Monday Funday

My favorite wine store sends out an email blast every Monday about a particular wine they have on sale that week. Since I typically have Mondays off, it's not unusual for me to schedule work on my car for a Monday. The shop is right down the street from the wine store. They have free wifi so I can check my email easily while I wait for my car. You see where this is going. 

This week I did not have to take my car in, but I did get the email and I was able to stop by today. This week's offering is an Oregon Pinot noir, described as a "sleek red, with delicate layers of cherry, tobacco, and cocoa flavors." Wine spectator gave it 90 points, which is exceptionally rare for a Pinot noir at this price (usually $23.99, on sale until it's gone at $15.99). 

I enjoy a nice Pinot noir and this shop hasn't let me down with their wines of the week yet. I picked up a bottle of that and a nice Australian Riesling while I was there (Australia makes Riesling. Who knew?).

I will enjoy them both in good time.

Relax

There is a meme floating around on Facebook that I saw today that sums up my feelings on coffee and wine. It says something about how coffee helps me deal with difficult people and wine helps me accept when I can't. You get the idea. I got to thinking about how different a person I am now that I drink coffee and wine. The beverages aren't the catalyst for change, but they are symbolic of who have I become over these last few years. Up until about five years ago, I was married. During that time in my life, if I drank coffee at all, it was decaf, and I barely touched wine. I liked coffee, but was worried that the caffeine would trigger the migraines I had as a kid. I liked wine, but my then husband didn't, and I couldn't bring myself to drink a glass or two out of a bottle and then pour the rest down the drain, nor could I stand restaraunt markups. 

Then, we separated, and it went through a phase of eating and drinking whatever I wanted, health and cost be damned. One night I actually ate an entire six pack of Hershey bars. 

I started enjoying regular lattes and realized that, since I didn't drink coffee as a child, those migraines were most likely not caused by caffeine. I started going to wine tastings and developing my own preferences. I learned about wine stoppers, and how they can help me get through an entire bottle of wine over the course of a week, so I neither have to overindulge or pour money down the drain. 

Coffee is now my friend. I drink the regular stuff with nonfat milk most mornings. Wine is lovely, and, restaurant markup be damned, I order a glass or two with a meal if I want to. I'm paying, in part, for the dining experience, so I may as well enjoy it. 

I put a bottle of wine in the fridge a few days ago and then didn't feel well for a while, so I didn't open it until tonight. I was on my feet for most of the day and so I'm tired and just wanted to relax, watch tv, and eat something easy and yummy. I picked up some red lentil chipotle hummus and multi grain chips on my way home, and opened that bottle. And I sat here and thought about how diffrperent I am now. I am certain in my likes and dislikes, and finally feel like myself. 

Slovenian Weedkiller

One of my favorite wine stores has a bargain section that the staff introduced me to on my latest visit. I always got so hung up lolling around in the Pinot Noirs that I never perused the dark stacked-up shelving at the back of the store. That's where they stockpile the "3 for $25" bottles. I began my visit upset because I couldn't find "Stray Dog" Pinot Noir, a really nice pick that my husband found for me earlier this summer. I asked the staff about it and was told they had lost the distributor for it. (aka: "It's DEAD, and you'll never get to drink it again.")  Sensing my sadness, the staff suggested I could look through the bargain bottles since Stray Dog had gone for such a reasonable price. I wasn't terribly enthused as I looked around, but then recognized a really nice Sauvingon Blanc that I had drank at a party. I chose that one, and figured I would pick two reds to round out my $25 and could have blog fodder, if nothing else.

I have been searching the past few days for just the right word to describe the Slovenian Pinot Noir I tried. Then, I found it tonight while reading reviews: WEEDKILLLER. The Pinot Noir made by Avia is just dreadful. It's not at the very bottom, as I have yet to drink anything worse than the body odor wine mentioned in an earlier post. But, it's just one rung above. It tasted suspect on the first sip. I remember thinking, "Funny...Pinot Noir shouldn't taste carbonated." And, truly, it wasn't like drinking a soda, and it wasn't bubbly, but there was something day-old-Coke about it. The wine store staff tried to sell me on it by claiming Slovenia was located *just* so very near some famous wine regions, and that somehow that vine cred hopped the border and brought something lovely to this wine. The lovely wasn't there. I couldn't finish the bottle, and was glad the cheap price tag allowed me to end the experiment early and toss it down the sink.

Message in a bubble

Last night I stopped in to one of my favorite restaurants, Red Red Wine Bar, on Main Street in Annapolis. They have a fantastic wine menu, very reasonable pricing, and even offer wines on tap! (It's the weirdest thing to see.)

I was in a bubbly kind of mood, so I tried a wine flight called "Message in a Bubble." The wine on the left is a prosecco, which was my favorite. Not too sweet, it had a nice fruity, citrusy flavor. It was very bright and flavorful. According to the info that came with it, that particular prosecco was a favorite of Charles De Gaulle, former president of France. 

The one in the middle is a cava, which is a Spanish bubbly, and was the closet to champagne of the three, which explains why it was also my least favorite of the three. Champagne is almost always made of Chardonnay grapes, which are not my favorite. This selection had that dry, buttery flavor typical of champagne/Chardonnay, so while it was still pleasant, it was not my top choice.

The third was a rose, mostly Merlot but with a few other grapes blended in. That was a nice dry offering, probably very refreshing on a hot day. 

Overall, enjoying three different bubbles side by side was delightful. It was fun to try to decide if I wanted to take a sip from each and rotate through them or if I would enjoy each one individually and then move on the the next (first I did the former, then switched to the latter to finish them off). 

Cashmere

Not too long after I defended my dissertation, my dear friend Tina and her significant other Dan treated me to a fabulous Italian meal. As I perused the wine list, I was trying to select something different and interesting and that would somehow complement a variety of appetizers and flavors. One of the wines that the waitress recommended is a red blend called "Cashmere" by Cline winery. She said it was difficult to describe, that it had a distinct taste and was unique, and that everyone who tried it liked it. Sold.

She was right, the red is bright and hearty but not too tannic, and while the label does not say which grapes are blended in, it does describe the wine as a "lusciously bodied blend with easy, earthy undertones, flavors of cherries, raspberries, chocolate and hints of plums leading to a smooth, long finish."

(Now, WHY, when I try to describe a wine, is the best I can do along the lines of, "I liked it, it was good," when the winery can describe a wine like the above and then I read it and think YES, I agree with all the things!

Why didn't the cherry and chocolate notes make them known to me on my own? I can clearly taste them.

Ah, well. I tracked down the winery and ordered a bottle to keep at home and I just opened it a few minutes ago. I am enjoying a glass while I catch up on emails and smell the beef stew simmering on the stove.