When I saw this wine I immediately began thinking of the Joan Jett Song “Crimson and Clover“. Except she didn’t originally write/sing that song (Tommy James and the Shondells did) — but her version is the one I remember …. ba na na na na naaaaa ….

Enter
Concannon Vineyards
2010 Crimson & Clover
Livermore Valley
Red Table Wine

This was my first tasting from Cocannon Vineyards, so I was very excited to receive this bottle form the winery to try and review. There is always something to be said with how a product is packaged. This wine comes to you in a unique bottle. From the photo to the left, you’ll see a little bit of how this winery has their bottles branded and molded to showcase the winery’s front gates. It’s not printed on the label, but actually molded into the glass.

It’s that special attention to detail for a moderately priced wine that I appreciate. While this wine was NOT named from the song Joan Jett sang, it does reflect the pride in Concannon Vineyards Irish heritage; the clover is the Irish symbol for prosperity and the crimson pays homage to the strong deep red color of the blend.

The wine blend of this wine is 50% Petite Sirah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah and 10% Zinfandel. The price on this wine comes in around $15/bottle which for a handcrafted wine, it’s not a bad price. The taste on Crimson & Clover is very smooth with fruit flavors of blackberry, cherry and plum. There is some hints of mocha and nutmeg added into the fun of this wine! It’s a nice soft wine that (per the winery) pairs well with Gorgonzola stuffed chicken wrapped in applewood smoked bacon or a nice black pepper-crusted filet mignon. Are you hungry now?

Have you picked up this wine? Like it? What are your thoughts on the pairing with this? Would love to hear about it in the comments below!

Concannon Winery Front Gates:

Sugar plum fairies, candy canes, ginger bread houses and cupcakes could be dancing in your head this holiday season. Also dancing in your head is the fact that the last 2 weeks of the year, every year, come calorie free. It’s like the no-tax day, except with calories. Happy no calorie weeks!

Enter
Cupcake Vineyards
2011 Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc

Alright, so there is no such a thing as free calorie weeks … but in my world there is because I think we need to enjoy life a little bit more and should do it instead of counting our calories … at least for 2 weeks out of the year! With that said – I was given cupcake vineyards Sauvignon Blanc from an elf working at the winery.

Normally I don’t review white wines – mostly because I just prefer reds. I’m not judgmental … just preferential. This wine had an interesting taste to it! I think this is the first time I’ve had a wine that reminded me of lemons! It’s very much a citrus wine, which when chilled, gives you that wonderful refreshing tart taste! The taste ends on a creamy note. It’s a little like getting a jolt of tartness .. but then a smooth end to the taste! Very interesting.

Pairing? The site indicates that oysters on a half shell or a rich creamy lobster risotto go well with this Sauvignon Blanc. I personally will be picking this up again in the summer. Chilling it and having it with my favorite salad and some great crusty french bread. Also .. I really am looking forward to summer. Already.

I do think that for the price of $13-$14/bottle this would make a good hostess gift to the Christmas party! It’s a great price range and it’s going to be something unique in flavor that hopefully your hostess will appreciate! You can always place this gift of wine in a cute wine bag (see my 5 wine gift ideas post) but the label on this wine is so cute and … cupcake-y … a bow would work just as well!

I hope you all have a great Christmas … enjoy the wine … forget about the calories until after January 3rd … it’s free calorie weeks!

Cheers!

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!

After I did my Red Velvet Cupcake wine review a few weeks ago, I mysteriously received more cupcake vineyard liquid goodness on my doorstep. So, I figured a Malbec Cupcake was up on the menu next!

Enter
Cupcake Vineyards
2010 Mendoza
Malbec

Beside the cute design and colors on these wine labels – they produce quite a few other wines. One of those is this Malbec. Have to admit, I’ve previously just tried the Red Velvet, so this intrigued me!

This wine is actually imported thru Underdog Wine & Spirits, so it’s actually a wine that comes to us from Mendoza, Argentina. Mendoza’s located on the Eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains — apparently in the shadows of Mount Aconcagua. I always love vineyards with mountains in the background!

The taste? this wine is full of leather, mocha and blueberries. It’s color is a nice deep purple red. It’s got an after bite that’s spicy, but a bit of smoothness to it.

Pairing? The site suggestion is with steak, a mushroom bacon salad and chili. True to most of my posts … I drank this on it’s own. I think I really missed out doing that though. I really think this wine would be good with chili – not sure on the mushroom bacaon salad … but I do think chili is right on for this.

Think you might need a good chili recipe? I found Cooking Light’s 15 best chili recipes for you! You can drool over them while you sip your Cupcake Malbec wine. Maybe even add a little in your chili!

Also … with the cute label … this wine is great to bring to the Christmas party, Christmas party hostess gift or just hanging out with the girls after Christmas shopping!

Cheers to Malbecs!

When the Godfather of Zin sends you wine and says “For the family …. taste, enjoy and let me know what you think” … you kiss his ring and taste the wines! Except that didn’t really happen …

Enter
RavensWood Wines
Old Vine Zinfandel Vintners Blend – 2009
Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel – 2009

The team at Ravenswood winery sent over the above mentioned two bottles of wine. I’m sortof a Zinfandel freak and must admit that if I have to choose between my other favorite, Pinot Noir – I tend to lean toward the zippy Old Vine Zin’s when I can. So receiving these was a nice surprise!

Joel Peterson, affectionately called “The Godfather of Zin” has a lot of chemistry in his background. His parents were chemists and he followed their scientific footsteps by becoming a laboratory scientist with a degree in microbiology. Working his full time job and creating wine on the side was just the beginning. Founding Ravenswood winery in 1976 with fellow wine lover Reed Foster – Joel is now recognized as a major authority in the Zinfandel arena … thus “The Godfather of Zin”. Joel is a current member and past president of the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance and he’s a founding board member and former 2 time president of the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers — just to name a few!

First, let’s start with the 2009 Vintner’s blend Old Vine Zinfandel: Bright and bold, I found this wine to be not as full as the Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel. With black cherry and a bit of blueberry with it – this is a unique wine. I taste boysenberry in this one … it has that boysenberry bitterness to it. This wine would pair well with some nice red sauces! They also suggest pairing this with BBQ pork. You’ll have to try that one for me and let me know how it goes.

Second bottle for the night was the Old Vine Zinfandel – Lodi. This one was easily my top choice of the two. It’s a smoother, fuller taste to it. With a blend to this of 77% Zinfandel and 23% Petite Sirah it could explain some of the smoothness to this wine. I taste a distinct a nice plum/current taste in this one along with a nice “spice” bite to it and if finishes rather nicely. I really liked this wine on it’s own – but the site suggests pairing it with lasagna. Now I’m going to have to make lasagna and pick up another bottle of this one. I have to add that I taste a hint of vanilla … but this may just be my personal taste on that one. I really like the warmth on this wine!

If you are looking for something nice to bring to the Chirstmas dinner or to give as a hostess / Christmas gift and you want the ease of going to local grocery store – you might want to try one of these.

If your intended audience for Christmas dinner or Christmas party prefers lighter wines – I would go with the vintner’s blend. If your crowd is into wine – I would pick up the Lodi … you’ll be pleasantly surprised on that one.

Pricing on these wines? The Old Vine Zinfandel Vintner’s Blend is the less expensive one of the two coming in around $8/bottle. (Your state/store may vary) and the Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel runs around $10-$12/bottle. (Again — state/store may vary)

Have you seen this wine in your local store? Picked it up and tried it yet? Would love to know what you think in the comments below!

The following is a guest post by Asgar Dungarawalla

Christmas dinner just wouldn’t be the same without a nice bottle of something delicious. Not only will a well-chosen bottle help to get you all into the Christmas spirit, but it can also really complement your meal and give your taste-buds a real treat. As we all know, though, picking the wrong wine for the food can really put a dampener on things. So for this year’s festive feast, make sure that you pick the perfect bottle for everyone to enjoy.

Forget the old adage of white wine for white meat and red wine for red – this idea went out with the ark. It really is more about balancing the flavours and avoiding a Christmas dinner-spoiling clash. Turkey itself will actually go very well with most wines – but what about the gravy, the starter and the other trimmings?

Let’s look at your starter first – ok it’s quite likely that it will be fish e.g. smoked salmon or prawns, which are traditionally served with lemon. No prizes for knowing that lemon is acidic, but it’s good to know that the rule of thumb is that acidic wine is good with acidic foods. What’s more is that acidic wine is awesome for balancing the flavours of very rich food, so if your main course is likely to have a rich gravy (and of course it is – this is your Christmas Dinner), then an acidic wine could again be a good choice. A third fantastic reason to choose an acidic wine is that the acidity will cut through salty foods perfectly, and our overindulgences on Christmas day are more than likely to include salty treats like a Christmas ham or smoked salmon.

By now, it’s probably pretty obvious that a really safe bet for your Christmas dinner is an acidic wine – so this means white, right? Wrong! There are a few low-tannin, acidic reds to choose from too. How about a nice, bright Beaujolais or a silky, fruity Pinot Noir? If you do prefer white, the wine world is your oyster. And speaking of oysters, these are the perfect accompaniment to those too. How about a crisp New Zealand Pinot Blanc or zingy German Reisling? What about those most celebratory of wines – the sparkling varieties? Well, pretty much every sparkling wine will be acidic, so you can pretty much take your pick. If you can’t afford a big Champagne, there are several excellent New World sparklers around now, along with some pretty impressive European bottles – you really don’t get much more refreshing than Prosecco.

Whichever bottle makes its way to your table this Christmas day, with a little bit of forethought, it will be sure to delight your guests – and make your food taste even better. Make sure you enjoy a glass or two while you’re slaving away in the kitchen – you deserve it. Happy Christmas!!

Asgar Dungarawalla is a wine connoisseur from the UK who does a nice line in champagne gifts. If you’re interested in a wine gift, too, for Christmas, he might be able to help.

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!

Okay .. if you came here for Red Velvet cake or cupcakes …. I’m sorry, we are all liquid people here. Don’t worry, we still love you, but this is really all about wine time today!

Enter
Cupcake Vineyards
2009 California
Red Velvet

You may have noticed this brand in your local grocery store. Yes? No? I’ve reviewed Cupcake Wineries Cabernet Sauvignon in the past. I’ve also noticed that cupcake Vineyards also dabbles in the Vodka arena … interesting! AND I just learned that they carry Sparkling wine as well. Cupcakes and liquid adult beverages, can you have any more fun?

The taste on this is interesting … I think this is the first wine that I will say has a creamy taste to it. That happens after this wine breaths for awhile. It actually really tastes better the next night. I partook of this wine over 3 nights and the last night was the best. It has a berry taste to it – the first time you open this and pour, you’ll have a nice tart berry taste … as time goes on the tartness wears off. The tasting notes on the site indicate a mocha flavor and a coconut taste. I don’t taste the coconut personally, but do taste that mocha … yum!

The thing about going over to wineries websites is that usually they’ll also tell you what pairs well with their wines. Sometimes they put it on the back of the bottle too … that always helps. Cupcake Vineyards suggests a spicey steak, bacon burger and a dark chocolate fondue. I don’t think you could wrong with any of those choices! Wait .. can you have all those at once with this wine? I didn’t deny or confirm that one.. you are on your own! Speaking of food pairings – the site has a PDF you can print out with some great recipes: Cupcake Vineyard Recipes

While you are on the site – you can head over to their sweepstakes that is going on from now until December 12, 2011. You can wine win a trip to a winery and work with winemaker Adam Richardson! How fun is that! Enter the sweepstakes here: Cupcake Sweepstakes

Price of this wine? I picked my up on sale for around $9/bottle, but that’s here in Wisconsin. Have you tried this wine? Like it? Love it?

Cheers to cupcake wines!

I’m a big fan of critter wines …

“awww… look at the cute little critters on those wine bottles!” … that’s usually me at the wine shop talking to the wine bottles in baby talk. And yet, surprisingly, I have not been asked to leave yet. I decided it might be nice to put together a quick video of my favorites. I try not to play favorites – but these are the wines that made my list so far this year. In critter wine lists that is ….

Or you can click this link here to watch it directly on YouTube (subscribing to my channel is always appreciated): 5 Critter Wines

Do you have a favorite? Share your favorite in the comments below for critter-sakes!

Cheers!

If you are concerned about your mojo … this might not be the post for you. This post is about Rojo Mojo … the wine. Although, in a strange twist of fate – you MIGHT get this wine to help your mojo, but I don’t guarantee that one.

Enter
Rojo Mojo
Distributed by Well Oiled Wine Company
Shiraz
Spanish Red Wine 2010

I picked up this wine for around $12/bottle and I picked it up on a whim. This spanish wine comes from the La Mancha area. Fun fact — La Mancha is Spain’s largest denomination of origin and the world’s largest wine producing area. Being a typical American – I thought we were … or at lease Australia might be in the running … but nope .. apparently it’s Spain that has the largest wine producing area according to Well Oiled Wine’s site.

I tasted a nice cherry taste to this, but not that tart cherry taste, it was a smooth cherry taste with a bit of blackberry aftertaste to it. There is a bit of a black pepper bit as well. The wine indicates that this wine pairs well with Mediterranean style food. So I had curry chicken with it — throw in some hummus and pita bread and you have a great dinner with some Rojo Mojo wine!

I would say you will not go wrong with this wine for yourself or bringing this to the next dinner party. For those that complain they don’t like dry wine, you should be safe with this one. Plus, branch out a bit — try a new region for your wine night. Go to Spain!

Cheers!