VA Wine Expo 2017

I can't believe that I'm writing this already but - the VA Wine Expo has already happened. Everything that I was looking forward to for so long all came true this past Saturday.

For a wine lover, there really isn't a more amazing place to be than this event. I mean, there are over 650 different wines available to taste during this expo - that is insane! Obviously, it's impossible to taste all 650 wines but you sure can try to get close.

For me, this year was especially exciting because the International guest region for the expo was Spain and Portugal. Some of my most absolute favorite varietals come from Spain and I literally COULD NOT WAIT to try to some new ones.

Of course, the main event is all of the amazing Virginia wineries that come to the event and showcase their delicious wines. One of my favorite things about the expo is that there are often some Virginia wineries that we haven't gotten a chance to try either in person or at another festival. It's also a great opportunity to purchase some bottles from some of those wineries that don't distribute and are a little bit of a drive from home.

There were a few Virginia wineries on my list for this year that I had never tried such as Notaviva, 90+ Cellars, Whitebarrel, Gabriele Rausse, Castle Glen and Cunningham Creek. Don't worry - I'll be featuring some of these wineries in future posts so you can learn all about them. I have to admit that I did not make it to all of these tables - it was a long day y'all. And, it became glaringly obvious that I am not as young as I used to be. Day drinking is ROUGH.

Before you feel too bad for me that I didn't make it to all the wineries I wanted to, let me explain. First of all - we got the VIP tickets which got us in at 10am. You guys...we were drinking at 10am. That is craziness. Also, as I mentioned, I was SUPER excited for all the Spanish wines that were going to be at the expo this year. To me, these tables really were the shining star of our day.

We could not stop visiting all of the tables with the wonderful Spanish flags hanging behind them. We just kept tasting amazing wine after amazing wine. There was such a great variety and SO MANY BUBBLES. We had some delicious sparkling Rose's and Cavas. There was Garnacha, Tempranillo and Monastrell. It was just glorious.

If you get the chance to come to Virginia and attend the VA Wine Expo - do it. It's a day you (probably) won't forget.

The Wine Expo Is Coming!

One of my favorite days of the year is almost here and I’m so excited. The Virginia Wine Expo is happening THIS WEEKEND!

Last year was the first time I had been and let’s just say – I was hooked. You’ve never seen so many wineries all in one place. It’s fabulous. It’s mostly Virginia wineries but each year they have a special “featured region” that they celebrate. When I saw what the region would be for this year’s expo, I could barely contain myself.

They are featuring Spain!

Spain is my absolute most favorite wine region around and they produce some of the tastiest varietals. Needless to say I am really looking forward to tasting some delicious new Spanish wines.

In preparation of our visit to the expo this year, I went onto their website to peruse the list of Virginia wineries that would be in attendance. While the tasting is an all-day event, there’s still always too many wineries to hit all of them. So, it’s important to prioritize.

I tend to gravitate towards wineries that I have never heard of, been to or seen at other festivals around Virginia. This year, there are 7 wineries that have made the top of my list as “must tastes” this year.

Castle Glen

Cunningham Creek

Gabriele Rausse

Notaviva

Stanburn

Whitebarrel

90+ Cellars

Of course we will make it to more than these 7 booths but these are at the top of my priority list!

Another fun thing that I’m debating for the expo this year is something that I saw some people with at the event last year. Pretzel necklaces! I thought this was the coolest idea. When you are wine tasting ALL DAY, sustenance is so important if you are actually going to still be standing when the day is over. This might be just the ticket to keep us going in between food vendors!

I can’t wait to share all of my adventures at the expo with all of you so stay tuned!

Mardi Gras Wines

Happy Mardi Gras everyone! I love this holiday because it falls during the perfect time of year where we all really need a little celebration. This is that long period of time on the calendar once New Year’s is over that we have to make it all the way to Memorial Day for another holiday off work.

It doesn’t matter that Mardi Gras is on a Tuesday – you can still celebrate!

Here’s a couple of my favorite festive Mardi Gras wines for your party tonight. Even if it’s just a party of one.

Fat Bastard Syrah

This wine may not be called “Fat Tuesday” but it’s close enough! One of the most popular Mardi Gras dishes is Gumbo and this wine pairs perfectly. It’s a flavor-packed, fun Cajun dish that’s sure to complete your festive evening. This dish is traditionally spicy so you want something that can hold up to those heavy, complex flavors and not overwhelm your tastebuds. This Shiraz is just the ticket.

Marques de Monistrol Semi Seco Cava

Another traditional Mardi Gras treat is the King Cake. If you pick one of these up (or make one of your own) for your festivities, you’ll want something a bit sweet and definitely sparkling that can hold up to the sweetness of this dessert. Any sweeter, sparkling wine will do but be sure to avoid any of them that have Brut in their name. Those are typically drier and don’t pair as well with sweet dessert.

Honoro Vera Garnacha

One of my favorite varietals is Garnacha and it also happens to be a perfect Mardi Gras wine. This Garnacha specifically is easy-drinking and fresh and should pair nicely with pretty much any dish you end up serving tonight. And really, you can’t be the price on this one!

Favorites Friday - National Wine Day

Tomorrow is National Wine Day – what a great holiday, right!? I figured this was a great reason to share some of my absolute most favorite wines for this round of Favorites Friday. Go to the store and pick up one (or all) of these wines to enjoy on Saturday. What are YOUR favorite wines that I need to try?

Dreaming Tree – Red Crush

This is one of my go-to wines that I can’t get enough of. It’s not very expensive and it’s just an easy sipping wine that pairs well with pretty much anything.

Alamos – Malbec

This is one of my other favorite go-to wines. I always have at least one bottle on hand. This is always the wine I pop open when I don’t want to think too much about what I’m drinking. It’s smooth and easy to drink and is only about $10 bucks per bottle.

Voulet –  Casorzo

While I don’t typically drink a whole lot of sweet wines, my in-laws really enjoy them. I stumbled across this fun sparkling red wine at a local shop and they absolutely loved it. It’s been the perfect wine to enjoy at all of our family gatherings. It’s not the easiest wine to find but it’s worth tracking down if you have a sweet wine loving crowd to please.

Chateau Camplazens – Marselan

A new restaurant recently opened near our house and my husband happened to randomly choose this wine off the menu. I all but ended up stealing his glass of wine because it was so much better than the one I was drinking. I had never heard of Marselan before and was pleased to find out that it was a cross between a Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache grape. The only place I’ve been able to find this wine is at this local restaurant so if any of you out there can find it – let me know!

Wines for the Perfect Valentine's Day

I don’t think I’ve talked about this on the blog before so here it is – I HATE Valentine’s Day.

I think it’s a completely commercialized holiday made up so that companies can charge you ridiculous amounts of money for things. I suppose it is fitting that I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day because I also don’t really like flowers (as a gift). Flowers cut from your own garden are awesome but, paying a million dollars for flowers from a company is silly, in my opinion. They last like a week then they die. Give me something useful – like food.

Anyways, there is a bit of silver lining to this whole holiday. That of course – WINE!

What a great excuse to pop open a bottle and celebrate your love of wine.

Here are some fun, Valentine’s type wines for you to try out this year.

Sexy Wine Bomb Red Blend

This is a fun little blend with a name and label perfect for a Valentine’s night at home. Flavors of plum, cherry and vanilla with just a hint of oak. It’s surprisingly complex for a wine with such a cheeky name.

Alexander Valley Sin Zin Zinfandel

This is a true Zinfandel that boasts flavors of pepper, vanilla, black cherry and plum. A delightfully sinful choice for Valentine’s Day.

Banfi Rosa Regal Sparkling Red

Sometimes you just need bubbles in your life and Valentine’s is the perfect occasion to indulge. This is a delicate, fizzy red that will pair perfectly with those chocolate covered strawberries.

Winery Wednesday - Benziger

Every so often during the winters here in Virginia, we get these ridiculously warm spring-like days. Today, as I write this post, is one of those days. It’s going to be 74 degrees and sunny. I do my best to soak up every single bit of these days when we get them.

They also make me a bit anxious for spring to actually get here and make me reminisce about those warm days I’ve spent visiting wineries. For this Winery Wednesday feature, I’m remembering our trip to Napa a few years back and one of my favorite places we visited there – Benziger Winery.

When we planned our trip out to California wine country, we knew we wanted to spend some time in Sonoma County. It tends to be a bit more low-key and causal than Napa Valley which really is more our scene. My husband is a chemist so, when we saw that Benziger was a Biodynamic farming winery, we had to visit. The science gets him every time.

Beyond the Biodynamics, Benizger is beautiful. Though, I guess you really can’t go to any wineries in California that don’t provide amazing views. They have a bunch of different options when you get there from a tasting in the main room to a full tour of their facility or a private lunch with the head winemaker. We did a wine tasting and then we wandered through their gardens and grounds on our own. It gave you a great feel for their Biodynamic processes and provided some great scenery to enjoy.

Their wines were great too. We brought home a bottle of their Merlot with us since it was our favorite. Their Cabernet Sauvignon was really delicious too. Since we had 4 days of wineries, we had to cut down on how many we got from each winery at the time. As luck would have it though, we recently found a bottle of their Cab at a local store!

As you can see from the photo, the Merlot is still in our collection and has a few years of age on it now. We have this really bad habit of saving our good wines for some special occasion. We really need to just drink them! Now that I know I can find it around here though, maybe we will bite the bullet and pop this bottle open.

If you get the chance to go out to Sonoma, definitely put this place on your list. If not – keep your eyes open at your local shops and you might just score big with some of their delicious wine!

Wine 101 - France

One of the most well-known wine producing countries in the world is France. Their history with wine dates well back into history and besides Italy, may be the country most associated with the delicious beverage.

The French are incredibly protective of their wines and go to great lengths to ensure their quality is preserved. They even have an entire system dedicated to ensuring high quality standards and regulations are met. This system is called the Appellation d’origine contrôlée. 

If there's something the French know just as well as wine, it's food. French wines are specifically designed to pair well with food. It can be as simple as a baguette or as complex as the intricacies of fine French dining. Their wines are meant to be enjoyed with food and they are meant to be aged.

Another concept that you may have heard of before that originated in France is "terroir". Terroir is meant to describe the unique natural characteristics of a particular vineyard (such as slope of terrain, altitude, soil makeup and sun orientation). The French believe that when the same varietal of grape is planted in different regions, the wines will have their own unique taste.

One more unique thing about French wines - have you ever looked closely at the labels? You'll notice that French wines are not labeled according to their grape varietal as we are used to seeing in American or Australian wines. Rather, they are labeled according to the region of soil from which the wine was produced.

Here are some more fun facts about the French wine region!

 

Favorites Friday

I’m excited to launch a new series with you today – Favorites Friday! There’s always something really neat that I come across in my daily life that I just need to share with the blogging world. Sometimes my Favorites will be related to books or wine, sometimes they won’t. But they will always be awesome things that have made me happy. I think they’ll make you happy too!

Vinoair Wine Aerator

Ever since we joined the Cooper’s Hawk wine club, I’ve been pining after these cool aerators they sell. I never used an aerator before but these cool pewter animals were just too hard to resist. My husband found this Vinoair wine aerator and gave it to me for Christmas and I have been LOVING it (even though it’s not an adorable animal). It’s amazing how much better my red wines taste after running through this fun little gadget. The best part about this aerator is that it fits right down into the bottle and you pour directly into your glass. And, it doesn’t even slow down the pouring process! You can see the bubbles but most importantly – you can taste the difference!

Lodge enameled cast iron skillet

My husband and I love cooking and we do a lot of it. We love finding and trying out new recipes all the time. A couple of years ago, we got our first enameled cast iron dutch oven. We became obsessed with it and started using it ALL the time. We also watch a lot of Food Network and something that I always see the chefs using was a shallow enameled cast iron casserole pot. I got this super pretty Lodge one for Christmas and was so excited to use it. It didn’t disappoint! It’s perfect for literally every dish from chicken to pasta to steak. You can sauté or sear and then throw the entire thing in the oven to finish cooking. If you like to cook, get one of these in your life immediately.

Crocheted ponytail hat

Unless you’ve been living under a social media rock, then you know the hottest trend on the internet right now is the “messy bun” hat. I’m not sure how this hasn’t caught on before now because it is a GENIUS idea. I knew I needed one the second I saw it. Luckily, I have a super talented Mom who can crochet. When I asked her to make me one – she happily obliged! With the super cold weather that we’ve been getting lately, this hat has been the perfect addition to my wardrobe. You can find patterns online to make one yourself if you are crafty. Or, you can buy one already completed. My good friend over at Jess Runs ATL is fundraising for cancer research in order to run the NYC marathon and is taking orders. Get yours here. It’s for a great cause so go check it out and get your beanie on!

Wine 101 - Champagne vs Prosecco

If any of you are like me, then you enjoyed a plethora of bubbly wines over the holiday season – especially for New Years. I had some Champagne in the fridge all ready to enjoy for New Years Eve. Then, we went and did our December wine club tasting at Cooper’s Hawk and came home with a bottle of Prosecco. At the time, I didn’t think about it a whole lot. All I knew was that it was wine and they both had BUBBLES. Who doesn’t love bubbles!?

I ended up using the Prosecco that night instead and made this delicious little cocktail. A shot or so of Chambord topped off with the Prosecco and a couple of raspberries to make it look pretty. Also – can we talk about how adorable these glasses are? The drink was so good and the perfect way to celebrate the evening away. Even if it was just me and the hubs.

It wasn’t until a few days ago when I opened the fridge and saw the bottle of Champagne and got me thinking. What the heck is the difference between Champagne and Prosecco? I sure didn’t know so it was time to research! Here's a fun little graphic to break it all down.

The biggest difference between these two bubblies is the region where they are made. Champagne is made in the Champagne region of France which is about 80 miles Northeast of Paris. Prosecco is made in the Veneto region of Italy which is about 15 miles North of Venice. One note – these brands are both VERY attached to their names so if it isn’t produced in one of these two places – IT’S NOT LEGIT. Check your labels folks.

If you start shopping around for Champagne and Prosecco, you’ll see a noticeable difference in the cost. A decent bottle of Champagne will run you about $40 where you can get a Prosecco for around $14. The reason? The method of production. Champagne is produced using a costly method called “The Traditional Method” which involves 2 fermentation periods along with aging before it is sold. The method to produce Prosecco called “The Tank Method” is a bit less expensive. It still goes through 2 fermentations but rather than being aged, it is cooled in an autoclave tank then bottled.

OK – I know that’s a lot of technical info and all you want to know is do they taste different? Champagne and Prosecco while similar, do have different flavor profiles. Champagne tends to have notes of almond, citrus, peach and white cherry and is usually on the dry side. Prosecco has notes of green apple, honeysuckle, pear and cream and tends to be a bit sweeter. You really can’t go wrong because, the good news? They both have bubbles of course! Cheers!

Gifts for Wine Lovers

The holidays will be here before you know it so it’s time to get your list done and start shopping. Though, if you are anything like me, if you haven’t started shopping by now, you are legit losing your mind. IT WILL NEVER GET DONE AND EVERYONE WILL GET APPLEBEES GIFT CARDS.

What do I do when holiday shopping gets me stressed? Open a bottle of wine, of course! Now, I’m not condoning drinking as a coping mechanism but let’s be real. It calms you down. While sipping on some red the other day, I was thinking about Christmas. And what better way to kick off the season than with some gifts perfect for the wine lover on your list. Or for yourself. Probably for yourself.

Wine socks

YOU. GUYS. I don’t even need to say anything about these socks. They are amazing and you need them right now. Hopefully I have a loved one reading this blog and is going directly to the site to purchase them for me. *hint hint*

Bamboo & Slate wine tasting flight

If you’ve read anything else on this blog, you know I love a fun and fancy wine tasting. This little set is perfect for your own at home tastings!

Bathtub wine glass holder

If there’s anything more relaxing than a glass of wine, it’s a glass of wine while in a hot bath. Have you ever knocked your glass of wine over and into the tub? No? Just me? Well, then just buy this so it doesn’t happen to you or someone you love.

Decanter

This is a perfect go-to gift for a wine lover. Get them a nice one, like this though. No one wants a dollar store wine decanter. Splurge a little bit people.

Fun wine-related shirt

You can’t go wrong with a fun graphic tee like the one below. It’s cute, practical and funny. Any wine lover would love to have this in their lives. Not that I’m hinting again here…just sayin.