Baby It's Cold Outside!

I am originally from Pittsburgh, Pa.  I grew up sled riding, ice-skating, building snow forts, and having snow ball fights in the winter.  We looked forward to those snow days and to having the day off to get all of the kids in the neighborhood together for a ridiculous sled riding event.  Once we were completely numb we would all pile into someone’s house and put our clothes in the dryer while we sat around in our long john’s drinking hot chocolate.  Once our clothes were dry and we had thawed a bit we bundled back up and went back for more. 

I have been in the balmy south for 20 years.  I have to admit I have completely acclimated to not having snow every year.  Yes, it gets cold, but really, its South Carolina cold.  What is a girl to do in South Carolina when the temperatures drop to 15 degrees?  Find a nice bottle of red wine and drink up!

I am happy to report that I have a very nice bottle to tell you about this week. 

2012 MontGras Cabernet Sauvignon - Carmenere.  This deep ruby red blend did not disappoint.  It is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carmenere.  A wonderful blend from Chile.  I have realized I really do like wines from the Colchugua  area, as this is my second fab find from the area.  I am starting to like to experiment with wine blends and this one was a very nice combination of two of my favorites.  The wine retails for around $17 per bottle.  http://www.montgras.cl/fichas%20tecnicas/2012MontGrasXXAosING.pdf
This was the perfect wine to warm me up following a race that some good friends and I braved in sub 20 degree weather on Saturday morning.  The pace was hot, the weather was cold, and the wine made it all worth it that evening.  My crew all set Personal Records so the wine celebration was needed.

I know all the snow is not going to last long, so I will enjoy it for the brief moment it lasts.  This morning I decided to head out for a run in the snow with friends.  It really was fun to be out in the snow making those first tracks before the sun came up.  I think I'll need to find another bottle to keep me warm tonight!

Here's to staying warm and toasty!

Shooting Star

This week started out with me in need of some oomph.  I was exhausted as I trekked outside for my Monday morning run.  I had a completely nap-free weekend which is a tragedy.  My plan was to run a slow 4 miler to shake out my legs from the Sunday long run.  I was about 10 steps in to my run when I saw an amazing shooting star!!!  It caught me so off guard that I almost forgot that you are supposed to make a wish when that happens.  My brain was scrambling trying to come up with the perfect wish...

My day immediately improved.  I felt a new spring in my step and went a little farther than planned and hit some hills. I am also happy to report that said wish came true the very next day!  I still can't tell you the wish, because I think that is bad luck.

I had great wine luck as well.  Run, don't walk to find yourself a bottle of Vina Eguia Riojo Reserva 2007.  Run as fast as you can.  This is a 100% Tempranillo wine from Spain.  Rioja has very strict standards for labeling their wine and a Reserva must have 18-24 months aging in oak and another 18-24 months in a bottle.  For around $10 a bottle you cannot beat this gem.  I cannot wait to get my hands on another bottle.  I found out that Morganelli's can order this wine for you if you cannot find it online.  When I went on line to search, it was sold out on every site I tried.  That says something.

This wine has a deep spicy/earthy taste and a superb finish.  I will be begging my reverse wine snob at work for another bottle of this.

The second selection of the week was Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2011.  This retails for about $25 bottle.  This wine has a very deep red/purple color with a bold taste and extremely smooth finish.  Not a harsh as I thought it might be by initial viewing.  This was a very nice bottle of wine.  Again, other high up there on my recommendation list.

Like my shooting star experience, my wine experience this week has been nothing but pleasant.  I am hoping for continued luck...

Sip on my friends!

Rain Rain Go Away!

I swear it has rained more than it has been sunny so far this year.  It's fairly annoying.  I truly do not mind running in the rain during the summer months, but in the winter it leaves a lot to be desired.  Our weather has been completely ridiculous.  Where else in the world can you have a 40+ degree temperature swing in less than one week?  Not many other places that I know of.  I ran Monday morning in 57 degree weather.  By Tuesday morning, as you fellow SC residents are well aware, we hit 14 degrees!!!  WTF??

This called for deep heavy red wine drinking.  The rainier and colder the weather, the deeper the red.  There is no hard fast rule with this, its just my personal preference.  I have already made a huge fuss about the Trivento Grand Reserve Malbec in a prior post.  But, I have to admit, I needed a do-over.  This wine is the perfect wine for the dismal weather.  This wine from Argentina is extremely bold and deep.  I will say it again, well worth it for the $20 spent.

I had a variation from the norm this week with my monthly running group dinner.  We went to Burger 77 and in looking at the wine list, let's just say it was probably a good choice to not select the options available.  So we had beer!  Shocktop on draft to be precise.  This is a very nice beer.  I am not a bottle or can fan when it comes to beer.  I love draft beer.  Ice cold in a nice cold mug.  We got the happy hour big mug special.  These were huge beers.  Cold and with an orange wedge to accentuate the flavor.  Before I started my wine love, I was on a beer kick with trying new flavors.  I still love a good beer, and Shocktop is a good one!

During my last stock up trip to Trader Joe's I ventured away from the TJ brands and got a few other little treats.  One of the bottles was a 2010 bottle of Estancia Reserve - Paso Robles Meritage.  This is a California Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.  I did enjoy this blend which is primarily Cabernet, but you can taste the spicy Malbec which really rounds out the flavor in this wine.  This retails for around $25 per bottle.  It was the perfect companion for the end of a rough day.

Tonight I have a little celebrating to do.  I am very excited about being named in the 2013 Masters Top race times in SC for 2013.  If you missed the article, please check it out:  http://www.examiner.com/article/top-masters-road-racing-performances-south-carolina-for-2013
Can't wait to let you know about my next selections!!

Welcome 2014

While 2013 was one of my best years to date, I have high expectations for 2014.  There is a lot I was to accomplish from a running perspective.  I finished the year stronger than I started and that is my goal again for 2014.  I set 6 Personal Records in 2013...so I have set the bar high.

Speaking of bars...I met my pals Joyce and Andrew at Thirsty Fellow for a night out this week.  It was an opportunity to catch up and to try a new Cabernet that I hadn't yet.  Even better, it is one of RNDC's.  I selected Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon.  This was a very nice, smooth, medium-body wine that was very easy to drink.  It went very well with the company and some of Andrew's sweet potato fries that I was stealing directly from his plate.  The cool thing about this wine was what I learned after the fact.  I went to work and asked one of our guys the proper pronunciation for "Louis"; was it LOUIS or LOUIE?  Turns out I had pronounced it correctly by using the LOUIE version.  The particular bottle I was drinking was the Sonoma Valley Cabernet.  Turns out that in addition to the Sonoma, there is a Napa Valley Cabernet which is even better according to said wine guru.  So, that being discovered, I will most likely be scoping out a Napa Valley bottle to do some comparing.

Another score this week was the Alamos 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon.  I have been faithful to my reds as of late.  This is a wine from Argentina.  Retails for about $10/bottle which is very reasonable.  One of the things I try to do when I get bottles of wine from work is to have a drink of the wine before I look up anything at all about it so that I am not biased by any information I see regarding others opinions, cost, or rating.  I broke my rule last night.  I was busy so I was multi-tasking.  I looked up the Alamos while pouring my glass while also making dinner.  I discovered pre-drink about the retail cost, so I was a bit biased before my first sip.  I will say this is a very drinkable Cabernet.  I was pleasantly surprised by its taste and will continue to pick this up from the "breakage" when I see it again.

Fireworks!

When I was younger New Years Eve consisted of watching the ball drop on TV and at midnight heading outside with pots, pans, and wooden spoons to make as much noise as possible. Since moving south, where fireworks are legal, New Years Eve is a lot like how I remember the Fourth of July!

This past last week of 2013 has been a wonderful ending to a great year.  I celebrated a birthday, I ran my final race of the year, and I enjoyed some spectacular bottles of wine.

Cold Winter's Day is one of my favorite races in Columbia. I love the course, although it is not an easy one. Not ridiculously tough, but lots of rolling hills. All I wanted to do was break 20 minutes on this 5k race. Finishing in 19:51 got me sub 20 and also got me the age group win. I do have to thank my racing team ladies for the help in getting under 20 at this one. It was the perfect running weather! We always cap this race off with the annual racing team celebration in the man-cave. It was a fun post race party...complete with beer, wine, champagne, and moonshine!

I busted out the Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon in honor of a great racing year and a sub 20 finale. I had tried the Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc earlier this year while in Chicago for my sisters wedding and was quite impressed. The Cabernet did not disappoint! I truly enjoyed this bottle and will be looking around the office for another bottle. This is a California (Napa Valley) wine from Cakebread Cellars. I would call this a medium blend deep red. For you carnivores out there, this would definitely go well with your steak. This was gifted to me from work...you can find this wine for around $60 a bottle retail.  Great special occasion bottle.

I had a very nice bottle of Simi Pinot Noir over the weekend. I am a huge Pinot fan and this did not disappoint. 100% Pinot Noir, a Sonoma County California wine. Very smooth and easy to drink. This wine retails for about $26 a bottle.  This is a top ranking Pinot in my book.

On New Years Eve I had the pleasure of opening a bottle that I received as a birthday gift from a friend at work. As I have mentioned before, I am still learning and testing out new wines. This was my first bottle of Malbec. Holy Mother of God! There is so much to learn!  This was absolutely amazing. Very very bold and rich! Deep purple, red in color and an amazing flavor. I am usually a bottle finisher, but I will admit this is a wine to savor slowly.  Trivento Golden Reserve 2011 Malbec from Argentina is amazing! This wine is another meat lovers dream come true with a steak. I truly just savored this wine while drinking it. Retails for about $20 per bottle.  I highly recommend this wine! I will be looking for more Malbec!

Happy New Year's to everyone! Here's looking at more wine love in 2014!