Favorite Beverages Vol.4

Last night Kristine, my brother Patrick and Kristine's sister Rylie ate a fantastic meal at MidCity Cuisine here in Atlanta...you'll hear more about our dinner later, but for now it's all about the beverage. 3 of the 4 of us (Kris is a no-go on vino for a while with "booper" on the way) tried out two wines, and both were really enjoyable.

RIOJA CORTIJO III 2003 (Tempranillo 100%)
So we started off our dinner with a bottle of tempranillo, which is a grape used in a lot of Spanish reds. I have to say that although I know very little about wines, I do know that Spain makes some great bottles at affordable prices. I'll name a few at the end of this posting.This bottle did not dissapoint either. The CORTIJO III was really smooth and not overbearing against our appetizers (Tuna Tartare, Avocados, Cilantro, Chipolte Infused Aioli & a Grilled Octopus dish that came with mixed olives and bell peppers) , which some reds like Cabernets could have been with the seafood...I'm sure this would have been great with our steaks, but we moved on to a different bottle for dinner...Overall, I'd give this wine an A-

CLOS DU BOIS 2002 RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON (Alexander Valley)
So for dinner we wanted to try the Stags Leap 2002 Cab, but they were out, and the waiter brought us the CLOS DU BOIS as an option, so we went ahead with it, and I thought it was a great replacement (especially since it was $30 cheaper). This wine was perfect with the steaks because it had a really nice balance of spice and sweet that complemented our amazing Ribeyes. I'd love this wine as a social bottle sans food, but it didn't take away from my meal at all. I recommend this wine for any steak, lamb, or pork chop dish...but would probably venture to something lighter for chicken, or definately fish. In a wine shop you should expect to find this for close to $20. A good price for a really nice wine. I rate this as an A.

DIET COKE BLACK CHERRY VANILLA
OK...I'm a hypocrite..all this talk in the past about not touching Diet Coke can be thrown out the door, as long as the Diet Coke you pass me is the Black Cherry Vanilla version. This may be the first version of Diet Coke I've ever had that doesn't leave such an unpleasant aftertaste in my mouth. I'm still leaning towards Coke Zero as my top pick in the soda battle, but could survive with a Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla if necessary. One thought though: I bet regular Coke Black Cherry Vanilla is awesome...maybe try that first. :)