Elevate the Holidays with Hess Collection Wines

December 15, 2015 by 5 Comments

Disclosure: I received this wine from a PR firm on behalf of Hess Collection Wines to provide a review. Opinions expressed are 100% my own.

I was thrilled to receive a whole collection of wine from Hess Collection Wines to celebrate the holidays! They didn’t just send me one bottle, but six! I decided to use them for a special occasion and serve them with our Thanksgiving dinner.

Hess Collection 1

I thought this would elevate our meal and give everyone an opportunity to taste the different varieties and decide which one they liked. I decided it would be fun to talk about my favorite holiday wine and menu pairings for this post.

Classic Veggie Tray

This might have been my favorite wine of the night, it went perfectly with my veggie tray and appetizers before dinner.

Grandmas Stuffing Recipe

This was the first time we hosted Thanksgiving and the first time we made my grandmother’s stuffing recipe. It was delicious and the Chardonnay paired perfectly with the dish. I am usually not a fan of Chardonnays because I don’t like the buttery flavor, but this one was different. It was a lot lighter than your traditional Chardonnay.

Garlic mashed potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a staple of any holiday meal, but I love that John pre-roasts the garlic in the turkey before with whip them up. The Cabernet Sauvignon pairs perfectly with this recipe.

Last but not least, the Treo. This wine, paired perfectly with the turkey. As this was my husband’s job, I don’t have the details of his recipe, but he did thaw and brine the turkey in our refrigerator 24 hours before we cooked it. The Treo is an easy drinking wine with a touch of sweetness from the ripe, dark fruit, accented by a decidedly big impression of bing cherries and ripe plums.

Hess Treo

Hess Select Wines elevated our first Thanksgiving in the new home and made it something special. I can’t wait to celebrate many more holidays in this house over a glass of wine.

What are your favorite wine pairings for the holidays?

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Wine of the Week: Witches Brew

October 21, 2015 by 14 Comments

This week’s wine is Leelanau Cellar’s Witches Brew. Leelanau is a Michigan winery started in 1974 in Northern Michigan by the Jacobson family. Leelanau (Lee-La-Naw) is an Indian word meaning “Delight of Life.” They also have a tasting room outside of Traverse City which I’ve previously visited.

Witches Brew is the perfect fall wine. It’s a red blend enhanced with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and other natural spices.

witches brew

Witches Brew is what you would call a mulled wine. A red wine that has been warmed and spiced. You heat it up on your stove and serve it warm. You can also add fun things like cloves, cinnamon sticks or orange zest. Really anything goes. Mulled wine dates back to 1420 in Germany where they call it Gluhwein (roughly translated to “glow wine.” There have even been documented mulled wines as far back as ancient Rome.

witches brew

Have you tried Witches Brew yet? It’s perfect for a tailgate or any outdoor event. I would love to hear what you think about it.

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Wine of the Week: Apothic Dark

September 30, 2015 by 7 Comments

John and I are huge fans of the Apothic blend so last year, when a friend introduced me to Apothic Dark I knew it would be good. I was saving this review since this is sort of the perfect spooky wine for October.

Apothic Dark

Apothic is under the E.&J. Gallo brand and was named for the mysterious place, Apotheca, where vintners stored their most coveted concoctions in 13th century Europe. Most of the grapes in Apothic Dark are from Lodi, which has been touted as the next Napa. The grapes were fermented at a maximum of 90 degrees which pulls out the fruit notes in the grapes.

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This blend of Petite Syrah, Teroldego and Cabernet combines flavors of blueberry and blackberry with enticing notes of coffee and dark chocolate for a smooth taste.

Apothic is only available for a limited time, so make sure you stock up if you like it!

Have you tried Apothic Dark yet? I would love to hear what you think about it.

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Wine of the Week: Belle Glos Pinot Noir

September 9, 2015 by 2 Comments

I have been saving this Wine of the Week for a while. This is hands down one of my favorite wines, but it’s a bit of a splurge so we only get it every once in a while. What really drew my eye to it in the beginning is how the bottle is dipped in red wax, sort of like Maker’s Mark. Come to find out that it is made by the Wagner family who also makes another one of our favorites, Meiomi Pinot Noir. This week’s favorite is Belle Glos Pinot Noir.

Belle Glos 2

Belle Glos Pinot Noir was created by Joseph Wagner to honor his grandmother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner. There are four different types of Belle Glos from each of the four vineyards the grapes come from; Dairyman, Clark & Telephone, Las Alturas and Taylor Lane. You can see the layout of the vineyards in this map:

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I love the taste of this wine. Wagner describes it “like a taste of Christmas, all year long.” It has a rich berry flavor with a hint of caramel. When I want to get a nice bottle of wine this is my go to, it’s wonderfully decadent and the bottle presentation definitely makes it something special.

Have you tried Belle Glos Pinot Noir yet? I would love to hear what you think about it.

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New Buffalo Wine Tour Recap

June 15, 2015 by 11 Comments

Disclosure: I was invited to participate in the SWMI Sip & Stroll wine tour and received comped wine tastings. All opinions are my own.

I had an amazing time on the #SWMISipStroll recap and wanted to share all of my awesome new wine discoveries with you. You can read more about our trip here and about our awesome hotel here. We visited four wineries on our trip and I stocked up on some amazing choices!

Our first stop was Domaine Berrien Cellars, the only winery I was familiar with on this tour. I sort of love that this winery was started as a retirement hobby…there’s hope for me yet! I enjoyed the 2012 Viognier and the Cabernet Franc in particular.

Domaine Berrien Collage

Our next stop was Lemon Creek Winery where we learned about mixing wines. Our host told us that mixing wines is the future and encouraged us to to try his Lighthouse Red and Pinot Noir mixture which I loved. I brought these two home to try again.

Lemon Creek Collage

Our first stop on the second day was Hickory Creek Winery. I had the most fun at this winery and they laid out a nice spread for us. We got to try all of the wines along with some great cheese and chocolate. We loved this winery so much that I joined the wine club! They even have a quaint little cabin that you can rent out with your girlfriends for a fun wine tasting weekend.

Hickory Creek Collage

On our way back home we stopped at The Chocolate Garden which I have always seen signs for, but never stopped at…if only I knew! This place is amazing! They hand make decadent chocolate truffles in almost any flavor you can think of. What sets these truffles apart is that there is no hard outer shell to bite through. Each truffle is rolled in coarse chocolate to create a creamy truffle. In case you are interested, you can order these online for a unique gift.   I tried Vanilla Rose, Salt & Pepper Caramel and Sticky Bun:

Chocolate Garden

Our final stop was Contessa Wine Cellars. They had a beautiful terrace with an amazing view of the vineyard. I could not get enough of the Cabernet Franc. It had an awesome peppery finish and I knew that it would taste amazing with steak. John made some for me the next day and I was right! So delicious!!! I am saving the last bottle for a special occasion.

Contessa

This was a great little wine tour and I would love to go back with my husband sometime soon!

Where are your favorite Michigan wineries?



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Wine of the Week: Fantini Montepulciano 2012

November 26, 2014 by 2 Comments

Over Halloween, I attended a black wine night and discovered an amazing wine that I had to share with you. What is a black wine night you ask? It was set up as a veiled wine tasting with a five course meal. Eight wines were presented in black Reidel O glasses. We had no idea what kind of wine we were drinking and we were in the dark so you couldn’t even tell if you were drinking a red or white wine. We had a list of all of the wines and we tried to guess what we were drinking throughout the evening.

You can get your own black Riedel tasting glass for $40.99 here.

Reidel

Around the fourth course, I was amazed with the wine pairing and couldn’t wait until the end of the dinner when it was revealed to us. This delicious wine was the Fantini, Montepulciano, Abruzzo, Italy 2012.

Fantini Wine of the Week

This red wine hails to us from the Farnese Winery in Italy. In the sixteenth century, Princess Margaret of Austria and Prince Ottavio Farnese planted vineyards in the Abruzzo district in Italy, putting this area on the map for winemaking.

abruzzo

The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a specific type of wine created in 1968. This wine is a blend of about 85% Montepulciano with up to 15% of Sangiovese allowed in the mix. You can read more about this on Wikipedia, here. I found this fascinating as I love to know the story behind my wine. I also thought it was interesting that for every Farnese vintage, they have six well-known winemakers living in symbiosis with the grapes arriving in the cellar until they are transformed into wine. I would love to learn more about this process.

I loved this wine! It was easy to drink and had a lush, fruity taste. There were hints of cherry and plum and a smidge of vanilla. Plus I just like saying Montepulciano in my faux Italian voice.

I liked this wine so much, I am thinking of buying a case.

Have you ever tried Fantini Montepulciano before? I would love to know what you think.

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Wine of the Week: Banrock Station Moscato

September 10, 2014 by 13 Comments

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

I was thrilled to receive a bottle of Banrock Station Moscato to review for Wine of the Week. I hadn’t had a moscato in a while and this was the perfect thing to test while watching Bachelor in Paradise with my friend Tracy.

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Banrock Station is an environmentally responsible Australian winemaker. Every glass of Banrock Station wine purchased helps to support environmental projects such as restoring natural assets in Europe, saving salmon in Canada and preserving waterways and wetlands in Australia. I love the premise of this because wine is such a natural drink – grapes from the earth coming together to form a beautiful wine and by drinking it you are giving back to the earth. Sort of symbiotic.

Raise a glass of Banrock Station Moscato and raise funds for conservation

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I had a lot of fun drinking this wine, because it wasn’t too sweet. It was light and fruity with a natural sweetness that was refreshing. I would have loved to continue drinking this, it was a fantastic bottle to share with friends and the perfect summer wine! It would be great with cheese platters or desserts.

Have you tried Banrock Station Moscato? What did you think?

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Wine of the Week: Protocolo Tinto

August 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment

I received this week’s wine from my friend Jessica, as a hostess gift for my recent wine party. She mentioned that it was one of her and her husband’s favorite wines. I decided to test it out on Bachelor in Paradise Monday; turns out I really liked it.

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The Protocolo Tinto is a Spanish Tempranillo wine, that is aged for three months in a seasoned oak barrel. You will mostly find Tempranillo wines in Spain because that is where the black grapes are grown. This had a fresh blackberry taste and I actually thought I could taste some spices, but after further thought I think that was mostly the oak I was tasting.

If you wanted to add some fruit to this it would make a great Sangria. It will run you about $6-8 depending on where you find it.

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

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Wine of the Week: Nottage Hill Pinot Noir

July 30, 2014 by 7 Comments

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

I received a bottle of Nottage Hill’s Pinot Noir to review for Wine of the Week. This was perfect as I needed a good bottle for our Bachelorette viewing party (a.k.a. my friend Tracy and I drinking wine). If you’ve followed along with Wine of the Week you will notice that I review a lot of Pinot Noirs, because they are my favorite wine to drink.

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Hardys is one of Australia’s best known wine brands and just last year celebrated their 160th anniversary. It’s a global brand and can be found in more than 80 countries, particularly in the United Kingdom.

This particular brand, Nottage Hill, is named after Tom Nottage who was the nephew of the founder Thomas Hardy. If you ever visit Australia, you can tour the Tintara Winery, which is Australia’s oldest winery and see where the Hardys wines are made.

Tracy and I really liked this Pinot Noir. The first thing we said as soon as we tasted it was that it had a kick of spice on the finish. As you keep drinking it you will taste the cherry and raspberry flavors making this an easy wine to drink. The Nottage Hill Pinot Noir is also very affordable, coming in at around $13.

The official tasting notes recommend pairing this with a mushroom risotto, but I think any pasta or steak would also be great with this.

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

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Wine of the Week: Meiomi Pinot Noir

July 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I did a Wine of the Week recommendation, but never fear – I have been trying lots of new wines to share with you!

This week’s wine is one that I have been meaning to share for a long time, it is one of our favorite ones. John and I always order this one if it is on the menu. This week’s wine is Meiomi Pinot Noir, bottled by Belle Glos Wines.

meiomi final

We first discovered this wine during one of our dinners in Greektown and couldn’t believe how smooth it was (for such a reasonable price). I love a good Pinot Noir and this one is the perfect combination of flavors – berries, apple, vanilla with a slight oak on the finish.

Meiomi (May-OH-mee), means “coast” in the language of the California Wappo tribe where this wine is produced. Meiomi is a blend of grapes from Sonoma, Monterey and Santa Barbara.

meiomi blendThe owner and winemaker, Joseph Wagner is a fifth-generation winemaker. He grew up in the vineyard and it seems like winemaking is in his bones.

Meiomi is under the Belle Glos brand of wines and I was surprised to learn that they make another one of my favorites which I will be sharing with you soon! I will just have to try them all because they are delish!

Have you tried Meiomi yet? I would love to hear what you think about it.

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