Been a weekish since my last post - I've been a working maniac since I started a new job at a small social media agency in Seattle - totally love it! Great people and right in the heart of Pioneer Square and a job that allows me to do what I love best - writing and program management! But I digress - I'm supposed to be talking about wine...well tonight's post is all about bubbly. Anyone who knows me - knows I love the bubbles - so when there is a chance to celebrate I'm all about breaking out the bubbles. I'm a little picky as I think there are some very reasonable bubbles out there - and then there are some that seriously only belong in a mimosa. So friends, skip the Cooks, Totts, Reuniti, and sorry Chateau Ste Michelle - skipping you too - if you really want something tasty and inexpensive - try one of these gems from Europe:
- Veuve de Vernay ($5)
- Cristalino ($6)
- Brut Rosado Cavas Hill ($13)
- Blanquette de Limoux ($13)
- Avinyo Brut Cava ($15)
The Blanquette is my go to bottle as it is consistently amazing - I've swapped in Cristalino for my mimosas as I just think Cooks is expensive and a guaranteed headache even after one glass. If you want to spend a little more - we've been digging on the Roederer & Scharffenberger - both are delicious and always hit the spot with a great grilled shrimp salad or truffled/saffron popcorn. Of course if you really want to splurge you can do what we are doing tonight - enjoying a magnum of the Duval LeRoy Paris - very excited to dive into that gem to celebrate tonight. If you have a fave bubbly that you think I should try - let me know!
PS Working on my list for 30-days of rose and looking for recruits to help partake and review.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Quest for the Big Winter White
Thinking a lot about bigger whites lately - especially as it isn't warm enough yet to drink rose or a lighter white - so if I am not in the mood for a red - what are my options. When we go out I struggle to find that really big white that isn't just a glass of oaky butterball (at times tasty) vino to pair with my meal - not that I do not appreciate the red - but sometimes it is just not what I am in the mood for. California has come through for me a few times, but really trying to find an everyday bigger white that is reasonable and local if possible. Here are my go to varietals for winter:
In our house we typically end up drinking either Viognier or Roussanne - here are a couple that are reasonable and fit the bigger and creamier bill:
- Troon Viognier (OR)
- ANC Crawford Estate Viognier (WA)
- ANC Shepherds Mark (WA)
- Brian Carter Oriana (less reasonable but REALLY good)
Given that so much of the trend in white wine making at the moment involves neutral oak, concrete, or stainless - it has been tough to find a really big white that we love - especially in the Chardonnay department. Washington seems to have a few that are worth exploring - but we really have not found anything we love in a long time. Anyone have any recommendations?
- Chardonnay
- Viognier
- Roussane
- Marsanne
- Grenache Blanc
In our house we typically end up drinking either Viognier or Roussanne - here are a couple that are reasonable and fit the bigger and creamier bill:
- Troon Viognier (OR)
- ANC Crawford Estate Viognier (WA)
- ANC Shepherds Mark (WA)
- Brian Carter Oriana (less reasonable but REALLY good)
Given that so much of the trend in white wine making at the moment involves neutral oak, concrete, or stainless - it has been tough to find a really big white that we love - especially in the Chardonnay department. Washington seems to have a few that are worth exploring - but we really have not found anything we love in a long time. Anyone have any recommendations?
Sunday, February 14, 2010
2010 Year of the Decanter & WA Reds
Its been forever - but thought I would finally get back to blogging! 2010 got off to a bit of a crazy start thus far with nutty adventures in California and lots of changes (new job, etc)- as part of our effort to collectively set some goals for this year - we decided we needed wine goals (of course) - one being 2010 is the year of the decanter. Too many times we've opened up a bottle - $$ or $ and been sort of so so on the first couple glasses only to savor the last two - ah if only we decanted. Happily we are off to a good start and are decanting pretty much everything but white wine and bubbly at this point. HUGE difference - especially for some of our older Pinots. Unfortunately (part of our crazy 2010) we dropped a wine glass on our Spiegelau decanter so we had to find a replacement (thank you Jamie for the recommendations).
We also are going to attempt to build a passive wine cellar in the crawl space to help keep our wine at the preferred temperature - I'll take pics of the before and after to document the event once we get started. We've had the wine in racks, inventoried, and organized for eons just haven't finished building it out (spreadsheets are of course involved).
Keeping this short and sweet tonight - weekend of madness dealing with appliances - we've been drinking a fair bit of tasty red from WA....so here are my picks for my favorite reds of the moment:
We also are going to attempt to build a passive wine cellar in the crawl space to help keep our wine at the preferred temperature - I'll take pics of the before and after to document the event once we get started. We've had the wine in racks, inventoried, and organized for eons just haven't finished building it out (spreadsheets are of course involved).
Keeping this short and sweet tonight - weekend of madness dealing with appliances - we've been drinking a fair bit of tasty red from WA....so here are my picks for my favorite reds of the moment:
- 2006 WoodsLake Syrah (Patterson Cellars)
- 2007 Sharecropper Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2006 Darby Darkside Syrah
Hope everyone is having a great new year thus far - promise to be a bit better about keeping up with my blog!
xo
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