Its been a while, gas prices are up and wine prices too.

Its been forever since I posted last.  Work has been busy and I have had some occasional travel to the beautiful pacific northwest.  Thankfully things are starting to hit a happy medium again.   The boys and Cameron are all well and since it is lent I gave up Scotch again, so back to wine and beer I guess.

I was surprised to read a last month that Trader Joe's has done the inevitable and raised the price on their flagship Charles Shaw wine from $1.99 to $2.49.  Though I guess it could still be called two buck Chuck, I had abandoned it several years ago when wine quality had plummeted and a bottle gave me more of a headache than any enjoyment.

 
Never fear budget minded wine drinkers, thankfully Big Kahuna is still plugging along at $1.99.  If you hit the right sale you can get it for even less.

Even though the brand has a decidedly American surfer motif, it is actually produced in Spain.  Consequently the Tempranillo, a grape varietal native to Spain is the best of the lineup.  Cameron likes the Cabernet a bit better than some of the mid priced Cabs that we had been drinking so for a weeknight this has become our go to bottle.

If there was one theme in this blog it is the appreciation of wine without pretense.  The Big Kahuna line is the epitome of this.  An introductory price-point wine of good quality where you find out what varietals you generally enjoy, no special tools needed.  The screw cap though lacking in romance is practical and eliminates the need for a corkscrew to open the wine or vacuum pump to preserve the leftovers. Leave the pretense behind and grab a bottle and a couple glasses, for the price you will not be disappointed. 

Theme Parties (Spanish)

Last year Carmen got involved with her local Long Beach Moms Club.  We ended up getting along with several members and decided it would be a great opportunity to revive one of Carmen's favorite activities; the theme party.   Over the years we have thrown Greek, Mexican, Italian, Hawaiian, and many others.  My college buddy Edgar made a Spanish tortilla during one of his dinner parties, we liked the presentation so much we decided to try a Spanish tapas party.  Since all of us have kiddos now it gave all the adults a chance to get together and enjoy adult conversation.  

To pair with the tapas, we chose a F&E wine, Castillo Rioja, a Spanish Rioja (red) which paired well with the dinner that night.  The Rioja is predominantly Tempranillo and has a well aged deep fruity taste.  I think the bold taste stood up well to the tapas pairings, and would pair well with some medium spicy Mexican staples like  enchiladas as well.  At the $9 price point I feel that I get a good bang for my buck and I continue to enjoy this wine.