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Hello! I hope you all had a fantastic Independence Day. I had a great time with friends as we ate a lot of food, drank some wine, enjoyed quite a few laughs, and managed not to blow up fingers or noses while releasing some fireworks. What better way to celebrate United States Independence Day than drinking a French rosé? I’m not quite a turncoat, but kinda close. I enjoyed the 2016 Château Mourgues Du Grès Galets Rosé. It was a light bodied wine. It had a slight floral and melon essence, a slight mineral after taste, but nothing too overwhelming and was just slightly dry. I enjoyed this wine with my pulled pork and macaroni and cheese aka porc effiloché and macaroni et fromage. My friend, Sylvia, brought this wine and I’m glad she did. You can find this wine in some of the liquor or wine stores. Nothing says Amurca like Amérique. Dieu bénisse l’amérique! Have a great week and weekend!

Hello All – I hope you’ve had a great week so far. I tried the Dallas Craft Kitchen and Community Tap Room in The Colony this past Sunday. Community Tap Room means beer and they had close to one hundred beers or so. One was the Deep Ellum Dallas Blonde. It was a slightly hoppy, medium-bodied beer. I’d recommend it to the lighter beer drinkers. However, the experience was where I’m at a bit of a loss. They had a music selection that didn’t reflect a Community Tap Room experience or my expectations of a Community Tap Room are a bit off. Granted this was a Sunday afternoon, so I could see a “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago being applicable here (except it was actually Sunday here in The Colony). Instead, I was greeted with “Oh Sheila” by Ready for the World when I walked in the Community Tap Room. I thought nothing of it at the time, but things got more interesting. About three sips into my slightly hoppy beer, I started involuntarily swaying to “Hands to Heaven” by Breathe. I later ordered a Fireman’s 4, but was told they were sold out and I was sad. However, my mood soon recovered due to the good feeling tune of “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie. David Foster helped me keep it real though by his slightly whimsical, slightly melancholy “Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire”. It played to my heart strings. I was brought back to tears with Smokey Robinson’s “One Heartbeat” not because that’s a sad song, but it was a sad attempt at his foray into 80’s music. Don’t get me wrong, that man is a legend, but that song made my cry the “Tears of a Clown”. There was a lot of sheet metal and black and green in this Community Tap Room, so I’m thinking 80’s track must mean some Crue right? Nope, nothing says manly, beer-drinking, sheet metal Tap Room better than Animotion’s “Obsession”.

Have we become such over-accommodating pansies catering to all individuals that we forgot how to swill beer? Is a Community Tap Room not the beer hall of yore? I will say this…they really need to put in some footrails because I just don’t like my legs to dangle. Anyway, what has happened to the take-it-or-leave-it mentality of the beer-drinkin’ joint? You go, you order beer, you order fried food, and you listen to some Skynyrd with Waylon, Willie and the Boys.

Nowadays “You put your hands together and pray…and pray…that you’ll sit down and enjoy your Dogfish IPA…heeyyy. Tonight I need your stout Guinness, hold me in its darkness. Tonight I drink your Scottish Ale by Nexus, You relieve my Incurable Sadness (Irish Stout)”.

Have a great rest of the week and an outstanding weekend!

Greetings All! I would like to share with you the story of Goldilocks and the Three Chardonnays. I wanted to try a Pouilly-Fuisse as I had never partaken of this golden French delight. I purchased a 2016 Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuisse at Costco The Pouilly-Fuisse is from the Burgundy Mâconnais region in France. It had hints of lemon and notes of grass. This was a medium-bodied wine, is very dry and a bit sharp with a level of acidity so it wasn’t my favorite choice. However, it grew on me. I also realized that I could pronounce the name so much better after a couple of swigs of it as opposed to when I first started. I then tried the Bread and Butter Chardonnay mid-week. It was waaayyy too buttery. It was almost like they took the fake butter you can put on popcorn at the movie theatre and injected it into the bottle. I will load up a bucket of popcorn with butter like nobody’s business, but not my bottle of wine. I enjoyed this wine a couple of years ago, but it was too rich and just too much. Sometimes you have to go with what you know, so I poured a glass of 2016 Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay on Friday and it was juuussst right. Sometimes your palette isn’t quite as refined, sometimes it’s too refined and sometimes it finds a place somewhere in the middle.

You can find the 2016 Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuisse at Costco or other stores for approximately $22.00 per bottle. Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay can be found at really any store for around $11.00 per bottle.

Rosé, Rosé a perfect way to spend the day.  A group of friends, a planting party and a celebration of a birthday.   My friend, Michelle, turned..eh.. 21 I’ll say.  We decided to spend a sunny day planting flowers down the driveway.  I like Cabernet and Chardonnay, so I’m trying something rare with Rosé.   A Rosé is not my normal wine way.  How do I judge thee, Rosé?  The 2017 Château La Vivonne Les Puechs Rosé Cotes de Provence is the Rosé I drank on Sunday.  Hint of fruit on the nose, taste of strawberry on the palette, and hint of grass or hay.  Rosé, Rosé, you didn’t let me down that day.  Light, not too sweet and worth the $14.99 I pay.  Four out of five stars I say.  Have an excellent Friday!

*Disclaimer –  the use of poetic license is used in many great works of literature…and here too.

Happy Sunday Everyone!   I had the opportunity to attend the 2018 Collin County CASA Gala last night where a lot of money was raised for a fantastic cause.   The Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) organization provides guardians ad litem to children who have been abused.  They represent the child’s interests to ensure they get the best possible outcome.   This is their largest fund-raising event.   The hotel hosting the event served Becker Cabernet Sauvignon Iconoclast.  This wine is made in Fredericksburg, Texas.   The wine was pretty smooth with some notes of spice and fruit.   This wasn’t a heavy oak or bold Cabernet.  It was a pretty good Texas wine where we’re not really known for great Cabernets.   I conducted some research on the Becker Cabernet Sauvignon Iconoclast and didn’t find it widely available.   However, they do have a Cabernet Sauvignon for around $24.00 per bottle.   I have never really tried other Becker wines, so will need to conduct additional research and report back.   No matter what wine we were drinking, having fun with friends and giving to a great cause always makes for a winning weekend.  Rosé, Rosé I will review it in a future day.   Be on the lookout for that.   In the meantime, have an excellent week.

https://www.beckervineyards.com/

 

Hello Everyone!  I hope you have had an outstanding weekend.  I enjoyed time with family and friends, so that always makes for a great time.   I had some wine.   I enjoyed the 2015 Raymond Reserve Selection Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa on Friday night.   It had some fruit on the nose with hints of cocoa and then it blended into a medium bold finish with hints of oak.    It did mellow out on the end and went well with steak.  I’ve blogged about this brand and blend of wine before and it didn’t disappoint Friday night.   I then met some friends on Saturday night and had the 2015 Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon.  I have had another year of this wine before as well and enjoyed it more so before than I did Saturday night.   It was really sharp.   Had we given it a bit more time to breathe it might have been more enjoyable.  It was at least chilled a bit.  The company made up for it and we had a great evening catching up.  I guess I could be one of THOSE people who brings her own aerator to let the wine open up a bit more.   Even I’m not that much of a wine snob…well not yet anyway.  Whatever material thing you choose to be a snob about, own it.  Just don’t be a snob to people.  Have a great week!

Happy Sunday!  I hope everyone has had a great weekend.  It was an odd blend of crazy, cold and warm weather here in Dallas/Ft Worth, so about normal for this time of year.   This is Spring in Texas…an exciting weather journey into Summer.   The origin of the word, iter, is from the late 1500’s and means a journey, route or passage.  Iter is also the organization that is bringing about the world’s largest fusion experiment.  Iter also happens to be the brand of Cabernet Sauvignon I am going to blog about right now.  See how I’m fusing a journey of weather and wine together?   It is a trifecta of literary balance.  Too much?   Yeah.   This is the 2014 Iter Cabernet Sauvignon.   This is a good medium to bold Cabernet Sauvignon with hints of blueberry, some slight oak and an undertone of tobacco.    This was a really good blend of those flavors and I really enjoyed this wine.   My friend, Elizabeth, raved about this wine and I know why.   I would recommend this wine for those who enjoy a Cabernet Sauvignon.   You can find it at Total Wines for around $20.00 per bottle.

Dia dhaoibh.   That’s Gaelic for hello.  I’m hiding behind my written word as I have no idea how to pronounce that.  I know tomorrow is a day of celebration for many given it is St. Patrick’s Day.  I also know that some folks are not a fan of beer, but may find themselves in a pub or bar centered around beer.   Many of these pubs have expanded their selection of drinks to include better wines.  They have even turned into gastropubs offering great food too.   However, you may find yourself at a pub that doesn’t care about whether or not your snooty-snoot tastes are met from their wine menu.  As such, you may need an alternative drink.  The great news is that many of them offer beer on tap and offer you a taste before you buy.  They also might offer a flight so you can figure out which beer you want to drink.  Beer offerings these days are very broad, so you might just find something.   Try a cider if you like some slightly sweet wines.   Chimay offers some fruit-based options such as their Chimay Premiere style.  Try a Blue Moon or like-type if you like a citrus-based flavor.   If nothing else works, Michelob Ultra works as is very mild with little to no hoppy taste.  If you are just not a beer fan, then grab a Jameson Irish whiskey straight, on the rocks or with ginger ale and lime.  You could even try an Old Fashioned with sugar, bitters and a twist of lemon and/or orange.   Whatever you do this weekend, have fun and be safe.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Ireland is a beautiful country with some of the friendliest people.

Hi All -I hope you have had a good weekend and were able to spring forward successfully.    I do enjoy its staying light later, but it takes a bit to get used to losing the hour.   Per Wikipedia, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns.  It creates quite a Conundrum with many….which leads us into today’s wine review.   I’m reviewing the 2015 Conundrum Red Wine.  Literary genius with the tie-in there?  I think so.  The Conundrum Red Wine is a great red wine with notes of chocolate and some floral essence.    This is a medium-bodied red with some fruit notes, but not too overwhelming.  I enjoyed it with great friends, so that always adds to the review.  I’d recommend this wine for a person who wants to try a red, but doesn’t like one that is too bold.    You can find this wine at grocery stores for around $22.00 per bottle.  Have a great week!

Hi All! I hope you have had a great weekend and are ready to move into the week. Saturday, in the Dallas area, was a great day to enjoy some warmer temps. It was in the 60’s and sunny, so it just gave us a slight taste of Spring. This type of weather makes me think of lighter wine. I bought the Marchese dell’ Elsa Moscato d’Asti a few weeks ago and decided to try it. I am not a great fan of a Moscato given its sweet nature. Oaky, earthy, bold, and even pungent are the best adjectives to describe my personality and the wines I enjoy for the most part. Sweet and bubbly are not. However, I want to entertain different varietals, so decided to depart from my ways. I can open up my thinking if allowed to breathe a bit. I tried this sparkling Moscato and detected apple, floral and honey notes. It held its own against some mildly spicy items. You could probably pair it with fruit as well. This wine is from Piedmont, Italy and is created from the Muscat Blanc à Petits grape. It didn’t increase my overall effervescence, but I did enjoy this wine. I had to stop at one glass given it was pretty sweet but would recommend this wine if you are a Moscato fan. You can find it at Total Wines for around $12.00 per bottle. Have a great week!