This weekend one of my dearest friends was in town to visit me and to attend Somerville Open Studios.  We had a grand time.  Mudpie joined us for some of the activities and we joined both Drunk Mama and Mudpie for our weekly wine tasting at Menotomy Beer and Wine in Arlington.  When trying to decide which restaurants to take my friend to on her visit I told her that it was hard for me to choose because my favorite restaurants were those that reminded me of home.  For example, Hungry Mother Restaurant in Cambridge was named after Hungry Mother State Park just down the road from where my friend lives in Virginia and where I use to live.  It combines Virginia Appalachian fare with French techniques.  My friend told me that we never actually eat Virginia Appalachian food while in Virginia except for those visits to our parents’ homes or closer to the truth our grandparents’ homes.  She was very excited to try this restaurant out on her last night in town.  Per usual it was perfection.  I will save the restaurant review for a forthcoming post when Drunk Mama will give the low down on this restaurant as it is one of her favorites.

Instead of a review I wanted to share a new wine to me that I found at the restaurant.  I usually have a hard time ordering a bottle of wine at a restaurant because you order it first prior to picking your entrees.  Also, everyone at the table must share it and agree to the choice.  This was the case Sunday night.  My friend is not an avid red wine drinker because it usually gives her headaches but she did want red wine with dinner since the food called for it.  So what do you order when one person is eating beef, the other a pasta dish and appetizers of fried chicken and boiled peanuts? I was worried but she gave me some choices to work with.  She liked merlots and cabernet sauvignons and I wanted to steer clear of the big reds that I usually drink because they would overpower the delicate flavors that I was anticipating.  I chose this wine: Neil Ellis The Left Bank 2008 Red Wine from South Africa. Cabernet-Shiraz-Merlot blend from South Africa. It was so smooth, light, and yet had a full body.  It was just slightly earthy with just the right amount of red fruit with very deep violet color.  Turns out it was the perfect wine with both of our meals.  The perfect wine to share among friends. See what I did there?  I just tied a blog post to the blog name.  Bonus points!