Wine & Dine Wednesday

Wow! Sorry for the lack of blogging....what can I say, life gets busy. Sports, helping kids with homework, family time, new puppy and everything else that goes along with living, well it just gets busy and something has to give... Let me just give you an update on the new puppy-it takes a "village" to raise a child you know but I have to say that goes with a new family pet as well. I mean holy cow! This is exhausting! Maybe I put more pressure on myself than most people to make sure the puppy is cared for, clean, smells good, learns to use the potty outside, etc. But everyone pitches in here to help with the puppy and I am so glad they do because there is no way I could do this by myself!

As I try to get back into a regular somewhat new routine I do plan on sharing on a regular basis once again. There are things I cannot wait to blog about but first I need to wrap them up in order to do just that.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a wine that was so great, I hoped I would never reach the bottom of the bottle....Well, this is another wine that I felt the same about!

Hello! Chocolate Shop in Chocolate Strawberry. It is, of course, a red wine combined with strawberry and chocolate. When you taste it, the chocolate flavor hits you first then the strawberry flavor hits you at the end. It is a sweet wine and small servings is how you want to serve this one.

This one was also a gift from my In-Laws. They are so great to bring me us wine when they travel.  I am sure you could probably find this online somewhere but the other day when I was at World Market they had small bottles in a basket at the cash register so if you are out and about and come across this, please pick it up and give it a try. You will be glad you did!

Wine & Dine Wednesday

The fine wine featured today was a gift from my in-laws. They brought it back to me us from a trip they went on to Savannah, GA. Great place I hear, hope to go there one day!

Anyway, if the name of the wine includes the word "Chocolate" I'm in!

This is the best chocolate wine I have EVER tasted! It does say on the label that it is "THE CHOCOLATE LOVER'S WINE"

It is a red wine with a chocolate flavor.  The wine is sweet and it is only recommended that you drink a small amount at a time, per the guy at the wine store and my father-in-law. And they are correct. By small amount, I mean a couple ounces. One evening, I got carried away and had my usual size drink and it was a little much, my legs were all tingly and it was getting hot in here! Now I have that song in my head...."It's getting hot in here so take off all your....".....sorry I forgot the artist. I do that alot, forget names of songs and artist. You should be here when I try to describe to the Mr. what song I want him to download for me... Wow, where was I?

The back of the bottle states that:

 "it is a deep, ruby red wine blended with rich, velvety chocolate. Inviting aromas of black cherry and dark chocolate combine in the glass and continue on the palate surrounded by hints of cocoa powder"

This is one wine you are going want to try!

**As with all my Wine & Dine Wednesday posts, it is my opinion, I was not asked nor was I compensated to write this post.

Wine & Dine Wednesday

The feature today...Fancy Pants from Target.

Cute label, it is a 2010 vintage, red wine.

This has a very fruity flavor, almost too fruity. This is one that you may not want to drink alot  at once...too sweet too fast means major headache for me. Just a warning!

It is not the best but it is still very drinkable, just in small amounts...

Check out my cute wine bottle topper!

This was a Christmas present last year from my In-Laws and so I thought since Christmas isn't that far away I should bring this baby out and show it off! Heck, I might even leave it out all year long. After all, drinking wine is a little gift at the end of the day...am I right?! Oh and it has a little battery so it lights up too! How cute!!

Wine & Dine Wednesday!

Today this feature is well, lacking.

While the label attracted me to this bottle, what was inside turned me off really fast. But as you can see the bottle is almost empty so apparently the Mr. liked it?

We purchased this wine from Target a few months ago and it is for sure the worst one we have ever bought from there, in my opinion.

It lacks in the aroma and taste. Not a good mix of flavors if you ask me so next time I will pass on the Junebug.

Wine & Dine Wednesday

  We purchased this wine from World Market. The flavors of this wine are a mixture of black fruit, berries and plum with a hint of smoky spice. The bottle states that this wine is a perfect compliment to slow-roasted pork or ribs. 

This wine is not one that I would try again. I tried it before dinner and during, pasta, and it was not a good combination. I know that not pairing your wine with the correct dish can end with a horrible taste in your mouth (yes, pun intended!). Let me just say the remaining wine in my glass went down the drain.

If you try this one, try it with the suggested pork.

Wine & Dine Wednesday

Happy Hump Day! I am so happy to be able to share this wine with you guys! The Mr. picked out this bottle at World Market. It is a blend of wines, which in my book, is a great choice.

This wine is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot and 10% Syrah (the other, where is the name comes from).  It is a 2010. For those not familiar with Syrah, it is a specific grape variety indigenous to France. For some time now growers in California and Washington state have been adding Syrah to their varieties, which has increasingly become popular.

Syrah is a thick skinned berry and almost black in color. It forms a deep, intense nearly black color of wine. The flavor is very rich, spicy and often has intense alcohol strength. The Syrah is often described as "lavish" or "voluptuous" and even on the back of this bottle is says it is "tastefully seductive" and "sin-sually delicious".  If you have not tried a wine with this variety of grape, I would suggest you try it.

Speaking of Merlot....

I purchased this at a local store at the beach. I just could not resist!

Wine & Dine Wednesday

Today I was thinking that I would share a few random wine related items with you. Since stocking up on wine, I have not really been drinking it. I finished up the Bitch wine and I have not yet opened another bottle. But I have my eye on one bottle I know I will be testing out first!

These items I came across a while ago and thought they were worth sharing. Anyway, on to wine related items:


Bicycle Wine Rack
This is so cute and if you live in the city and a bicycle is your form of transportation, I would say this is a must. This assures safe arrival of your gift to the party or hostess.

 
Hootch-Owl Corkscrew
Owls are all the rage these days, plus I think this is so cute! I added this to my "want" list.


Personalized Wine Cellar Sign
I love this! I know exactly where this would go in my kitchen! It is pricey,  maybe this will go on my "one day" purchase list...

This cute bicycle wine bottle holder was given to us years ago by my in-laws. I love this, seeing it out on the counter just makes me smile, I love having little things like that around our home.

Hope you guys have a wonderful Wednesday!
I will leave with this....

"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance." -Ben Franklin

So true Ben Franklin, so true!

Wine & Dine Wednesday

We picked this bottle of wine up in Asheville, you can read more about that trip here. We had to purchase this bottle based strictly on the label, I mean come on wouldn't you? You normally never see a pink label much less one that is named Bitch on a wine bottle. I have searched the website on the bottle only to not really get anywhere so I am not sure where to tell you to purchase this or  to even provide you guys more info. So I photographed the labels and if you are really interested I guess you could call the number on the bottle. Clearly when you see an interesting label on wine buy it and enjoy it, at least that is my plan!

 

 

 

When I opened the bottle and went for a glass I thought the only glass appropriate to drink from would be the high heel glass, it just seemed fitting.

The wine has a robust flavor yet very smooth, not to dry. A very pleasant taste actually. I was surprised just how good it is. On our next trip I plan on stopping by and grabbing another bottle!

Wine & Dine Wednesday

Napa Cellars 2010 Napa Valley Merlot has a great flavor combination, one that we had not yet experienced before. This wine taste of plum, coffee and chocolate with flavors of blackberries and spice.

I have to say that this one was a must when I heard "coffee & chocolate"!

It was smooth to have so many flavors and we enjoyed this bottle with red meat & stews.

I am starting to think that I only have one wine glass, I promise I have more, but apparently this one fits well in my hand and is the glass of choice.

Hope you are having a good week!

Wine & Dine Wednesday

Hello! It's Wednesday!

Today I am sharing another new favorite wine!

As I have stated previously, Gervasi Vineyard is amazing! Each wine that my husband and I have tasted is smooth and full of flavor. One of the best I must say!

The Abbraccio is a new one for us and let me tell you that it is also a great wine if not my new favorite from this vineyard! I think the reason that it is a new favorite is because of all the fruit flavors this one offers. Flavors of black currant, plum and black cherry.

I imagine that this wine would pair well with any meat or fish but for us, we almost finished up the bottle while I was preparing dinner! It is that good! If you notice there is only a small bit in the bottom of my glass, I almost forgot to take a photo!

Hope you are having a great week!

Anyway, have you tried any new wines lately?

Wine & Dine Wednesday

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I were able to have a Saturday and Sunday all to ourselves. Thank you Papa & Nana!

On this day we did some shopping and had a great dinner uptown. I love walking in the city and this was no exception, I love this city!

To finish a great day, we had a great date night  with drinks and dinner at RiRa Irish Pub.

For starters we enjoyed drinks and nachos. My husband enjoyed beer while I enjoyed THE BLACKBERRY. Let me just say that this is one of the best drinks I have had in a while. This is one of those drinks that you can drink ALOT and not fully feel the effects until you stand up, it is that good and smooth! You just wanna keep drinking one after the other! Anyway, I only had two but like I stated previously I could have had more and would have liked to but I knew we had the entire night to ourselves and wanted to make sure I was able to carry on an intellegent coversation and enjoy our time together.

With all the mint growing in our raised beds, this is one drink I will be able to enjoy the entire summer in my own backyard, Horray!!!

After drinks we had dinner, my husband had the Jameson Glazed Tips and I had the Chopped Salad. Both were very good and we would order them again.

So the next time you are uptown, try RiRa Irish Pub. You'll be glad you did!

Have you been to any fabulous restaurants lately?

Wine & Dine Wednesday



Welcome to another post about wine!

For us, this one has only been enjoyed on special occasions such as anniversaries, etc. When we visit a favorite restaurant this is the bottle we purchase to go with our meal. After looking Markham up online, it is much cheaper to order online than purchase at the restaurant!

Markham is a full flavor wine, yet smooth, vanilla, boysenberry flavors complimented by oak and  roasted nut.

We love this wine with seafood and steak and as a nightcap.

Again, this one ranks as one of the best I have ever tasted,  we try to make it last as long as we can but the taste is fabulous and so smooth that it never last in our house!

What is your favorite wine?