Grilling Good Eats

By Mike Thayer

I recently joined a wine club and I'm digging it!   Thank you Lori!  Shopping online at my leisure in the comfort of my own home, discovering new and exclusive wines and having them shipped directly to my door = Happiness in Every Sip.  I borrowed that line from WineShop at Home, the club I joined, it's a true statement.  

WineShop At Home, founded in 2005, is headquartered in the legendary Napa Valley. The winery, owned by the Fredrick family of Dallas, Texas, produces award-winning, exclusive, artisan wines across 50 brands.  Their wines have won over 200 awards in national and international wine competions!  And they've got everything to please any wine preference, choose from sweet and bubbly to dry and crisp whites, smooth and supple to bold and intense reds.   WineShop at Home features artisan wines for every occasion, palate and personality.

Included in my last shipment was an excellent white, here's the description from the WineShop at Home website:

Our new Royal Mama Mimi’s Blend is a sweet mix of three different white wine varietals: 44% Chardonnay, 31% French Colombard and 25% Chenin Blanc.  The nose is very aromatic and straightforward, presenting notes of citrus, like lime, lemon and grapefruit. Then, we have warm flavors of toasted brown sugar or caramel. In the mouth, this sweet white blend from California combines all three varietal’s strengths and abilities. Like a mother’s caress, the approach is very smooth with fruit aromas like grapefruit, orange and lemon. A juicy mouthfeel, a hint of acidity, a medium-intensity and a fairly long finish conclude our new Royal Mama Mimi’s Blend.

I have enjoyed all the wines I've sampled so far from WineShop, but this one is my clear favorite.   Having poured a couple glasses for a shrimp dinner Sunday night, my girlfriend and I both took a sip and we were like, "Oh wow, that's good!"  I like this wine because it doesn't come off as sweet, it is indeed very smooth and I'll be including not just one, but a couple more bottles of Royal Mama Mimi's Blend in my next monthly wine club shipment.

Suggested pairings include creamy pasta, Chinese dishes, crab cakes, shrimp or light desserts.  I made shrimp two ways for that aforementioned dinner, a classic lemon and garlic butter preparation, along with a smoked paprika, garlic and bacon preparation.  This wine was a perfect compliment to both dishes. 

The Royal Mama Mimi's Blend is a MUST TRY and I'm giving it 5 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  If I could give it 6 stars I would - it's that good!