Tormaresca Neprica `08 (IGT) (not TJ's) $11.99 ***

My sister brought one of her recent finds with her when she visited this weekend.  (enjoying wine might just be genetic!) This is a red blend from Puglia. 40% Negroamaro, 30% Primitivo and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a good food wine. It has a nice deep fruity smell, and can hold its own against any rich or strongly flavored food.

As a stand alone, this wine is complex: flavorful  - deep,  rich (chocolate and cassis (slightly tart)), with a sharp finish, which is why as a sipping wine, it does not shine.  Also, after I treated my sister to a show of the vinturi, the wine didn't really open up, it is more like it separated upon aeration.  My advice: pour it from the bottle, don't bother aerating it - we finished the bottle unaerated.  But I do love showing off the vinturi!

This wine has almost no tannins, and when paired with stinky cheese on flatbread, it was not bad, when we dipped into the chocolate covered bacon from Roni-Sue's, well... what wouldn't be amazing with chocolate covered bacon??? The consensus was that the milk chocolate covered bacon was better with the wine than the dark chocolate covered bacon.  (How many times can I write chocolate covered bacon in a post? Chocolate covered bacon anyone? The official name is Pig Candy)

This Neprica, paired with hangar steak, mushrooms, onions and spinach... this is where the wine really was good. For the first time, I have two pictures in a post.  (mostly because I could not be bothered to futz with the lighting to get a good picture of the off white label (the steak actually tasted a lot better than it looks in the picture... one day, I will buy a nice camera - until then, you are stuck with pics from my Blackberry!)

We had spent the day wandering the Lower East Side (I was showing off my "Haunts") and our Saturday evening meal was the end of a great weekend.  I love it when people share their current favorite wine, and I sent her back to Boston with a bottle of Villa Cerina in her bag.  Who knows, we may even make a tradition out of this!

Menu (all from vendors at the Essex Street Market, Lower East Side, NYC):

Pig Candy from Ronie-Sue's Chocolates
Comte Cheese from Saxelby Cheese
Lavash Flat Bread   "
Hangar Steak from Jeffrey's Meat Market
Olive Bread from Pain D'Avignon
Sauteed Mushrooms & Red Onion from Viva Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh Baby Spinach      "

Cantele Negroamaro Rosato IGT (not TJ's) $12.99 ***

This Italian Rose is from the heel of the boot, Puglia.  I planned my menu and then I had to find a wine that fit. This rosato fit the bill very well.  It is a dry yet slightly effervescent wine.  Not as crisp as a white wine. Slightly chilled though, it has a great light fruity smell, and a slight effervescence on the tongue. It is very easy to drink.  Not sweet, dry as a matter of fact.  No tannins, clean and good. Strawberries, I taste strawberries, tart not sweet.

Today was a glorious day at the Farmer's Market.  Mussels were $3.99 a pound, and new red onions were $3.00 a bunch.  I grabbed a bunch of parsley for a dollar, and tonight's supper was born! (bread was in the freezer from the market a few weeks ago)

Tonight's Menu:
Mussels in vermouth with celery, parsley, bay leaf, new red onions and butter.
Garlic bread