Author: Stephanie

I am blessed to have taken a work trip to Tampa Bay.  I have never been before so decided to eat dinner overlooking the water at Jackson’s Bistro during sunset. There is something so serene about it. <<Insert glass of wine>>. I tried the St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc.  It was a medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc with notes of hay and peach.  Ok it sounds uppity when I say that so, rather, it tasted like hay and peach.  I’m not uppity,  but I also wasn’t born in a barn…seriously it tasted like hay and peach.   I really did enjoy this wine. It was only slightly dry. You can probably find it at Total Wines but if not, I can’t help you.  I’m having a glass of St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc overlooking the water at sunset so I don’t so much care where you could find it. I will care later and update…I promise.

Hello Everybody!   I hope you’re having a great week!  It’s been busy the last couple of weeks, so I’ve been remiss in my posting.  I was shopping in Total Wine last week.  I know what you’re thinking…how on earth would I know how to find a Total Wine, right?   Well it’s like when they use pigs to find truffles.   Did you know they can pick up the scent of a truffle buried up to three feet underground?  I can sniff out wine pretty easily so know where all of the Total Wine stores are.  They were providing samples so I didn’t mind if I did.   I tried the Kuhlman Cellars 2017 Sauvignon Blanc from Escondido Valley, Texas and found it to be different than other Sauvignon Blancs in that it was not as dry as others.   It had a slight buttery taste too, so I decided to buy a bottle.  I did buy it and then opened it tonight and tasted hay and maybe a little honey on the back end.   I just didn’t enjoy it like I did at the store though.  It’s like when you try the food samples at Costco then wonder, three months later, why you bought 10 pounds of swordfish and 2 gallons of organic cranberry juice.  Was it really that good?   This wasn’t my favorite wine overall, but you might enjoy it if you like Pinot Grigio’s or maybe even Moscato’s.  You can find it at Total Wine for around $16.00 per bottle.   Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Alright, I’ll be the first to admit that there have been times I, when enjoying a nice dinner with my cohorts, have ordered a second…or third…or more bottle of wine…again with my cohorts.   When we find a wine we like, we continue to order the same one.  A good server will have you try each one first prior to pouring for the table.  We have encountered a situation at a nice restaurant that by the fourth..er…fifth…bottle, the server just poured it without having one of us taste it.   I’ll be honest, when a server waits on our table of ladies, he or she runs the risk of carpal tunnel from opening so many bottles so I get how they can grow tired of the process.   Sure enough, three of us tasted it and wondered if something was wrong and sure enough it was.  We sent it back.  In a more recent situation, there was table of us ladies who ordered a second bottle of wine, with the server having us taste it first, and discovered it was bad as well.   Even with all things being equal – brand, varietal, year, method of storage, etc – a bottle of wine can just go bad.    Mary Burnham, author of the Food & Wine Magazine Annual Guide to Wine, provides the reasons wine can go bad due to things like oxidation, bacteria or even too little oxygen.  She also documents what a bad wine might taste or smell like.   The article is listed on the La Crema website shown below and is good to note.      

Why Does Wine Go Bad and How Long Opened Wine Lasts

Here is to your having a good wine and a good rest of the week and weekend!

Hello Everybody!  I enjoyed the 2015 Left Coast Cali’s Cuvée Pinot Noir Saturday night at an excellent restaurant in Ft. Worth.   I tried the 2014 before but wasn’t as impressed as I was with the 2015.   This year had slight berry and floral (maybe rose?) undertones, but was a combination cedar and spice as well.   It is a great drinking red as is not extremely bold.   This might be a great find for someone just getting into reds.  It went well with the mild oysters and halibut.  The restaurant was Waters Restaurant http://waterstexas.com and it was really good.   You can find this wine at Central Market for approximately $25.00 per bottle.  However, make sure you get this specific year and varietal and you’ll be glad you did.   Have an excellent week!

I have documented, summarized and charted all findings from this scientific experiment, analysis or whatever you want to call it. Finding #1 – you can’t find these specific brands of varietals of wines really anywhere on a broad basis in the United States. You might be able to find them in some specialty wine stores or restaurants, but not at Total Wines or grocery stores. Finding #2 -you can find some of the same varietals at Total Wines or other wine/spirits stores. If you refer to the chart, you will note the findings include which varietals can be found and the price ranges. I’m a procrastinator, but I’m fairly thorough. Overall summary: while you can’t find these specific brand of varietals in stores, you might now feel a bit more educated about the tasting notes of these French and Italian varietals to expand your global horizons too. Success? I’m going with yes.

I was taking a break from the research and final publication of the Twelve Nights of Wine science experiment.   I had a great Friday night with some close friends and we shut down the restaurant. I have never shut down a bar or club, but I so own the family-friendly restaurant scene. We ordered the 2015 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I know what you’re thinking….Beringer means pink…as in White Zinfandel. They do make other wines. I’d use the term silky for this wine but that is kinda bourgeois. However, this was a really smooth medium-bodied Cab with hints of cocoa, mild fruit and oak. There were four of us who were drinking this wine and all really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it for you or as a gift to someone who enjoys a good drinking Cab. You can find it at Total Wines or Target for $25 – $30 per bottle. Have an excellent end to the week and great weekend!!

Infinity: the unlimited extent of time, space, or quantity or the limit of the value of a function or variable when it tends to become numerically larger than any preassigned finite number. In this case, the preassigned finite number was twelve, but it seems to be an infinite occurrence of a wine experiment. However, we are coming to a close with this experiment. I am going to review the last two wines of the Twelve Nights of Wine now and then will, in a final summary, present a chart of findings and details associated with each wine. Vial #11 was a 2015 Nebbiolo wine from the Piedmont region in Italy. It had an essence of mineral and some smoke, but was relatively mild overall – pretty good. Vial #12 was from the same winery and Italian region, but was a 2013 Olo. It was earthier, a bit bolder and was not fruit forward at all. I enjoyed this wine, but letting it breathe is really important with this wine.

This Twelve Nights of Wine review is like Game of Thrones in that it has taken far too long to get this last season finished. That’s about the only similarity really…I don’t speak with an accent, I don’t own or manage a dragon nor have ever seen one, I don’t think I’ve pissed off enough people for them to massacre my whole wedding party and guests if I ever get married, and I know winter is coming and I’m ok with it.

This is the longest Twelve Nights in all the history of all Twelve Nights.  Yeah I get it – I’m not prioritizing very well.  New Year, New Me so resolving to finish this with a full report of results.  Vial #9 and #10 were both a Médoc from the same vineyard in the Bordeaux region of France.  This red blend is a combination of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  A Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot or Malbec can also be part of the blend when it comes to wines from this region.  I did not really enjoy Vial #9, the 2012 year, as it just didn’t have much character.  It had a hint of sawdust and really didn’t stand up to much. Vial #10, the 2010 year, had more character.   It was earthy and had an essence of blackberry and cocoa.  I did enjoy this wine.  This experiment within the experiment demonstrates that there can be significant difference between years of wine.  See…this is a learning environment.

This was a French-based Vouvray, a white wine made from Chenin Blanc grapes. It is a light to medium-boded wine and slightly sweet.  It reminded me of a Brut sparkling wine but without the effervescence. This type of wine can pair well with some citrus-based spicy foods.   I paired it with a spicy guacamole and it went well.  This is a good white wine if you enjoy a slightly sweet one.   We’re on the downhill slide into the remaining four wines to taste.  The excitement is building isn’t it? 🙂

Vial #7 is a 2016 red wine from the Gaillac region of France.   This wine is from the Duras grape varietal, one of the older grape varietals grown in France.  I liked this wine.  Who am I kidding, I like all wines.  However, here are the reasons I like this wine.  It was relatively bold with hints of cherry, cinnamon, and maybe a bit of pepper.   I paired it with prime rib and it truly complemented it rather than overpowering it. Since this is an experiment and I’m a nerd, I thought I’d throw in a couple of elements…of the periodic table that is.  NaCl – aka salt.  Sodium (Na) has a single electron in its outer shell that it readily donates to create a positively charged ion.  It is highly reactive. Chlorine (Cl), in its purest form, can be fatal but is more often combined with other elements and compounds for cleaning and disinfecting.   However, it is one electron short of a full eight electrons in its outer shell, so it reacts with many elements to complete its outer shell.  Na and Cl latch onto each other in harmony – much like this wine and prime rib.  I might be one electron short of a full eight, but it does make this journey interesting, doesn’t it?   Have a great night!