wine Archives - Page 3 of 4

Here Comes the Boom

September 19, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 3 Comments

When you think about “Bringing the Boom” what comes to mind? For me it is fall TV. Have you ever watched a show that leaves you hanging? I can think of a few memorable moments that had me texting my friends or my mom in shock with “Can you believe what just happened?!” I am super pumped for fall TV and when I thought about what kind of show I need popcorn for Scandal, kicking off on September 24, definitely came to mind. If you’ve forgotten how many crazy moments Olivia Pope and company have delivered? Here’s a peek of this season’s premiere and you can’t help but get giddy watching Shonda Rimes #BringtheBoom:

We all know that Olivia Pope lives on popcorn and wine and I figured, what better way to celebrate the premiere on Thursday than with BOOMCHICKAPOP?

Olivia Pope indulging in popcorn and wine

Olivia is normally eating popcorn as her dinner, but when I want popcorn, I want something light without a ton of calories. That’s where BOOMCHICKAPOP comes in. BOOMCHICKAPOP is a better-for-you snack with simple ingredients, calorie transparency and great taste! They are certified gluten-free and use non-GMO ingredients in all of their products. All of their products are less than 100 calories per cup! NOTE: Per cup, not per serving! So you can have lots and not kill your diet. These are some of their top selling flavors:

BOOMCHICKAPOP Sea Salt Popcorn
BOOMCHICKAPOP Lightly Sweet Popcorn
BOOMCHICKAPOP Sweet & Salty Popcorn
BOOMCHICKAPOP White Cheddar Popcorn

When I was looking at where to buy BOOMCHICKAPOP I was surprised to discover that it was readily available at the Rite-Aid within walking distance from my house…Score!

I selected the Lightly Sweet and Sweet & Salty flavors to try. I also noticed that none of the products contain high fructose corn syrup which is a huge bonus!

I decided I should watch the Scandal season finale to refresh my memory prior to the Season five premiere, so I set out my popcorn and poured a glass of wine:

I figured I may as well re-watch the Season four Scandal finale to refresh my memory before Thursday, so I roped John and Sport into watching it with me.

Both flavors of BOOMCHICKAPOP tasted amazing! I couldn’t believe the flavor came in such a low calorie serving. Even Sport loved the few pieces I allowed him to try. I can’t wait until Scandal premieres on Thursday to #BringtheBoom. I will be ready with my BOOMCHICKAPOP popcorn and a glass of Olivia Pope approved wine to celebrate!

For those of you who can’t wait for Halloween, BOOMCHICKAPOP is running a special giveaway. You are invited to share photos and content to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram using the hashtag #BringTheBoom for a chance to win three Halloween kits (including an array of fun treats and prizes, and could include things such as trick or treat bags, glow bracelets, stay-at-home popcorn & bowl kits, and BOOM pumpkin carving kits), a $50 Target gift card and free BOOMCHICKAPOP! BOOMCHICKAPOP will pick the winners and mail prizes out a week before Halloween. There will be three prizes given away in total. Each include:

A ‘Halloween Kit’ Complete with Halloween necessities.
A $50 Target gift card
Multi-packs of either Sea Salt or Sweet & Salty

Don’t forget to check out the BOOMCHICKAPOP Pinterest boards, here for more ideas on how to #BringtheBoom.

Are you excited for Scandal to #BringtheBoom this season?

Filed Under: Scandal, TV Tagged With: #BringtheBoom, BoomChickaPop, entertaining, Linqia, popcorn, Scandal, TV, wine

New Buffalo Wine Tour Recap

June 15, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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?

Filed Under: Travel, Wine of the Week Tagged With: Contessa Cellars, Domaine Berrien Cellars, Hickory Creek Winery, Lemon Creek Winery, New Buffalo, The Chocolate Garden, wine, wine of the week

Wine Wednesday: Southwest Michigan Sip & Stroll Weekend

April 8, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 9 Comments

Disclosure: I was invited to participate in this hosted tour and will be provided with complimentary lodging. All opinions are my own.

Since it is #WineWednesday, I thought there was no better time to share with you that I’ve been invited to the Southwest Michigan Sip & Stroll wine tour this weekend! I had a big event at work and just started teaching again for the semester, so this couldn’t have come at a better time.

This is the first year for the Southwest Michigan Sip & Stroll weekend being hosted by Deb at Just Short of Crazy and Renee at What Mama Wants and I’m thrilled to help kick it off. Because it starts on Friday, I was able to take the day off of work and recruit one of my besties, Jen, to come along for the ride.

Our tour is kicking off on Friday, where we check into The Harbor Grand, a full-service boutique hotel in New Buffalo, MI.

We’ll be touring four wineries and The Chocolate Garden on Friday and Saturday before heading home. I can’t wait to try the Sticky Bun and Vanilla Rose truffles, which I hear pair perfectly with my favorite, Pinot Noir.

I am familiar with Domaine Berrien Cellars as their wine is featured at Michigan by the Bottle, a favorite hangout of mine, but I am excited to learn more about the others including Lemon Creek Winery, Hickory Creek Winery and Contessa Wine Cellars. I will hopefully have a few new Wine of the Week selections to share with you after this trip. A few fun facts to note:

Domaine Berrien Cellars was the first winery in Michigan to release a commercially grown and vinified Syrah.
Lemon Creek Winery is home to the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the State of Michigan.
Hickory Creek is known for crafting wine in the Old World style.
Contessa Cellar’s tasting room looks like an Italian villa overlooking their beautiful orchards.

After doing a quick search on our hotel, I am definitely excited to check out The Four Winds Casino (about a 10 minute shuttle ride away) and recently featured in USA Today’s Leaving Las Vegas: The best casinos outside Sin City. We will also have to make a stop at Oinks Ice Cream Garden, which is a treasure trove of pig paraphernalia! For those of you that don’t know, I love pigs and collect piggy banks.

You can follow our trip throughout the weekend on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #SWMISipStroll.

Have you been to New Buffalo before? What are your favorite places to visit? If you’ve been to any of these wineries I would love to get your recommendations!

Filed Under: Travel, Wine of the Week Tagged With: #SWMISIPSTROLL, Michigan, New Buffalo, wine, Wine Tour, Wine Wednesday

Wine of the Week: Castle Rock Pinot Noir

December 11, 2013 by DetroitDuchess 1 Comment

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

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.

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: Castle Rock, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, wine, wine of the week

Wine of the Week: Noble Vines 667 Pinot Noir

July 25, 2013 by DetroitDuchess 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 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 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

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: Delicato Family Vineyards, Noble Vines, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, wine, wine of the week

Wine of the Week: Whitehall Lane Perfect Union

July 17, 2013 by DetroitDuchess 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

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

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: Perfect Union, Red Wine, Whitehall Lane, wine, wine of the week

Wine of the Week: Hob Nob Pinot Noir

June 27, 2013 by DetroitDuchess 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

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.

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.

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.

Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: Hob Nob, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, wine, wine of the week

Wine of the Week – Santa Rita 120 Sauvignon Blanc

June 13, 2013 by DetroitDuchess 3 Comments

This week’s wine comes to you courtesy of my friend Chandra. She stopped at Nino Salvaggio’s and picked it up for our Bachelorette viewing party earlier this week.

It is the 120 Sauvignon Blanc from a Chilean Winery called Santa Rita and was $7.99 for the bottle.

Sauvignon Blanc 120

The 120 series of wine is named after the 120 patriots who fought for Chile’s independence and found refuge in the same winery cellars that house the Santa Rita wines today (read the legend here).

We noticed hints of peach, apple and vanilla undertones in the wine. It was soft and refreshing on a warm day, this would make a great summer wine. The price is great and according the the winemaker this particular wine can age for 2-3 years. They recommend paring it with shellfish and salads.

You can check out the Palm Bay distributor site and search for this one specifically. There are a number of stores in Michigan that carry it. This is a great summer wine and I love that fact that I could buy it and not worry about it going bad.

Let me know if you try this out at any celebrations this summer.

For more Wine of the Week posts click here.

Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: 120, Chile, Santa Rita, Sauvignon Blanc, wine, wine of the week

Wine of the Week: Casa Nuestra Chenin Blanc

June 5, 2013 by DetroitDuchess 4 Comments

This week’s wine is one I have been saving since our trip to Napa Valley last year.

We went on a number of wine tours while we were there and stopped at Casa Nuestra. “Casa Nuestra” is a Spanish name that means “Our House.” My husband and I fondly refer to this winery as the hippie winery.

Casa Nuestra Winery

There was a big psychedelic painting on the barn when we arrived and the overall vibe was very laid back. This is one of the only wineries that we got to do a barrel tasting at, which was really cool. My friend almost had us in on buying the barrel and splitting it with the group, but I opted to get a few bottles of their Chenin Blanc instead.

Chenin Blanc Cork

What first intrigued me about the Chenin Blanc, was a poster on the wall from the White House. In 1987, President and Mrs. Reagan requested 15 cases of the Chenin Blanc for the annual White House picnic. You can read Casa Nuestra’s newsletter article from 1987 here.

2011 Casa Nuestra Chenin Blanc

Since then I have seen a few other posters like this at other wineries. When your wine is served at the White House you receive a commemorative letter. At one point I wanted to find a list of all of the wines ever served at the White House and try them, but I will have to save that for my next blog.

I brought this wine over to try with my friend Tracy and here are our tasting notes:

The Chenin Blanc had a mild flavor with a bit of a tang to it.
It gets better as you drink it, you need to have about a half a glass before you start experiencing the full flavor. Make sure to serve it chilled.
Overall, this is an all-purpose wine that you could use for any occasion.

I will definitely be ordering more since that was my last bottle. You can order the 2011 Dry Chenin Blanc here for $30/bottle in increments of 3, 6 or 12 bottles.

For more Wine of the Week posts, click here.

Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: Casa Nuestra, Chenin Blanc, Napa Valley, White House, white wine, wine, wine of the week

Nashville Day 2 Recap – Arrington Vineyards

May 28, 2013 by DetroitDuchess Leave a Comment

My husband and I traveled to Nashville for Memorial Day weekend to visit our close friends Eric and Stephanie. The highlight of Day 2 was our trip to Arrington Vineyards.

The vineyards

Saturday was actually National Wine Day, which worked out perfectly for our trip to the vineyard and my Wine of the Week post.

Entering the winery

Arrington Vineyards is owned by Kix Brooks (part of Brooks & Dunn), winemaker Kip Summers, and entrepreneur John Russell. Brooks was inspired to open the vineyard by Faith Hill and her husband Tim McGraw. They used to give Brooks and his wife two bottles of wine from different countries each month which led to his love of wine.

Arrington Vineyards

One interesting thing that we learned on this trip was that Tennessee used to be a leading wine-producing region in the US, but this was cut short because of prohibition. Tennessee is usually known for its whiskey and moonshine, but wine has been making a comeback since the 1980’s. Tennessee now has more than 40 wineries and 150 vineyards (for more info visit the Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Association). Visiting one of the wine trails would make a great activity for our next trip!

Lots of areas to picnic

We arrived at the Vineyard planning to do a wine tasting, but it was packed! We put our name on the list and then proceeded to get a table on the deck. While we were waiting we bought some wine, cheese and crackers to hang out and pass the time. The winery had a great ambiance and it reminded me of our time in Napa. While we were waiting we tried a few of the different wines, including:

Stags White 2011 – $17.99

This was a great blend, perfect for a hot day.

Stag’s White 2011

Chardonnay 2012 – $21.99

We had to try this, because I was out of Chardonnay at home. It worked really well with the pepper crackers and cheese that we had.

Chardonnay 2012

I also tried some of Stephanie’s Raspberry Dessert Wine ($14.99) with truffles and it was delicious! We decided that it would taste awesome over ice cream.

Stephanie and Eric

We finally got called for our tasting and were escorted to a private room under the winery. I decided to join Kix’s Wine Club and this allowed us to taste five wines instead of four.

I tried the Viognier 2011 ($18.99), Firefly Rose 2010 ($17.99), Red Fox Red 2010 ($21.99), Petite Noir 2011 ($23.99) and the KB 409 ($49.99). I liked everything I tried. Which prompted us to take some wine home with us:

The wine we bought

Now I can’t wait for our first shipment of wine! It will remind us of our trip every time we drink it. Have you visited any Nashville wineries? Let us know where we should go next.

For more on our trip to Nashville, click here.

For more Wine of the Week posts, click here.