Returning to work after our break, I found a late holiday
gift from the wine fairy in my office. Tiffany at Balzac kindly sent along four
samples from Camelot Vineyards. Camelot is a readily available, inexpensive
line of wines made from grapes sourced from several locations in California.
All four wines – a cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, and chardonnay –
retail for around $7.
The arrival of these wines was fortuitous and a bit poetic. The
Sweet Partner in Crime and I are in the process of a full castle…er…kitchen
remodel. I retrieved the samples just before the demolition was scheduled to
occur. Trust me, a foodie of any sort without accoutrements for a goodly length
of time needs a stock of vino for mental health reasons. The sampling started
over our final weekend with cabinets and an operational stove…
Camelot (NV) Cabernet
Sauvignon
Camelot (NV) Merlot
One of our last meals prepared the old kitchen was a pot
roast, recipe courtesy of Albert
Burneko at Deadspin. One of the key steps is to “return the meat (and any
juices it discharged during its exile) to the pot, turn the heat back up, and
pour an entire goddamn bottle of cheap red wine on top of the whole fucking
mess.” He also suggested eating the roast with another bottle of said wine.
Thanks to the wine fairy’s fortuitous delivery, we had a couple of bottles to
choose from. We decided to taste both the merlot and the cabernet. Winner gets
drunk with dinner. Loser becomes dinner.
We poured small tastes of both. The merlot was actually
pretty decent. For an inexpensive merlot, it had decent structure, some good
flavors of cherry, coffee, and chocolate, and a pretty good balance. The
cabernet, on the other hand, didn’t fare as well. In the SPinC’s words, “This
is a really watery cab.” It was certainly on the lighter side and no
interesting flavors popped out. Our decision was clear. We poured the cab atop
the roast, hoping to send it forth to a higher calling.
Hours passed. We were watching the NFL playoffs during this
time, and we ended up wanting a beverage. The merlot was convenient and, most
importantly, open! As a quaffer on its own while focused on other things, it
was decent enough.
Then came the roast – the glorious, perfectly browned and
cooked hunk of deliciousness. The braising liquid, made from the cabernet,
thickened into a delightful gravy with the help of a little bit of cornstarch, imparted
an absolutely fabulous flavor to the pot roast. The meal itself was nothing
short of incredible. We did keep a splash of the merlot to try with the roast,
and it was fine – albeit a bit overshadowed by the utter awesomeness of the
roast itself. (We did open a bottle of Libra pinot noir
as well. That fared a bit better.)
Camelot (NV) Pinot
Noir
The next day, we were packing up what was left of our
kitchen. We came across some leftover garlicky, Italian-styled cabbage,
sausage, and white bean soup in the fridge – a soup which calls out for a light
red. I would have ordinarily looked a bit askance at a $7 pinot noir. The first
sips of it, honestly, were quite tight and acidic – like cherries picked a
couple of weeks early. (Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me if the wine’s grapes
were harvested a bit short of peak.) The body was light and the finish was a
bit smoky. As the Sweet Partner in Crime put it, “This is a California pinot?”
But once we got the soup reheated, the wine did just fine.
The individual ingredients in the soup aren’t the easiest to pair with, but the
Camelot made a nice accent. This turned out to be a perfectly decent table wine
once everything was said and done – especially if it’s your second bottle of
the evening.
Camelot (NV) Chardonnay
The Kitchenpocalypse Begins. |
Home from work the following Monday, I walked into the first
floor of a house resembling an episode of Breaking Bad. Floor-to-ceiling
plastic tarps, exhaust fans running, and an absolutely demolished kitchen. No
appliances, no cabinetry. Nothing. The “archaeological dig” aspect of the
demolition was fascinating. For instance, we discovered the original wallpaper,
buried beneath layers of plaster and tile, was patterned with cute little
teapots. Most notably, our first floor was missing a wall. The Howland Group crew got an impressive
amount of work done their first day here.
Still, we were a little shocked by the sight and decided wine
was in order. The Camelot was in the fridge (which currently is resting
comfortably in the living room), so we cracked it to have an “Egads, what have
we done?” drink. You know what? It was perfectly serviceable. It’s certainly on
the low end of the “buttery” spectrum, boasting a little more acidity. There
was oak present, but not in an overwhelming sense. All in all, the Camelot
chardonnay is a perfectly inoffensive, sluggable bottle of wine. I could see it
as a crowdpleaser at a casual party or some such. My expectations were
exceeded, honestly.
I hope we can say the same about the kitchen when all is
said and done. Cross your fingers for us.
See? Cute little teapots! |