A trip to Spain was in store with this week’s wine, Rioja to be exact. As with several previous weeks, Wine Awesomeness was sending me on a journey to a place I had never been before with a wine varietal I had never tried. Therefore, the research began. There are four main levels when it comes to Rioja wines. It starts with the Rioja level and then moves upward to Crianza, then Reserva, and finally Gran Reserva. In the case of this wine, a Crianza, I learned that these wine generally age in oak barrels for six months to a…
Hermann Moser Grüner Veltliner
This week marked what would be my second Austrian Grüner Veltliner wine. I noted how the bottles seemed so similar. Both were white wines with just a hint of green tint and this tint was accentuated by another white label with green designs. From my previous research, I learned that Grüner Veltliner pairs well with spicy food, so I prepared a spicy noodle dish to enjoy with this wine specifically. It combined sweet potato noodles with spicy sausage and a tomato-based sauce along with a few additional herbs and spices. The Hermann Moser winery is managed by a husband and…
Iconic Wine Secret Identity Rosé
With summer now in full swing in Texas and temperatures rising to above 100°F, I was so happy to see a bottle of rosé in my box this month. Just looking at it made me feel a bit cooler already. I’m not sure if there is something going on the industry that is trying to make a special push for rosé, but I know that I’ve been seeing it everywhere recently. Now that summer has hit, store shelves seem dedicated to this varietal. It’s light. It’s fun. And most importantly, it’s delicious! You can drink it alone or you can…
Zazou Minervois
Moving back to the Wine Awesomeness monthly box this week, meant trying another type of wine that I had never seen before. This time, it was a Minervois. I quickly discovered that Minervois is an appellation, the title given to a specifically styled product from a specific place or region, for red wines in western Languedoc France. Although the Minervois title is usually bestowed upon red wines, it also covers rosés and white wines as well. This wine was made up of the most prominent varietals for the region. It was 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 10% Mouvedre. * It…
Murrieta’s Well Red Blend
It was time for another “Out of the Box” week. This week, I was still sourcing my bottles from the haul that my husband had surprised me with and I chose a red blend from Livermore Valley. I had never heard of Livermore Valley before, so I started my research there. Livermore Valley is about 30 miles east of San Francisco, CA. It is one of California’s oldest regions, with grapes first being planted there by Spanish missionaries in the 1760s. However, it wasn’t until almost 100 years later that pioneers began planting there. Then in 1889, the valley earned…
Shatter Grenache
This week marked the end of the parade of Portuguese wines. I was ready to move on. We had also been having a cold few days so I had made a pot of chili and was ready to get down to work. This bottle of Grenache was gorgeous for starters. The label felt like a printed work of art and I know it sounds funny, but the chosen font appealed to me. I had never tried Grenache before so I started in on my research. There are three main types of Grenache wine, Spanish, French, and American. While Spanish and…
Caves Velhas Cardeal Selected Harvest Red
Well I can honestly say, that this week I had no idea what to expect from my last wine from Portugal. My first red was no good, but the second bottle, which was a white, turned out to be amazing. I was a little nervous about trying a second red, but I figured that an entire region would not be able to let me down twice right? This red was also made from a selection of Portuguese grapes. It was 35% Tinta-Roriz, 35% Alfrocheiro, and 30% Touriga-Nacional. I hoped that this would turn out to be one of the “elegant…
Caves Velhas Douro Branco
This week continued the Portugese wine trend with a Douro Branco from the same winery as last week. Needless to say, after last week I did not have high hopes for this week, but I was excited to see a white after what felt like a recent parade of reds. With the weather getting warmer I was also craving a lighter wine. This white wine was also made from a mixture of three different grapes. It was 40% Viosinho, 30% Rabigato, and 30% Gouveio. Last week I discovered that the Dao region of Portugal is known for elegant reds. I…
Caves Velhas Vinho Tinto
I received my next box from Wine Awesomeness this week and inside I found all Portuguese wines. I had never tried any Portuguese wines, so I was quite eager to get down to business on these. The first I chose from the box was the Caves Velhas Vinho Tinto. This red wine was made from a mixture of three different grapes. It was 35% Touriga-Nacional, 35% Tinta-Roriz, and 30% Touriga-Franca. After a little research, I discovered that Portugal is famous for Port. Which makes sense right? Port? Portugal? HaHa! Anyway… I went back to my Wine Awesomeness box to see…
Fall Creek Vineyards Tempranillo
This week marked another week for an “Out of the Box” wine. This was a wine that my husband picked up for me while driving home from a business trip. He stopped at the famous Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, TX for lunch and saw that they had set up a cellar shop next door. Since, my husband knows me well, he knew he would have to pick me up a bottle. I knew that tempranillo grapes were popular for growing in Texas, but I was not exactly sure why. The research ensued! As it turns out, Texas is not…