Scanning over some of the items related to wine in the news, I thought I would share a bit with you. Just in case you missed a few articles or would just rather read this post then each full article. … because you like it here …. I know! *blushes*

First on the list is Virginia. Yes, the state. Which admittedly I’ve never even tried a wine from Virginia, so I was surprised to see that Wine Enthusiast has ranked Virginia as 1 of the 10 best wine travel destinations. I would not have even put Virginia on my personal “Winery Bucket List” trips. Curious as to what Wine Enthusiast had to say, I hopped over to their site. Here is what I zoned in on:

Budget tip:
October is Virginia’s “Wine Month,” with free or low-cost wine festivals, barrel tastings and harvest parties.

They said free, I couldn’t help it. You can read the full article and winery suggestions here: Virginia Top 10 Wine Travel Destinations

Red wine and women’s health. It’s another report that states the stats on premenopausal women and red wine as it relates to breast cancer. To quote the LA Times:

Instead of promoting the conversion of androgens to estrogen in a woman’s body, red wine appears to block that process. In that sense, it acts more like a class of drug called aromatase inhibitors, which are prescribed to most women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to prevent recurrences.

The full LA Times article is here: Red Wine Prevents Breast Cancer

and finally …

Flip Flop Wines … the fun wine that does some great charity events and work with a great charity called Soles4Souls (1 pair of shoes is donated with every bottle purchased up to 100,000 shoes the 1st year!). Flip Flop Wines is now expanding their wine line to include 6 new varietals! Those new wines will be: Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, Sweet Red, Bubbly Chardonnay, Bubbly Moscato and Bubbly Pinot Grigio and they will be available in stores starting in January 2012! Check for those locally! If you need to find a store near you or order direct, stop by their site: Flip Flop Wine Shop

Goodbye to 2011 …. Hello 2012!

Happy New Year Video on YouTube

Video from Kermit the Frog: Kermit Merry Christmas – Jennifer

Are you in the last minute “oh no … what do I get for the wine lover” stage? Never fear … I’m here to help … I searched a few sites and came up with a list of 5 gifts you can get for that wine lover on your list! All these places allow for express shipping and priced between $10 and $30 …. so have at it!

Number 1: Godiva Chocolate & Dessert Bubbly Wine Gift Set It’s the gift that you don’t have to wrap! I love buying things off Amazon.com – it’s easy and if you have to ship your gifts to out of state people anyway, you might as well pay to have someone help you wrap and send it! This wine gift set is a great blend of bubbly and chocolate .. how can you go wrong?

Number 2: Wine Monkey Wine Caddy – I know … you have that song running through your head now .. “How you like me now …” right?!? Well, this monkey wine bag will bring a smile to anyone you bring the gift of wine to. It’s great for a hostess wine gift bag too! It’s just that added fun statement. The best thing … you don’t just have to buy this for Christmas … good to use anytime of the year! How you like THAT now …..

Number 3: Wine Bottle Sconces – Remember that great Lifehacker DIY article that showed you how to turn your wine bottles into outdoor torches / sconces? Remember how you were TOTALLY going to do that this summer — but you didn’t. Well … now you can BUY them right off a great store on Etsy! Not only the torches but you can also buy the wine bottle vases! I still have doing this project on my list … but knowing me .. I’ll be buying these for my backyard this summer. Help a friend out – just get these already completed for your friend!

Number 4: Wine cork ornament – this comes in at the “why didn’t I think of that” category. Send the wine lover on your Christmas list some wine cork ornaments! It’s eco-friendly and a lot of fun on the Christmas tree. It could be a whole theme for you for next year. Either way, I love these wine cork ornaments!

Number 5: Wine Glass Shaped Cork Display This is a great way to display all those used corks. The ones that have memories? Throw them in the house cage. Amazon has other designs, a Christmas wreath, wine barrel and even a wine bottle shape. Pick a design that suits the person you are giving the gift to and it’ll be an item they’ll keep using!

Hope these few fun ideas help you out! Cheers to Wine Christmas presents!

What Would Tebow Do? (WWTD?)

I am surprised at myself, for I have joined the mass of blazing hearts of women and men alike and am smitten with Tim Tebow.  I worried; am I being swept away by all the hype, am I brainwashed by all his hotness? So, after I added a Tim Tebow blanket to my Christmas list (to lay on and wrap around myself) I began questioning my own fascination with the young man.

I realized, the truth is, besides the fact that Tim Tebow is leading the Denver Broncos in a winning streak, he has become a national icon for a significant reason: He is bigger than the game, bigger than the NFL, beyond winning or losing, beyond ego—he’s a living example of raw spirit in service to a higher purpose. And he is hot.

I know, I know, he is catching flack for being openly Christian on the field and all of that, and “Tebowing”  is now considered an actual verb. But here is an opportunity to realize a powerful metaphor. Tebow lives to make great plays, not only in football, but in service to life. He takes a knee, he bows to the creator, or whatever you want to call it—and he does so without worrying about what anyone else thinks.

What if we all lived life like it was a set of plays, bringing committed excellence to each one? What if before we did anything, we considered carefully, whether or not any given action would be in the best interest of all involved? What if we all squashed our egos?

Tim Tebow is opening a children’s hospital in the Philippines, he has the Tim Tebow Foundation that serves children in need, and he regularly gives his time, energy, and money in service to others. And who can honestly say they have spent a significant amount of time, energy or money serving others besides them selves or their immediate family for this past year?

We all live in humble service to something greater than ourselves whether we choose to recognize the fact or not, whether we go to church or are atheists—we know not who beats our hearts and who spins the earth, who births stars and grows a tree from a seed, but we are all capable of living up to our highest potential and serving those in need.

How do you live in service to life and to others?

Okay, I get it … are box office numbers down? Maybe not as many people going to the movies? I’m not sure — but I do understand the need for a boost every now and then … I always know when I crank out a bad blog post … NO ONE READS IT. If you write a post that actually has some great content — much like the other authors on this blog Alyson Khan and Clayton Grow … people will come.

However, in theory, if I had Gary Vaynerchuk do a guest post here on Jennifer’s Review … people love him, so people would flock to my site to see what he had to say! If I had Gary Vaynerchuk, Jon Stewart (or rather one of his writers), Jenny The Bloggess, Alec Baldwin and maybe Seth Green all write some one-liners on my blog … it would be a celebrity mashup extravaganza! In fact, how many of you clicked on this post because you saw Alec Baldwin’s photo? I DID! … love 30 Rock!

I guess that’s what the creators of the movie New Year’s Eve had in mind. Enjoy the Christmas Day movie parody below … funny and making fun of the movie or not — I love seeing all these celebrities! I replayed this one a few times!

If you haven’t seen the original movie that this short is a parody of – Here is the New Years Eve Movie Trailer

Photo credit: saogroups.com

In an earlier post, I said that consensus on “the best Old Fashioned recipe” is “not bloody likely.”  But after watching Mad Men, Season 3, Episode 3, “My Old Kentucky Home”, I officially retract that statement.

At a garden party thrown to flaunt the fabricated happiness of his boss, Don Draper seeks respite at the posh country club’s nearly vacant bar.  He finds a skinny-mustached old man in a white tux, and orders an Old Fashioned.  The old man, not a bartender, but a guest at an adjacent wedding party, corrects Don by informing him of their common goal: a decent whiskey cocktail.

Don hops the bar in search of an Old Fashioned. (Image credit: AMC)

Don wastes no time and spryly vaults the sturdy wooden bar.  The old man, Connie, who will become an “informal” client of Don’s in a later episode, informs Don there is no bourbon.  Don clinks an unbleached sugar cube into two rocks glasses, asks Connie if “Old Overholt” straight rye whiskey is okay, and soaks the cubes with bitters.  (Looks like he uses a bottle of Angostura with the distinctively oversized label removed.)

Because of the magic of television, we don’t see Don put a cherry into the glasses with the bitters-soaked sugar cube, we simply see a cherry magically appear in the glass in the next frame.  He fills a mixing glass ¾ full with ice and pours in a four-count of rye. Don uses the “smashing” end of the muddler to pop open a glass bottle of sparkling Canada Dry water and pours in about a half bottle.

Don shows Connie how to make an Old Fashioned: pour, muddle, mix, enjoy!

Then he uses the muddler to smash the cherry and sugar cube in each glass, briefly stirs the rye-ice-soda water mix, and pours half of the mix, without straining, into each glass.  He finishes by plopping an orange wedge into the top of both drinks.

Obviously a seasoned bartender in a former life, Don only takes about 90 seconds to make both drinks.

I know many people would argue with me, but I’ll take a stand on this: this is THE Definitive Old Fashioned recipe. With one caveat, of course: if there would have been bourbon behind the bar, I’m sure Don would have used it.  Rye makes the Old Fashioned a bit sweeter than bourbon, but rye might be the happy medium between the touch of bitter from the bourbon and the extra sweet brandy version that so many Wisconsinites drink out of habit.  In summary, here’s THE Definitive Old Fashioned recipe, according to the (arguably) most famous Old Fashioned drinker:

In a rocks glass, soak a sugar cube (unbleached) in Angostura bitters

Fill tall mixing glass ½ full of ice, add 2 oz of Rye (or bourbon, if you have it)

Pour in ¼ bottle of soda water (not tonic water) into the mixing glass

Use tall metal spoon to vertically mix the rye-ice-water

Add 1 cherry to the rocks glass, muddle  sugar cube and cherry flat

Pour contents of mixing glass, unstrained, into rocks glass

Drop in orange wedge

Think important thoughts… and ENJOY!

Are you in charge of the wine selection for the Thanksgiving meal? Worrying about what you want to bring to the table for all to have? People who like sweet wine, people who like reds, people who are only used to drinking Arbor Mist and those that may have a more expensive Dom Perignon preference….. all sitting at the same table.

The Stares…

The Curiosity of the wine with the wine label ….

The always asked question … “what’s this wine?” as they pick up the bottle…

Don’t worry — I’m here to provide my last minute tips to help you with your suggestions. In fact, I’m posting this post a day earlier then Wednesday to help out! The other best part of my list … you can probably pick these up at your local store — no ordering needed.

Choice #1: Clos Du Bois Chardonnay — this is one of my favorite white wines, it’s not sweet and it’d not dry … it’s Juuuusssstt right. With tastes of pears, lemons and dash of honey … you’ll appreciate this one chilled with your turkey dinner! Priced around $9-$10/bottle.

Choice #2: Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling – budget priced for around $9/bottle – Chateau Ste. Michelle is good wine to get for those that “like a sweet wine”. It’s got a little bit of a mineral taste to it – but you’ll find a nice sweet citrus taste to this one. I actually will be picking up Riesling’s for my contribution to the Thanksgiving dinner. With so many people liking different types of wines – I’ve found that Rieslings bring the biggest smiles.

Choice #3: Bogle – Old Vine Zinfadel – Another budget priced wine that goes well with your Turkey dinner and it’s for those that prefer a red wine. There are a lot of different tastes rolling around on this wine. Black pepper, dark berries and a nice spicy oak taste. It can be found – usually in your local grocery store between $8 – $10/bottle depending on your state.

Choice #4: Michael David Winery’s Petite Petit – It’s a silly label, but it packs some great grapes my friends! One of my “go to” wines, this one will be between the $15-$20 price point. With a blend of 85% Petite Sirah and 15% Petit Verdot – the balance is perfect. It’s a full-bodied wine with vanilla hints in it. It’s a silly label … but nothing about it’s contents is silly.

There you are … your last minute nice wines to pick up to bring to the Thanksgiving day table!

I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Cheers!

So I have this friend of a friend who emailed and said “Do you like coffee?” and I didn’t say anything back for a few seconds because I really like the anticipation of a pause before you blurt out “Uh, YES!”. That’s how I ended up with a brand new Coffeemaker from Faberware to test, try out and provide my thoughts on this blog. It’s all the power of the pause people ….

My free Faberware coffee maker arrived in the mail from the company a few weeks ago. Just to set this up a bit more – if you’ve followed me on Facebook you may remember that this year is indeed my year of the coffee makers as I’ve gone thru 2 coffeemakers previously before buying my current Mr. Coffee Coffeemaker. So this Faberware coffeemaker makes number 4 this year for me. The previous 2; Cuisinart DCC-2000 Coffee-on-Demand 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Brushed Metal and a DeLonghi DCF212T Drip Coffeemaker with Convenient Front Access ended up with both of them breaking on me in some way. I gave up and bought a no frills Mr.Coffee coffeemaker. It works.

When I opened the box of this coffee maker, I could see this was a bit heavier and nicely designed for a reasonably priced coffee maker. Walmart has this Faberware Coffee Maker priced for under $60. $60 may seem like a lot, but that’s the other thing – it’s also a tea brewer. You get 2 for 1 on this small Faberware appliance.

I set this up and Sunday morning, brewed my first cup of coffee. I also like that this comes with a water filter that isn’t something you have to put into the coffee maker each time (like I have to with my Mr. Coffee water filter). The water filter goes into the water reservoir and stays there for 2 months. They include a filter for you in the box. I brewed my first cup of coffee and loved it. I can’t tell you if the coffee was different, brewed better or ??? but I will say I did notice more flavors in the coffee. Perhaps I paid more attention to my coffee that day.

I really like the look of this, it’s stainless steel which goes well in stainless steel kitchens and I love the blue lights used on the light indicators on the maker. The options are great – you can brew 1-4 cups or a full 12 cups. The same is true if you want to brew tea. The carafe on this has a wider pour spout for less drips, that works for me too!

Brewing tea in this? Found it very easy – however the instructions indicate loose leaf tea. Note that loose leaf tea isn’t usually in your local grocery store, so it may make finding tea to use in this a bit more difficult. Unless you’re me …. I just opened up tea bags and I poured the contents into the tea brewing filter. I felt it was portioned out for me — 1 teabag = 1 cup. Which turns out that formula is a bit strong. But, it still worked for me and I loved the tea. Think that brewing a full pot might be too much? I did initially too – but putting the contents in a pitcher and storing it in the refridgerator gave me a great glass of iced tea the next day! LOVE THAT!

The other feature this has that none of my other coffeemakers has is the clean option. Use a mixture of vinegar / water that they provide you with in the instruction manual to clean the coffeemaker of mineral deposits and you’re good to go. The cleaning process takes about an hour / hour and a half. That’s a bit more cleaning then I do with my other coffee makers which is just to put vinegar thru a brew cycle. Although I haven’t had this long enough to comment on the cleanliness of that feature … I think that the time it takes to go thru the process has to be a good thing.

So there you have it … my coffeemaker review of Faberware’s coffeemaker. Yes, I also typed this up while enjoying a cup!

Have you seen this coffeemaker? What kind of coffee maker do you use?

Photo Credit: Walmart.com

In a world where everyone’s hair is perfect, all shirts are starched, and everyone speaks in poetry, you would think that the lines between right and wrong would be a little more well-defined than in reality. But in Mad Men Season 2, Episode 13, “Meditations in an Emergency,” these lines are blurred beyond all recognition.  We find ourselves feeling sorry for the pathologically lying womanizer, Don Draper.  His wife, Betty, seeks revenge by doing what Don has done countless times before: cheating.

But instead of the flawless confidence, anguished persuasion, and big-picture observations that are a trademark of her husband’s forays into fornication, Betty timidly walks into a dimly-lit, cherry-wood bar, nerve-wracked and fidgeting with her recent purchases.

Betty Draper and the gimlet of infidelity. (AMC)

It’s clear she knows why she’s there, but she paints a picture of unconvincing innocence for the sharply-uniformed bartender. She orders a glass of water and, as he brings it, he asks her what else she wants. He’s obviously onto her ploy, and seems to plead to her with his inflection not to go through with it. Betty ineffectively feigns naiveté: “I don’t know…a gimlet.”

He returns with the cloudy white drink with a sunken green garnish in a proper cocktail glass, and tells her the gentleman at the end of the bar is taking care of it. And the rest is…well, let’s just say she didn’t waste much time finding out what it feels to act like her husband for a night.

Did I ruin the gimlet for you?

I hope not, because I made one for myself and found it to be another refreshing change of pace from my mostly brown-liquor lineup.

In his artfully compiled drink recipe book “The Art of the Cocktail: 100 Classic Cocktail Recipes”, Philip Collins – no, not the guy from Genesis – offers this gimlet recipe:

2 oz gin
2 oz bottled lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar

Stir extremely well with ice, strain into pre-chilled cocktail glass, sugar frost rim of glass.

Now, Betty’s glass wasn’t sugar frosted, and I’m pretty sure there’s a lime wedge in hers, so I opted to forgo the fancy rim and drop a wedge into mine. Tart and clean, a gimlet seems like it would go well with a bright summer day…but not a faithless late night affair. I would recommend going a little lighter on the lime juice and, consequently, a little heavier on the gin, especially if you’ve got a lime wedge in there.

Try one – let me know what you think in the comments below.