Chateau Ste Michelle Cold Creek Merlot 1999

Price: about $25
Recommended by: the wonderful folks at Chateau Ste Michelle winery, Woodinville, WA (go visit!)
Comments: What an evening! We polished off a bottle of white Italian Vermentino (Rocca di Montemassi) while making a fabulous batch of mushroom risotto. The wine was exceptional, but we can't blog about it because we finished it so damn quickly! With the actual risotto (did we mention it was amazing?!?) we drank this Merlot, which is quite dear to us. Back in September 2007, we visited the winery and purchased this bottle for a special occasion. Rob has been hard at work for the past few weeks, finishing up his first book, and while it's not quite done yet we're celebrating the near end of many years of hard work. This wine was an appropriate celebratory libation. Wine Spectator gave it 90 points back in the day, and it's only gotten better with time. Rich, earthy flavors dominated by plum, vanilla, and mocha, with hints of chocolate. YUM! We wish we had another bottle!
Rating: 8/10

Mahi Twin Valleys Gewurztraminer 2006

Price: $22.49 @ Blanchards
Recommended by: Our love of the Gewurztraminer grape
Comments: This is the first Gewurztraminer we have tried from New Zealand. We love the Sauvignon Blancs from the Marlborough region and were eager to give this wine a chance. Like the other wines we have tried from this region, Mahi is bold. Not much subtle here. However, it wasn't so much citrusy as it was flowery. It had a really strong rose flavor. I almost didn't believe Rob when he took his first sip and said, "rose petal." I thought he pulled that out his rear end. But it is indeed very rosy. If you're not into flowery wines, we would skip this one. You can taste the spicy side of this wine when pairing it with spicy food (it went well with the ethnic spices we rubbed on the swordfish). Otherwise, it's mainly rosy with a bit of citrus. We probably won't buy this one again, especially given the price. We'll take our Chateau Ste Michelle over this any day.
Rating: 6.5/10