Winery Wednesday - Blue Toad Cidery

Before you say anything, I know this says Winery Wednesday and I KNOW that this place is not a winery. We are just all going to be OK with this post being a Winery Wednesday feature because, let’s face it, none of the days of the week start with a “C” and alliteration just sounds better.

Now that we’ve addressed the elephant in the room – let’s move on to the good stuff. Cider! A couple of weeks ago, we were on one of our many trips to Carter Mountain and we needed a place to stop for lunch. My first choice was Pippin Hill Winery but let me tell you guys a little secret…apparently EVERY WINERY IN VIRGINIA is closed on Mondays! Not cool.

We ended up at this little pizza joint right across the street from Pippin Hill called Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie. It was DELICIOUS y’all. Since it was my day off from work, I figured that I deserved to have a drink with lunch. I spied a local hard cider on their menu that I had never heard of before called Blue Toad. They had a seasonal on hand called Festy that is a fall blend with cinnamon and cloves. Yes, please!

This cider did not disappoint. Thanks to modern technology and Google, I was able to look them up while we ate lunch. Guess what? They had a tasting room about 20 minutes up the road from where we were at! Of course I said we had to go. So we went.

Upon further investigation, it turns out this place is based out of New York and has just recently opened this location in Virginia. It was a cute little place all rustic and comfy. The location we were at also partnered up with a local winery called Well Hung (yep…you read that right) so it’s the best of both worlds. Cider and wine all in one place!

We got a couple of flights so we could try all their different varities. I had their Peach, Caramel Apple, Black Cherry and their Irish Dry. The Festy and the Black Cherry were hands down my favorites. I was excited about the prospect of caramel apple but it was just WAY too sweet for my taste. It was literally like I was drinking carbonated caramel. The Irish Dry was also really good. It’s made with all Granny Smith apples so it’s super tart.

If you get the chance, go check them out. And if you can’t make it to their tasting room, you can find their cider at your local Wegman’s. Now, excuse me while I go stock up on the Festy Harvest blend before it’s gone!

Game of Thrones Book Club - #1

I don’t know about you guys but, I am a HUGE fan of Game of Thrones. Now, since I am an avid reader (obviously) I almost always read the book before I watch the movie or TV show. This has been the one exception. I started to read the books back during Season 2. Then, my husband asked me to stop reading so that we could watch the show together and be surprised. He was so adamant that I just couldn’t say no. So, here we are like 5 years later and it’s now safe to pick up the series and start reading.

Since this is a really sad time of year when GOT isn’t on TV, I figured it would be the perfect time to get through the books. A couple friends of mine at work wanted to re-read them too so we decided to do a little Game of Thrones book club!

It’s nothing really super official, but it is just the excuse I needed to get reading. The books are long and not easy reads (think Tolkein-esque) so I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get through them. We are tackling one book each month then getting together for lunch once a week to discuss (or talk football…that happens a lot.)

It’s an interesting experience reading the books now that I already know what happens. I will admit that it’s made some of the “oh my god did they really just kill that character” moments a bit easier to handle. Also, knowing who the characters all are ahead of time and how they all line up with each other has really helped too. When I started reading the first book way back in the day, I was overwhelmed by the number of characters and trying to keep up with them was difficult.

I’m just about done with the first book and am so excited to be reading this series. I can’t wait to start book number 2! My goal is to share a bit with you about each book and of course, give you a good wine to pair with it. Happy reading friends!

Game of Thrones Book 1 – Pair This With:

Wolf Blass Shiraz/Cabernet

Since Book 1 is really all about the Starks and their sigil is the Direwolf, I figured this was the perfect wine to get you into the GOT spirits. Wolf Blass wines are really great, inexpensive wines from Australia. This blend of Shiraz and Cabernet is super smooth but balanced in flavor with bright berries and a slight spiciness. Sip on this and get in touch with your inner wolf!

Wine Words to Make You Sound Smart

We all have that ONE friend who is a self-appointed sommelier and wants to make sure that everyone knows that they really know their wine. I’m not ashamed to admit that I am often that person within my circle of friends. I try not to be obnoxious about it but I’m sure it never happens.

But – we all also want to fit in, right? Just think how impressed your friends would be at your next gathering if you were to professionally swirl your glass of wine, sniff it and then rattle off a sentence full of really smart sounding wine words. You’ll be the hit of the party!

AROMA 

The smell of the grapes that are in a wine. You get the aroma when you sniff the wine in your glass. This is also called the “nose”. You just got a two-for-one here. You’re welcome.

FINISH 

A word used to describe the lingering flavor of a wine after you taste it. This is considered the most important way to determine the quality of a wine. Some people also say “aftertaste” but let’s be honest, that’s kind of a gross word and “finish” sounds way more high class.

AERATION 

This is the process of allowing a wine to breathe and is mostly required for younger wines. It allows the flavors of the wine to open up (aka – it will taste better). If you want to get really fancy, get yourself a decanter and teach your partygoers a lesson about aeration.

TANNINS 

This is the substance found in wine that causes you to pucker and are derived from all different parts of the grape vine and the fruit itself. Most of the time a wine that is high in tannins will be dry.

LEGS

These are the drops of wine that form on the inside of your wine glass after you swirl it around. Some wines will “stick” to the glass and form lines (or legs). Wines that are higher in alcohol content and/or sugar will have more legs than wines that are less sweet or lower in alcohol content. Swirl that wine and say “check out the legs on this beauty”. You’ll sound SO smart. Just make sure they know you are referring to the wine in your glass and not your friend’s wife.

Carter Mountain and Bold Rock Cider

One of my favorite fall activities is to head out to the mountains and pick apples. We have this great orchard that’s only an hour from our house that we go to every year – Carter Mountain Orchard. This year has been really awesome, we’ve made 3 trips up there!

The views from the top of the mountain are simply fabulous and you really can’t beat fresh picked apples right off the tree. We bought a ton of apples this year so that I can make all of the apple recipes that I pinned to my Pinterest board. Apple bread, apple muffins, apple crisp, apple snickerdoodles and applesauce. Whew!

Besides the apples, the absolute BEST reason to go visit Carter Mountain is for their apple cider donuts. I seriously cannot even express to you in words how amazing these donuts are. They are made on site and you get them hot and fresh. It’s ridiculously easy to eat an entire dozen. I tell myself this is OK because the holidays are coming soon and I might as well just start the unhealthy eating habits now. Pair these donuts with a cup of their hot cider and you may never want to leave.

My other favorite part of Carter Mountain (which is relatively new) is the Bold Rock Cider tasting room. It’s this cool cellar where you can get a tasting of all the different hard ciders that Bold Rock has to offer.  They are a local cidery which is cool and they always have new seasonal flavors. It’s fun to grab a pint and hang out at the picnic tables with lunch and just enjoy the views.

If you get the chance to go visit them – take it. I know you’ll love it!

Hallo-wine - Serve Up the Spookiest Wine on the Block

I’m going to be honest here – Halloween is not my most favorite holiday of the year. I’m not really into scary stuff and this holiday just seems to give people a license to act really stupid. Like perhaps how I should really be in therapy over the creepy clown that was chasing people around a parking lot a couple years ago. Or, the out of control 8-year old that followed my friend and I (and her small infant) down the sidewalk dragging a REAL machete on the concrete. NOT OKAY PEOPLE.

Anyway, once I discovered that I can just stay inside (or make a quick run for it over to a nearby friend’s house and then stay inside) and drink wine and eat tons of candy, I was more OK with Halloween. So, here are a couple of suggestions on how to really “spook” up your wine at this year’s Halloween bash.

Boxed Wine Pumpkin Keg

The second that I saw this tutorial, I knew that I had to make this happen. How adorable is this!? I mean come on, wine out of a pumpkin? Amazing. If anyone has done this already - let me know!!

Mummified Wine Bottles

This is a super easy and cheap crafty way to spook up your party tables. These little mummy’s are so cute! All it takes is some medical tape and big googly eyes that are hot glued onto the bottle and – voila! Awesome little wine bottle mummy.

Spooky Wines

There are some great Halloween themed wines out there so here are a few of my suggestions.

Grey Ghost Winery Chardonnay – when I started thinking Halloween, I immediately thought of a winery right here in my backyard. The name screams Halloween (haha…get it?) and the wine is delicious.

Vampire Pinot Noir – you seriously can’t go wrong for Halloween with a wine called Vampire. And, it actually tastes good!

The Velvet Devil Merlot – again, how perfect is this name!? I couldn’t resist this one. It’s not your typical Merlot but you’ll find a bit of sweetness and bit of spiciness – and just a little bit of devil.

S'Mores and Wine - A Fall Match Made in Heaven

Fall weather is finally here and with it came the perfect excuse to break in our new fire pit. We’ve had this fire pit since last year but our deck had not yet been completed, so we couldn’t use it. Needless to say, I’ve been waiting on this moment!

We had the most amazingly cool night for our first fire. I was all bundled up in a jacket and scarf – it was perfect. We had some friends over for dinner then gathered around the fire pit for drinks and of course – S’Mores!

I knew we were going to do S’Mores over the fire so obviously, I had to do some research to find out which sort of wine would go well with this sweet treat. Unless you are drinking port, I find it difficult to pair up a nice red, sipping wine with something super sweet.

I found it though – the perfect S’Mores wine!

Ménage a Trois Silk Red Blend

This wine paired up perfectly with everything we had that night from a heavy brat stew, to apple crisp and S’Mores. It is an incredibly smooth, bright wine that while full of flavor, doesn’t weigh you down. Silk is a blend of Pinot Noir, Malbec and Petit Sirah grapes. There are wonderful tones of cherry and raspberry that shine through.

I cannot wait for our next fire and I know that I’ll definitely have to have this wine on hand again!

Urban Tree Cidery

OK, so obviously everyone who stops here to read my posts knows that wine is my first true love beverage of choice. However, there is a new trend sweeping the nation that has me completely hooked – hard cider.

Since I literally cannot stomach beer (I know – take a deep breath beer lovers), I have often found myself in the awkward position of being THAT girl at a sporting event, party or out at a bar “enjoying” a perfectly terrible $10 glass of some cheap wine while everyone else has their perfectly normal beers. If the wine was good, I wouldn’t mind it so much but it never is. Do you know how hard it is to play flip cup or beer pong with wine? IT’S HARD. Trust me – I’ve done it.

So when I discovered this new world of hard cider, I felt like all my problems were solved! I can now safely attend a local baseball game or head out to a bar and avoid the ridicule with my beer look-a-like beverage. With the craft beer craze taking over Richmond, there have been a few glorious little cideries that have popped up along the way. More to come on that later.

Recently, we took our annual trip down to Atlanta to visit some friends and I was so excited that our itinerary included a trip to a new cidery that opened up near them called Urban Tree Cidery. This place definitely did not disappoint!

They had 2 different flights to choose from so of course my husband and I each got a different one so that we could sample everything. This is just smart economics, right?

The offerings in the flights were delightfully diverse and really had something for everyone. Their original was dry, crisp and classic. For the beer lover, they had the Triple H which was very hop forward (not my favorite but my beer loving husband enjoyed it!) Their seasonal flight included a peach cider which was light and sweet.

Hands down though, my two favorites were the Rum Barrel Aged and the Sweet Heat. The Rum Barrel Aged was smooth and tasted like caramel. It was just everything that I want in a cider. The Sweet Heat was a delicious surprise. This one was a ginger infused cider with hints of habanero. SO. GOOD.

I knew I wanted to take home a bottle of each of these and was so disappointed when I saw that they did not have the Sweet Heat bottled and ready to go. I didn’t know it at the time, but the lady behind the bar helping me out was the owner. I asked her if she had any of the Sweet Heat stashed away that she could sell me. I told her I was from Virginia and needed to take some home with me. She was amazing and ended up bottling some of it right from their tap for me on the spot! This is how you do customer service y’all.

I left an incredibly happy customer who is even happier to spread the word of this lovely little urban cider oasis in downtown Atlanta. Go check them out!