Neighborhood Wine Tasting

As I've mentioned countless times, I feel so lucky to have wound up in a neighborhood full of fun, outgoing, socially motivated, creative people. We have so much fun!

Every other month, we get together (rotating hosts) and have Wine Club. Each couple brings two bottles of the same wine and a complimenting appetizer. It's delightful. There's usually a theme: "Argentinian Reds with Latin Appetizers," "Crisp Whites with Light Fare," "Blood and Carnage" (Old Vine Zinfandels with meat-heavy appetizers), etc.

For April, we did "Red Blends with Favorite Appetizers," hosted by the Jordan family.

The Lineup

Because the appetizer direction was loosely defined, we had a wide variety of snacks to nosh on while we sipped, savored, and evaluated our beverages. We did end up with two platters of lamb chops--but NO ONE was complaining. ;) I made my mom, Debbie's recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip (with a couple small modifications). The recipe can be found at the bottom of this post.

Buffalo Chicken Dip*

Blondies:

Michele and Miffy

Grays (one more than the other):

Sean and Greg

Brunettes:

Me and Gretchen

Golden Tones:

Amy and Chris

And to be clear, I did NOT intend to capture the guests in photographs that could be captioned and categorized by hair color! What's up with that? :)

More snacks:

Savory Tarts

We eat well.

Bacon Cheeseburger Puffs

The winner by a landslide, Zerba Cellars "Wild Z" red blend from Walla Walla Valley, Washington ($20/bottle).

The "Bottoms Up" Winner!

No one's favorite: pro-mis-Q-ous ($10/bottle)

Too Sweet!

Looking forward to June Wine Club...
Cheers!

*Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

16 oz. Cream Cheese

1 cup Chunky Bleu Cheese Dressing

1 cup Frank's Hot Sauce

1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

12-15 oz. Rotisserie Chicken meat, shredded

Put everything into a pan and heat until melted, transfer to a chafing dish or small crock pot to keep warm.

Serve with celery sticks or Frito Scoops.