You may or may not have seen the "snow" last Tuesday in the San Antonio area.  As I left work, they were these thick half snow half ice things floating in the air, but by the time I hit Highway 151 it was mainly drizzle.  The roads were wet but not Northern tier treacherous that they could have been.  It was, however, cold and damp.  As Angie was driving home, she called and said it was grilled cheese and soup weather.

I was looking over this month's wine club selection and had already decided to open the 2008 Queen of Hearts Pinot Noir.  Actually, by the time she called it was open, breathing and I had a taste. 

Queen of Hearts is one of the brand names used by Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards.  L&L has three vineyards located in different areas of Santa Barbara Country: Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and Los Alamos Valley.  Hence, the grape origin listed on the bottle is simply Santa Barbara County.   All three valleys, according to the L&L web page,  run from the coastal mountains to the Pacific and result in warm days and cool nights. 

The tasting notes list aromas of blackberry, black cherry and cola.  I got the dark cherry immediately, but the wine had to sit a spell for the cola to come out.  Flavors were definitely Pinot cherry and strawberry.  The initial few seconds of the taste gave an impression of sweetness as it evolved into nice red fruit flavors on the mid palate.  It has a good finish with berry and a light tannin and acid edge.  The winery calls the Queen of Hearts their fun and affordable line.  I agree with that assessment.

Ang brought home soup in a jar:  La Madeleine Tomato/Basil;  The grilled cheese was brie (no wrapped processed slices here) on an onion roll.  The wine worked on both counts for me. 

Queen of Hearts 2008 Pinot is good food wine but would be an ideal choice for sitting at the wine bar, hanging out with friends.  It's a ready to drink wine that doesn't need much air to bring out the Pinot flavors.  Oh, by the way, the photo was not retouched.  That's an old fashioned recipe of lightly blackened grilled cheese.  Ok!  The pan was a little too hot, and we didn't have anymore buns...