Wine of the Week: M. Lawrence Champagne

December 31, 2013 by 1 Comment

It’s New Year’s Eve! What better time is there for champagne? This week’s wine is M. Lawrence champagnes…there is nothing better to sip during a celebration!

I first visited M. Lawrence a few years back during a girl’s weekend. The winery was a ton of fun and we got to sample all of the different champagnes. One of our favorites was M. Lawrence’s Sex, a sparkling Brut Rose wine made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.

lmawby sex

It’s also a great gift to bring to a wedding shower or bachelorette party. They have a number of other sparkling wines including Wet, US, Fizz, Sandpiper, Detroit, Green, and Redd. My favorites are Wet, Sex and Detroit. I also love that they call their wine club members Bubbleheads, who doesn’t want to be a bubblehead?

It is recommended that you chill your bubbly for about 20 minutes or so before you pop the cork.

I also have some exciting news to share with you! Coming very soon, I am participating in a fun wine linkup with Erin from Living in Yellow, Eva Marie Taylor and Val from Chicken Scratch. In the meantime you can check out the #siphappensparty hashtag for some of our sneak peaks. I will be posting one of mine on my Instagram here, so stay tuned!

I can’t wait to enjoy some bubbly tonight as we celebrate the end of 2013 and welcome 2014. What bubbly will you celebrate with tonight?

For more Wine of the Week posts, click here.


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Wine of the Week: Estancia Pinot Noir

December 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Today’s Wine of the Week is the Estancia Pinot Noir.

Estancia

The hubby and I first discovered this on one of our Melting Pot trips. I am a big fan of Pinot Noir and this one turned out to be fabulous. This was a few years back and ever since we will drink it at any restaurant that offers it.

Estancia is medium-bodied with a silky smooth finish. You’ll taste flavors of raspberry and black cherry. When you drink this wine, you want to let it breathe for the flavors to develop. This is best paired with smoked salmon, asparagus, pork, poultry and steak (which is probably why it works so well at The Melting Pot).

Estancia means “estate” in Spanish. The winery chose this name because they believe that the world’s best wines capture the essence of their origin. At Estancia, they control the entire winemaking process from start to finish. Estancia also uses solar energy to reduce its carbon footprint, so you know that you are being environmentally friendly when drinking it.

So the best part about the Estancia Wine? Is that they have a matching candle to go with it! Estancia teamed up with DayNa Decker to create a special collection for the winery.  They have a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir candle. The Estancia Pinot Noir candle features aromas of warm raspberry, bright cherry, cassia bark, clove bud, and vanilla wood. The Pinot Noir candle is $44 or you can get the set for $80. These would be great for all of my pregnant friends, you can have as many of these as you want!

estancia_pinotnoir-410x600

Have you tried the Estancia before? Let me know what you think about it in the comments.

I also have some exciting news to share with you! Coming in January, I am participating in a fun wine linkup with Erin from Living in Yellow, Eva Marie Taylor and Val from Chicken Scratch. In the meantime you can check out the #siphappensparty hashtag for some of our sneak peaks. I will be posting one of mine on my Instagram here, so stay tuned!

For more Wine of the Week posts, click here.


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Wine of the Week: Castle Rock Pinot Noir

December 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

Today’s Wine of the Week is Castle Rock Winery’s Pinot Noir.

Wine of the Week CR

My husband and I originally discovered this wine on our honeymoon. We took a Mediterranean cruise and they served this during our dinners on the ship. Well my husband loved it so much that I made a note of it and we have been enjoying it ever since. If you’ve learned anything about me yet, it’s that I love the challenge of hunting something down.

In the picture, we most recently had the 2009 Monterey County version, but after reviewing Castle Rock’s website it seems that they have a lot of different varieties, and a Cuvee, which my friend Tracy will love.

castle rock

These wines are very affordable and you can find them at most stores, I’ve seen them at wine retailers, Target and Costco to name a few. This makes me want to try all of the different Pinot Noir varieties – might be a good project over the holiday…

This Pinot is elegant and smooth. It has aromas of cherry, tea and herbal spices and tastes like black cherry, plum and spice. It is really versatile and great for most foods.

Castle Rock has a number of different Pinots including:

  • Mendocino County Pinot Noir
  • Sonoma County Pinot Noir
  • Monterey County Pinot Noir
  • Central Coast Pinot Noir
  • California Cuvee Pinot Noir
  • Carneros Pinot Noir
  • Columbia Valley Pinot Noir
  • Williamette Valley Pinot Noir

I can only speak to the Monterey County Pinot Noir, but would love to hear from you if you’ve tried the other ones.

Do you have a wine I should try for Wine of the Week? Post it in the comments section.

For more Wine of the Week posts, click here.


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Wine of the Week: Cupcake Vineyards’ Red Velvet

December 4, 2013 by 2 Comments

Today’s Wine of the Week is the Red Velvet from Cupcake Vineyards.

wine of the week crv

This is one of my favorite wines to drink. It is always available in the store, easy to drink and everyone usually loves it.

Rich to the taste, Red Velvet tastes like chocolate and blackberries with a hint of coconut and mocha. For some reason, I always thought that it was a Pinot Noir, but I was wrong. Red Velvet is a mix of Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. Which is probably why I love it so much – I love blends!

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In my research, I also discovered that Cupcake has a whole Red Velvet line which includes a Zinfandel, Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I am going to have to hunt these out and try them.

Have you tried Cupcake Vineyards’ Red Velvet? What did you think of this wine?

Do you have a wine I should try for Wine of the Week? Post it in the comments section.

For more Wine of the Week posts, click here.


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Wine of the Week: Forty-Five North

November 20, 2013 by 1 Comment

It is always a good day when you get wine in the mail. I recently joined the Forty-Five North Wine Club and received my first shipment.

45northprofile

This is the third and most recent wine club I have joined. My friends and I took a trip to Traverse City, Michigan a while back and discovered this gem of a winery. Every wine we have tried is amazing! My rule is that I can only join a wine club if I have open spots in my wine cabinet. So when I decided to join a new one, this was a no brainer. I couldn’t wait to get my first shipment.

With my wine club membership I receive a shipment of four wines six times a year, free tickets to events and 20 percent off wine purchases.

For my first shipment, I received a 2012 Chardonnay, 2011 Chardonnay, 2012 Pinot Noir and a Hard Cider.

45North Final

45North2final

I tried the Pinot Noir last night and it was fantastic! So smooth and velvety. It would be a great choice with chocolate.

Have you tried 45 North wines? Which are your favorite?

Do you have a wine I should try for Wine of the Week? Post it in the comments section.

For more Wine of the Week posts click here.


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Wine of the Week: Cupcake Vineyards’ Malbec

October 17, 2013 by 6 Comments

This week’s wine is Cupcake Vineyards’ Malbec.

cupcake malbec final

I remember the first time I saw a bottle of Cupcake Vineyards wine. We were on our way to a long weekend vacation and had stopped to stock up before our final destination. I remember seeing this and thinking that cupcakes and wine are the perfect combination. I have some favorite Cupcake wines, which I’m sure I will detail in upcoming posts, but I had never tried the Malbec before.

cupcake malbec 2

Cupcake Malbec hails to us from the Mendoza region of Argentina. The wine was smooth, and velvety with a hint of spice. There are flavors of blueberries and chocolate. This would be a great wine to have with a heavy dinner or a nice steak.

We tried this wine on its own and it would be great for a happy hour with friends as well.

Have you tried Cupcake Vineyards’ Malbec? What did you think of this wine?

Do you have a wine I should try for Wine of the Week? Post it in the comments section.

For more Wine of the Week posts click here.


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Wine of the Week: Jam Jar

August 29, 2013 by 3 Comments

Simple, pure, honest.

That is the tagline for this week’s wine from Cape Classics, called Jam Jar.

Jam Jar2 Edited

This is one of my favorite wines, referred to me by John’s aunt. It’s a sweet Shiraz, but with a fruit flavor and hints of dark chocolate. It tastes best chilled, but as my friend Tracy said last night as we drank it, “This wine is dangerous!” It definitely goes down smooth.

Jam Jar

Jam Jar literally tastes like melted jelly in a bottle. It is made in South Africa and is about $9 depending on where you buy it. The funny thing is that I probably never would have tried this wine on my own if it hadn’t been recommended to me, but I can’t get enough of it. It is a great bottle to have on hand or to buy if you need to bring something to a party.

Have you tried Jam Jar Shiraz yet? Let me know your thoughts!

Do you have a wine I should try for Wine of the Week? Post it in the comments section.

For more Wine of the Week posts click here.


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Wine of the Week: Noble Vines 667 Pinot Noir

July 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

My husband and I tried this week’s wine on a recent visit to Olive Garden. We were looking for a good Pinot Noir to go with our dinner and this was a brand new wine they were promoting. We really enjoyed it and would definitely drink it again. It is widely available at the main grocery stores and pretty easy to find.

Introducing, Noble Vines 667 Pinot Noir as the Wine of the Week:

Noble Vines 667

Noble Vines 667

Noble Vines 667 is a bittersweet, rich Pinot Noir. The nose reveals a black cherry and vanilla aroma. You can taste a hint of chocolate and the wine has a smooth finish. This is a great table wine that most people would enjoy. This wine would be great with a beef stew, salmon, lamb or soft cheeses. It is a great price at $14.99 a bottle.

noble 667

Noble Vines is part of the Delicato Family Vineyards in California. Noble Vines specializes in taking cuttings from original vines and “cloning” them. Basically taking vines that are known for specific characteristics and cultivating them in an environment that will bring out the best qualities of the grape.

Not all Vines are created equal

Not all Vines are created equal

Have you tried any Noble Vines wine? What did you think of it?

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Wine of the Week: Whitehall Lane Perfect Union

July 17, 2013 by 2 Comments

I am a little late with this post. I meant to post it last week but I was on a fabulous vacation in New York City (more to come on that later). I saved this wine for a whole year to drink it on July 4th. When we visited Napa last year, we took a tour of Whitehall Lane Winery and purchased their limited edition 2009 Perfect Union wine.

Perfect Union

Perfect Union

This red wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot. Blends are usually my favorite types of red wines, they taste great with a little bit of everything.

Perfect Union has a berry flavor with hints of chocolate blended together. It is easy to drink and a great choice for 4th of July, Election Day, Inauguration, Flag Day, etc.

I thought this was a great wine and fun for the holiday. Unfortunately, I contacted Whitehall Lane and the Perfect Union wine is no longer available for purchase. They did tell me that they have a new wine called Tre Leoni, which is almost the same thing, maybe even better.

Tre Leoni

Tre Leoni

Did you try any fabulous wines on the 4th? Have you tried the Tre Leoni wine yet?

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Wine of the Week: Hob Nob Pinot Noir

June 27, 2013 by 3 Comments

This week’s wine is one of my favorites. Hob Nob Pinot Noir is a great wine at a great price ($9.99).

Hob Nob Pinot Noir

Hob Nob Pinot Noir

HobNob is a fairly new wine brand launched in 2007. The wine is targeted to young adults with a hip design. Pinot Noir is my favorite type of red wine. For this type of wine I recommend chilling it first for the best taste.

hob nob2

This is an easy wine to drink, very smooth. In my opinion, it tastes great with everything. It has great berry flavors, possibly raspberry or cherry with a chocolate finish.

hob nob 3

You can get this wine anywhere and they always have it at the liquor store by my house. It is a great grab in a pinch and everyone always loves it. I especially like to bring this for people that are new to red wine.

Hob Nob recently came out with a Wicked Red wine that I can’t wait to try soon.

What are your favorite go-to wines?

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