A Quote

"Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing."

-Ernest Hemingway

Something New

Last night with dinner I had a Samuel Smith Taddy Porter (gasp....you mean there are other beverages besides wine?!). I had never heard of a Porter until I saw a beer special on TV not long ago. I enjoy dark beers, so when I saw it in the Sprouts market, I picked it up. Pouring it into the glass, it is a rich, dark color. The taste was not as heavy as say a Guinness. It was lighter and more enjoyable. My husband thought it was bitter, but I did not find it so. I would have it again if the occasion called for it. Give it a try!

Prost!

Wine Tasting at The Sheraton

Last night we attended the wine tasting at The Sheraton/Fairplex. We were surprised that there was not a large crowd compared to last months gathering. That was OK, more wine for those that were there! The wine was being represented this evening by Concannon Vineyards. They had a wide variety of whites and reds to taste. Unfortunately, the gentleman serving did not have a list of what was being offered. From what I can recall, there was Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, what he called a "Mutt" white (a blend of several whites), Pinot Noir, Merlot, Petit Sirah and a "Mutt" red. I think my favorite was the Pinot Noir. Since there was a small crowd, by the end of the evening we were being served half to almost full servings!! There were also appetizers; platters of various fruits, cheeses, crackers. Servers also brought around finger foods such as spinach or ham quiche, chicken & bean burritos and meatballs (they were WAY too salty...only had one bite). Overall, it was a success and are looking forward to next month!!

Prost!

The Perfect Match

Last night I had a wonderful dinner. It was my choice, so I chose to dine Japanese.....sushi to be exact. Started out with edamame. I could just about make a meal out of these tasty little soy morsels. I was making it a light night, so I had a spicy tuna roll. Mmmm...mmmm.....good! I paired the meal with Chateau St Jean Gewurtztraminer Sonoma County 2006 (Fresh and blossomy, the peachy Ch St Jean Gewurztraminer is a bright wine in all aspects). Oh, this was heaven. The spiciness of the sushi and the medium-sweetness of the wine was the perfect match. To finish off the meal was mango mochi....ahhhh.


Tonight is wine tasting at the Sheraton where we will be sampling wines from Concannon Vineyards.


Prost!

COWABUNGA!!!

Yesterday my mom and I attended the OC Fair. We had fun checking out the livestock, crafts, artwork and all that the fair has to offer. I had wanted to take my camera, but unfortunately, it wasn't available to me....sniffle. Oh well, we had a good time!! As you enter the park there was a wonderful sand sculpture of cows surfing a large wave. There were various other cow sculptures "on the beach" playing in the sand, relaxing on a bench, enjoying their day! It is quite amazing the artistry that is involved in such a creation.

Then there is the food. Oh my gosh....so much to choose from! They had a new gastric concoction called a "Cowabunga Burger". I think it was 1 1/2 lbs. of angus burger. Three patties, with melting cheese, 6 inches high!! I swear you could feed four with it! And can they think of anything else to deep fry? From vegetables to Twinkies, to Oreos, to peanut butter something-or-other, they will deep fry it! I am in general a healthy eater, so it was a bit tough finding something that sounded good to me. My mom had a hot dog and a "Bud" and I had a chicken taco that was quite tasty! I also had a glass of Fetzer Gewurztraminer Valley Oaks '05 (Tastefully aromatic, the flowery, slightly spicy, medium sweet Fetzer Gewurztraminer is a delicious sipping wine; great all by itself.) For dessert, we each had a non-fat yogurt in a waffle cone.....yummy....my favorite!

That had topped off our visit to the fair this year. The LA Fair will be here in a few months....I'm sure I'll plan a day there too!

CHEERS!

Concert in the Park

Sunday night was "Concert in the Park" night. The Silverados were the band that performed and they were much better than I had anticipated! It was billed as country/rock, which I thought was going to be leaning towards country, but it was a good mix of country pop and rock. I would definitely check them out at other performances in the area. The evening was not only about listening to the music, we also had food and wine (of course!). We started out with a green salad with tomato and feta cheese. Next, was pizza from Petrillo's (they are THE best!!! in my opinion). I picked up a pizza which we had not tried before. It was their Pizza Bianca which was brushed with extra virgin olive oil, mozzarella and romano cheeses, fresh tomato and fresh basil. It was excellent!! Dessert was fresh strawberries and blueberries topped with Cool-Whip......yummy!! Our wine selections were Barefoot White Zinfandel (my mom's favorite), Foothill Vineyards Peachard (which is a Peach Chardonnay....I am a peach fan!) and Cycles Gladiator Pinot Grigio.
It was another relaxing evening of entertainment under the stars. Looking forward to another one in a couple of weeks!
See you there.....CHEERS!

Class Postponed

My sister and I arrived at the Wine Tailor only to find that the class had been cancelled. BUMMER!! Oh well, all was not lost. They had their tasting going on so we had a taste of a New Zealand Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir and a Strawberry White Zinfandel, which would be a perfect compliment to a summer picnic or sitting by the pool. They also had an Ice Wine for tasting which we had a full glass of. They offered a glass of our choice for the inconvenience of the class cancellation. We thought that was considerate of them.

After chatting and relaxing there for a bit, we went over to Victoria Gardens to eat at Kings Fish House. It was our first visit there, and it won't be my last!! I had the King's Seafood Combo; a brochette of Yellow tail, Shark, and Ahi with Thai Chili Sauce. I chose to have the "sidekicks" of sauteed spinach and Northwest vegetables (shallots, carrots & snow peas). The meal also came with a heavenly sourdough bread. My wine selection was a nice Riesling (forgive me for not knowing the name.....I'm terrible!).

So, tonight is Country/Rock music at our local park.........Yeehaw!!!!!!
Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend and until next time....CHEERS!

Friday Fun Facts

We finally made it to Friday!! Here are a couple of fun facts that I recently ran across in QRW;


Seniors who drank moderate amounts of wine (six to 13 glasses a week) are likely to have lower Medicare expenses than non-drinkers, according to a study published last fall in Health Care Financing Review, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources journal.
(start raising those glasses!!!)

U.S. consumers purchased a record 300 million cases of wine in 2006, prompting wine industry analyst Jon Fredrikson of Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates to note that "Wine is finally entering the mainstream of American life". What a brilliant observation.
(you think?!)


Looking ahead to the weekend, my sister and I are going to The Wine Tailor, where we will be attending a class on white wines. I'm sure we will be doing some tasting also!! I'll report back as to how much we learned....hmmm.....I better take notes!
Sunday I may go to our local Concerts in the Park. I believe they are having a country/rock band. Not normally the music I listen to, but it is usually a relaxing evening. We usually bring, cards, food and a couple of bottles of wine. I do have some that I have been wanting to open stashed away, so now may be the time. If I do, I'll review them in my next post.

Everyone have a great weekend.....Cheers!

Two Buck Chuck Wins It!

It had been a while since I had purchased a bottle of Charles Shaw or lovingly known as "Two Buck Chuck", but after I heard the news on the radio that their 2005 Chardonnay was awarded Best Chardonnay from CA, I ran over to my local Trader Joe's and picked up a bottle. Arriving home, I popped it in the fridge and waited until the dinner hour to have a taste (it was a bit early in the day to break it open when I bought it or I would have tried it then.....but then again....is it ever too early?) After an afternoon of anticipation, I popped the cork and poured the yellow gold. It has a very nice, light fruity flavor. I can say it passed in my book. I have read where many wine enthusiasts have scoffed at this award winner. I say let them scoff!! Leaves more bottles on the shelves for those of us who trust our pallets, whether it be for $2 or $200.

Here is a link to the article which was written in the Napa Valley Register regarding the win at the Commercial Wine Competition.

Cheers!

A Weekend of Wine, Food & Music

What a wonderful weekend! Saturday evening my mom, sister and I attended the California Philharmonic Festival on The Green . The title for the night's concert was Music Theater; 100 Years of Joy. It consisted of music from Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof and Annie Get Your Gun. The conductor is always a delight adding his insightful, and at times comical, tales of the composers or the events of the time. We also enjoyed fabulous wine and food. Starting out our evening with Korbel Brut Rose....what a better way to start than with a nice, light Champagne on a warm summer evening. Also included in the night's beverage list was my fruity Sangria and the Summer Splash which was a watermelon red wine. Our dinner for the evening was provided by Burger Continental. My mom had their famous Chicken Tavouk Kebab. My sister and I had the Stuffed Breast of Chicken “Corinthian” with feta cheese & fresh spinach in filo dough. Each dinner came with Greek salad, hummus, taboule, eggplant, rice pilaf & pita bread. There was more than enough...we were stuffed!! For dessert I brought fresh fruit and baklava. Ahhhh....heaven.

Sunday afternoon, my mom, husband and I went to The Wine Tailor for a Caribbean BBQ. We purchased a bottle of cold, refreshing Ice Wine and headed for the patio to listen to Steel Drum music provided by Ray McNamara. The BBQ was catered by Carl's Cajun Catering and it was mighty tasty! We had chicken, hot links, beans, green salad, bread and a wonderful potato salad with mangos....yummy!! After a couple of relaxing hours we headed home, but of course had to stop by 21 Choices for a frozen yogurt (Fat free French Vanilla with Blueberries for me....love it!)






It was such a great weekend, but now it is Monday, so back to the daily grind!!!





Cheers!

Cool & Refreshing

Summer is here and as the mercury rises, we look towards cool drinks to refresh us. One of our favorites is Sangria. The wonderful sweet fruit......mmmmm......tasty! I had a recipe that I was going to share that included Rioja, Grand Marnier, etc., but I can't seem to find it. Must have misplaced it after the last batch...haha! A simple way to to enjoy the fruity nectar is to buy a jug of Carlo Rossi, a bit of Grand Marnier and add your fruit of choice. I plan on doing this tomorrow as we are going to see the California Philharmonic perform at The Festival on the Green at the Arboretum in Arcadia, CA. It is a wonderful evening listening to the music on the lawn under the stars. Everyone takes a picnic or places advanced orders with some of the local restaurants that cater the event. We are starting our evening out with a bottle of Korbel Brut Rose. This year we ordered our food from Burger Continental in Pasadena. They have wonderful Middle-Eastern food (I don't think they even have burgers on their menu!). Of course, we have my Sangria and also a Watermelon wine that my sister purchased from The Wine Tailor in Rancho Cucamonga. That is something different! We have been going for the last few years and it is such an enjoyable event! I definitely recommend it to anyone that is looking for something a little different and entertaining.

I'll let everyone know how the evening went in a later post and I may be going to a Caribbean BBQ at The Wine Tailor on Sunday. Hopefully I'll have a positive report on that event as well!
Till next time.....CHEERS

My Blog is Uncorked

Wow! My first post! How exciting!! I'm looking forward to telling everyone about my adventures in wine tasting...searching out those gems of lovely tasting wines. First let me tell you that I am a novice at this. I had always enjoyed "drinking" wine, but I never took the time to appreciate it. There were a few years where I had stopped drinking it all together. But then, a few months ago, I visited a local winery where I enjoyed the experience and thought how much I was missing the taste of a good wine. Since then, I have been to a few tasting events, winery tours and also found one local winery where they assist you in making your own wine! That will definitely be on my agenda in the future! I have not stopped there in my quest for knowledge. I have also subscribed to "QRW (Quarterly Wine Review)" and am currently reading "Wine...an introduction" by Joanna Simon. I find it to be an excellent book which covers all aspects of experiencing the world of wine.



As I forge ahead, I want to bring my thoughts to all of you who may also be interested in enjoying the grape in all its glory. I hope I may also learn from others along the way.

So, let us all sit back and relax until next time.....CHEERS!