BAM!  Just when you thought a fancy-dancy place like Whole Foods would never stoop so low as to attempt to recreate the success of Trader Joe’s “Two Buck Chuck” (or Charles Shaw wine) purely for the sake of making a quick buck – I come across Three Wishes, a California wine from the emerging wine-producing area southeast of San Francisco.  At $2.99 of COURSE I had to pick up a bottle to try when I stopped by for some bread during my lunch break yesterday.  Granted, I only bought the Merlot, but I already had 6 bottles of wine (nice bottles) in my bag and couldn’t manage any more.  And at $2.99, the wine was more of an after thought.  Something you keep on hand for when it’s late and you want more wine but you know you’ve had enough that you won’t really taste the next bottle so you don’t want to open something more expensive.  Never something to start the evening with, right?  So I come home with 7 bottles of wine, 3 pieces of cheese, a baguette, fresh tomatoes and quicos (or corn nuts) ALL for just $80!   Thank you lady who bought our old furniture on Monday  After the gym I picked up the hubs and headed home.  I told him to pick his favorite cheese, slice up the baguette and open an interesting bottle of wine while I was changing, and when I came downstairs he had opened none other than the Three Wishes.  For serious.  I don’t blame him, there was no price tag on the bottle and he thought the bottle did indeed seem interesting (recycled glass made a somewhat thinner, even smaller looking bottle than normal…)  Against my better judgement, we started the evening with a $2.99 bottle of wine.  And let me tell you – my alert wine sense knew I was drinking a cheap bottle of wine.  But was it an awful cheap bottle?  I can’t really say it was!  Did it have a robust cherry nose, a silky smooth palate and a pleasant after taste?  No.  Did it pass for being a decent bottle to have on hand for cooking or late night celebrations?  Sure, why not!  If you’re a fan of Two Buck Chuck and want to read a funny if not occasionally scathing article comparing it to this new line of Three Wishes wine I highly recommend an article I found in SF Weekly, it is pretty hilarious.  Has anyone else tried Three Wishes?  I’m kind of dying to try the other varietals, just to see…  I hope to come back tomorrow with a review of something that is not strange or overly cheap, it’s been an interesting week for me so far, hasn’t it?  Until then, Happy Hump Day, hope I don’t loose internet in the blizzard we’re expecting tomorrow!

(photo credit San Francisco Weekly)

Good day to you all!  My, I have an interesting wine to share with you today…  At no ones suggestion in particular, this weekend I picked up a bottle of Kelley Creek 2005 Merlot as part of a 3 for $25 deal.  I didn’t think we had tried the bottle before and I thought it was worth a shot.  Well, we opened it last night to use/pair with a beef stew we were whipping up to try to warm ourselves from the -2 degree temperature (Why, Boston?  Why??) and had quite a time even just opening the bottle!  Normally I am an advocate for synthetic rubber corks but this one was nearly impossible to remove from the bottle.  Moving on to the nose.  I suppose most professionals would describe it as tinny or canned vegetable.  I thought it smelled like olives.  Green olives in a dirty martini to be exact.  Great if you are drinking a dirty martini, somewhat off putting if you are smelling a red wine.  The taste also echoed the olive-ness, it wasn’t bad, just a little odd…  It worked fine in the stew so that is good, and after a glass I didn’t really mind the vegetal quality any more.  But then we got to the end and I lost a good inch of my glass to an enormous amount of sediment.  Yes, with a 2005 bottle I should have expected or at least checked for sediment so it is no ones fault but my own, but it was still annoying.  Normally I don’t like to put negative reviews on my blog as no one likes a Negative Nancy, but I thought I would share this one because it is not entirely negative.  Like I said, I was able to get to the end of the bottle rather easily, despite the strange nose/flavor combo.  And I think there would be some people out there who would really go for this wine, people who like dirty martinis perhaps, or admire the vegetal profile.  So I share it with you just in case.  Speaking of case, we just sold some old furniture last night and now have a couple hundred in cash lying around the house.  Should we put it towards the bill for the new furniture purchased or towards a mixed case of some new fun wines?  We are getting ANOTHER snow storm tomorrow and we DO have dinner plans with a couple of our wonderful couple friends this week, so I think having some good wine on hand is a MUST.  Besides, it’s RESEARCH, right??  :)

(photo credit Kelley Creek)

I really thought I was going to be able to get through all of the Argentina pictures and stories this week, but alas, my internet was down at home this morning when I tried to upload the images I wanted to share!  Oh well…  Guess you’ll just have to wait until Monday.  In the meantime, let me share with you a funny little wine we tried this week, Zin Your Face.  As the name implies, this is a Zinfandel from Central Valley California.  The bottle had big bold letters reading, “Spicy, Jammy, Yummy.”  Sounded like a challenge to me to we picked up a bottle.  It cost $12.99 but we were at a small package store near our house that has a limited selection and higher prices than most other stores in the area, but it is literally within crawling distance from our house so we often just bite the bullet and stop here instead of driving further for a better deal.  I’d imagine you could find this bottle for closer to $10 if you looked around…  Anyway, so we tried it, and I feel it lived up to the bottle verbiage!  Huge cherry and raspberry flavors with that extra little spike of alcohol on the palate that Zins are known for.  Nice spice on the nose as well.  Pair it with bolder foods/cheeses so you don’t overpower what you’re eating with the strong flavors of the wine.  And as always, if you try it please let me know what you think!  Ok, off to focus on the new blizzard we’re having today, yeah!  Have a great weekend!!

(photo credit Zin Your Face)

My major accomplishment for the weekend, Skull & Bones Orange Creme Whoopie Pies.  Pretty spooktacular, don’t you agree?  Pair the whoopie pies with a liter of Roundhill on sale for $9.99 (which is what I paid for the regular bottle when I reviewed it initially!) and a Patriot’s win and I’d call that a successful Halloween!  We tried out the Roundhill Merlot this time around, it was great!  Along with the whoopie pies, we paired the wine with an amazing ribeye that Mr. Fiancé cooked up.  He also used some of the wine in the sauteed onion and mushroom steak topping he put together, delicious!  Did you do anything fun for Halloween?  Now that the ghosts and goblins have come and gone, we get to look forward to my favorite holiday of all time – THANKSGIVING.  Oh man, I’m hungry already…

Ok, not really, that would mean something bad has happened, right?  Well trust me, all is well in Merlot-land,  apothecaries need not come a’ running…  A little play on words for a nice little wine I discovered, Apothic Red from California.  I found Apothic on sale at Fresh Market for $9.99.  Of course I always pick up a right-priced blend, so I grabbed a bottle of this Syrah, Zinfandel & Merlot mix to try at home.  For three strong varietals, this blend turned out to be much smoother than anticipated, particularly notable was the sweet vanilla on the finish (the fiancé attributed the sweetness to the fact that the wine label described the blend as a “smooth red,” like the last “smooth red” blend we tried…  Are the wine makers onto a new adjective trend of which I am not aware?).  Full bodied and delightful, I would totally grab this bottle to sip on its own after a meal.  I could also see using this in a marinara sauce.  You know that old trick of putting brown sugar in your sauce to neutralize the acid?  I feel like the sugar in this wine could serve a similar purpose.  But that’s just a thought, not science.  If I remember to try this the next time I make sauce I’ll report back on my findings…  Anywho, I enjoyed Apothic Red and I think you will too!  Until the next time, happy-almost-Friday!!

That’s right – my sister is airborne this very moment!  En route to what promises to be an, ahem, eventful weekend to say the least.  With only 2 months to go before the big day, this weekend we are packing in both my bridal shower and bachelorette party!  I know absolutely nothing about either event save the date and the time I need to be ready to be collected.  I should have some gooood stories to share with you on Monday  :)  But for today, I have a great little find to tell you about, Round Hill Cabernet Sauvignon (2008 St. Helena, California).  In the mood for something red but with no other particular requirements, we grabbed this bottle for it’s affordable price ($9.99) and attractive presentation.  I am really psyched, because this is totally the kind of Cab you can drink on any occasion with lots of different pairings!  Light enough to drink on its own or with a mild cheese plate, but enough spice and delicious fruit (the raspberry stood out to me the most) to hold up against more flavorful pairings as well!  The tannins were very well balanced.  You knew you were drinking a Cab but you didn’t feel like your mouth was full of sand after every sip.  All in all I was very pleased with the selection!  Now, we’re kicking off the weekend of festivities this evening with a family dinner at home, so if things get too crazy and I can’t drop you a line tomorrow please forgive me.  I promise I’ll do lots of “research” in the next fews days to make up for it  :)  And away we go!

(photo credit via roundhillwines.com)

Sorry if you don’t get the Mad Men reference, but with the season finale coming up this weekend it is all but consuming me at present.  So, last night I had my first dress fitting (stressful) and by the time we got through the traffic (more stressful!) and arrived back home I was ready for a glass of wine.  On the way home, we picked up a bottle Sterling Vinter’s Collection Sauvignon Blanc (California).  I initially had mixed reviews on the Sterling Vinter’s Collection Meritage I had tried, but eventually it grew on me and so I was eager to give Sterling another chance.  The great news is that it was on sale for $7.49!  I guess they bought too many cases and had to move it off the floor quickly, so I was happy to assist in the effort.  What I liked about this wine is that it was not all citrus all the time.  I picked up more on the melon flavor and the mineral quality, noticing just a hint of lemon.  This will be GREAT for Pinot Grigio lovers, similar palates but unique in its own way.  We paired the wine with my fiancés famous mussels (although unfortunately not from Brussels) and it was just perfect.  Would I buy this again?  Yes.  For $7.49?  I’ll take a case, please!  So keep on the look out and let me know if you’re able to track this one down, I think you’ll really enjoy it!

Roger Sterling, I swear I’ve seen him drink wine between all the vodka…

(photo via AMC)

Ok, so not really “Girls night out,” more like “Girl (singular) night in.”  Last night the fiancé was out at a work function and I, after a rather miserable day for a variety of reasons, decided to indulge in a little cheese plate  (indulge responsibly, notice the smaller portions of cheese and larger portion of grapes!) of a stinky aged brie, a mild blue, fig jam and of course membrillo for dinner.  I also watched “Percy Jackson and the Olympians – The Lightening Thief,” and I must say it instilled quite a sense of Greek pride.  I totally plan on raising my kids to believe they are actually descendants of the Gods.  If you ever knew my Greek grandfather you would know that the claim isn’t too far off…  But anyway, great girly night cuddled up on the couch with my blanket and my kitty.  So what, you ask, it that bottle of wine I picked up pictured above?  Well, I literally walked into the liquor store, looked at the bottle, saw it’s busy-ness and Ed Hardy-like illustrations and said, “Ugh, I would NEVER buy that wine.” And then I immediately stopped and realized that for those very reasons I HAD to buy that wine!  How many times to we buy a wine because we are attracted to the label?  It is often how we come across new and exciting products, so I wanted to see what would happen if I bought something I was rather put off by.  So I bought three bottles of Bear Flag wine, two reds and a white, on sale 3 bottles for $25.  All three are blends from a collection of vineyards in central California.  I started off with the “Smooth Red Blend,” a blend of tempranillo, touriga, zinfandel, and alicante bouschet.  Now, in blended wines one traditionally lists varietals in order of their prominence in the wine, leading me to believe that this was primarily a tempranillo wine and thus would share some similarities to other tempranillos that I know and love.  Well, I was WAY off.  This wine surprised me, it was actually on the sweeter side!  At first I didn’t think I was going to love it, but after sipping my first glass slowly and nibbling on my cheeses I really started to dig it.  It was a great compliment to the strong flavors and I feel it almost acted like the fig jam or membrillo by adding a level of sweetness to the palate.  I could see this wine being great with spicy Indian food or thick, creamy comfort food like mac & cheese or lasagna.  A cool feature on their website, they actually have a “Find Us” function where you can plug in your zip code and get a list of stores in your area that supply Bear Flag wine.  How cool is THAT?  So all in all, I think I would recommend this seemingly off-putting selection to those brave wine drinkers who are looking for something a little different!  I will report back on the other selections I picked up, in the meantime check out the “Find US” function and see if you can find a bottle of your own to try!  Happy Friday to all!!

Ah ha!  I thought this one looked familiar…  Last night I picked up a bottle of Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc, and although I had a hint of déjà vu I swore that I had not actually tried the wine before.  Low and behold, when I looked it up online I discovered that it is produced by Cecchetti, the same company as Redtree wines, so I must have seen it on their website earlier…  Well, like Redtree before it, Line 39 turned out to be a solid, affordable treat.  Line 39 Sauv Blanc (Lake County, CA) had the citrus you expect (mostly lemon with some grapefruit), a hint of hay, and was very smooth to drink.  I paired it with baked haddock and lemony asparagus and it held its own without being overpowering.  Delightful!  I also picked up a bottle of Line 39 Petit Syrah as well as an old favorite Agua de Piedras to round out a 3 for $25 deal making the bottles average out to just $8 each.  I’d still pay the retail $10.99 for this though, it was great quality and easy to drink.  Grab one and let me know what you think!  Cheers!

(photo credit: www.line39wines.com)

Tried the white last night as promised, did not let us down!  Especially since I paired it with one of my all time favorite recipies – Spinach & Pesto lasagna  :)  Boil the noodles, mix some thawed spinach, ricotta, salt & pepper, layer with pesto, mozarella & toasted pinenuts and bake for about 20 minutes at 350ºF.  You can also make it stove top in a skillet if you don’t want to turn on the oven.  A recreation from my favorite restaurant in Vernazza, Cinque Terre.  Paired with the Californian 2008 Tamás Pinot Grigio, it was a home run!