We are thankful

that someone didn't get an eye poked out....

I sit here among family and friends utterly stuffed and uncomfortable and blissfully happy.
We are preparing to sip a Bevlamo Moscato Rosato. This is an Italian Spumante. It is a beautiful sweet Italian sparkling wine. I originally intended to purchase a Greek or Spain sparkling, but will save that for Decemeber. This bottle was a gift from a friend for my recent promotion, and traveled from my house, to another friend's, then back to here - so, it's begging to be imbibed.
When we uncorked it, the cork hit the ceiling, bounced off and landed in a candle splashing wax all over the place.
We laughed, sipped and decided we are going to drink this for New Year's eve as well. We all enjoyed the flavor. It's sweet, light, fruity, gently bubbly, and fun. Everyone loved it.
I should've taken a picture of the bottle as it is quite lovely. It's a pretty rosy pink with gold letters and foil and would make a great gift as well.
I'm off to prepare for Black Friday with sweet wine on my lips and dreams of big savings and lots of Christmas purchases.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Blessings

Thursday snuck up on me this week. It's been quite a challenging few days. So, when I realized it was Thursday and I needed to blog about a wine, I decided I don't have the time or inclination to go retail searching for a label that catches my eye. Instead the plan was to just pick something pretty out of my wine rack and hope for something good. Actually, my hubby picked it. It's a W.B. Bridgman 2008 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine hails from Walla Walla, Washington. Evidently back in the early 1900's, W.B. was one of the first to introduce European wine grapes to Washington. I gotta say, he did a good job.

We served it with barbecued chicken, brown rice and a spring mix salad. The label recommends the typical red meat dishes, which of course we did not do.

The color is beautiful - deep and dark and it had a fruity-tart bouquet. When it first hit my tongue, I thought for a moment it was going to be peppery. But the flavor quickly turned in smooth, velvety, almost smokey lingering finish. I really liked it. My hubby purchased this recently at Total Wine, and guesses he spent between $15-$20.

This wine is a keeper. It would be a great gift as it's a nice looking label - classy, expensive looking. My phone broke so I can't take a picture of it.

All I wanted tonight was to taste a lovely, smooth, velvety wine and end my week (I'm off tomorrow) on a beautiful note. And that did occur. Actually it's occurring as I type sip on this wonderful wine. I named this blog "Blessings" because tonight, not only did I want a nice lovely wine to sit down with, but I wanted to count my blessings too. Like I said, it's been a rough week with many stressors that at times felt like circling wolves. But as I ponder all the wonderful family, friends, and love that I have in my life, I can sit back and sip my beautiful wine and know that those wolves are no match for me - they are like the buzzing of flies.

Next Thursday, I will be much more prepared and daring. I mentioned in a prior blog that maybe it's time to look at sparkling or champagne. I want to try one from either Spain or Greece. There's gotta be something out there.

Until then....Cheers and don't forget to count your blessings.

About that Burgundy...

So on my way home from work I stopped at Total Wine and purchased a bottle of Bourgogne Hautes Cotes De Beaune 2008 for $19.99 plus tax.

I made it home and opened the bottle anticipating the "seductive gracefulness" I read about.

I have to note that most of the Burgundy wines were quite pricey with an average price of more than $30.00. I'm thinking maybe I should've spent more. As I recall the cheapest bottle was $8.99 and the more expensive was close to $100.00.

Lets break down the verbage first. Bourgogne is French for Burgundy. The Hautes Cotes... is a subregion of the Burgundy wine region. So yes, it's just location.

Here's the wine notes I looked up online...

"The 2008 Hautes Côtes de Beaune is youthful and enticing on the nose, with beautifully soft red cherry and strawberry notes along with a hint of pepper and some earthy tones. The palate is dry with balanced acidity and soft, low tannins. Medium body and soft yet focused fruit with pure red berries in abundance and a soft, vanilla edge."

It also suggested pairing with chicken or meaty fish dishes. Well, we are actually going by that this evening and serving it with salmon. I don't know that salmon exactly qualifies as a meaty fish, but it's the closest thing I have.

I'm trying to reserve final judgement for when I have this wine with my meal because on first taste. I was hoping for more.

I knew it was going to be light, because as I poured the wine, it's visibly clear. It's lighter than most of the Pinot Noirs' I typically drink. This wine is made primarily from the Pinot Noir grape - which is what the Burgundy region is known for. I took the first sip before any food touched my tongue. It hit my palate well initially with cherry, strawberry and pepper notes (pretty much in that order), but the tartness is bit too much and caused the muscles in my mouth to tighten up. That's weird, but I don't know how else to describe it. And there was no vanilla to be found.

As I drank the wine with dinner, it was a bit more pleasant - no more of the tightness. However, I let my son finish the bottle and I switched to the Shriaz that my hubby was drinking. He gave up on the Burgundy after the first sip.

Would I buy it again?? Uhhhh, no. But I'm glad I tried it.

I did mention in the last blog that there may be plenty to celebrate. I just found out that I am receiving a promotion which will take me to Arizona. It won't be for a bit, but I am so very excited at the opportunity. So next Thursday will likely include champagne or sparkling wine.

Until then...Cheers!!

Moving On....

We did not polish off the bottle of the Cab Sauvignon from Williamsburg Winery. So, again a bottle of wine has been left to the hotel maids (this is the 2nd time - see the Idaho blog). Oh well, it's a small sacrifice to the Wine Gods. I hope they enjoy it.

Nor did I find any info on the wine label online. Actually, I didn't even look. I've moved on and looking forward to this Thursday's pick. I can tell you right now it will be a French wine. I'm thinking Burgundy. I believe I noted in a prior blog I read something about "seductively graceful". Those are beautiful words and I want to try the wine they were referring to.

So, I'm off to find a Burgundy. I have a feeling there will be much to celebrate on Thursday. Exciting news is on the horizon.

Until then....Cheers!

Williamsburg Wine

Well, my 2 wonderful coworkers agreed to share the wine with me. Luckily they are also my friends, so we will definitely have a good time.

We sipped a glass of wine and talked about work. It seems that somehow, most work problems can be solved with an open mind and a glass of wine.

The wine was a Williamsburg Winery Cabernet. It retails for $11.99. Unfortunately, I left the bottle in their hotel room so I don't have any label specifics. If I can find the info online, I will include it when I get home on Saturday.

Some of the descriptive words my friends used were smokey, mild, metallic. One of them said it smelled like smoked ham. I didn't quite get that, but this was an ok wine for me. It started off great, but had a tartness at the end that was mildly unpleasant. I think this wine craves food and would likely be well complimented with a roast or something off the grill.

Would I buy it again?? I'm not sure. We are going to polish off the bottle tomottow night. I'll decide then.

So until tomorrow. Cheers!

Where there's a will, there's a wine.

Well, this Thursday I will find myself in Williamsburg, Virginia. What a globe trotter I've become.

I will do my best to blog on a Williamsburg wine. Actually, there is a very nice winery in Williamsburg that I tried several years ago. I remember there were several red and white varietals, but I most vividly remember enjoying one of the whites.

I think I will go to Total Wine and purchase a bottle of some type of Williamsburg wine to take with me to the hotel.

I love the company I work for, but often when we travel, we have to room with coworkers, as will be the case with this trip. My roommate will likely think I'm a bit nuts to go off to blog about a wine in the middle of the evening, but I'm not sure what else I can do.

So, I will sign off with thoughts of lovely Williamsburg wine.

Until Thursday..Cheers!!