June has been a whirlwind of a month. Restrictions have been lifting on stay-at-home orders, and then almost immediately they were being put back in place as virus cases shot up. There is a lot of discord related to the wearing and not wearing of masks. People are making a real effort and showing up for the Black Lives Matter movement. June also marks the summer solstice as well as National Rosé Day. My husband ran a 100-mile race in less than 24 hours, and I tried three different Rosés. We’ve got some different priorities. Haha! Browne Family Vineyards 2018…
May 2020 Wines
Another month has gone by. I think people are finally settling into this quarantine/social distancing zone. I’ve started seeing many more people observing the distancing rules and wearing masks when in public. As summer creeps in though, it’s starting to feel like more of a loss. The weather is nice and there’s an increased feeling of the need to be outside and around others. It’s a good thing there is good wine to distract us with! I’m hoping most everyone has a place they can enjoy the outdoors though. Kirkland Signature 2019 Rosé – Rating 4/5 This wine was from…
April 2020 Wines
April seems to have flown by, but at the same time lasted forever. It’s all a bit of a blur at this point in these quarantimes. I’m thankful that my wine clubs are still shipping, the temperature is getting warmer, and the sunshine is lasting longer. I also don’t mind my social media feeds being filled with photos of bread baking. I hope everyone is still staying safe and sane in these wild times. Dom Perignon 2008 – Rating 5/5 This wine was from Champagne, France and sampled on April 3, 2020. This celebratory bottle was a gift from my…
March 2020 Wines
Well, I thought February was a long month, but now it seems like a distant dream. March has been absolutely unprecedented. COVID-19 is rapidly changing the world as we know it. Everyone is now practicing social distancing and working from home when possible. As someone who already worked from home, I haven’t had as much of a transition as most people. I’m very thankful for that. However, as a usual work-from-homer, I fully encourage the wearing sweatpants daily as well as picking up a new hobby. I suggest wine tasting! Silicon Valley Wine Co. 2017 ONESandZEROS Red – Rating 4.5/5…
February 2020 Wines
I know February claims to be the shortest of months, but to me it always feels like one of the longest. At least that groundhog finally told us that Spring would be coming early! I cannot remember the last time that happened. Fortunately, I had a few wines to help me make it through the month! Vinaccio Rosso (Tim Manning) Non-Vintage Nerello Mascalese – Rating 1/5 This wine was from Sicily, Italy and sampled on February 5, 2020. I haven’t had many Italian wines, but I regularly hear good things, so this one interested me quite a bit. I was…
January 2020 Wines
This year in wine tasting started out a little rough. I started with three 2-star ratings in a row. However, the end of the month rounded out quite well with a 4- and a 5-star. Also, welcome to the new blog format! I will now be doing a roundup of all of the wines I’ve tried during the month, making for a more concise list of information and ratings. I hope you enjoy! Traversa 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon – Rating 2/5 This wine was from Montevideo, Uruguay and sampled on January 5, 2020. I didn’t even know Uruguay grew wine grapes…
Chateau Ste. Michelle Viognier
It’s a new year and with that comes new wine! This is an out-of-the-box week with a white wine from the new wine club my husband joined, Chateau Ste. Michelle. My husband is a HUGE fan of sparkling wines. He really loves the Luxe Brut they make at Chateau Ste. Michelle. It’s the wine that sold him on joining his first wine club. He has also made a resolution this year to try a new sparkling wine every week. That’s right! That means I get to try 52 sparkling wines this year! Needless to say, I’m super pumped! Chateau Ste.…
Hidden Vineyards Zenit
Do you ever have one of those nights where you look around the kitchen and realize you have the most random ingredients and no idea what to do with them? This was one of those nights. However, I happened to get an Eating Well magazine in the mail that day and while I was flipping through it, I found a recipe for acorn squash with cranberry compote and feta. Thanks to Thanksgiving and a random assortment of leftovers, I had exactly what I needed to make this dish and I had just the wine to pair it with. Last week,…
Hidden Vineyards Zweigelt
It was one of those nights where there was so much to do that having to think about dinner just seemed too hard. That’s right! It was frozen pizza night! I’m really digging the fact that you can get cauliflower pizza crust in the frozen section of so many stores now. Making my own at home was one of my least favorite things to cook. This was a totally new wine for me this week. I had never even heard of Zweigelt before, so I was eager to learn more. Named for it’s creator, Professor Fritz Zweigelt, this grape was…
Hightower Merlot
The days are ending very early on this side of the world right now. It was time to start thinking about adding a little bit of winter weight. I generally stick to sweet potatoes when cooking at home, but I was accidently delivered some regular white potatoes this week. However, this worked out perfectly as I still had plenty of duck fat left in the fridge from the duck I roasted a few weeks earlier. I let my husband choose the wine this time and then I set to work. My husband chose a Merlot from the wine fridge to…