I’ve had a sparse pile of mediocrity the last couple of years in the world of wine.  Nothing worth writing about anyway.  I was even excited about a bottle of grapefruit wine I picked up a couple of months ago.  I love grapefruit.  I love wine.  What could go wrong?  I decided to build a fire, sit, relax and enjoy.  I was greeted with a mouthful of tasteless nonsense.  I was so disappointed I didn’t even bother to write down the name of it…and I wasn’t exactly upset that it fell over and half of it spilled out on the ground.

But we’re not talking about that.  We are talking about this!

It all started with my fiance and I settling in to watch Sausage Party.  About 2 min in we figured out we had no idea what we had just chosen to watch.  Animated, swearing groceries with an insane amount of sexual innuendo.  This was about to be awesomely bad.  So bad that my fiance, who doesn’t even drink, announced, “I think this movie is going to need some drinks.”  I immediately sprang into action and hauled ass to the liquor store down the street.  I picked up a variety of things to make sure I got something she liked since she’s not much of a drinker.  A couple of pouches of some sort of frozen something or another, a four pack of Sutter Home Pinot Grigio (the dog loved carrying the little bottles around) and a few cans of Barefoot Refresh in a variety of flavors.  I was mostly intrigued by wine in a tiny can.  Game on!

I cracked this one open (never thought I’d be “cracking open” wine) and immediately rejoiced in my purchasing decision.  Lightly carbonated, crisp, refreshing with hints of berries and citrus.  If summer had an official red wine, that wasn’t Sangria, this would be it.  Bonus points for being travel sized.

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle” I would give this a “It’s an 8.4 ounce can.  Even if it did taste like piss you should be able to power through it.  Luckily, it’s delicious and I should have bought more!” Would I buy it again? Absolutely!  And hopefully it comes in 6-packs.

Final Grade: A-.  Absolutely delicious.  $2.49 for the equivalent of an extra-large glass of wine.  And it comes in fantastic single serve cans that are great for parties, barbecues, movie theaters, parks, etc.  The minus is because it comes in a can and I’m still not sure how I feel about wine coming from a can.

Bonus doggo picture:

Alright, so I’m not quite at monthly posts just yet, but every other month is definitely an improvement!

I recently got promoted to a new position at work.  I was at my previous position for a mere 4 months or so before being promoted.  So I was still learning the company and the job before I got thrown in to this next position.  Needless to say the past couple of weeks I feel like I’m in a constant state of WTF?  I’m plugging along and doing what I can in hopes that everything will eventually click since it seems that no one else really knows much about the position either.  The woman I replaced was the first person in that position and started it from scratch so….that.  Anyway…enough about work things and on to wine things!

As far as 4 letter words that start with “w” I prefer wine over work.  To give you an idea of how stressed and scattered I’ve been I opened up the fridge to find a lonely bottle of white wine.  Typically Moscatos aren’t my thing and far too sweet for my taste, but considering my options were Moscato, Crystal Light Lemonade and a mostly undrinkable hot pepper beer that I picked up because I love beer and hot peppers (they should not mix) Moscato is was!

When I opened the bottle I was surprised that it was bubbly.  Not sure if it’s supposed to be bubbly or if it has just been hiding in my fridge that long.  I don’t even remember where this bottle came from.  It does have a really cute pink label though.  After the initial shock of the bubbles I was greeted with an aroma of pure sweetness.  I looked at my other options and decided that I was still making a good decision.  I took a sip (ok, giant swig) and was pleasantly surprised.  It wasn’t overpoweringly or syrupy sweet as I anticipated.  It was actually relatively light and crisp with hints of peach, nectarine and rose water.  Rose water, that’s something that isn’t used enough in my opinion.

While sweeter than I typically prefer, it paired well with a handful of tortilla chips and some jalapeno cilantro hummus.

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle” I would give this a “It’s actually hitting the spot and I’m pouring my third glass…ok, plastic cup that changes color with cold…because I’m classy lady.” Would I buy it again?  I’d get it again because I feel like it would be really good with some frozen peaches in it.

Final Grade: A.  A solid A. It’s just complex enough to hold my interest and make me want to drink more, but it’s not overpowering or sickeningly sweet.  Ok, maybe an A- because I’m starting to get a sugar headache.  Or maybe it’s from the intense chiropractor session I had earlier.  I didn’t even know that many things in my neck could crack.

I seem to have gotten into the horrible habit of publishing quarterly.  My goal for the rest of the year is to post at least monthly.  With the nicer Spring and Summer months here…well, technically here…the Baltimore area was delighted with a snow storm on the first day of Spring…I’m pretty sure the commitment will be reasonable.  So without further ado, let’s get to some wine!

So after a long day of work, more work, the gym, grocery shopping and cooking so I have real food to eat during lunch the rest of the week, I was in dire need of a glass (ok…multiple glasses) of wine.

My fridge is currently in a state of sadness (prior to grocery shopping I had 3/4 of a case of beer – Yuengling’s Chesterfield Ale – some mustard, pickles, almond milk, hot sauce and some questionable celery).  The only redeeming part of that is the economical, yet delicious beer in there.  I’ll have to write about that in a future post.  Anyway…after sitting on the floor in front of the fridge in defeat, I moved over to the wine rack to find something that spoke to me.  Well hello there Chardonnay…don’t mind if I do!  When in doubt, I grab something with the classiest label.  I liked the minimalistic design approach.

After settling on a Chardonnay, I excitedly opened the bottle and took a huge sniff.  The day’s disappointments and struggles magically melted away.  I was instantly greeted with a crisp, clean, mineral based aroma.  The flavors were of crisp pear, apples and just the slightest hint of oak.  I don’t like overly oaked Chardonnays.  Into the second glass I started picking up subtle hints of caramel.  It went quite well with the store brand light butter microwave popcorn that I decided was my late dinner.  It also paired well with tonight’s episode of NCIS.

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle” I would give this a “It’s not entirely what I was in the mood for, but I am thoroughly enjoying it right now.” Would I buy it again?  It’s a definite maybe.

Final Grade: A strong B+  I don’t LOVE it, but I don’t hate it either.  It’s serving the needed purpose right now.  Today I give it an B+.  Other days, probably a B.

I thought this was great and had to share it.  It combines the two most important food groups:  Pizza and Wine

Enjoy!

Not going to lie, I picked this one up based solely on the bottle.  I couldn’t pass up something called Celeste that has a star map containing some of the most recognizable constellations on the label.  Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus  and Cassiopeia easily talked me into this purchase.  I must say that I have seriously missed going into the local wine shops to discover something new.  Wine clubs are fun…but it takes away from the whole discovery experience.

This particular red poured a beautiful dark color.  Aromas are of leather and blackberries.  That didn’t immediately strike me as appealing and I wasn’t exactly hopeful from that point.  But I was pleasantly surprised when the subtle flavors of blackberries greeted my and then finished with a peppery, herbal tone.  The mouthfeel was lighter than I expected and the flavors in general were not overpowering in any way.  I’d say this is a pretty easy to drink wine.  I may have a second glass this evening while I watch the rest of Definitely, Maybe.  

This would pair well with some dried figs and dry salami and probably some other stuff….but I’m tired and don’t feel like over-thinking food pairings.

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle” I would give this a “Not a bad way to unwind on a Sunday evening after a few pretty intense days.” Would I buy it again?  I wouldn’t be opposed to picking this up again.

Final Grade: B  Easy like Sunday evening.

Notes from the bottle: The wine from our hometown was proudly served on board of the airship “Graf Zeppelin.”  A fruity and spicy wine with accents and tastes of apple, pear, citrus and floral notes.  Clean and fresh with crisp acidity and a tasty finish. 

My thoughts:  Ok, I’m going to be honest.  This is the third bottle of this I have purchased and have meant to review it each time.  It’s so easy to drink that it tends to disappear well before I get the chance to jot down any notes.  I discovered this one at the wine shop around the corner.  I wander in here from time to time when I need something different and need to bounce ideas off of a knowledgable staff.  This choice didn’t need much assistance.  It has a Zeppelin on the label.  I mean, how do you go wrong there? 

Knowing my luck with badass bottles typically equaling craptacular wine, I wasn’t expecting much from this one.  Luckily, the wine is as good as the artwork on the label!  Subtle aromatics hint at apple, pear, and a slight hint of citrus.  It has a surprisingly complex flavor for a wine that is very light tasting.  I don’t even know if that makes sense.  It is very light, crisp and has a bit of spritz to it.  There is a multitude of flavors that combine to make this easy to drink wine.  I gathered hints of apples and pears with a slight aftertaste of honey and maybe apricots?

This pairs well with popcorn and re-runs of Criminal Minds.  Would go really well with some grilled or broiled fish, shrimp, scallops, chicken, vegetable fried rice, or some extra spicy Thai food.  

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle” I would give this a “Third time’s the charm!  I finished almost 3 bottles of this (not in the same sitting!) before I was able to focus and write about it.” Would I buy it again?  I already have!  More than once!

Final Grade: A This is going to be my go to for reasonably priced Reislings ($13-$15/bottle) especially if I have company…and even more if I don’t have company!

Found a pretty decent deal on Living Social for a 6 bottle ($40) or 12 bottle ($80) sampler from Heartwood & Oak. Here’s the link if you’d like to try it out too!
https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/1094331?rpi=160365585&rui=11279635

I did the 6 bottle voucher. If you get one I’d love to hear your thoughts on the wines as well.