yummy french wine

Dh and I enjoyed two French Burgundys for Valentine's Day. His is the red 2006 Fixin Crais de Chene and mine is the Puligny-Montrachet both recommeded by the best wine guy ever at finewine in Gaithersburg. This guy knows his French wine. Both were very delicious- smooth, elegant, and complex. I made a paella for Valentine's dinner- and the wines went very well with this dish. Roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic was also rec to go with the red as well as mushroom risotto. 5 flamingos for both!

moldy wine cork

I took a bottle of wine to my brothers to share and when he went to open it, he found mold under the foil and on top of the cork. Eeeewwww. I saved the bottle hoping to take it back. It was a lovely french Chardonnay labeled with Michel Richard's name (BOURGOGNE BLANC, Michel Richard, Domaine Borgeot, Burgundy, France 2005)- he uses this as his house chardonnay. I called the wine store to ask and they said it happens often and that there is no problem. :) :) tg! They said that sometimes a bit of wine becomes trapped under the foil and will grow mold on the cork. I've never seen this before and hope I never do again but I am so glad to know that my wine is ok.

Paella

Someone asked how I could be having paella for my Christmas dinner. For me, paella is all about the saffron and rice and well, the saffron :) I use olive oil for the fat, a bit of extra garlic, sometimes a dash of liquid smoke, and veggie broth. Yum! My recipe is from the Columbia Restaurant Cookbook and is easily adapted now that I'm vegan. I made changes to it even before going all veg. I don't miss the seafood anymore and still love love love the saffron rice.

I would rec this wine for this dish. I had it last week and it is very delicious.

from finewine.com
MARTIN CODAX ALBARINO 2007 RIAS BAIXAS, SPAIN
"Albarino, from the wine region of Rias Baixas is considered to be Spain's most respected white wine. Martin Codax Albarino is a crisp and refreshing wine with citrus fruit, pear and peach flavors. Its medium-body, bright fruit character and subtle floral aromas, can be enjoyed with everything from salads to a wide variety of seafood and poultry dishes." -Importer's Notes