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Hello All! So it’s been a while. I’ll just tell you I’ve been living the fabulous life. Yeah that’s it. I was in Vegas this past week for a cybersecurity conference. It reminds me there is some scary stuff in the world of technology which is fitting since we’re close to Halloween. However, there is also some very complex and highly technical ways to combat the scary stuff, so score one for the good guys here and there. Wine is not scary. The 2016 Adelsheim Willamette Valley Pinot Noir was a good, friendly wine. I had it at Morimoto’s in the MGM Grand with my friends Bob and Elizabeth. I prefer some of the spicier Pinot Noir’s from California. However, I did enjoy this Pinot Noir as it wasn’t too fruit forward, had a hint of cocoa and cinnamon and went well with a filet. The filet was slightly overcooked. We also had Toro and Sea Urchin as well. The Toro was excellent – no over-cooking there 🙂 The Sea Urchin is spooky and not my thing. I’d tried it before and it tasted what I imagine the ocean floor would taste like. This Sea Urchin was better, but still not a fave of mine. A Riesling may have been a better choice for the seafood items, but the Pinot paired well enough with them. This is a very non-scary Pinot that I’d recommend. You can find it at Total Wines for around $28 per bottle. Have an excellent week!!

Happy Sunday Everyone!   I decided to change life up a bit and go to Spain for my next wine selection.   Good thing there are wines from other countries at the local wine store.   I tried the 2015 Latitud Crianza from Rioja, Spain.  Spain is one of the top wine-producing countries in the world.   A report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2013 ranked Spain as the second wine-producing country in the world behind Italy.   However, France surpassed Spain according to a 2017 report and often ranks second.   Italy typically dominates as the top wine-producing country in the world.   At this point, I should initiate a dialog on the FIFA World cup competitors, but who knows what that might start.  Let’s get back to the Latitud 42.   This is typical of a Rioja-based red wine in that it is bold.   It has a mineral, slightly ashy taste up front.   It also has a hint of dark cherry with a solid oak tone throughout with a long finish as well.   Latitud 42 isn’t for the faint of heart even though its description says it is a medium-bodied red.  It would be best paired with relatively rich or strong foods.  It mellowed a bit with breathing, so that might help if you’re not as into bolder reds.  I did enjoy this wine a bit more when it had a chance to mellow.   I’d definitely recommend it for the heartier wine drinkers.  You can find it at Total Wines – the Mecca of Magnificence – for around $13.00 per bottle.  Have a great rest of the weekend and a wonderful week!!

Happy Saturday Everyone!   It’s not quite Fall, but I’ve got football on and enjoying a great Saturday.  I recently tried the 2015 Storyteller Cabernet Sauvignon.  This wine is from Sonoma and touts itself as a big, brawny Cabernet.  I drank it with pizza – again I’m a wine blogger for the common man.  This Cabernet was not particularly fruit forward, but was a little jammy in the middle with a hint of cocoa on the back end.   It was alright.   It didn’t have as much story to tell as I thought it would, but was solid enough for a relatively mild to medium-bodied Cabernet.  Which story is it going to tell?  It says it’s big and brawny, so I’m thinking the story of Moby Dick.   However, I found it more like the story of Finding Nemo.   Not so big and brawny, but with a little character.   This might work for you if you like milder Cabernets.   You can find it at Kroger for around $13 per bottle.  Have a great weekend!!

I had a wonderful time in Athens and Santorini with some great friends. Santorini is a beautiful island off the coast of Greece. We enjoyed a great wine tour with Santorini Wine Adventure Wine Tours and Anton Lianoudakis as our tour guide. Anton explained a great deal about Santorini history and the growing of wine grapes on the island. The Minoan civilization on Crete, a neighboring island of Santorini, learned about the Egyptian winemaking methods. Grapes were an important crop to Greece and the Greek islands. Santorini is a volcanic island, so its soil is rich with minerals that help sustain the grape vines. The Santorinians will throw in a few fava or other beans to help enrich the soil around the vine (cool fact!). Many insects cannot survive in the soil, so they do not use pesticides as a general rule. In effect, they’re growing organic grapes. However, given it is a relatively hot climate, the more prevalent grapes grown are white grapes, such as the Assyrtiko grape. Most of the vines are not grown on a wire, but are pruned to grow in a bird’s nest shape. This shape helps protect the grapes from the hot climate and higher winds. Santorini wines do not give wine drinkers headaches like most other wines because they don’t use pesticides or most other chemicals to grow the grapes. I’m all for scientific validation, so a few of my Wine-Loving Lab Mice and I decided to put that to the test. I would be considered the “control” in that experiment in that I drink wine pretty consistently therefore this experiment doesn’t vary from my everyday life. There were a couple of variable mice, in this experiment, who enjoy wine as much as I do, but demonstrate “control” in their everyday life by not partaking as consistently as I do. The results are in. Those wines did not give any of the control or variable mice a headache. The mice had a wine party every night even in the presence of a few stray cats that hung out with us. We, of course, also enjoyed cheese pairing with our wine. The Santorinian whites are crisp and lighter white wines with some having apple, melon or pear essence. They are not oaky as a general rule. They are a great wine for just drinking wine on a hot day or pairing with chicken, fish or some lighter dishes. However, the Santorinians can make a good dessert wine as well so check those out if you can find them. I’ve confirmed that Total Wines does have some Santorinian wines, but you can also find them on Wine.com.
Have a great week!

Santorini 2018 Wine Tour Stop 3 – Estate Argyros. Again the Assyrtiko didn’t disappoint. A good mineral and acidity that went well with a milder cheese. Estate Argyros Assyrtiko is a great wine. I’ll do research on where you can find it and let you know. Also the Estate Argyros was good and had also had a slight butter essence like a Chardonnay. Once again a dessert win did not work but I tried. Others did like the Vinsanto which tasted of raisins and caramel.

Santorini Wine Adventure Wine Tours is the way to go. Anton Lianoudakis, one of the tour guides, is the most knowledgeable of wines, Santorini history and geology.

estateargyros.com/

https://www.winetoursantorini.com

Santorini Wine Tour 2018 Stop 2 is Gavalas Winery. I tried another Assyrtiko-based wine. Very nice. I also liked the Nykteri wine too. Buttery like a Chardonnay. I do not like ports or dessert wines. Second one this morning. Still don’t like them. It is confirmed – dessert wines sweet…Stephanie not sweet.

http://www.gavalaswines.gr/en.html

Santorini Wine Tour First Stop is Boutari. I learned that Assyrtiko grapes are very hearty and make a great acidic wine. The Santorini Boutari white dry wine paired with a semi-strong cheese like a Manchego is great!

Boutari is a Greek Winery with a few locations. We were in the one in Santorini of course. See their website below:

http://www.boutari.gr/en/main.php

Happy Thursday Everyone! I am ready for the weekend. I was able to enjoy some good friend time last weekend and..well…there was wine. My friend, Elizabeth, offered a 2016 Beaucanon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. The Beaucanon Estate winery focuses on sustainable and organic methods. Louis de Coninck, the winemaker, originates from France and learned about winemaking there. Welcome to America, Louis! We’re glad to have you here making wines. This was a really good wine if you like a medium oak with hints of pepper and spice. I do. Let’s face it…I like most wines. The word, Sommelier, meaning wine steward, originates from France. I originate from Texas and I consider myself a Sommelier for the common man. I’m a SommeliYAY. Yeah, that’s what I am. You can find this wine, in limited quantity, at Total Wines for about $32.00 per bottle. Have a great weekend!

Hello Everyone! I hope you’ve managed to stay cool in the Texas heat. I had the pleasure of eating a late lunch with a friend, Amy, and her very cute daughter, Audrey, at Sixty-Vines in Plano, Texas a couple of weeks ago. We enjoyed a Krupp Brothers Cabernet Franc. This was a special blend made by Krupp Brothers for Sixty Vines. It had a great earthy, mineral nose and a really good bold, but smooth finish. We paired it with a Salumi and Cheese board and it was excellent. I had never enjoyed a Krupp Brothers wine, but really enjoyed this Cab Franc. However, this was not just a wine tasting, but a tea party too. I paired the Audrey’s Awesome and Outstanding tea with the Salumi and Cheese board and it paired very well too. The more sugar in the tea, the better. We also paired it with the berry cobbler and it was divine! I would highly recommend the Audrey’s Awesome and Outstanding tea, but it is only made in small batches and a very rare, but a definite five-star find! Have an outstanding week!

Hello Everyone! I hope you have had a great weekend! I was privileged to see a group of military paratroopers graduate from the Airborne course at Fort Benning, GA on Friday. It was incredible to see a group of people who endured several weeks of intense training, who really dug deep, and who excelled at what they did to become graduates of that course. My boyfriend’s daughter was one of those who graduated – she is one tough lady!! Congratulations Jessica!! We stopped back in Atlanta and enjoyed lunch at The Corner Grille. The food and the staff there were great, so a definite place to go in the College Park area. I had a Chardonnay with my lunch…imagine that. It was the Belcreme De Lys Chardonnay from the California Central Coast. I neglected to catch the year. I’m like some reporters – I don’t fully investigate the story I report. The label said it had hints of vanilla, baked apple and crème brulee. I did get the hint of vanilla, but also a slight citrus taste as well. I paired it with Cajun pasta although I wondered if a bold red might have been better with it. Nonetheless, this was a pretty good light-bodied Chardonnay that I’d recommend with lighter foods. I did a quick check of…The Google…and found you can buy it at Total Wines for around $9.00 per bottle. Have an outstanding week and thank a soldier!!

The Corner Grille, College Park, GA