A tasty Petit Verdot and a Zin just because...

In the midst of the dog days of summer, it seems almost sacrilegious to write about anything but a chilled glass of bubbly or a tasty, dry white to cool ones body and spirit. And yet, my newest post is to rave about some awesome rich, red wines.

The first is a 2012 Petit Verdot from Cooper Vineyards. I visited Cooper nearly a year and a half ago during the New Years holidays. Some friends had rented a house in Lake Annah and we spent our days hiking and then looking for a place to warm our taste-buds. Enter Cooper Vineyards. Located near the small town of Louisa, Cooper sits off a country road - the entrance to which gives the wine seeker a beautiful scene of the entirety of the winemaking grounds. He tatting room is decidedly and surprisingly modern - and I believe boasts a LEED designation - or at the very least it looks like it ought to. When I visited the Christmas decorations and lights still abounded, and it was a quiet but warm atmosphere.

The wines were really excellent - so much so that I was surprised I hadn't heard of them before my visit. Anyway fast forwards to two weeks ago when I was making some BBQ chicken. I was looking for something to go with the grill sand picked the Petit Verdot. To be honest I had forgotten the flavor of the wine but we were not disappointed. It was a rich, luscious flavor and very jammy; almost with hints of blackberry. It paired well with the BBQ, though it overpowered the chicken ever so slightly. But it had to have been one of the best VA reds I've had in recent history. We had it a day or two later and it held the flavor very well.

The second bold wine I had was 90+ Zinfandel. I was out running some errands when I stopped by a local wine bar, Screwtop. The sister store to my favorite place, Grateful Red (which, alas, shut down a few months back), I told the bartender I was looking for something different. Everything in me on this 90+ degree day wanted a white, bubby or rose wine. But I decided to go with this Zin. It was just a darn good glass of wine. I brought it home to have with some bison/beef hamburgers I was making that night and it was very tasty. I forgot to take a picture so I don't have what year it was - or the exact name. But look for a bottle with 90+ on the label in red. Totally worth it, and affordable too! It was about $13 or so if memory serves me correctly.

Enjoy these w/ your BBQ dishes and happy last dog days of summer.

Celebrations and Champagne!

So to be a bit cliche, I love a good champagne with a celebration. But not any champagne - for a while I've been nearly obsessed with finding various Rose Champagnes. One of my favorite that I've had is Chandon's Rose. And its not just because of its light taste and refreshing feeling but also the memories.

The first trip to Napa (while on Honeymoon) was at Chandon's restaurant. While I believe this picture is a Pinot Noir - our first clink of the glasses on our honeymoon was a Rose. It was one of those moments where I had the epiphany of what great wine tastes like. I was also pleasantly surprised at how good a Rose champagne was - I had grown up on the Zinfandel wines in a box. I know it sounds silly but it is the truth!

I just recently had another bottle, this time from a friend as a gift celebrating the birth of our baby. I'll admit that I had been hankering for a rose champagne nearly the entire time I was pregnant, even stating I would have a glass at the hospital right after the baby's delivery. While that wasn't quite the case, I truly enjoyed the bottle as it both recalled my first trip to Napa on Honeymoon and was a promise of things to come. And as an added bonus, the Chandon also sells for about $20 - $25 depending on the retailer, so while it is a bit on the more expensive side, it won't break the bank for those special, romantic occasions.

Also a favorite of ours is Schramsburg sparkling wines. Now while they are more difficult to find outside of California, you can usually find them on the East Coast in a Safeway Market. We often pick up a bottle (they retail for $25-$35 for their Blanc de Blanc) for special occasions for friends. They make a wonderful present for an engagement, a new baby or some other special occasion.  Just look for the little frog guy holding glasses on the label.  :)  

So yes while I would recommend any old brut for a mimosa or other cocktail, these are two wines that really stand on their own!

Cool newsletter to check out: VinePair

Hi all,

Just a quick post. I recently discovered this website called Vine Pair. It has a lot of neat articles it sends out to subscribers. From what I've seen the type of articles it includes varies.

My spouse sent me a link to this interesting article about a man who has been successful being a venture capitalist in various vineyards in California. Now while this blog is definitely not aimed at those who can make or come anywhere close to buying a $750 bottle of wine, some of his thoughts on what makes for a successful wine business are quite interesting. You can find the link here.

The other item I saw that just made me laugh was this map of the US according to what we drink. It just was fun. Enjoy!

Credit to VinePair: http://vinepair.com/wine-blog/united-states-of-alcohol-map/?utm_source=The+Drop+by+VinePair&utm_campaign=c2f80a35a9-Welcome_To_VinePair_09_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b653fb8c99-c2f80a35a9-45378145

Thanks to Vine Pair for such interesting tidbits! I look forward to following your news and information.