I love yellow curry, and I’ve been dying for a dish of it since I left Ellensburg. That was seriously my last meal there. It makes me sad and nostalgic to think about it. As much as I hated the place, I miss the people, and the places. Not really the weather. Or school.
So instead, I’m trying to make my own curry tonight. Well, with the help of Trader Joe’s. I bought yellow curry sauce there, but I’m making my own veggies for it (I didn’t know you could steam potatoes!). I’m just hoping there’s enough sauce to cover all of them. I made a lot of veggies. Hopefully there’s enough for leftovers for lunch on Wednesday.
Work was long today, so I decided to celebrate Wine Monday. That, and because by the time I get to Wednesday, Brian’s home when I get here, so he’s usually already started drinking and then we go out to happy hour or something and I don’t have time to blog. But I do drink wine. So I technically still celebrate it.
But before I review, I have to talk about this horrendous wine that Brian bought the other day. It wasn’t his fault that it was bad. He bought a Romanian wine called Vampire. It was a table chardonnay, and he got it to make mashed potatoes (though I only ever recall putting wine in the potato soup…hm…). Anyway, I open it up, and pour it. It looks like piss. Yellow, golden piss. I told him it was bad. He pours it in the pot anyway. Then he drinks it. I take a sip, fearing it will make me sick or something. It didn’t, but I nearly puked anyway. It definitely turned, but Brian thought it was fine saying he “knows cheap wine.” Well, dear, I’m sure you do, but “cheap” and “desperate” are two different things!! It was a $7 bottle! Just get a different bottle! It’s still sitting in our cabinet. And I assume it will remain there because I think Brian caught on to my disgust.
Back to good wine. I’ve had Apothic before. It was one of the first bottles I opened when we got to LA. That bottle made it all the way from Ellensburg, to Tri-Cities, to Crescent City, to San Fran, to LA. And when we opened it, it smelled like yogurt. I know, don’t ask me why. I don’t know.
But this one didn’t. I think the heat from my car made the last one get like that. But this one smells normal. Normal being spicy with blackberries, a hint of raspberry. I expected the spice — it’s a zinfandel, syrah and merlot blend. Bottle says hints of mocha and vanilla, but my nose isn’t picking that up. Maybe a light vanilla, now that you mention it.
It’s pretty oaky, but the vanilla definitely comes on the tongue. It’s a rich wine, but not a heavy one. It’s great for sipping with a meal, but it’s also a great summer wine — have it with BBQ ribs, burgers, etc. I don’t get much black or raspberry on the tongue; more blueberries and maybe some currants? It’s an easy sipper, that’s for sure. It goes down really easy, like velvet. I’d recommend this. At $10 a bottle, and if you’re looking to venture into reds without getting turned off on your first bottle, this is a great choice.
