So I'm going to green light the Ravenous Red--provided you're not taking pride in the meal you just cooked.  It could overpower it.  But should you find yourself eating wads of fried God-knows-what, go for it.  It's pretty badass.

Mommy's Time Out--Rosso Primitivo 2011

I first tried this when my sister-in-law gave me a bottle as a joke.  I think I'd just had a baby or maybe one of my kids did something awful...who knows?  But yeah, we had a chuckle about the label and then drank it down. 

Send me to my room.

Now I know there's this whole market aimed at wino moms.  Everyone wants to cash in on our stress and the fact that it's acceptable now to post Facebook pictures of 1950s housewives with smart-ass thought bubbles rising above their vacuous faces.  So, is it a cynical marketing ploy? Or is it an acknowledgement that women are hard-working consumers with money to spend and a taste for vino?

I don't care.  This stuff is good.  And cheap.  At $9.99, Mommy's Time Out has never done me wrong.  Tonight, we paired it with hanger steak and a salad with pears and gorgonzola, and it was perfect.  It's fruity, but not too sweet.  A teensy bit of spice to it and smooth going down.

(It should also be noted that this wine passes the pairs-with-frozen-pizza-and-bagged-salad test.  You know what I mean?  It elevates the whole meal.)

Now I know there's another wine from the same maker called "Dad's Day Off."  (OK, I'm pretty sure it's from the same maker.  They're from the same region and they use the same font on the bottle.  Don't you love my research?)  I've never had it, and I will admit it's for a whiny reason (see what I just did there?), namely, why does Mommy only get a time-out and Dad gets a whole day off?  No fair!  (Yeah, I know, that Dad's Day Off is alliterative and that's fun, but they caught me at a bad moment.)  Has anyone had it?  Was it any good?

But anyhoo, I digress.  All gender politics and condescension by marketing bigwigs aside, this is some nice wine.  It's like a well-fitting black blazer.  Dress it up or dress it down.  It goes with anything.  And guys like it, too.