Inwood Estates "Cornelious" Tempranillo

Wine with Bar-B-Que?

ABSOLUTELY!

My Dear Hubby brought home Bar-B-Que from Red, Hot, & Blue (www.redhotandblue.com ). Which is a chain restaurant, and pretty good; not overly smokey meat; with a nice selection of sauces to choose from.

I got to thinking…what would Inwood Estates 2007 Tempranillo ( www.inwoodwines.com ), aka “Cornelious”, be like with a smokey brisket slathered in a mildly spicy, sweet sauce? 

To me, Dan Gatlin’s (the owner-winemaker of Inwood) Tempranillo is like a “Bar-B-Que in a glass”. This wine is full of smoke, leather, plum, and vanilla. It is a very bold Tempranillo and it is all Texas grown grapes. Tempranillo is originally from Spain and does very well in Texas.

This wine was very good with the brisket. It brought out a little more of the pepper in the meat and complimented the little bit of the smoke that was in the meat as well as the sauce.

Next, I tried it with the fried okra. Believe it or not…it enhanced the earthy, seasoning salt flavor that I have never noticed before. I have always enjoyed Red, Hot & Blue’s fried okra…But Oh, My! I’m in Love!

I “cleansed” my palate with the coleslaw. It is very mild and light with cabbage, celery and very little mayonnaise.

The baked beans were very smooth tasting with the Tempranillo. Sometimes the beans can be overly sweet and rich; but this wine made them just right.

The last and best; were the honey glazed rolls…Oh My Lord!…Take Me Now…Cause I Am in Heaven!

The wine really enhanced the honey-richness on the rolls. I could have eaten a dozen rolls and drunk a whole bottle of  wine.

So that’s my take on Bar-B-Que and Inwood’s “Bar-B-Que in a Glass” Tempranillo.

I have only two negatives with this wine: first is that it is so bold, it needs food to temper it and second, it is a little pricey at around $40. But if you stay with cheap “sporkable” food; you can splurge on the wine.