Aviary Cabernet Sauvignon

 

    I thought I'd take the weekend off, but then my partner made burgers and insisted we needed a nice red to go with it.  So, I may have stolen a bottle from my parent's collection as I'm trying to save a lot of my personal collection for this coming Saturday when I plan to have some employees over and give them some lessons.  I stole a quaint Napa Cabernet Sauvignon from them that my mother really enjoys.

    It was decent and bearable.  I still am not a big fan of oak, try as I might.  I wish I could like it.  It's the premise for so many wines.  I just struggle with the oak as it makes the wine almost too spicy for me?  I just don't like it as much.  However, I managed through this and enjoyed the sips with the bites of beef patty.

    Featured in the background are some beautiful African Violets which have a very odd story tied to them for my family.  There is a tapestry hanging in my bathroom that my mother gave me explaining how to take care of African Violets.  It used to hang in her bathroom and before that in her grandmother's bathroom I believe.  My mother could never explain to me why it was traditionally kept in the bathroom, but it simply is.  And since I have this beautiful tapestry and slight knowledge (although I do have a knack for killing plants it seems), she gifted me the beautiful pot.  Now, let's see if I can keep this plant alive.  I mean I do have perfect instructions to reference back to in my bathroom.'

    Today was a rainy day.  It would have been quite the day to enjoy some good wine.  I'm just so nervous about drinking something that my employees may want to try.  My collection as of now has 4 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1 Merlot, 1 Shiraz, 1 Valpolicella Ripasso, 1 Chianti, 1 Italian Red Blend of 8 grapes, 1 Zweigelt, 1 Saint Emilion Bordeaux Blend, 1 Pomerol Bordeaux Blend, 1 Saint Estephe Bordeaux Blend, 1 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 1 Blaufrankish, 1 Austrian Red Blend, 1 Burgundy, 1 Barolo, 1 Roero Arneis Reserva (Yes, you read that right.  Monchiero Carbone is doing amazing and groundbreaking work with their white wines), 2 Sauvignon Blancs, 1 Pouilly-Fuisse, 1 Sancere, 2 Domestic White Blends, 1 Txomin Etxaniz, 1 Moscato D'Asti, 2 Rieslings (1 dry and 1 regular), 1 Lambrusco, 2 local sweet wines, 1 local Petillant Naturel, 1 Muscadet, 1 Chardonnay, 1 Albarino, and 2 Pinot Grigio.  It's not much but it's certainly a start and a little something for everyone to try and for everyone to like something.  This event is coming about because one employee went to Jordan recently and brought home some Jordanian wine and wanted to try with some individuals that knew something about wine, and I'm certainly doing my best to learn and pass on that information so I planned out the event.  I just can't wait to get through it so I can start just picking wines to enjoy and share with the blog.

    Anyways, I've told you about tonight's drink of choice, I've told an odd story about flowers and tapestries, and I've bragged about the beginnings of my collection.  Now, I say goodnight and hope that if you like oak you have the opportunity to try this Cabernet Sauvignon.  If you do not like oak like me, you probably will not like this.  It is a true Napa Cabernet in every sense.

Beat Box Pink Lemonade

    Some may say "Keep Calm & Carry On", but I definitely prefer my sign instructing me to drink wine.  Today's choice has been a party pleaser... simply because before that I attempted a shiraz that I could barely get two sips in because the acidity was just too much for me.  Perhaps it was because it was a screw top, I seem to have a preference for corks.  I rather dislike screw tops despite how much easier they are.

    Beat Box has been all the rage apparently and something we just brought in to the store.  The chilled box is perfect as the weather continues to warm up.  It truly is the perfect party punch and tasted good with or without the sprite.  I guess that just depends on whether or not you like a little bubble in your life.  My dad stated that he preferred the sprite and my mom preferred the regular glass of wine.  I liked them both, so I left my mom with the plain party wine and enjoyed the glass with sprite - that I'm still enjoying.

   

    My daughter took one sniff and observed the strawberries right away.  We can still make party wines complex, right?  Identify the strawberries and lemons in the pink lemonade wine.  Or just enjoy the sweet wine because it doesn't have to be all about identifying notes.  I have been really loving learning about all the different wines and grapes out there.

    Today's discovery makes me question shiraz, though.  Even my mother was not the biggest fan of the shiraz and she claims she tends to like them.  It was a South Eastern Australian Shiraz.  It was titled Victoria Park Barossa Valley Shiraz by Yalumba.  It was a tall black bottle.  A very round white labeled bottle seems to pop up in searches, but it was not that.  It was clearly oaky which I'm not really a fan of, but my mom does tend to be.  But she and I both agreed that it was far too acidic and almost bitter.  I feel like I don't have a lot of luck with screw tops.  Screw tops always seem to have gone bad when I try them.  Except for this beat box!  Sweet somethings do not taste so bad from a screw top.

    Well, I'm really glad I got this beat box sample from a trade show recently and I'm super happy our store brought it in!  It is definitely worth a try.  I wouldn't go for it just because you want to drink wine, but I can certainly understand the party punch idea behind it.  It's perfect for the summer we're about to have.  It's literally punch.  Fill up a bowl with the beat box, throw some sprite in it, and enjoy a grown up party drink for the event.  It's perfect!  Go on and try it this summer!

Stella Rosa Blueberry Wine

 

    So, let's talk dessert.  Because you can drink this candy with anything.  I may have drank my merlot with nothing last night to just enjoy it, but this is like soda or juice.  I mean it just drinks so well.  It made me want pancakes as it was just the syrup on top, but all I had was brownies and cheesecake.  Did I mention dessert?  Delicious.

    I'm not going to lie that I had been stressed about making a post today.  I've tried blogging before on multiple different topics and I didn't want to stop the momentum.  Today was just an oddball day.  My little family unit packed up for the library expecting my daughter's bio dad to show up for visitation to which he did not.  It didn't surprise me but it was quite a statement (again).  So, we went out to the local diner for dinner.  Now, I do try to drink my wine with dinner, but there was none to be served at this establishment.  And before I even got halfway through dinner, I was feeling a little unwell and not wanting to stay awake much longer.  So, we get home, I shower, and I've decided not to open a bottle.  I had accepted that I would be missing a night of wine to share with the world.  Until I read a message from my mother that my parents and their company have opened this bottle of wine and I'm welcome to join.  And I certainly did.

    I know normally I talk about the wine but what a delight these individuals are.  My parents have found a really nice group of friends that I really enjoy in the area.  This is a little Dungeons & Dragons group that they've formed and I like all of them.  I'm definitely not in the group and a little awkward but I love observing them.  And one of them was crafting little handheld May Poles for Beltane that made me very happy.  They're like little pom poms and are just so fun.  I'm very happy to have been gifted that along with the wine.

    I don't know what more I can really say about a "semi"-sweet candy wine like Stella Rosa.  It was true to it's blueberry roots and delicious.  I could drink it all day with a pancake or waffle breakfast.  Who needs dry mimosas when you can have this sweet syrup to put you in a chipper mood?  Find me by the pool all summer with a Moscato, Malvasia, or other sweet wine in hand.  Sweet wine is my happy place.  I'm definitely trying to explore the dry wines and find a love for them, but there will always be a special place in my heart for something sweet.

    And even if you are a dry wine drinker, there's nothing wrong with a little candy.  There's no reason to not like it.  If you like jolly ranchers or smarties or sweet delicious treats, it's hard to say you don't like sweet wines.  I think it's certainly worth a try.  I hope you get to enjoy it or another option by Stella Rosa that's more your flavor!

Dionysos Merlot

 

    Tonight's selection was yet another complex delight.  Despite the fact that I've been slowly learning to enjoy dry wines, Merlot is one that has grown on me a little faster than some.  This one was no exception.  It proved to be a delicious Merlot and showed me exactly why this grape is quickly becoming one of my favorite reds, or dare I even say purple?  The hues get so deep and sultry in the manner that purple can seem to take.  I do so enjoy it.

    The moment I opened the bottle, I felt certain I was in for a treat.  I grabbed one of my larger red glasses to truly capture the bouquet of the wine.  Upon first whiff, I was immediately entranced and thought to myself "I know this smell."  I made my way to my closet where I began to sniff my leather jackets tucked in the back.  It was precisely that.  I had picked up on the leather notes and returned to confirm the dark fruits that accompanied which I believe to be cherries.  My six-year-old daughter confirmed my suspicions when her nose led her to believe it smelled of "grapes and cherries."  Of course, we have to both be correct about the cherries.  There is no doubt about that note there.

    It was my first Grecian wine.  Coming from Peloponnese, Greece, it hides in the Southern peninsula that seems to be a tourist hot spot with all it's beautiful seaside (or gulf side?) beaches.  Apparently, the Olympic games were held within this region and there are plenty of other ties to the mythological stories that the Greeks are so known for.

    Speaking of Greek mythology which used to be a passion of mine as I read the Percy Jackson stories in elementary and middle school, the wine itself is named after the God of wine.  I believe it does it's best to live up to the Gods standards.  Interestingly enough, Dionysus (or Dionysos like the wine) was also once known as the God of fertility according to my research.

    Enough of the mythology, though, we're here to discuss wine.  This merlot isn't your typical standard of merlot, but it still allows you to connect the dotes and identify it as such.  I really just enjoyed the excitement of identifying the leather and just running to my closet to confirm my suspicion.  That was just such a proud moment for me.  It had a very simple grape juice start to it and as it slid over my tongue, there was only a slight dryness that left it still attractive to me.  I can't stand when a wine turns my tongue into sandpaper.  This one kept things light and easy, though, despite it's dark nature.  I was left feeling very satisfied.  I hope one day you too can enjoy a Grecian Merlot of such delight.

Premier Amour

 

    "Premier Amour" was a fantabulous skin contact white blend.  I specifically use the technical term skin contact because saying an orange white blend is the oddest thing one could probably say.  This French blend was 40% Chardonnay, 40% Viognier, 16% Sauvignon Blanc, and 4% Semillion.  And it was delightful.

    The zesty flavoring paired nicely with the chicken that may have been just a little too spicy for my tastes.  Thankfully, I had this off dry wine to assist in the spice control.  The citrus was blatantly clear and made the Sauvignon Blanc seem stronger than it actually was.  I got notes of apples in the beginning too, but I've never seen anyone else suggest such a note.  The label only printed "lemongrass, green melon, summer peach, and citrus pith."  I'll be honest as I have no idea what lemongrass smells/tastes like and I certainly don't know what a pith is.  But the apple was clear to me and even to my daughter as I allowed her to sniff the glass to which she spoke with such knowledge "that smells like apple juice."  She will one day be a sommelier for sure.

    That beautiful label is painted by an American artist named Ann Pickett.  I do believe the label is just as glowing and beautiful as the wine inside the bottle.  And while everything seems perfect, the story on how this wine was brought into existence is one of hardship.  It would seem that in 2021 Famaey struggled as the April frost set in destroying many of their vines.  When harvest time came about in August, they scrounged up as many salvageable grapes as they could and put them together in a vat to experience some skin contact for a week before moving the juices into their own vat where they would age for 5 months.  And after all that hard work, they produced 1,400 bottles of utterly phenomenal wine.  With that limitation, I only hope you can try something nearly as delightful.