Winos Anonymous

My first entry on this little blog o’ mine was about my go-to Red: the 2007 Goats do Roam from South Africa. Well, I am heartbroken to tell you that I was a little disappointed by the 2008 Vintage, which has a slightly different blending combination (more Syrah.) It was still totally do-able for a wine under 10 bucks, but it just lacked the complexity that I remembered from the 2007 vintage. Anywho, I quickly got over that heartbreak when I was introduced to The Wolftrap- another red blend from South Africa (68% Syrah, 30% Mouvedre, 2% Viognier.) I served it last week at a dinner party and it was a big hit.  First of all, you can find it for under $10 bucks (score!) and honestly it sips like a $17 and up bottle of wine (double score!) It’s sexy, spicy, smoky, meaty, with notes of tobacco, dark chocolate, cherries, black berries. Sip this sucker with some hearty meat or pasta dishes, though it’s lovely enough to sip alone. Cheers!

I had been looking forward to the Canadian Wine Tasting at Whole Foods Venice all week and it did not disappoint. I hate to brag, but I think my Whole Foods is the coolest Whole Foods of all time- we have a wine tasting bar IN THE STORE. (It’s pretty sassy.) Last night’s tasting marks the first time I’ve taken advantage of said wine bar, which is sad… but I know I’ll make up for lost time

I went with my dear friend/Venice resident/Winos Anonymous reader Katie H and she was kind enough to document the occasion:

The Whole Foods Venice wine tasting bar in all its glory.

What’s better than a wine tasting? A wine tasting with free cheese.

Me with the beautiful Katie H!

The tasting was held by Wes Kollar from Decant Wine Events, who was both knowledgeable and fun (you’ll see why later in the post…) (more…)