International Tempranillo Day Texas Style!

Any celebration that combines the opportunity for me to put on my favorite pair of boots and drink a really nice glass of wine works for me!

Thursday November 12, 2015 is International Tempranillo Day and this year we are doing it Texas Style!

This year we are celebrating with the wine makers at Texas Fine Wine which includes Duchman 
Family Winery, Brennan Vineyards, Bending Branch Winery and Pedernales Cellars. Brennan Wines and Pedernales Wine sent us samples for this celebration. 

Over this past week talking to people about International Tempranillo Day a number of them responded "Awesome! Now I have to go google Tempranillo". Admittedly, Women Who Wine* enjoy getting together with friends over a nice glass of wine but often times the conversation goes a little like this: 

"What wine would you like tonight?"
"Do you have Red?"
"Yes"
"Ok Good. I'll take the Red one" (or the white one - typically people either lean Red or lean White)

So, we may not all be wine experts but we do enjoy wine. 

This week we will kick up our boots and take a virtual tour of Texas Wine Country for International Tempranillo Day. I have been to Texas on a number of occassions but never realized there was a "Hill Country". Here is a great video about the Hill Country Wine Trail:






As far as Tempranillo it is a red wine that comes from Spain and so it pairs nicely with Tapas. According to Wine Folly Tempranillo pairs nicely with any tomato based foods. For some Women Who Wine who are not big foodies and not great cooks this is good news because Lasagna or Pizza are in that catagory. 

Another great pairing is Tempranillo and Polenta. 

A super easy Polenta solution (I don't really use the word recipe because it's not really cooking):

1 package Polenta
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
fresh grated parmesan cheese

Slice the polenta into rounds. 
Place 2 to 3 rounds on a microwave safe salad plate.
Artfully place a spoonful or two of your favorite spaghetti sauce over each polenta round. 
Microwave for a minute or two.
Make sure the polenta is heated to your desired temperature (this requires tasting)
Add a sprinkle of freshly ground parmesan.
Serve with Tempranillo.

While this may not be the most sophisticated pairing you can find some great recipes on any one of the Texas Fine Wine websites.

Follow them on Twitter:

@TexasFineWine

@DuchmanWinery

@BrennanWines

@BBranchWinery

@PedernalesWine

If you want to know more about Tempranillo (or any other wine) check out the new book by Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine




* Some Women Who Wine are extremely sophisticated wine connoiseurs and gourmet cooks. But it is not a requirement to be able to enjoy a nice glass of wine with your friends. You don't even have to be a connoiseur to know what you like. But we'll save that conversation for another day.