Monthly Archives: February 2013

February Fun Part 1: A Valentine’s Gift of Moscato Allegro

  • Tue. Feb. 12 Fat Tuesday
  • Thu. Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day
  • Thu. Feb. 14-18 Valentine n Wine, Ventura County
  • Fri. Feb. 15 Twitter Tasting 4-6pm PST Steven Kent Winery
  • Sat. Feb. 16 Garagiste South Tasting, Solvang
  • Thu. Feb. 21 City of Bordeaux Twitter Wine Party
  • Fri. Feb. 22 Dark and Delicious Petite Sirah Tasting, Rock Wall, Alameda

Happy Valentine’s Day! Unless you’ve spent your life under a rock, you know that Thursday February 14 is Valentine’s Day, a day when young and old celebrate love and friendship.

Last Friday, I received an unexpected early Valentine’s gift from the fine folks at Balzac Communications: two bottles of Martin & Weyrich 2011 Moscato Allegro: one rose, one white to make my Valentine’s Day even sweeter! Although now that I think about it, I remember last year, Balzac sent me a bottle of the Crusher Rose and a box of truffles–yum! As if my life as a wine blogger wasn’t already overflowing with benefits!

While I haven’t opened either yet, with residual sugars just above 6%, I know they will have a nice sweet character, yet the Muscat Canelli grape from which the Moscato Allegro is made is reknowned for retaining its acidity so it should have a good balance without being cloying. The rose, as you can see from the photo I posted on twitter, is a deep salmon color which comes from a “kiss” of red wine (instead of having the color from a red grape that didn’t have contact with the skin which is what makes red wines red).  The high residual sugars also means these wines are lower in alcohol–only 8.5% instead of the more typical 12-14% –a great wine for dessert on a school night or to mix in a cocktail or with St Germain! The screwtop has me thinking about bringing one along on romantic picnic. Retails for $12. When I get a chance to open them, I’ll let you know what I think!

Tue. Feb. 12 is Fat Tuesday! We’ll celebrate Mardi Gras Sat. March 2 in Ojai. Will you be celebrating? How? What wines do you enjoy with New Orleans style cuisine? I’m thinking this Moscato Allegro might be a good choice for that spicy cuisine and good times!

To be continued with details about the events listed above!

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Foods from Chile + Chilean Wine

When I was a poor college student (except for the year I worked at Ridge!), and then a student loan paying underemployed thirty-something artist/poet/writer, my go to wines were from Chile. My friends and I knew that with Chilean wines, we could get the best bang for our buck!

8465982902_0ea11ce421_mLast fall, I had the opportunity to taste four wines from Concha y Toro’s Gran Reserve Series with TasteLive  and we were happily surprised to find that you still get a BIG BANG for your buck with Chilean wine. Since Foods from Chile is hosting a contest to take a blogger to Chile (!!), I figured I’d throw my hat into the ring and turn my notes into a long over due blog post and submission. (UPDATE: Vote for me here please!! http://promoshq.wildfireapp.com/website/302/contests/310099/voteable_entries?page=1)

Plus there’s ANOTHER contest that you can join in! Celebrate the “Affordable Luxury” of the Gran Reserva Serie Riberas reviewed below: enter their photo contest for chance to WIN $1,000! Extra points for mentions of these wines, wine, cameras, and rivers!  http://ow.ly/hjsCr Here’s my submission: chileFoodWine Continue reading →

Happy Lunar New Year! Wines to Celebrate & Pair with Asian Cuisine

chinese new year prayerMay you be happy.

May all your thoughts be positive
and your experiences be good.

May you be free of problems, sickness, and sadness.

May your life be long and peaceful
and may you quickly reach enlightenment.

–Metta prayer

The year of the Black Snake begins on Sunday February 10, 2013  with the new moon rising in Aquarius–and I’m celebrating with an Italian wine!

BuddhaTet2013smAccording to Geomancer and Philosopher Paul Ng, the year 2013 is “Mountain-Thunder Rhythm”– a year of conservation, a year of rebuilding, and a year of changes.

Han-Ban.com says that “the year of Snake is meant for steady progress and attention to detail. Focus and discipline will be necessary for you to achieve what you set out to create.”

The Snake is “enigmatic, intuitive, introspective, refined.” Hmmn, I wonder which wines are SNAKE wines??

If you will be celebrating with Chinese or another Asian cuisine, you might be wondering what wine to pair with the complex, often spicy dishes. Continue reading →