Chile....

Chile...I have always been fascinated with their wine, Carmenere in particular.

I had a wonderful opportunity that I just couldn't pass up so I packed my bags and headed to the beautiful country, Chile.

My friend and I were feeling adventurous, we rented a car without GPS and hit the countryside running. We did have some guidance (thank goodness).
We started off just outside Curico where we had a blast helping harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Of course we were the "Gringas" and that was alright, we were there to help! And help we did (for a few hours anyways)!  Next we got to assist one of the winemakers taste the juice that was processed the day before and help him determine if it was Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. And what style of wine would it make? Now this was fun!! Since I don't produce a Sauvignon Blanc it was new to my palate, in the juice stage. Very interesting, I was expecting quite a bit of acidity in the Sauv. Blancs and more apples in the Chard...but they were all quite different and will make some really nice wines!
After a our days in the bodega we travelled to several other wine regions from Casablanca to Colchagua and experienced some phenomenal wines.  All the wineries were absolutely gorgeous. For a relatively young wine country, I am now more convinced than ever that they have some spectacular wines that need to be enjoyed one bottle at a time!
Cheers!

YUM!

It is Girl Scout cookie season and that makes me want to pair them with wine every time. Last year I paired them with our Malbec and Chambourcin, well this year I will pair them with our new dessert style wines. I know tough job, but someone has to do it :)
First up is our house favorite, Samoa...with its rich chocolate and caramel taste pairs wonderfully with our USB (port-style) wine.
Second would be the Tag-A-Longs...milk chocolate with a peanut butter center goes great with our new BlackJack wine, Chambourcin fermented with blackberries.
Third is the original Thin Min...although it has a hint of mint, the dark chocolate icing and cookie pair very well with our RAZ wine, Merlot fermented with raspberries.
Our last dessert style wine (but not least) is our Cello, Petit Manseng infused with lemon zest, goes great with the butter cookie, Trefoil or their new lemon cookie, Savannah Smiles.
Enjoy!
Cheers!

Wine TOO Cold!

People tend to serve white or Rose' wines too cold and red wines too warm. Pulling a white or Rose' straight from the refrigerator is way too cold. This wine will actually taste more acidic and nearly tasteless, but letting it warm up for about 20 minutes, all the fruit or true grape flavors come out.

So...the bottom line is 20 minutes...it takes about 20 minutes out of the frig for a white or Rose' wine to express its true flavors or 20 minutes in the frig for a red wine if it is too warm. Plain and simple...properly chilled wines do taste better.

Cheers!