Archive for the 'Wine Babble' Category
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Holiday weekend party plans
It is time for some wine “babble”! Yea, babble. Just some straight nonsense talk about enjoying some wine.
Well Labor Day is almost here, the unofficial end of summer. We all know it means back to school and shorter, cooler days, but it’s not nearly over yet. The good stuff is just starting..warm sunny days with no humidity and cool nights that are great for sleeping. Some of the best weather is in the fall. Now, back to Labor Day, it is time to plan our annual picnic. We host it every year, rain or shine and I mean rain or shine. One year it downpoured from a tropical storm that made it’s way up the coast from Florida and we set up tables in the garage, strung some Xmas lights around and probably had one of the best times we have had. Grilling was a bit difficult and it was challenging to not have wet burgers trying to transport them into the house, but again it was fun….maybe not for the grillmaster though. This year if the forecast is for rain, we make oven food only. We have ordered the keg so the beer is set, but we need to decide what kind of wine to serve. We will need some Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet. We try to serve wine that is good, but not too pricey. I mean let’s face it, none of us want to drink jug wine, yet at the same time you are not going to serve your top pick of the cellar. We stay around the $15 per bottle range and try to find the best tasting value for our dollar. It is challenging and fun. We read up on the best buys in Wine Spectator and sample the wines until we find what we like and feel is suitable to serve our guests. Hope your Labor Day planning is going well too! Stop back next week for our final picks on what we are serving.
Published by admin on August 21st, 2008 | Filed under Wine Babble | Comment now »Just wine
I was thinking today while I was shopping around on my lunch break just how big the wine market has become in the last few years and I don’t mean just wine. We all know the wine market itself is huge and the vast selection of wines there are to choose from when visiting the local liquor store, but I am talking about the wine related items. I am truly amazed. Years ago if there was one type of wine cooler at the store, maybe a 12 bottle cooler that was a lot, now you have 30, 40, 50 bottles with dual zone cooling readily available. Yes, larger units can be purchased too, just not at every retail store where the smaller versions are available. And what about the variety of corkscrews? Today I saw a vertical opener? Never saw that one before. And the decor too, just about everything from artwork to dishtowels, rugs, clothes, you name it, you can find it. Another item that has become huge are the cocktail napkins. A favorite of mine, I like to find a new wine design I haven’t purchased before to use at the bar in my wine cellar. It’s a quirky, but fun habit and fairly inexpensive too. So, next time you are at your local home store, stop and take note of just how much wine related stuff is out there.
Published by admin on August 12th, 2008 | Filed under Wine Babble | Comment now »Summer is flying by
Wow, can you believe how quick summer is passing us by? It is August already. I know there is still a whole month before September and even then the official start of fall is still a way off, but there is something about August that starts a landslide effect. I remember being a kid and panic setting in that school would be starting before I knew it. The reminders are everywhere in August, the back to school sales, the shorter days and the dates on the calendar moving faster than they did last month. Well, I guess I am glad I am an adult now, not just because I don’t have to go back to school, but because I have a passion and appreciation for wine in my life. I had no idea that wine would be such a fascinating hobby. There is so much to learn, such a vast selection of wine on the market that one could become overwhelmed if they did not establish an appreciation early on and determine what they like in a wine. We know we like plenty of different wines, but deep down we are and always will be Cabernet Sauvignon fans. Not just any Cab, it has to be a bold, yet smooth, silky Cab. Tonight as I sit here typing I know why I have such an appreciation for wine and I know why I am such a Cabernet Sauvignon fan. Two words…..Silver Oak. Need I say more? I think not. A Cabernet such as Silver Oak that has perfected the art of making Cabernet can quite easily turn a bad day into a good day. That is of course an original quote from my husband, but the Silver Oak slogan is “life is a Cabernet.”
Simply stated and 100% true. If you have never tried Silver Oak, I know it may not be in your price range, but pick up a bottle for a special day….you will appreciate it’s quality. I’m off to enjoy mine.. bye for now.
Partytime
A time and a place. Partytime. A time to party. Any way you say it, it still sounds appealing, doesn’t it? Weekends are usually reserved for partytime and I do always enjoy my weekends. Take this past weekend for example, I got some cleaning done around the house, laundry, had company and drank some good wine. Sounds a little familiar, sort of my weekend MO, but it works for me so you won’t hear me complaining. You also won’t hear any complaints about Monday night either. That’s right, Monday! My husband prefers to reserve the weekend evenings for wine drinking and stick to water during the work week, but he surprised me on Monday with an impromptu Birthday party. Since we agreed that the only time we drink wine during the week is for special occasions, he made it my birthday. It is not really my birthday, but a full moon is not a worthy enough occasion, nor is the last Monday evening in July 2008, or the fact that it is the night before garbage day. You see, I can come up with some good ones, but they normally don’t fly. I guess he knew I had a bad day so he declared it my birthday about six months early. Fine by me… I got to have a 2004 Raymond Burr Cabernet. It was oustanding! A take home from our Napa trip in May that had been resting comfortably in the cellar since, until my birthday that is. I am almost certain that today is my birthday again. No wait, I think it might be his birthday… I must reciprocate. That will fly, right? It has to, I have a 2004 Neal Cabernet Sauvignon handy in my kitchen wine cooler, I don’t even have to walk downstairs to the cellar and how can he refuse a Neal? Neal wines are new to me, but the Cabernet rates right up there for me with some of the best Cab’s that I have tried. I also happen to know he agrees with me regarding the Neal Cab so that should keep me out of trouble this time…..can anyone say Partytime?
Published by admin on July 29th, 2008 | Filed under Wine Babble | Comment now »Vacation….need I say more?
Well, a Napa vacation it wasn’t so I will not detail every moment of my day as we did in our Napa Times column after our week off in May, but this vacation week did include plenty of Napa wine. This vacation was all about home. We did a lot of those things that you never seem to have time to do, we also enjoyed our yard, patio, and pool. The pool probably most of all as it was a sunny hot week here in NJ with no rain at all. We started out the vacation as we do most vacations with a Silver Oak Alexander Valley, 2002 vintage. I think that goes without saying that it was outstanding. The rest of the week was a mixed bag, we tried everything from White blends, Savignon Blancs to Pinots and of course our favorite, Cabernet. Oh, and a nice Red blend, how could I forget? We shopped one day at our favorite store, Liquor Outlet in Boonton, NJ and my husband pointed out a 2004 Roy Estate Napa Valley Proprietary Red that he commented he has really been wanting to try, but it was a bit pricey. So, I bought it for him, let’s face it he is more than worth it and we certainly would have spent a lot more money had we taken a vacation away from home for the week. Boy, I am I glad I did make that purchase. A complex, yet smooth outstanding Napa Valley wine. This sounds sort of strange, but at the first whiff it had what we call “that Napa Valley smell”. It is hard to describe, but I know you know what I am talking about if you are a lover of Napa Valley wines, just the right combination of aromas that you know is going to taste outstanding. Roy Estates released the 2004 Proprietary Red and the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon in 2007 as their very first vintages. I have not tried the Cabernet, but I can assure you the blend of Cabernet and Merlot in the Proprietary Blend is outstanding. The 2004 blend is 52% Cab and 48% Merlot, barrel aged 21 months in new French oak.
As the week progressed we enjoyed a 2006 Neal Napa Valley Zinfandel, a 2005 Frank Family Reserve Pinot Noir and I can’t forget the Rutherford Hill Reserve Merlot that we had brought home from our Napa trip this year and drank on our anniversary mid week. I do not care what anyone says about Merlot, there are some really outstanding Merlots out there that got a bad rap due to the movie Sideways, but I can assure you that Rutherford Hill Reserve is one of the best ones I have tasted. A nice choice my husband made out of the cellar for our anniversary. There is too much to review for one week, but I’d like to add we even had a locally made Raspberry desert wine poured over a nice chocolate cake my neighbor brought to dinner and some port. We certainly covered all bases of the wine spectrum this time. Stayed tuned for more summer adventures!
Fourth of July Weekend
Hope you all enjoyed your long weekend for the Fourth of July! How great is that when a holiday like the fourth falls on either side of the weekend. Most times we have to go to work the next day, unlike Memorial Day or Labor Day when we know we have a long weekend. As usual our weekend was filled with fun! The weather was not the greatest, but it did not manage to ruin the weekend. Thursday evening we dined out on our patio with our son and daughter in law to be. We grilled up some clams, pork chops and poured ourselves some Kendall Jackson Sauvignon Blanc as it was quite warm and humid. As the thunderstorms moved in we quickly retreated inside and had ourselves two outstanding Reds-both produced by Neal. First a 2004 Cabernet that was outstanding, a true taste of Napa Valley, then we tried the Neal 2006 Zinfandel which was also very good. This was our first time trying the Neal wines and we would most certainly purchase them again. My husband said I was not supposed to open them, but unless they are in the cellar they are meant to be open. Next up was the annual Fourth of July picnic on the lake at our brother and sister in law’s home. We watched the water skiers pass by complete with Red White and Blue costumes, had some great food, and a few beers as it was just too hot for wine. After the fireworks we headed home to crack a few nice bottles in honor of Independence Day! Our wine buddies (sister and brother in law) were celebrating with us as usual. We did indulge a bit again, as usual, but a good time we had and some outstanding wine poured. We poured a 25th anniversary Whitehall Lane Cabernet that was quite interesting. They used a glass cork closure to the wine similar to what you would find in a port bottle, almost like a stopper, that appeared to be air sealed. The cork as it was is certainly a conversation piece. The wine was very good as well. We also sampled a Venge Syrah from our recent Napa trip, we think it has rested long enough that we could enjoy a bottle. We finished up with a 2005 Christopher Creek Zinfandel that was very tasty as well, but did not seem to be an overall crowd pleaser. Maybe it was just time to go to bed. Now if we could only learn that trick, we’d feel much better in the morning!
Published by admin on July 8th, 2008 | Filed under Wine Babble | Comment now »The Annual Garage Sale
Hi there Wine Lovers! What an exciting weekend I had, hope you had a great one too! As I sit typing this I am enjoying a glass of Chapplett Cabernet Sauvignon to wrap up the weekend. I am inside this evening as thunderstorms threaten to strike any moment. You may think what I have to say about the weekend is a little strange, but it was one of my most favorite annual event weekends- it was our annual garage sale. Yes, garage sale. Most folks probably dread the thought of garage sales as it is a lot of work to have one, but our family and friends have a great time. We all put our stuff together to create one sale, we make signs, we have breakfast, lunch, drinks and more. We set up our cooler in the garage and start with beers around 11:00 and some wine a little later. Our customers consistently ask to join the party or if drinks are for sale. We had Smoking Loon Chardonnay and St Clement Sauvignon Blanc at the sale, with some Hanna Sauvignon Blanc after the sale while swimming. We always manage to pull in some big crowds, everyone has a profitable day and most of all we have a great time. We made close to a $1,000, with the most profitable couple pulling in a little over $200.
After the sale and clean up we headed to the backyard for some swimming and relaxation. As I said earlier we had some Hanna Sauvignon Blanc after the sale, then as a quick shower passed over us, we enjoyed a Raymond Burr Chardonnay. Our sister and brother in law were staying the night, and we had others join us for dinner so there was quite a bit more quality wine enjoyed. We also had a variety of foods with our son pleasing the crowd with clams and later on some specially prepared venison meat on the grill. There was shrimp cocktail, lobster and crab cakes and finally some grilled salmon and small red potatoes to finish. During the course of the evening we indulged in some fantastic wines along with our foods. We certainly rewarded ourselves for the hard days work with some Bremer Family Cabernet, a Silver Oak-Alexander Valley while sitting by our outdoor fireplace. We then enjoyed a midnight swim including lots of trips down the slide into our inground swimming pool and finished off the evening with a bottle of Frank Family Zinfandel. In hindsight, it was too late to be opening a bottle as good as Frank Family that late in the evening, but it happens sometimes. Plus it wasn’t me, it was my sister that opened that one. Of course, I didn’t stop her though. Another great time, as usual!
The wedding
We are back from a long weekend at the Jersey shore. If you are from New Jersey or the surrounding area you probably know we refer to it as being “down the shore”. That is NJ slang for being at the beach. We were at Long Beach Island, exit 63 off the parkway. We stayed in a town called Ship Bottom on the Island and attended a family wedding. We arrived Friday early afternoon and hit the beach for a while before rehearsal dinner, but of course, we left room for some wine between the beach and dinner. We hung out on the balcony of our sister and brother in law’s room overlooking the beach, yelling to the rest of our friends and family still on the beach while we poured some really nice whites. First we had one of our favorite summertime whites, the Hanna Sauvignon Blanc, then we tried a white that returned to NJ from our Napa trip last month. A 2007 Venge wine called Bianco Spettro (White Ghost) that was more awesome than we remembered it to be, with flavors of citrus, apple, pear and even key lime jumping out at you. We were all very happy with that purchase. You know sometimes what tastes good in Napa Valley doesn’t always taste so good when you return home, but no dissappoinment here! The rest of the weekend was busy with lots of wine being consumed, if I told you all of it, you’d think we overindulged. I can tell you though, that there were some really enjoyable wines such as Bennett Lane Cabernet, Frank Family Zinfandel, and a great Frank Family Reserve Pinot Noir. There was plenty of beach time and lots of sunshine before the 5pm ceremony on the beach. After the ceremony we headed to a relatives yard for a picnic type reception outdoors under a huge tent. That brings me to share a funny highlight. Being the wine drinkers we are, we quickly searched out the help yourself bar and discovered some wines, but could not locate an opener. Acting resourcefully we quickly remembered the nearby liquor store where we could purchase an opener and while we were at it, we selected and purchased our own wine for the evening. That’s bad, right? Not really, we did save the bride and groom money and kept our box out of the way beside our table. All in all, a great weekend, a few tired people from our late nights and another one in the history books. Return soon for more summertime stories!
Published by admin on June 16th, 2008 | Filed under Wine Babble | Comment now »