wine on wednesdays

Yesterday was my sister’s birthday, however we celebrated it on Saturday cause I can’t drink three bottles of wine on a Tuesday and be a productive member of society the next day.  Lucky for us, our favorite place on earth, Frogtown Winery, was having their Harvest Dinner.

We arrived in Dahlonega, GA around 3:00 and checked into our room at the Park Place Hotel.  After a brief, but intense, monsoon which conveniently waited to fall just as we were getting our bags out of my car, we unpacked and enjoyed the complementary bottle of Oak Leaf Cabernet the hotel graciously offered.  This fine wine can be procured from your local Wal-Mart for around $4.00 a bottle.  Never ones to turn our noses up at free wine, we drank every drop.

After the cheap bottle, we were ready for the good stuff, so we made our way to Frogtown.

That's us in the mirror. I'm the one in the yellow cause having a loud voice just isn't enough, I suppose.

We found a table and were soon joined by Ron and Deborah.  You couldn’t ask for two nicer, funner people to share a good dinner with.  They were awesome and made the whole experience even more enjoyable.  Really, if I didn’t already have parents I would ask them to adopt me (I gave them my web address and told them to tune in today, if you couldn’t tell.  Hi, Deborah and Ron!  You rock!).

Anyway, we were served a four course dinner with wine to complement each course.  Here’s the menu:

House Smoked Salmon with Spicy Creme Fraiche and Crostini paired with Frogtown Rose 2008.  The Rose was dry and not too sweet and was excellent with the spicy creme fraiche.  

Baby Arugula Salad with Scallops and Grain Mustard served with Frogtown Vineaux Blanc 2008.  Those scallops were perfection and even though I’m not big on white wine, I enjoyed this pairing.

Medallions of Peppered Pork Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms with Kritzer Family Reserve Merlot 2006.  You can never go wrong with pork and Merlot.  Or just Merlot, for that matter.  Especially this Merlot.

Lamb Chops over Currant Minted Couscous and Grilled Asparagus served with Frogtown Tannat 2006.  The Tannat is big and bold and was excellent with the lamb.

For dessert they had a buffet of half a dozen different pies, tortes and cakes.  I managed to sample three of them, but by then I feared for the button on my pants. 

There is no better way to experience how a wine can complement a dish than attending a dinner such as this.  I know that I don’t ever take the time to pick out just the right wine to go with my spaghetti and meatballs at home and I probably never will.  However, I do appreciate the art of wine and food pairings and really enjoy when I can let the experts make those decisions. 

I mean, would you trust any decisions made by these two?

The one on the left, maybe.  But, definitely not the other one.  

wine on wednesdays

Welcome to the first official installment of Wine on Wednesdays!
(hold for applause)
I hope you are just as excited as I am about this new feature.  My goal is to tell you what I know, what I like and, in the process, learn more and share that new-found knowledge with you.  Also, if you would like to drop some of your knowledge my way for possible discussion in future posts, that would be awesome.  I pinky swear not to steal your idea and pass it off as my own.  Just send an email to wineonweds at hotmail dot com.  (I’m kinda going all out for this, if you can’t tell.)

So, if you remember, last week I gave you a teaser in the form of a picture:

Lovely, isn’t it?  It took me about seven tries to take that picture because I kept drinking the wine.  Then I couldn’t stand up straight.  The things I go through for art.

Anyway, that picture was taken at one of my favorite little places on earth and it’s only about an hour’s drive away: Frogtown Cellars in Dahlonega, Georgia. 

Not only is the location beautiful, but their wine is absolutely wonderful. 

“Wait.  Wine from Georgia?  Is it made from muscadines or something?”

Forget anything you think you may know about Georgia wine (and if you’ve only had wine from Chateau Elan, then you don’t know a whole lot).  There are over a dozen excellent wineries located in the North Georgia Mountains that grow their own grapes and produce their own unique varieties of wine.  If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend renting a cabin for the weekend (and hiring a driver) and visiting as many as you can before you pass out.  You can visit the Georgia Wine Growers Association for maps and more information.

But, I’m not here to talk about the other wineries, I’m here to talk about my beloved Frogtown. 

First, the frog.  How cute is that? 
It’s a perfect logo because it reflects the casual and fun environment of the winery.  The tasting room is open and inviting.  The staff are very friendly and eager to talk about the wine.  They have a beautiful covered porch where you can sip your wine and enjoy a light lunch while gazing out over the vineyard and the mountains.  And the wine.  It really is delicious (mmm, it does go well with the chicken.*).  The bottle price is a little more than I normally spend, $25+ per, but I feel that it is worth it.  Not just for the quality, but because by purchasing the wine you are supporting local farmers and it’s all about consuming everything that’s been locally grown these days.  Bring your reuseable bag and stock up!  Sure beats a hot, sweaty farmer’s market that’s for sure. 

To sum up, I love Frogtown because it is the full package: relaxed atmosphere, friendly people, beautiful scenery and fantastic wine.  

Well, that’s a wrap everybody.  I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed doing the research.

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*if you get this reference we seriously need to hang out.