Goooo Evening! I bet you are surprised that I am writing on a weekend! Well I am... Karens birthday was last night and I just couldnt wait to tell you all about the fantastic evening. I cooked up some awesome things and I feel like made a wonderful birthday for one of my most favorite people on earth. Karen! This is a picture of me cookin it up and what is inside this pan is delightful. First though I would like to tallk about the drinks! I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to review this wine. I have had it for quite some time. However, special wine calls for a special occasion. This was just what I need for my little dinner party. It came from a company that sent me two others called Premiere Organics. They have some amazing wines. This wine was SOOOOO good! I loved it. Here is a quick over view of what I paired this releaf wine with.
Western Cape, South AfricaMade from Organically Grown Grapes
“A time for change…A time for releaf.”
Too often, wine producers rely on harsh chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to maintain their vineyards. Thankfully, not all wineries are the same! Releaf is produced from a property in the Swartland region of the Western Cape, South Africa. The property had been uncultivated for 17 years and was strictly used for grazing cattle, making it an ideal spot for growing organic grapes.
Re
Releaf is the perfect wine for a braai, a backyard barbeque, the cornerstone of Swartland cuisine. At the braai traditional foods such as wors (traditional sausage), tjops (lamb chops), and mieliepap (the South African version of Polenta) will be served. Try with a vegetarian sarmie (sandwich). Not quite as adventurous, releaf pairs well with rich meat dishes, roasts or matured cheeses.
Tasting Notes
Releaf Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Shiraz offers intense flavors of blackberry, cassis and vanilla spice. Merlot adds plumy and red cherry notes plus a suppleness that balances Cabernet’s structure, while Shiraz adds a peppery blackberry pie characteristic. The blend perfectly balances the fabulous fruit flavors, structure, and acidity, yielding a wine with concentrated flavors and complexity.
Check out their site!
http://www.organicwinetradecompany.com
I had cherry crackers with a wonderful chunk of goats cheese which was perfect in my opinion to get started! Then for the main course...
I mad a salmon salad with homemade tahini dressing, avocado and onion. It was to die for. The girls really like it. This was my first experience with tahini and I have to say I loved it. I love that you can have a creamy dressing without any dairy at all. Tahini will be making more appearances for sure.
Finally for desert it was chocolate covered strawberries and Newmans Own Organic Hermits. Darn these cookies were goooood. The wine went perfectly with the cheese, salmon and desert. In my opinion my favorite yet. Releaf is the perfect table wine! I give it a 10! Yum. Thanks again for sending me the wine.
Here is Karen and I and Karen and Kim at the dinner table. A very small dinner party but with very big guest! Our personalities could fill the room!
This is the money shot! Karen getting a gift from Kim...Yes, that is Sex and the City trvia game. That is Karens inital reaction. So glad that I was able to capture this! We played the game and then moved out to the porch to dance to the dirty dancing sound track and then rode our bikes downtown for a good time. I dont know how I managed to do this but I spent no money this weekend. I used all the things that I had in my freezer and fridge for dinner and I handmade Karens gift! It was a painting that I did in the painting class that I took earlier that day. All in all a pretty fantastic weekend. Why cant they all be like this??????See you tomorrow! I have some reviews that you are going to want to read for sure. Really.
-Heather
