tropit

I know...please forgive me...this is not a recipe, per se, but wine lovers are usually food lovers too, so I thought I would start this thread here.

I love wine...whites, reds, roses, even some ports and sherries. I grew up in CA where wine has always been a part of our lives. I've mostly had CA wines, but also a few French and a couple of Australian and Chileans too. I'm always up for exploring new wines.

The DH and I traveled to France a couple of years ago and I had the most delightful, white wine. We were at a casual restaurant, eating outside. I ordered a shrimp salad and asked the waiter to bring me a glass of white wine, his choice. It was absolutely the most perfect pairing. Those French...they really know their wines! This wine was very light, super, super dry, with a strong mineral taste to it. I didn't catch the name of it and now, I'm back in the US, trying to find out what kind of wine it was.

I've done some research online and I think that this wine came from the Loire Valley because it has such a mineral taste. It might be a Sauv Blanc, a Sancerre, or even a Chenin Blanc. I've asked our local wine shop lady if she knew what it was. She sold me a couple of bottles to try, but neither of these were THE ONE. She sent me home with Vouvray yesterday. I'm having a friend over for lunch tomorrow and I'll serve it then...we'll see...maybe this is IT.

I've actually been learning a lot about wine with this quest. I've found some great wine sites, read about wines I've never heard of, tempted to buy a couple of books, tempted to buy a few wines, etc. We have a local radio station that had several interviews with local wine makers...super interesting! Wine isn't about snobbery, it's just really intriguing how it is made and how the taste changes with each grape, recipe, region and time.

Please chime in if you are a wine lover. Also, if you know what kind of wine that was that I had in France...I'd love to know. Thanks!

SusieQOH

I don't know squat about wine but I love your posts! They always make me hungry though, so you need to stop

My son and dil love wine and have quite a collection. Red wine gives me a headache and I just never acquired a taste for wine period. I know I'm probably missing out though.

tropit

Thank you, my dear. No...I'm not going to stop with the food posts. Good food is to be shared, even virtually.

I'm having a new friend over for lunch today. We've lived down the road from each other for 12 years and only just met a few months ago. We're getting along great! I can't believe how much we have in common. She loves food and wine too. I'm serving a take on the shrimp salad that I had in France and a bottle white, Vouvray from the Loire Valley. My garden is blooming like crazy, so we're sitting outside. My DH has been helping me clean up the place...rare, but nice.

The shrimp salad is pretty easy...basically, a Mediterranean Cobb Salad featuring grilled shrimp and that mustard vinaigrette that I posted a few days ago. I put all kinds of stuff on there...lettuce, zucchini spirals, browned sweet potato chunks, heirloom tomato, boiled eggs, asparagus, olives, artichoke heart and a few other things. There's a little goody in every bite. I made a cheese/charcuterie platter for starters and baked some bread. For dessert, I'm just serving some sliced fig and nut cakette, soaked in honey and sherry, fresh strawberries, along with espressos.

tranum

Wine gives me hives, so I’ll pass.

Mkotch

Yum! That sounds like a wonderful lunch! Hope it turns out well and that the wine works perfectly.

tropit

Oh...too bad for you...more wine for me.

tropit

The lunch turned out great! Alas...it was not THE wine, but it was very good...different. My guest really liked everything.

SusieQOH

Your lunch sounded divine! You and my hubby would get along famously, tropit. All he thinks about is what he's going to cook.
So much for my weight problem

SusieQOH

My Mom used to make an appetizer every Thanksgiving and Christmas she called Shrimp New Orleans. Have you ever heard of it? It was fabulous. She was a great cook. I didn't inherit that gene but I love to eat good food, that's for sure! ( I married my mother haha)
I think I found it:

https://pudgefactor.com/new-orleans-shrimp-remoulade/

tropit

No...what's in it? Oh...there's the link. I'll check that out.