Two good wines

Interesting, I think, because they're not from what I normally think of as wine-producing regions.

1. Last night we had my mother-in-law and her boyfriend over for dinner. We recently finished fixing up and selling her house in Arlington, and next week she's going to have the closing and then leave to move in with him outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. To celebrate we got a Domaine Saint Pierre champagne, which is made in Albuquerque. Apparently New Mexico has a small but robust wine industry, and a lot of it is concentrated around Albuquerque, so we hope to go to several when we're out there for Christmas. I'm not a big champagne drinker, but I thought it was good (we had it during a tasting and had already had the first of two bottles we bought). Fruity, not too sweet. What I appreciate most was that it wasn't so carbonated that you couldn't taste the wine itself, which bothers me about some champagnes.

2. This past weekend when we were visiting friends in Maryland, we had a 1995 Cabernet from Lynfred Winery in Illinois. Lynfred has a tasting room in Wheaton, Illinois, where Evan used to to live. We went there a couple years back when I was visiting. I was amazed at how many older wines they had, and how reasonably priced they were. The current wines they produced were great, so it was worth the risk - I got a 1995 for $35! This is the oldest wine I've ever had - sixteen years old. And it was a great bottle. It was one of those Cabernets where there was nothing to remark on in particular. The spicy finish I love was there, but remarkably smooth. Nice tannins and oaking, good fruit. A good wine.