Winos Anonymous

I feel as if I have been to Mecca, fellow winos. You see, ever since I was a little wino I’ve always dreamed of tasting in Sonoma and Napa Valley and though it was a very short trip, it exceeded my expectations.

Last week while visiting Beau’s family in Marin, we took a day trip up to Sonoma with my friend Meg from Carr Winery and her beau, Scot. Our first stop was a sparkling house- Gloria Ferrer. The great thing about Gloria Ferrer (aside from their yummy bubbly) is that (more…)

Last weekend Beau and I went to go visit his family and I bought a bottle of Domaine Carneros Brut by Tattinger to get the party started before family dinner. It was a massive hit with the whole family, received 91 points from Wine Spectator, and is a steal at around $22. This sparkling wine is a blend of Carneros Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes made in the elegant style of Tattinger (without the Tattinger price tag, of course.) As far as tasting notes go, there are notes of creamy meyer lemon and green apple with a nice minerality and a crisp, refined perlage. Pair it with some Cowgirl Creamery cheese (like we did) and you will be in HEAVEN. Plus, Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and this wine would be the PERFECT way to celebrate (even if your celebration is under a snuggie getting drunk on your own watching 30 Rock DVDs, in which case I applaud you.)

After a seemingly endless bout of sickliness, I made my triumphant return to drinking, only to hate the two wines I had planned on tasting/blogging about. Finally, I have something at least worth mentioning: (more…)

Just in time for New Years Eve, I would like to share some yummy bubbly I tried over my Christmas vacation- The Graham Beck 2007 Brut Rose Méthode Cap Classique, which is a South African sparkling wine made from 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay grapes. It was a beautiful pink color with a wonderful taste- strawberries and a little earthy funk from the Pinot Noir and a little creaminess from the Chardonnay. I loved it, and it’s a steal at $15 bucks. Pick some up for your New Years Eve party- it will be a huge hit!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR, WINOS! I hope 2010 brings you health, happiness, love, and lots of delicious wine!

My dear winos, Mama Wino fell ill this weekend and as such I was unable to have the lavish weekend of tastings I had planned (I even had to cancel my day trip to Santa Barbara- big sad face.) I did, however, rally to go to ONE tasting, a sparkling wine tasting at Elvino. Though I was quite the hurtin’ puppy… I dragged myself there so I wouldn’t let you or my “Champagne Whore” of a mother down (that’s her own self-appointed title, by the way- I was determined to pick out a nice bottle for her for Christmas.) There were three lovely sparkling wines (can’t call them Champagne as they are not made in the Champagne region, as you may or may not know…) You will see the word “Cremant” used in this post, and it simply means a wine made in the same painstaking, strict manner as Champagne (but again… because they aren’t produced in the region of Champagne, they can’t be called Champagne.)

First up was the Huber & Bleger Cremant d’Alsace “Brut” Rose NV from Alsace, France. It had a lovely mineral quality about it with notes of rose petals- just a really, really lovely bottle of Sparkling wine. (This is the wine I chose for my mother… I’ll have you know. So yes, I deemed it lovely enough to please the “Champagne Whore.”) It’s available starting at $21/bottle, so it won’t break the bank if there’s a special Champagne Whore in your life you’d like to give this to.

Next up was (more…)