French Wine From Vaucluse & Mesh Restaurant

France. Ah, I love that country and have enjoyed their wines for many years. I discovered this little gem in the bin at the wine store with a sale tag of $8.99! I am speaking about the Verget Du Sud 2004 Vin De Pays De Vaucluse. Vaucluse is a department of France in the region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d’ Azur. Valcluse is bordered by the Rhone to the west and River Durance to the south. The blend of Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier and Chardonnay grapes in this wine make for a lovely, fresh and delicate wine with flavors of apple, pear, and a hint of citrus on the palate. It is a bright simple wine even though there is a 13% alcohol volume. Nice clean fresh fruit acidity danced on my palate and continued on the finish. Ah, those French folks can make some very pleasing wines to sip on a sultry summer evening.

Dined last evening with my friend Lee at a new restaurant in West Chester, Ohio. Mesh , is owned by Paul and Pam Sturkey and is the place we choose for a girls night out and oh!, what a wonderful treat! As we opened the wine list and were reading each and every one of their offerings, I noticed on the wine by the glass page for white wines was a wine that I reviewed yesterday (look below this post)! The Sherwood Estate Sauvignon Blanc was listed and recommended. I felt pretty confident, at "that moment", that my palate education, after years of tasting, was finally coming to fruition. I must say I was thrilled!

We started our evening with a bottle of 2006 Eola Hills Pinot Gris from Oregon that paired very well with our Marinated Beet Salad. The salad was a mix of very finely chopped greens, goat cheese, spiced pecans, little tiny pieces of orange, red and yellow roasted beets served with an orange truffle vinaigrette. Lee had the Pepper-Crusted Ahi Tuna served with quinoa risotto, wasabi peas and a gingered pinot noir demiglace. I had the Pan Roasted Veal Tenderloin with artichoke ratatouille, crisp polenta and reggiano spinach. We finished with Pam Sturkey's award winning Chocolate Bailey's Cheesecake Cake served with a vanilla buttercream sauce and "slices" of chocolate! Oh my gosh! I was full but surely happy! Thanks Lee for a fun girls night out!

Cheers!