Lucky Me!

It's been a lot of fun experimenting and searching for new wines.  I have become more willing to try new items and spread my wings (so to speak).  I am more confident in my abilities to pick out something that I think I will like based on location, varietal, and price.  Lately my eye has been focused on Lodi.  I had been seeing this location on several of the wines I have been drawn to lately.  Lodi is located in the northern portion of California's Central Valley. Good to know.

I found a neat little website:  http://www.visitlodi.com/  which gives a lot of great information about this city, which I now have on my bucket list of travel destinations.  It is located 35 miles south of Sacramento and 90 miles east of San Francisco.  

All of this to tell you that I have found a wonderful, amazing, beautiful wine this week while stopping in to World Market.  Cameron Hughes 2012 Lodi Field Blend Lot 477.  A perfect blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, and Petite Sirah.  Holy Mother of God, this is amazing.  I mean it.  Find it.  Drink it.  Get a few bottles.  I only got one and will be stopping on my way home tonight and clearing them out of whatever they have left.  I mean it.  

In my opinion, this is a very full bodied wine, but not overpowering.  The spiciness of the blend combines with a beautiful finish.  Retailing for around $13/bottle, you cannot go wrong.  I love it when I get lucky!!!

Homecoming

I made a very special trip home to Pennsylvania this past weekend.  While I do not get home often, it's even rarer that I get to go home with both of my boys.  This would be the first time in quite a while.  We drove.  Being in a car with a 12 year old and a 3 year old for close to 10 hours is not as fun as it sounds...but, we made it.  There are a few things that I must do when driving to Pittsburgh.
1.  Stop in West Virginia at the New River Gorge Bridge.
2.  Get excited when we go through the tunnels and tel my kids about Natalie and I being so hungry that one time we referred to Big Walker Mountain Tunnel as the Big Whopper Mountain tunnel.
3.  Get everyone ready to come out of the Fort Pitt Bridge tunnel...is there any view more amazing???

But this is supposed to be about WINE.  Did I mention my mom and Glenn do not drink?  Upon my arrival, I relaxed a bit and announced that I was going to head up to the State Store to purchase a bottle of wine.  No grocery store purchases in PA.  To my surprise (and dismay) my mom tells me that she has wine for me.  Deep inside I started to panic a little.  What the heck could she possibly have?  My wine snobbery was starting to rear its ugly head.  She actually said that I should write about the wine in my blog and tell everyone about how awful it was and that I HAD to drink it because nobody wants to offend a non-drinker.  At this point I had still yet to see what the heck she had!!!

She took me in to the cellar and pulls out two bottles of wine that are still in the Christmas wrapping she received them in.  Who gives a recovering alcoholic wine for Christmas???  I decided not to ask.  She pulls out a bottle of Woodbridge Pinot Grigio.  I ask if she possibly has red?  The next bottle, Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon.  The big bottle.  Wrapped up for Christmas.  Sweet!  I mean, come on...it could have been worse.  Right?  


Right?................

Change

I love finding and tasting new wines.  This has not always been the case.  It used to be that I was afraid to branch out and try something new.  I was always buying the same 2 or 3 wines over and over.  Now, its rare for me not to have something new in my house that I have found on any given wine expedition.  I got really lucky over the past week with some amazing finds.  Hold onto your socks because you are really going to like these new ones!

Again, props to Best Bottle for having a wonderful selection from which I have found some of my favorites.  Once again, they did not disappoint.  Hey Mambo 2011 Sultry Red.  With a tag line reading:  Laid-back guys, Stand-out wines, how could I go wrong.  Oh my was this nice.  Jammy fruit with with hints of spice!  Notes of dark cocoa and a smooth oak finish.  This was a beautiful find.  Dominated by Sirah, this is a true blend that really got it right.  http://www.togwines.com/wines/hey-mambo/2011-sultry-red/  Hey Mambo retails for about $10/bottle and I highly recommend you find yourself a bottle of this!

Another one I tried was one I had been eyeing for some time.  I threw caution to the wind and made the purchase this time.  And I am SO glad I did.  "The Other" 2011 Red Wine, Estate Grown, Lodi.  Wow.  A beautiful blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 10% Syrah.  I have to admit I was really intrigued by this blend.  I am generally not a Merlot fan, but mixed in with the other varietals, I really enjoyed.  I was immediately hit by the aroma of blackberries and spice.  This wine has a wonderfully long, seductive finish.  This wine would pair well with a variety of dishes.  I had this with a plate of cheese and crackers; but will definitely look to pairing it with my pizza fetish next time around.  "The Other" retails for around $15/bottle.

Sometimes a little change will do  you good.  You have to step out of your little world and discover what else is out there.  In this case, I am so glad I did.  Enjoy!

Losing your cool

It's freaking ridiculously hot and it's just June 11th.  I am already annoyed with the sweat-fest, puddle inducing runs that have become the norm this early in to base training.  Plus I am feeling a bit dehydrated as of late which has impacted my ability to enjoy wine once this week.  For shame.

I drink a lot of water throughout the day.  I need to.  We do some brutal workouts and runs during the summer time.  I know the importance of staying hydrated; but sometimes, you just cannot get enough in.  I have literally had a headache since last night at 6:20pm and I am blaming it solely on being dehydrated.

Wine might help?  (I did refrain last night due to said headache, but the headache has not gone away...so back to wine...)

I had been avoiding a particular bottle of wine at Trader Joe's since I started going there for wine purchases.  You may have seen the bottle:

I am all about the bottle.  This one has just always struck me in a way that screams:  I am not going to be what you are looking for.  I will admit when I am wrong...but this was not one of those times.  I mean, don't get me wrong it didn't suck...I did finish the bottle...but it will be a one and done purchase.  Project Happiness 2010 Syrah from California. The label says it all:

Finally, somebody put it in a bottle.  Happiness.  Sure took a while, though.  Seeking happiness?  What makes happiness?  We winemakers pondered this one afternoon in the Cellar.  Marriage?  Kids?  Satellite TV?  Get your boss fired.  Remember the 1950s, try to forget the 1980s.  Wear searsucker at least once.  Adopt a dog?  Maybe a cat.  Perhaps you're more the box turtle type>
As bold supporters of the mischief that ensues upon opening a bottle, we pose the question to you and hope that in the end, you at least believe in the satisfaction of an empty bottle...What makes you happy?

Hmmm.  Good question.  I will ponder it while drinking a bottle of...something else.

Night Swimming

When I was younger we belonged to a community pool.  We spent most summer days and weekends at Bel-View with friends.  Some of the best memories I have of that pool were the Night Swims that they had every so often.  I don't know what made the pool more magical at night...but it was.

I have a big blow up pool in my back yard for Chase.  I just bought it last weekend.  I have this little habit of not being very observant...so I didn't realize that this pool was not technically a "blow-up"pool.  I would need a compressor.  So, once that hurdle was overcome, we were able to add water and enjoy.  It made for a very fun weekend.

I also made a quick trip to Trader Joe's where I found something new.  Little did I know that I would later be enjoying the find in the pool the very next evening.  Monday was a long day.  I didn't get home from all of my activities until close to 8:00pm.  After scrubbing the kid and pouring a glass of wine, I decided to sit outside.  In the empty pool.  With the bottle.  I truly hope that the neighbor's were not peeking out their windows.  It was comfortable.  It was fun.  It was silly...but I was enjoying my own version of night swimming.

Trader Joe's 2012 Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, GSM Reserve.  A blend of 52% Syrah, 38% Grenache, and 10% Mourvedre.  Man did I get lucky with this one.  It was an oddly cool evening in my pool.  The subtle spiciness of this wine went perfectly with the breeze.  I have to admit, I was glad I brought the entire bottle outside with me so that I would not have to move again.  This was a $9.99 bottle at TJ's.  If you are able to, I recommend you stock up.  I have to admit that I had another bottle the very next night.  Although the second bottle was not enjoyed in the pool, I still enjoyed it just the same.

Next time I am filling the pool up before I get in.  I want the true night swimming experience!  Maybe this weekend...

Enjoy!

Recovery

It's no secret that I like to drink wine.  A lot.  What you may not know is that in addition to wine, I do occasionally partake in the drinking of beer and even sometime liquor.  Its not often.  But it does happen.  And usually when you combine the three, you have an epic evening with great friends.

Last weekend our girls racing team took a trip to the U.S. National Whitewater Center for a Canopy Tour.  We left Saturday afternoon to make the drive to Charlotte, NC.  We all decided it would be nice to open a bottle of wine for the drive up.  (Not our driver!!!)  We ended up polishing off 3 bottles of wine on the hour drive.  It was a variety drive.  Sawtooth Syrah was the one I was enjoying.  I have mentioned this before, as it hails from Idaho.  We arrived and took a taxi to our dinner destination.  The String Bean.  I perused the wine list and settled on a bottle of 2010 Temptation Zinfandel.  Not disappointed at all!!!  The 2010 includes a small anount of Petite Sirah to heighten the flavor and add a little more dark fruit to the palate.  There are aromas of raspberry, plum, and citrus.  Of course, I am keen on the spicy black pepper taste that makes this wine wonderful.   We polished off a few bottles with our pizza.  A great combination.

Doing some research I discovered that the wine is a pretty good bargain at about $15/bottle.  The nice thing was I was able to share this with my friends.  We all liked this selection.  That was where the wine fun ended.

We hit our next stop and we switched over to beer.  And shots.  And to be quite honest, my mind gets a little fuzzy in trying to recreate the scene.  So I won't.  I'll just share some lovely pictures that capture the evening.  We shut down the town of Belmont, NC.  The town may never be the same.

The good news is we made it the following morning and really enjoyed the Canopy Tour.  If you have not tried something like this, it is a wonderful adventure!  Although it took me a full two days to recover, I would do it all over again!