After the disaster that was the Raucous Red, I had to save the evening and the dinner with a “sure thing”. Around our house that usually means something from Cameron Hughes. CH Wines are almost always consistent. Consistently good that is. Mrs. Barbarian is partial to Pinot Noir, so I grabbed a bottle of Lot 110, a 2007 Pinot Noir from the “Los Carneros” AVA, which straddles both Napa & Sonoma valleys in California.

As usual, Mr. Hughes delivered on his promise and provided an excellent value wine for about ten bucks. Mrs. Barbarian liked it, and so I was spared any more discordant screeching that night.

Thank you Mr. Hughes, I am forever in your debt.

This was dinner the other night at Chez Vinagoth, waffles and red wine. You see Mrs. Barbarian had failed to stop by the grocery store or Costco as promised, so when it came time to cook something up the pickings were slim. I punted and got out the waffle iron. Think of it as a Belgian delicacy!

Thankfully the wine cellar offered up this wonderful 2005 Napa Valley Meritage from Cameron Hughes. It was more than a match for this tasty treat from the Low Countries, and a bargain at $12. Next time I hope to try it with a proper dinner. At least Mrs. Barbarian doesn’t slather her steaks in peanut butter(!) like she does her waffles. Sigh.

Forgive me reader, for I have spent.

I classify this under my “on somebody else’s tab” category as it is an expensive wine… but I’ll admit, I spent my own hard earned money to acquire it. To be honest it is an act I mildly regret. Not that this is a bad wine really, in fact it was quite good. Excellent even! It is just that it goes against my character to hand over big bucks on a wine. Mind you what is big bucks to me is spare change to others.

This was a bottle of Carver Sutro 2004 Palisade Vineyard Napa Valley Petite Sirah, and I blew about forty five bucks on it. That is about double what I usually consider to be my limit on spending for a bottle of wine. This however, was a temptation I could not resist.

You see Carver Sutro is probably as passionate as I am about Petite Sirah… likely more. OK, I’ll be honest, WAY MORE. Petite Sirah is all they make (though I imagine some readers here suspect that it is all I drink!) At Carver Sutro they are dedicated to Durif. So you see, I HAD to buy this wine.

How was it? Pretty damn good. I should have decanted it for longer, in fact I should have cellared it given how much I paid… but what can I say? I’m a sucker for a Petite Sirah, and this one was polished off pretty damn quick. Mrs. Barbarian liked it. I loved it.

Should I find a $50 bill lying on the ground I know EXACTLY what I’m going to do with it.

I recently celebrated a birthday. Mrs. Barbarian arranged a dinner at a local steak place, a chain who sends you a coupon for a free dinner on your birthday. (Have I ever mentioned how frugal Mrs. Barbarian is?) I choose a filet, which they smother in bleu cheese and garlic, along with a twice-baked potato. Mrs. Barbarian selects a New York Strip. Looking for something powerful on the meager wine list I select this Napa blend called “Pazzo.”

It not only stands up to the big food, it is truly wonderful. It is a bit pricey, but as it is from Napa, perhaps it is a bargain at around $30 retail.