Exploring the Wine Glass April 15, 2015

Fàilte! This is the new title for the previous WWHBD bi-monthly post What We Have Been Drinking.  Mike and I are big proponents of you should drink what you like and you are the only one who can taste like you. Everyone experiences the wine differently, so these posts have never been about our tasting notes. Instead they included basic information about each of the wines, and/or a bit about what was happening in our lives while we were enjoying them. With that, I thought a name change was warranted. However, if you are interested in reading our tasting notes and our ratings head on over to Delectable and check us out @Dracaenawines. As always, since as oenophiles we love to celebrate #WineWednesday, our week runs from one Wednesday to the next. 

Week 1

Mike and I returned from our week in Cancun and are very tan and were very relaxed.  Note the fact that I said “WERE.” Upon trying to leave the parking lot at the airport we were slammed back to reality.  We had a Living Social Deal and the lot decided they didn’t want to accept it. They said it was already used, when it wasn’t. In the simplest terms, anyone who really knows me will vouch that if I feel I am wronged, I will fight to the death! The fact that the lot would not accept this valid voucher annoyed the living hell out of me because it now cost us a s#$*tload of money to park there without the coupon.  Let’s just say by the time I was home, we received a full refund from both Living Social and the parking lot. 

So, when it came to dinner tonight, I really didn’t care what the food was, but I needed wine!  For the past week,we had a choice of either Vino Blanco or Vino Tinto but it should have just read: 

I needed a wine that had actual flavor and aromas.  Mike went into the cellar and chose a 2012 Hope Family Wines Syrah. He knows how to make me happy- give me a wine from Paso! I love this winery. It is one of the most beautiful tasting rooms.  It is so bright and modern inside. We love visiting.  Hope Family Wines makes five different brands: Liberty School, Treana, Cando, Troublemaker and Austin Hope. Their vineyards include Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Mourvedre and Grenache varieities.

“The Austin Hope label wines are estate grown and hand crafted. Inspired by the wines from the Northern Rhône Valley, they have a singular goal of being memorable.”

 

 

It’s Easter Eve (is that even a term?) Mike and I decided we needed to continue our re-emergence into good wine. Since we have been vino-deprived for the past week and are still making up for it, tonight we enjoyed a Jessup Cellars 2011 Zinfandel.  This wine is a big deal for us (well, me). I purchased this wine while in Napa with my girlfriends.  Mike and I normally bounce purchases off of each other’s palettes, but I purchased this one on my own while on my last girl’s trip to Napa/Sonoma, I loved it and I was curious if Mike would also. We opened it and allowed it to breathe for about a half hour. My palette held true and Mike loved it too! We paired it with brats and I was in the mood for veggies, so Mike made a side dish of tomatoes and roasted peppers with balsamic vinegar from Verde Valley Olive Oil.  As for the wine , if you are in the Yountville area, you are going to want to check them out. Although this has nothing to do with the wine itself, this is one of the coolest things I have seen on a winery’s website. (I may be easily impressed though) Check out this awesome winery, as if you are there through GOOGLE 360 TOUR. 

 Week 2

It is always tough coming back to work after a week off- never mind a week in glorious Cancun.  Thankfully, it hasn’t been completely horrible and it is already Wednesday. We continued our theme of “get me away from the crap wine of Mexico” with a Cline Cellars Lodi Zinfandel.  I always say “When you go with a Cline you know it will be Fine!”  We paired it with two types of cheese. One of our favorites, the Beemster 26 month Gouda and a new one for us Wood Smoked Cheddar from Pennsylvania. One of my sayings, although I’m sure I didn’t create it is – A sign that a wine is good is “The bottle has no more to pour yet you are still looking for more!” Well,  that is always a Cline wine. Cline is located in Sonoma and these people know how to have fun. Not only do they have complimentary tastings but they have a carp pond, California missions museum, a bird display, and my absolute favorite part of the facility (other than the wine) Pudding and Fancy, their two Sicilian miniature burros.

The Cline property was originally intended as the site of the final California Mission in 1820. Though it was moved to what is now downtown Sonoma, the Clines have constructed a museum that displays meticulously hand-crafted models of all 21 missions. These models were built in 1939 for the World’s Fair at Treasure Island. In 1998, the Clines purchased the models and in 2005, opened this museum, which also hosts two stained glass panels originating in 15th Century Spain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Friday eve, yeah! Mike worked from home today and decided on making a nice dinner.  It is a rarity that we have a sit down meal on Thursdays, but it was a nice change of pace. We had some left over bacon from the bacon jalepeño cheddar twists that we made for Easter, so Mike made bacon and onion pasta and we paired it with Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay.  Anyone who has read this blog knows that Chateau Ste. Michelle pops up quite frequently here.  It is a staple in our household.  I love their sparkling wine! Both the sparkling and Chardonnay are exceptional value wines.  They are solid wines and can be found at a very decent price. A definite keeper in your cellar for when you want to pull a nice wine but you don’t want to break the bank. You can be sure of serving this wine when friends pop over.

Happy Friday everyone!  The weather here is finally looking like it is taking a turn.  It has been raining, bu the temperatures have been increasing each day and tomorrow is suppose to be an actual Spring day.  I hope they are right. One of the things I enjoy partaking in on Monday nights is Foodiechats. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is a twitter chat held every Monday at 8pm EST.  It is a lot of fun, and you get to meet a bunch of people who are into food. Every week there is a new sponsor so you learn a little abou their products.  It really is a great time.  Through this chat, I became friends with Kate who has a food blog.  She has many fantastic recipes on her site, but while we were discussing one of them, another caught my eye. Fiesta chicken topped with roasted tomatillo salsa, Monterrey Jack and cilantro.  As soon as I saw this, I knew it was going to be dinner in the near future.  That future was tonight!  You can find this recipe here. I thought the picture on her website looked good and the recipe sounded good, but dang- after cooking it I LOVED it! It is a simple recipe. You should check this and her other recipes out and look her up on twitter at @lovemygirls78.  We paired it with a 2010 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir from The Tractor Guy. I have never heard of this winery before. If anyone is familiar with this winery, please leave a comment and fill me in.  There is a story behind me picking up this wine.  I think it’s funny- Mike however does not.  We definitely have differences in what makes us laugh. Anyway, I was in the wine store picking up some other bottles and Mike sent me a text saying “Just got an email, the tractor guy Pinot is on sale, if you want to pick it up to try.”  Again, never hearing of this winery, I had no clue what that meant. It didn’t pop out to me as a winery name. So for some reason, MacPhail Winery popped in my head- mostly because the text was about Pinot – when I hear Pinot, I think MacPhail. So I texted him back, “Do you mean MacPhail?, that’s a red wagon, not a tractor!” No response.  So I asked one of the employees if they carried McPhail Pinot and he said no.  I showed him the text from Mike and and he said, “yes, the email is about “The Tractor Guy” Pinot and escorted me to the aisle where it could be found. I laughed and told the employee my confusion and he laughed, maybe just to be polite, but he did laugh. I came home and told Mike and he responded- “How the hell do you get MacPhail from The Tractor Guy?” no laughing.  I guess my mind works in mysterious ways!  

Today was the first really nice day of Spring. I got to spend it outside at a lacrosse game. I love LAX.  I fell in love with it while in college, and still think it is one of the greatest sports ever created.  Mike and I realized we hadn’t had Chinese take out in awhile, so that was the menu of the evening.  I went into the cellar and chose a Markham Vineyards Cab Franc.  This is another wine that I purchased without Mike, so I was curious if he would agree.  Plus, we had two in the cellar, so might as well see how it was progressing.  I purchased this while I was in Napa/Sonoma with my girlfriends last summer.  One of the great things about Markham is that in addition to the wonderful wines and the beautiful winery, they have an art exhibit.  The art rotates, on their website, this is currently what they are promoting:

We are pleased to feature this modern photography exhibit in partnership with Knox Bronson of Pixels and long-time photographer friend of the winery, Baron Wolman. The pieces in this exhibit were all taken and processed with iPhones and submitted by artists from the Pixels community (pixelsatanexhibition.com). READ MORE about the evolution of this partnership between Bronson, Wolman and Markham and also SEE SOME OF THE PHOTOS which were chosen for the exhibit. Bronson, Wolman and some of the featured artists will be attending our Arts in Aprilreception for the exhibition on Saturday, April 18, 2015, 1:00pm-3:00pm. Everyone is invited to stop by at that time, enjoy a complimentary glass of Markham wine and chat with the artists while viewing the new exhibit!

Hope you have had some great wines and times these past two weeks. Remember, always Pursue Your Passion.  We would love for you to leave a comment telling us what was your favorite recent wine was.

~ Sláinte!