I know I have had my fair share of Chardonnays. I think just about everyone has. Those golden hued bottles pull you to them in just the right way. Maybe just the golden color makes us feel a little richer. If you are looking for something familiar you can usually count on that oaky, buttery taste. However in recent years, the Chardonnay industry has been shaking it up a bit and it is proving to be quite the improvement according to wine lovers far and wide… Chardonnay is the most popular white wine grape in the entire world and the…
Tag: california
Glory Days – Van Ruiten Zinfandel
With a new box from Wine Awesomeness came a bottle from Van Ruiten Vineyards that was most intriguing. With it’s adorable label, I just couldn’t resist opening it first. A little station wagon with a surfboard, vintage-style font, and matching top and label made this wine really stand out. The information provided in the Wine Awesomeness booklet alluded to the story of Van Ruiten Vineyards, but I delved into my own research in order to understand the wine’s story further. The Van Ruiten’s were a Dutch family that moved to America right after World War II and to Lodi, California…
Record Family Wines Merlot
It was time, yet again for another Out of the Box Week at my house. This week brought a familiar wine variety, a merlot. Pulled from the collection that my husband had procured, I selected this wine because I felt like having something familiar. As the second most popular grape in the world, it’s safe to say that Merlot has quite the following. Only Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in a larger quantity.* Merlot is a highly approachable red wine. Its name is easy to pronounce and it generally pairs well with many different dishes. It also makes for easy drinking…
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…
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…
La Pinot Pinot Noir
This week was an exciting one. I got a new box from Wine Awesomeness and inside I discovered that they had partnered with a winery in order to create their own wine. My first thought was this is either going to be very good or possibly very bad. Of course I had to try this one first, so I pulled it out and began my research. After some research, I found that Wine Awesomeness had made this wine in collaboration with Carrier Wines. * However, all I could really find on Carrier Wines was a Facebook page with a link…
Van Ruiten Electric Red Blend
This week was back to normal. After New Orleans, I was back to work and back in the swing of things. Which also means, I was back to wine from my Wine Awesomeness box. While we were in New Orleans, my husband just so happened to purchase a yellow electric guitar. This worked out perfectly for me, because this week was Electric Red Wine week, so I was excited to display the wine with the new guitar as you can tell from the photo. However, even though I was excited about the photo taking, I was not very excited about…