Wine of the Week: Steelhead Vineyards Pinot Noir

January 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this wine from a PR firm on behalf of Steelhead Vineyards to provide an honest review. 

I received a bottle of Steelhead Vineyards Pinot Noir to review for this week’s wine. This was right up my alley, because I love a Pinot Noir, it is my favorite.

Steelhead Vineyards in a unique winery in Sonoma because they are committed to creating a better world through their wine. With every bottle they sell, a donation is made to conservation efforts in Sonoma County. Their mission statement is Better Wine. Better World. Below is a picture of “Wine Creek” which runs through one of their vineyard that they have worked to restore.

Steelhead riverAfter visiting Sonoma a few years back, I loved the mission of this winery. Sonoma is such a beautiful place and it is awesome that Steelhead is working to preserve it.

So on to the wine!

Steelhead Wine of the Week

The first thing I noticed when I popped the cork is a deep fruit flavor. This wine has a smooth finish which is always something I look for in a Pinot Noir, I want it to be easy to drink. You can taste cranberry and cherry with just a hint of toasted oak and spice at the finish.

Steelhead Pinot Noir pairs best with wild Salmon, poultry, pork and lamb. I tried mine with a milk chocolate Hershey’s bar which did the trick.

I can’t help but picture that beautiful river scene every time I take a sip

Let me know if you’ve tried this Pinot Noir and if you have any wines I should try in the future.

If you missed my previous post, I am getting ready to host a Sip Happens Party with Val from Chicken Scratch, Eva Marie Taylor and Erin from Living in Yellow. Make sure to check it out here and see how you can host your own Sip Happens Party.

For more Wine of the Week posts, click here.


Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: , ,

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.


Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: , , ,

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.


Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: , , , ,

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!

IMG_0371

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.


Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: , , ,

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.


Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: , , ,

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?

For more Wine of the Week posts click here.


Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: , , , , ,

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?

For more Wine of the Week posts click here.


Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: , , , ,

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?

For more Wine of the Week posts click here.


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: , , , ,
« Previous Page