I am so happy to be bringing you this blog post of 2 of my favorite wines from Naked Winery. I paired them both with a meal you can make at home. This made my culinary soul so happy. I felt like I was back in school taking my cooking exams (I actually enjoyed that part of culinary school) and I think I passed this test with flying colors…. even though it wasn’t a test.
Naked Winery says it best as how to describe their company (About Naked Winery) They started in 2005. And what a community they have built. I visit Bend Oregon often and this is definitely one of the stops I have to make when I am in town. The staff at the location in the Old Mill District is so kind and fun to be around. I actually became friends with 2 of the girls who work their. So shout out to Kennedy and Jess for always making me feel right at home at the Bend location.
I discovered Naked Winery 3 years ago on my 25th birthday. Naked Winery had already been apart of my life because their wine corks were in my center pieces at my wedding! (3 years ago Tuesday we will have been married!). My Aunt had shipped some of their wine corks to me when I was in need of a lot of corks for 12 center pieces for the wedding. I asked my husband if we could make a trip to Bend for my birthday because its my happy place. We were in the Old Mill on my birthday walking around and shopping when we decided to stop in because I had remembered their wine corks. We fell in love with the wine and the vibe of the winery/company. We signed up for our membership right then and their that day. And its been a beautiful love story ever since with Naked Winery.
Naked Winery sent me the Diva Sangiovese and the Making Waves Albarino. The Diva is medium bodied wine, with aromas of pomegranate, and cocoa. The tasting palette is of cranberry with rich oak characteristics. I really enjoyed this Sangiovese as a summer red wine. I am normally very particular to whites and roses in the summer because I can’t handle the heaviness of a red wine in the middle of summer. But I personally did not think it was heavy at all. I really enjoyed it that night. I could have sat on my patio chatting with friends all night with a bottle of this. Summer campfire anyone? The Albarino makes me wish I was on a boat, on a lake just cruising around. It would be a great beach day wine. With aromas of coconut and pineapple. Flavors of ripe melon and juicy peach make it for a great summer wine.
I decided to pair the Sangiovese with zucchini lasagna rolls and the Albarino with a white fish in a wine, tomato basil sauce. Yum! Saturday night we started with the Zucchini Lasagna Rolls and they were so fun to make. I definitely recommend if you make these to make it a date night idea with you and your significant other because the rolling part of the Zucchini is a little time consuming. But I really enjoyed doing it together with my husband. Another way Naked Winery brings people together, good wine, and good food. So open your wine and get to rolling!
I prefer to decant my red wine and I have this super cute decanter that I found on Overstock. I also thought my dog mother wine lover t-shirt was fitting for this occasion as well. If you can spot my dog Brooke in the one picture she is there. She always likes to make an appearance. These zucchini lasagna rolls tasted so good! I always enjoy a lighter version of a pasta dish every so often. This Sangiovese would be great with a meat sauce as well. I made a loaf of garlic bread to go with the lasagna. All I do for garlic bread is cut a good loaf of Italian bread in half, thaw out some salted butter and add a couple of cloves of garlic to it and then spread it on. Heat your oven to 375 and bake for 20 minutes.
On Sunday I made the halibut in a white wine, tomato basil sauce. I was able to cook with the Albarino too because the recipe calls for a 1/4c of white wine. I only ever cook with wine that I would drink. This recipe is super easy, you make the sauce, and then pan fry the fish and finish it in the oven. I roasted some baby potatoes as a side dish. The recipe is for cod but I love halibut so I just switched the type of fish. This recipe also goes well with shrimp or scallop dishes. It is a great summer wine and this is a great summer dish.
I have been truly honored to work with Naked Winery and bring you this post. I am a huge fan of them and I hope you visit them if you are near anyone of their locations in Oregon. They are also opening a spot in Vancouver Washington next fall. I can’t wait to visit it! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Wine mentioned:
Recipes Mentioned:
White fish in a White Wine tomato sauce
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