Evolution

Much wine has been consumed over the course of the last week as there has been much to celebrate.  I've mentioned previously that my husband just retired and we've had a lot of family here to celebrate with us for his several retirement parties.
So, during this time of celebration - several glasses - actually several bottles of wine have been consumed.  This is where the evolution began.  While sitting with my 2 sister in laws and my daughter at Matchbox restaurant in DC and sipping a lovely white wine (btw-FABULOUS restaurant) - the thought occurred to me that I need to start blogging about the wines I have while at restaurants.  I've found that I truly enjoy trying different wines while dining out - but inevitably, I forget the details of the wine.  Case in point, I had some type of Austrailian white wine.  It was a blend of some type - but I can't remember the specifics except that it was an ok wine, but nothing spectacular.   I told my lunch buddies my idea about blogging on the wines and everyone thought it was a great idea.
The next day, while shopping, my thoughtful daughter bought me a beautiful journal which fits perfectly into my purse so I can take wine notes.  What a thoughtful child I have raised.  Later that day, we had lunch at Applebees.  I had a Barefoot Chardonnay.  Guess what?  It was really nice.  It was $4.99 per glass.  It was served very cold - probably colder then recommended for whites - but I was very plesantly surprised by it's gentle flavor and will buy a bottle for my wine rack on my next visit to pretty much any store.  I've seen Barefoot wines hundreds of times, at Walmart, Safeway, Giant, etc.  but never tried it.  My bad.  It's a nice, low cost bottle.
I want to touch base on some of the fun wines we had this weekend.  Again, while celebrating retirement life, a dear friend brought over 2 very cool bottles from Traders Joe's.  Both were less than $10.00. Both were very flavorful and easy to drink.  The House Wine is a blend of Cab Sav, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Zinfandel, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot.  It's from Washington state and is quite impressive.
The other is about the coolest bottle I've ever seen.  As you can see, it has a happy face.  Nothing else on the front - on the back the label reads Project Happiness Syrah California.   Both were fun wines and perfect for our celebratory mood.  Truth be told, we drank them like water.
So, next week will be my Boston Qualifiers "Gnarly" Pinot Grigio.  Can't wait for that - and will be serving it up with some talapia.  I have high expectations.  I'm still wondering about the whole stone fruit thing - haven't googled that yet, but will have some fun facts about that next week.
I will also be blogging on some phenomenal wines I had tonight at an outstanding place called Evo Bistro.  I have lots to say about it but want to collect my thoughts a bit before I do.
This whole wine blogging thing has been (thus far) so much fun in that I have tried wines I wouldn't have given a moments thought to before.  But I'm finding time gets away from me.  Here it is already Thursday and I didn't even blog a prelude.
I've been off work for 2 weeks now and I'm having a difficulty finding the time to blog about wine?? Wow, what a wonderful problem to have.  :-)

Blondie Blondie

The three of us sat down to dinner - My husband, my daughter and me.  My son was conspicuously absent - but no mind.  It left more wine for the three of us to sample.  We each had different opinions.  My husband loved it.  My daughter didn't care for it.  And I thought it was very nice.....not at all oaky.....nice finish.....but slightly overpriced. I  would totally buy it again - but only if it were on sale.
It's been an awesome week for the wines I'd say.
My Boston Qualifier donated a bottle of pinot grigio.  It's a 2009 Gnarly Head from California.  It's screamin to be blogged on.
Here's what the label has to say:  Kick back after a day of surfing (or any other gnarly activity)with this gnarly Pino Grigio.  This racy wine takes off with aromas of ginger and pineapple.  Crisp flavors of pears, apples and stone fruit flood the palate and the finish "kicks out" with style and grace.  It goes on to discuss how great this wine goes with anything ranging from a beach bonfire to impressing clients at cocktail hour.
Hmmmm... thats a big ticket to fill.  Although I have to stay, I'm a little concerned about stone fruit flooding my palate.  That doesn't sound like much fun.  But I'm open minded.  I'll google it to prepare myself for the onslaught.
I think I may have had a Gnarly Head wine, but not sure - so therefore its bloggable.
As always, I can't wait.  Stay tuned for more fun next week.

It's Blondie night!!

The Blondie is chilling in the frig as I type.  I plan to serve it tonight with chicken.  I'm really looking forward it.  A few stats on this one - $24.99 at Total Wine.  2009 Chardonnay from Red Hen Vineyard, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley.  The wine was stainless steel tank fermented, then rested in French Oak for 3 months before bottling. So I'm guessing it shouldn't be too "oaky".   Only 235 cases of this wine were produced.   Hmmm...interesting.
As I noted previously, this week is dedicated to Mr Boston Qualifier.  This is a good week for him so far.  The Prosecco was spectacular and the Blondie has good reviews. I have very high expectations.
I took a moment to re-read the prior blogs that I posted and I'm noticing that so far Im 3 of 3. I pretty much like everything - at least in varying degrees.  I guess you could say that I'm a friend to all wines.  I think that almost every bottle has a place somewhere.
Looking back to my wine evolution, there have been very few wines I've walked away from.  I've only poured a few down the drain - which was not pleasant.   It could almost be referred to as reverse alcohol abuse.   At any rate, one of the worst in my memory was a South African wine that we tried to share with some friends.  We opened it, tasted it, cringed and decided to let it breathe for a bit.  We came back hours later - only to find it was as bad or worse than it was initially.
Thus far, I believe that has been my only experience with South African.  Maybe I try one for next week. I'll keep my eye out for a nice lable.  So far that philosophy is working out quite nicely!!

Mionetto Prosecco and Ideology Blondie Chardonnay

These are the 2 that I chose for the week.  On the left is a 2009 Blondie Chardonnay and the right is Mionetto Prosecco.  Actually my husband picked the Blondie - definitely can't wait to try that tomorrow.  But for today.  I am so in love with Mioneeto Prosecco.  We got it at Total Wine for $12.99.  It's a cute, short, fat bottle with a pop off top similar to a beer bottle.
I'm not sure why this particular label caught my eye, but it did.  It just seemed short and sweet.  I like that - it reminds me of me.
Prosecco, as you may know is Italy's version of champagne.  Prosecco is not a wine, but a precise wine growing region in Italy.  If it's not from there, it can't be called Prosecco - instead it's referred to as Italian table wine (how boring).
This particular bottle specifically states:  Prosecco "The" Gentle-Sparkling wine.  And it sooooo is.
My husband, daughter, a dear friend and I went to a lovely Italian place this past weekend and had a fabulous Prosecco with an antipasto platter.  The name of it escapes me - it started with an M, but we all commented on how bubbly it was.  This Prosecco is not that bubbly.  It's lovely.  I served it with pork roast and rice, and it was perfect.  We finished with banana cream pie.  OMG - have I died and gone to heaven?  I think so.
I believe that my unbridled joy is in part due to the fact that I'm off work for the next several weeks and my husband has just recently retired.   So, I find myself on this TUESDAY, when I theoretically should be at work and I was out SHOPPING with my hubby for most of the day (although I did have to take several sitting rest breaks) and then spent the afternoon sitting on my deck sampling this lovely Prosecco while my husband prepared a lovely supper.
It was so wonderful, I almost felt like I was doing something wrong.  Key word, almost.
Let me just finish by saying this beautiful, simple Prosecco is a must have for anyone who enjoys a sparkling wine.  I will forever keep a bottle of this cutie pie in my wine rack.
So stay tuned for tomorrow's Ideology Blondie - a 2009 Chardonnay from Napa Valley.  As we were strolling through Total Wine with this Blondie bottle in our cart, one of the Total Wine reps actually stopped talking to the person he was assisting and told us,  "You are going to absolutely love that wine".
I have to say, Im sipping the last of the Prosecco as I'm blogging.  The bottle is now empty and.....I'm sad.

There has been a delay....

There are very few things that could interrupt my wine journey.  One of them happens to be surgery.  And unfortunately, I had to have it.  It was nothing too major, but major enough to put me in the hospital overnight.  Without being too cryptic, it was girlie surgery, and I will be home for 4 to 6 weeks.
For the next couple of days, I will be on a lovely narcotic pain reliever and since I do fancy myself to be a semi-responsible adult, I don't think I will mix it with wine.
On the bright side, I expect to be back in the wine saddle in a few days.  This of course can mean only one thing - I will absolutely have to blog on 2 bottles next week to get caught up.
My daughter has a co worker she refers to as "The Boston Qualifier".  He told her he was disappointed that I was only going to blog on 1 wine per week.  Indicating something along the lines of my having poor wine stamina.  Seriously?? I'm 5'3" and weigh in at 120.  I think one bottle a week is plenty.  But, then again there is always room to improve!   So even though I've never met the man, I'm dedicating next week to him.  Here's 2 for you Mr Boston Qualifier!!!
I'm feeling a white coming on, and maybe a sparkling.  Ahhh, the joys of being home for 4 to 6 weeks - so many wines, so little time.

Wow, this was really nice.

Im not sure if it was the company - we had a very special friend over for dinner.  I'm not sure if it was the food, or if it was a combination of both good food and good company, but I have to say that this wine was very nice.
The label on the bottle indicates the wine goes especially well with pork, seafood and pasta. So of course I served it with steak and a salad. The steaks were big, fat, juicy T-bones.  I call them dinosaur steaks because of their size.  The salad was spring mix and baby spinach with celery, sugar snap peas and green bell pepper with an olive oil and balsamic dressing - it was magnificent.    The wine had a beautiful bouquet, and a lovely splash on the palate.  I liked it immediately.
My husband poured the first glass and took a sip before he handed it to me. He said "hmmm...this is ecclectic".  That was actually a great descriptive word for this wine.  It has a lot going on.  It's very flavorful, and did have notes of cranberry as the label suggested.  So I tasted it at that moment as my daughter previously suggested, with no other food or drink and it was gentle on my tongue.  Then later, with the meal, I noted that the wine was truly enhanced by the steak. It really made a difference.  It tasted smoother, silkier.
I'm really sad to say that at some point during the evening - we finished the wine.  So, now I cant speak to the staying power.  It may or may not be just as good in a few days.  I'm guessing that it would be.   So hats off to the sexy red head.  I liked having my head snapped.  I'd do it again...and again.

This is kinda sexy!!

So, Im strolling through Safeway trying to find some goat cheese to go with the grilled pineapple I was going to prepare with supper.  As a side note - my husband hated it, but ate it anyway.  I can't decide if he was really hungry or just didn't want to hurt my feelings.  We've been married over 25 years, so he probably wasn't too worried about my feelings.  Although he is usually a good sport when I place food in front of him that he hasn't tried.  I've been on a goat cheese kick lately and he has been quite tolerant.
Back to shopping.  I decided to take a look at the wines, which wasn't my original plan.  I wanted to go to World Market or Total Wine, but I just ran out of time today.  Sometimes life gets in the way of the wonderful plans I make.  Which is one of the reasons that  I often buy wine at Safeway.  It's just so convenient to shop there.  It's right by my house - literally 1 mile away and I'm there 2 to 3 times a week anyway.  The prices are ok, but if something is on sale then the price is as good as Total Wine.
I happened to glance at the top row and found this $19.99 bottle on sale for $10.99.  I thought the redhead on the label looked kinda sexy.  At the top, it reads "It's a Headsnapper".  I'm not sure what head it's referring to, but I was intrigued.  It's a 2009 Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast and I do love my California wines.  According to the back label, and I quote..."When a wine is so memorable that it makes you do a double take, you know It's a HeadSnapper."  Well then, I can't wait to have my head snapped!!