Luc Pirlet Cabernet Sauvignon

Whenever I’m cruising through Total Wine, I always like to find one new wine that based on description (and price of course) I’m willing to try.  Recently, I discovered a 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Les Barriquesfrom Luc Pirlet, a winery located in southern France.   

While I’m on the brink of making the switch from reds to whites, it has still been “cool” enough in the Valley of the Sun to warrant my continued consumption of red wine.  As you can see in the picture, I broke out the “fancy” Waterford to enjoy this Cab.  This practice of mine is pretty common – no reason for that beautiful stemware to sit in the cabinet unused!

After opening this wine, I did let it breathe in the glasses for a bit – well, I was messing around with taking photos!  It opened up nicely and was quite delicious.  I decided to pair this red with sliced Parmesan cheese and some almonds.  Perfect. 

The description just below the bottle at Total Wine that drew my attention (along with the price tag of $9.99) read: “Milk chocolate and dark cherries abound with ripe tannins and integrated oak and spice flavors. The finish is pure velvet and lingers on for quite a long time. An elegant wine with nicely balanced tannins. Great for pot roast or grilled flank steak.”  I mean, really, how can you resist?

If you haven’t switched over to whites just yet, I’d recommend giving this Cabernet a try – it will be worth it.  

Congratulations Brangelina! Loving Your 2012 Miraval Rosé!

In all of the hype, last summer I ordered a bottle of 2012 Miraval Rosé from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Provence estate, Château Miraval from Wine.com.  At the time of purchase, I received a note stating that it would be shipped when weather conditions were more suitable.  Great.

November rolled around and it arrived.  I was pretty excited! However, I had already made the switch to red wines at that point and decided to hang onto it until this summer.  

Once we started getting into warmer temperatures, I kept thinking, I need to open that and try it!  Well, with the recent announcement of Brad and Angelina's wedding that was held at their estate, I thought this would be the perfect time to pop the cork!  The hubby and I are celebrating 18 years of marriage this weekend - giving us another reason to raise a toast!

This wine is a gorgeous pink color (my favorite!) and arrives in a uniquely shaped bottle.  Once you take a sip, you will find that this is light and refreshing and can taste the berry and citrus flavors that come through. This is not sweet and is quite delicious!

This Rosé can still be purchased through Wine.com for $24.99 and shipped straight to your house (depending on your state - sorry for those of you who cannot have wine shipped to you).  

Have you tried the Miraval Rosé yet?  If so, what did you think?  If not - have you tried any other "famous" wines?  I'd love to read your feedback!

Cheers!

California Crush by Tyler Florence - Sauvignon Blanc

It’s week 4 of “Cocktail Month” for me over on The Southeast Valley Ledger and I’m excited to tell you about the Sauvignon Blanc from California Crush by Tyler Florence.  For those of you who have been reading my column and blog for a while, you know that I am a huge fan of this celebrity chef.   I was pretty excited last summer when I learned that he was launching three wines out of the Napa Valley area – a Custom Blended Red, a Pink Moscato, and this Sauvignon Blanc. 

He partnered with Target and made the wines available there at the end of October 2013.  Through Instagram and Twitter, his fans began taking photos of the wines they were finding at Target and hash tagging with #CaliforniaCrush.  I, of course, had to jump in on the action and posted my photo on November 3rd of my husband holding the Red wine and got a “like” from Tyler on Instagram.  I jumped on the bandwagon again with another photo of the Red on National Drink Wine Day and happily got another “like” from him on Instagram.

This crisp, slightly fruity, refreshing white is an excellent choice for summer.  It is beautiful in color and deliciously clean on the palate.  Coming in at $10.99 a bottle (at Target of course!) it’s a decent wine for the price.  

Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod - Chardonnay

Many years ago, like in 2005, my parents visited Cape Cod.  While they were there, they made their way to Truro Vineyards and enjoyed a delightful experience there. While there, my parents bought The Hubby and I a very unique bottle of wine. 

They visited us that year for Christmas with said bottle and happily gave it to us as a gift under the tree.  This was a beautiful bottle of Chardonnay that was part of Truro Vineyard’s Lighthouse Series.  What does this mean?  Well – take a look at the photo.  Isn’t it cool?  It is in the shape of a lighthouse - it doesn't get more Cape Cod than that!  According to their website, “These wines represent a bit of a departure from the traditional wine, in large part because we put them into beautiful and colorful lighthouse shaped bottles. Sent to us from Italy, these bottles not only house wonderful wines, but are kept as keepsakes and souvenirs by tourists all over the world.”

What my parents didn’t know, was that they would learn on Christmas Day that I was expecting our first child.  So, needless to say we hung onto the bottle of wine and saved it for another day.  There it stayed in our wine refrigerator for over 8 years.  We kept shuffling it around when new wine arrived – but wanted to save it. 

With the weather warming up here in the Valley of the Sun, I have officially made the switch from reds to whites.  Finally, I said to The Hubby, “Let’s open this and drink it”.  And we did.  And it was delicious.  Wow.  Like, really amazing.  It was rich, buttery, and full of all kinds of yummy Chardonnay flavor. 

Truro Vineyards still bottles Chardonnay, but not in the Lighthouse Series.  They have reserved that series for three of their sweeter wines.  After speaking with the Truro, I also learned that they are launching a distillery and will be ready to start selling Twenty Boat Spiced Rum in May.  This won’t be shipped yet, but available if you visit the vineyard.

I hope you’ll take a look at their website, www.trurovineyardsofcapecode.com, and check out their beautiful photos and wines. 

Do you have special or unique wines that you are “saving”?  I’d love to hear about them! 

The Big Kahuna.......It's Kinda Good for a Screw Cap

Some good friends of ours recently introduced us to a wine that is exclusive to Fresh and Easy.  The Cabernet is good but they prefer the Merlot. 

They were recently at our home where they brought some of this wine to share.  The only information he shared was that it was called The Big Kahuna, poured me a glass of the Merlot, and asked me to taste and give him my thoughts.  It was pretty good!  Smooth, easy to drink, I thought it would pair well with many types of food.  His response was "It's kinda good for a screw cap" - and he was right. 

He then shared with me that he buys it at Fresh and Easy and that it is only $2.99 a bottle, every day.  Yes, $2.99 a bottle.  I'm normally not a fan of everyday wine with a price tag under $8 or $9, but this was decent.

If you have a Fresh and Easy in your area, I'd recommend giving these a try.  There are a number of different varietals and their website provides a description of each wine along with food pairing suggestions. 

Root: 1 Cabernet - A Delicious Red Wine for Fall

As we continue to head into the fall season, the hubby and I will start to make the switch from whites to reds in the wine drinking department.  We typically stick with very light, crisp, and refreshing white wines in the summertime, but come fall and winter; bold, flavorful, red wines are what we prefer.   

This post is to introduce you to exactly one of these reds.  I can’t remember the first time we enjoyed Root: 1 Cabernet, but I know today that I’ve never regretted it!   Every time we see it on a restaurant wine list, it is our go to choice.  It has been a while since I purchased it at my favorite place in the world, Total Wine, but maybe it’s time I go stock up on a case so that I am prepared for the upcoming cooler nights.   

The Chilean Root: 1 Cabernet is not only reasonably priced but also a crowd pleaser, which makes it that much more perfect when hosting a party.  This red is a full-bodied wine that offers flavors such as berries, vanilla, and even cherry.  Coming in at just under $9 a bottle, it is an affordable wine that is a must try this season.

Right now, Root: 1 Wine has teamed up with Rewind and is running a limited time offer to receive a free limited edition Carmenere candle when you purchase a bottle of Root: 1 Wine.  Now that's just awesome. You can go here for more details. 

Do you have an upcoming party in the works for the Fall?  Are you attending a dinner party?  Or maybe even a wine tasting?  If so, I hope you will consider sharing this beautiful and delicious wine with your friends and family this season. If not, then get a bottle to drink on your own – it will be worth it, I promise. 

Tavel Rosé - A Beautifully Pink Wine

I am a big fan of the color pink...to me it's bright, happy, and hopeful!  I am also a fan of some pink beverages including pink lemonade, cosmopolitans, pink champagne, and rosés .  Not such a fan of white zinfandels however, I mean c'mon - it doesn't even have pink in the name!

Several weeks back, while unsuccessfully searching for a bottle of Miraval Rosé (you know, the Brangelina one?) at Total Wine, this bottle of Tavel Rosé was recommended to me.  I recently had the opportunity to try it and boy did I like it!  It's a dry, light, refreshing wine that is a perfect way to beat the summer heat.  This one is priced a little bit higher than my normal spending for an every day wine at $16.99 a bottle, but it was well worth it!

If you give this one a try, I'd love to get hear what you think!  Stop back by my site and leave feedback! 

Cheers to the color pink!!!

McManis Cabernet Sauvignon - wine tasting winner!

We attended a wine tasting party in our neighborhood last night....although it turned into more of a "drink a lot of wine" party for many of the guests!  This is the 2nd year our friends have hosted this event - and for me - the 2nd year winning it!  The host announced two winners, I'm not sure if it was a tie or how all of that worked, but I was happy I was one of the winners!  We were not surprised by the other couple who won - we have consumed many bottles of wine with them over the years!

The rules are simple, everyone brings a bottle of wine to enter into the contest, the hosts places it into a paper bag that has a number on it.  Once everyone has tasted all of the wines, they vote on a small piece of paper noting their favorite bag number and place it into a voting box..  The hosts tabulates the votes and announces the winner!  It's that easy!

Everyone also brought an appetizer to share - there was SO much yummy food!  Check out the Bite Sized Baked Brie I brought!  The hosts supplied "drinking" wine (and beer of course for the non-wine drinkers) and lots of people brought extra wine as well. 

The wine I chose to enter into the contest was a McManis Cabernet Sauvignon that I bought from Total Wine.  McManis is one of my favorite winemakers.  We learned about them many years ago when we lived in Atlanta at a wine tasting we attended.  They also have an excellent Syrah.  The best thing about this wine?  The price.  $7.99 a bottle.  That's right - an EXCELLENT price for a delicious wine. 

In October 2013, Sunset did a feature on ways to score amazing wine - McManis was on the list!!!

I did another blog post earlier this spring about their Chardonnay - you can check it out here.

Give this wine a try - if your local wine store doesn't have it, see if they can get some for you, you won't regret it!

Now, I'm off to enjoy some of the amazing Gundrun chocolates we received as a prize.....

 

iPhone photo of winning wine at the party!

 

iPhone photo - me with the winning wine!