Ah, I've been a BIG fan of malbec since we first had a bottle of Alamos at a birthday dinner at Saffron (RIP) years ago. Probably my favorite wine now...

The sandwich in the picture looks delicious! Also, there appears to be ham on the sandwich as well yet he doesn't mention it.

Forget Argentina. Go to the Wine Source and purchase the Cahors from CLOS LA COUTALE. This is the original home of Malbec and still the best place to grow the grapes. Extremely food friendly especially with beef (the perfect match to a burger). Take a bottle along to a BYOB Mexican place and order steak fajitas. Wonderful match.

I work near the Rosina's on Water Street. We refer to their Traditional Italian sandwich as the "crack sandwich" because it's so addicting. It is rather pricey, but soooo worth it. If you eat in, they give you a delicious little pasta salad or green salad with your sandwich. Yum.

Unrelated note, does anyone have any restaurant recommendations in Pittsburgh?? Travelling for the big game this weekend, and we'd like to go somewhere nice on Saturday night. Any tips would be appreciated!

From Rob Kasper's column: Cherry flavors with a hint of chocolate could be found in this well-behaved but slightly shy red.

Don't you love reading wine reviews?

Well, in Pittsburgh, you really should try Primanti Brothers:

http://www.primantibrothers.com/

CantonKate, where abouts are you staying? I'd be more than happy to recommend something for you.

We're staying at the Doubletree, which is supposedly right downtown, near Heinz Field.

Thanks!!

Haven't had malbec yet, because my wine club hasn't sent me any.

But I have had an excellent Argentine Bonarda called Finca DuBois.

Its dark, red, and tastes real good. How is that for a review Bucky?

Kevin Cowherd has a story about Primanti Brothers sandwiches. Something about french fries on the sandwich and needing a jackhammer to clear your arteries.

Also, an interesting place to eat is the Church Brew Works:

http://www.churchbrew.com/

A less-than-stellar website, but sort of cool - note that the altar has been replaced by the brewery!

http://www.churchbrew.com/CBWInside.jpg

If you can make your way to the Strip District I would definitely recommend Primanti's. Penn Brewery isn't far away, local brewery and restaurant. Olive or Twist is a martini bar with a bit more upscale (read expensive) menu.

Sean - I love Alamos!

I'm a very big fan of Malbecs - both the taste and the price. I like a nice cheap wine.

I'd recommend Altos las Hormigas - it's something like $8.99 and really very good.

And that's about as sophisticated a wine review as I'm capable of.

PCB Rob- "dark, red, and tastes real good." I love your wine review! That's exactly what I'm looking for in a wine and really all the info I need. I can figure out all the flavors, textures, etc. myself when I'm drinking it.

PCB Rob - yeah, that's about all I need to buy a bottle of wine. But I still like reading wine reviews. I usually end up thinking, "I wish I could write like that."

this well-behaved but slightly shy red.

If I sat in front of a keyboard all day, I couldn't construct a phrase like that.

Bucky, my sister belongs to a wine-tasting group in the Bay area (that's California, not Chesapeake). The very first tasting she attended, she took a sip and thought "skunky--can I call a wine skunky?" She was happy to later read that "skunky" is indeed on the list of approved wine descriptors.

Dahlink - Oh, there's a list of descriptors. Maybe that's why I can't write like that. I lack the tools. I always thought it was just imagination applied to vocabulary.

A friend of mine used to take a sip of wine and then declare "effervescent, yet herbivorous!"

I agree with the genreal consensus regarding wine descriptions. All I really want to know is that it is reasonably priced, and doesn't taste skunky (Is it me, or does anyone else get a visual of PePe Le Pew when they hear that word?) But honestly, I can't wait to be able to use "this well behaved but slightly shy red" next time I am in the company of others!

CantonKate - Have a GREAT time at the Ravens game! Represent Baltimore! Next stop, Super Bowl (fingers crossed).

Alamos is great, and pretty cheap at places like Beltway or the Wine Source. Los Cardos, featured on the left of the photo, is also quite tasty and cheap. For a bit more money, Ben Marco is wonderful - and I love the vintner's name, Pedro Marchevsky.

Apologies for the lengthy post, but this is a must-read review of the aforementioned Cahors from CLOS LA COUTALE:

"05 Clos la Coutale, Cahors

There are only a few occasions that this wine is meant for. Divorce. Boar hunting. Winning the world hot dog eating contest in record time. Which might make it a natural for some holiday tables, but not mine. No, a three-seat round table overlooking the city won't do. Nevermind the candles and Edith Piaf. This is a wine that begs chaos. Children wearing cranberry jam hats. A Bruno Magli in the television. Mashed potatoes and brown gravy in the ceiling fan. Spinning. Spinning around. Something inspired by a trip lost in the wilderness, camping out beneath the dead leaves, squeezing the last desperate drops of water from cantaloupe-sized balls of elephant dung. (If someone ever asks you about terroir, point out the part in this note that mentions elephant dung.) Pretend you just befriended a pack of wolves with a pot roast and then skinned them to keep yourself warm. That's what this wine smells like. It's mature and dusty, earthy and leathery. Like an old matchbook and crushed cigarette pestled into your Wranglers. It's for the time your waiter asks you, "How would you like your steak?" And you answer, "Genuflecting." But come on; what little Cahors makes it to the States is pretty great. So why Coutale? Because it straddles the Venn Diagram between so many wines in this area--not just neighboring "Bordeaux," but several of its appellations, from the chocolate-blueberry St. Emilion to minerally St. Julien. The fruit--smothered by tannins--is plummy like the grenache of Languedoc. And the strangest odor of discount air freshener (fine, call it potpourri) wafts from the tight tannins. I've only ever gotten that from a few bottles of old Bordeaux. It's aggressive, difficult, and opens up to relatively simple (but sweet, delicious) fruit. Don't take this to a dinner party. Unless you have the kind of friends who serve kangaroo."

Not sure if the reviewer liked the wine or not...

sean - yeah, I can't write like that, either.

Cahors, sometimes referred to as the black wine, poor man's Bordeaux, is controversial. It can be a good value but definitely not for everybody. Unlike Malbec from say Argentina they are tend to be very tannic and and not as approachable for the general masses.

A note about Pittsburgh ... cabs are notoriously hard to come by in Pittsburgh in the evenings, when you want to leave the bar/restaurant. Having the bartender/maitre'd call one for you is the best route. But walking is an even better idea -- I'd stick with that!

I drink a bottle of Clos La Coutale several times a month. Unlike the black wines of old this wine is very drinkable. Dan D is right in that it is not a generic, factory made, uninteresting wine but I assume that members of the sandbox are looking for new and interesting wines just like they are looking for new and interesting foods. Go to the Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant web site and search for Clos La Coutale and read about the wine for yourself. Or better yet do as I suggested earlier and go to the Wine Source and buy a bottle. Be a little adventerous. Drink outside the box.

EEL, Last time I drank The Cahors was a few years back. I actually picked out three different bottles to try out of curiosity. I did find them to be wines of substance. It was probably not the one you mentioned (I got them from Beltway) but I'll take your word for it. Next time I go the the Wine Source I'll pick one up.

Thanks for the Pittsburgh tips everyone! We made it to the Primanti Bros. original restaurant, and the sandwich was AWESOME. Also, at the game we kept smelling something absolutely delicious, and when we investigated at halftime, we found the most delicious italian sandwich stand right in our section. We split an Italian Sausage and a Meatball Sub, and I think they might have been the best two sandwiches I've ever had. In summation, I am not a fan of Pittsburgh football or weather or anything else really, but the sandwiches are fantastic.

Go Cardinals! (next best thing to my Ravens in Tampa)

Come on CantonKate! The least you can do to show your appreciation for Sixburgh's fantastic sandwiches is to cheer for the old Black and Gold!

Pride > Sandwiches

Way to show that Purple Pride CantonKate!

Sandwiches > Ravens!