A Mother's Balancing Act

Box Wine or Stylish Cask?

In my last post, I made reference to the fact that my family and I actually drank wine from a box on Easter Sunday. Those of you who know me and/or have read many of my posts might think this strange coming from me. I have family in the wine country. In fact, my family owns a vineyard in Napa, so I will admit I had my reservations. I had tried a few of the box wines in recent years with mixed reviews, but none of them would be what I would call a rave.

The Monthaven Chardonnay  (2008 Central Coast - Octavin Home Wine Bar) does stand out for a number of reasons:

1. The packaging is uber cool. See the picture for yourself. The octagonal shape alone draws immediate comments/attraction.
2. The spigot is far better than any other I have used. It's a twist rather than the usual forward/backward motion.
3. I like the overall size/footprint of this one.
4. The taste was crisp, refreshing and satisfying - you just have to pair it with the right food!

 
Now, moving on to the overall taste. My family and I made the mistake of serving the Monthaven Chardonnay with Easter dinner. Let me just say...Duh. I should have known better than this. My family makes this mistake every single year with Thanksgiving dinner, as well. We serve the wine that we most enjoy, ignoring the food that we are eating. Turkey and all of the accoutrements usually served with it really don't go so well with incredibly big, dry Cabernet Sauvignons. Again I say...Duh. Go ahead, call us all dolts.

So, serving a Chardonnay with glazed ham, sweet potatoes, spinach salad with poppy seed dressing, and caramel monkey bread was not my most scholarly moment.

Therefore, I tried the wine again the other night with some Irish Dubliner cheese and crackers while sitting on the patio enjoying the spring evening. Far better choice. And in fact, this Chardonnay is what I would consider to be an off-dry every day drinking white that would be a nice choice with chicken, pizza, or pasta dishes. I would also try it with savory pork dishes. Personally, I really wouldn't compare it to other Chardonnays. It's light and refreshing with hints of apple and citrus, somewhere between a Sauvignon Blanc and a more traditional Chard. More flavorful than most Sauvignon Blancs, though, and that's nice. Not sweet like a Pinot Grigio. My husband normally doesn't like Chardonnay at all. He finds them too sharp and "oakey". This wine is certainly not like that...probably not aged long enough ( about 4 months in this case, I believe) to develop that quality. And frankly, I think if they had gone for a more powerful Chardonnay, they would have had a much bigger hill to climb. I'm glad they went for a lighter one.

Anyway, I also have to admit that I love the idea of being able to trot down to my basement fridge (our regular one is forever jammed after all...) and "dispense" a glass at a time with no worries of the bottle going fruit on me. It says it will last up to 6 weeks after being "opened". Not a bad deal at all for around $23.99 (for about 20 5 oz. glasses)! And great for the environment. Less packaging = Less waste. The vintner claims a 92% reduction in packaging waste and a decrease in carbon emissions of 55%. Very impressive indeed. I'd like to try the Boho Vineyards 2008 Old Vine Zinfandel next. It's from the same line, Underdog Wine Merchants. Zinfandel being my favorite varietal, I'll be interested to see if they can pull off a win with that one.

Cheers,

Balanced Babe (Molly Wineland Wendland)

Easter Sunday, A Little Chardonnay & A Whole Lotta' Ham...

So this year, my sister and her family traveled to Iowa to celebrate the Easter holiday with her husband's side of the family. This left our little family to our own devices for the big day. So, we went to Mass Sunday morning and planned our Easter feast for mid-afternoon. At the last minute, I had learned that my niece had not gone home for the holiday, so she came over to celebrate with us.

Here's where it gets a little silly. The only ham I was able to find was over 10 pounds. I cooked it up, knowing full well that my niece is a vegetarian, so she would not be eating any. There are only four in our family. In an effort to keep the day less hectic (for me, mind you...haha), I assigned each member of my family a task:

Big Strong Man: Grilled Asparagus (and setting the table)

Girl 1: Spinach Salad

Girl 2: Caramel Monkey Bread

Me (Balanced Babe!): Ham, Yummy Homemade glaze, Guacamole/chips for gnoshing on before meal, Sweet Potato Casserole, Fresh Fruit & Whipped Creme for Dessert (cuz frankly, I just didn't have it in me to make a real one, and we had Easter candy, for Pete's sake!)

So, everything comes out of the oven, etc., we've been having a nice time visiting. We sit down to eat, and I notice that not only did my niece forego the 10 plus pound ham, but so did Girl 1! Swell! Three people eating the main course!

Girl 1: Yeah, I don't really like ham so much..."

Result: I have ham coming out of my ears!

It's like the old Monte Python Spam skit...only with regular old ham:

"Ham, ham, ham, ham! Ham, ham, ham, ham!" (in song...)

Ham and eggs.

Ham on rye.

Ham salad.

Ham and beans.

Ham and hash brown casserole.

I dream of ham.

Ah, well. We washed our lovely Easter dinner down with a glass of Monthaven Chardonnay. I'm going to tell you all about this in my next post, but I'll peak your interest with this little tidbit:

The wine comes in an octagonal shaped box! Yes, a box!

Very environmentally correct, I must say. And keeps for up to 6 weeks in the fridge.

OK, that's all for now. My fingers are cramping, and it's time for another slice of ham...

Balanced Babe (Molly Wendland)