Fàilte! Welcome to the next installment of Exploring the Wine Glass. Mike and I are big proponents of you should drink what you like and you are the only one who can taste like you. We advocate the fact that everyone experiences the wine differently, so in these posts we do not discuss our tasting notes. Instead we include basic information about each of the wineries, and/or a bit about what was happening in our lives while we were enjoying them. With that said, if you are interested in reading our tasting notes and our ratings head on over to Delectable and check us out. We tell it as we taste it over there. Click here to see the chart we use to describe the color or if you want to see the wines themselves as they are poured, visit our YouTube Channel and watch for yourself. As always, since as oenophiles we love to celebrate #WineWednesday, our week runs from one Wednesday to the next.
Week 1
Ah, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I remember when this use to be the best night to go out to bars and have a great time. I remember closing bars and moving to the next bar that was open later and staying until that one closed but alas, those days are over. Now I’m just thrilled that I don’t have work tomorrow and that I can sit down and enjoy some wine with Mike. No bumping and fighting my way to the bar, just sitting at the table and enjoying a meal. Wow, how times have changed!
Mike made mac and cheese and we paired it with a 2011 Niner Bootjack Ranch 
Cabernet Sauvignon. I must admit, I was a little hesitant about opening this wine. The reason is because I can still envision when and where I was when I had the 2010 Niner Bootjack Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. Mike was travelling to Paso for the winery and I was home by myself. I was unsure of what bottle to open, so I called him and he offered up a few options. After noticing we only had one of the 2010 Bootjack Ranch, I opted for that. Now, I know what you are thinking that was pretty mean of me. If we only had one, I should wait for Mike to be with me so he can taste it also. BUT, as you know , I don’t always think like everyone else, and my reasoning was, we only had one, so if I liked it, Mike was out there and could get more. [see, it makes sense!]
Well, I tasted and I fell in love! I immediately called Mike and told him to get as much as he could. I told him I was in love, and I wanted, NO needed more! Well, as the saying goes, best laid plans….. yep, they were sold out! Oh well, guess Mike wasn’t going to get to taste euphoria. Instead, he tasted and purchased the 2011 and this was my first time to taste it. I had some reservations, but after the first taste they floated away because although not the 2010, this wine is stellar! I am a Bootjack Ranch fan!
Well, it is Thanksgiving, and of course there is wine involved in this All-American holiday! Mike and I went to my brother and sister-in-law’s house. We were in charge of dessert and wine. I took the opportunity to think outside the box and we brought wines from the Languedoc region of France. What better time to explore new wines than with family members and a holiday? Our Thanksgiving wine experience was described here. 
Friday just doesn’t feel the same when you are off from work on Thursday. The weekend takes on another view in this situation. As opposed to looking forward to Friday evening, you all of a sudden think, “Dang, it’s one day closer to me having to go back to work.” Am I the only person who thinks that way?
Tonight, we had chicken fried rice using the rub from our friends at MangiaTV. We love their stuff and enjoy their Cooking Vamp every Monday night at 7:30pm EST. If you are free, you should check it out on Spreecast. Bob is a very funny guy and the people in the chat are so much fun. We paired it with a 2006 Cayuse Cailloux Vineyard Syrah. What a wine! Truly a stellar wine. if you are a regular reader, you have already heard my stories about how we were lucky enough to get on Cayuse’s mailing list so I won’t repeat it again, but feel free to plug Cayuse into our Search box on the right hand side of the page and read all about them.
Today is my birthday. It is amazing how fast the year flew. But we are celebrating it simply. Mike asked what I wanted to do and I decided I wanted to see the final Mockingjay movie and go out to dinner. We were planning on doing that last night, but then we found out that Arkansas was playing and were on TV, so we rearranged to go today.
The movie was pretty good. I am getting very upset with movies that I want to see because I love the books, and then the movie is absolutely nothing like the book. I get changing small things, but when they change the whole concept in with Scorch Trials- it annoys the living daylights out of me. Although I’m not the biggest Jennifer Lawrence fan, I have to say she did the best acting in this last movie. After the movie we went to a local BYOB called Cravings which is a new tapas place in a nearby town. The place was tiny, but the food was decent. The service could deal with a little rework. There were a lot of people working, but no one really seemed to know what their job was. We had three people come and reach over us to fill our water glasses that were already pretty full, but we didn’t have anyone take our order. Then when we were done, it was a long time before we found someone who we could get the check from.
Is there anyone who reads this and knows me that has any doubt about what bottle of wine would be on my birthday dinner table? Any guesses out there?! Yep, absolutely correct! We had a Ferrari Carano Pinot Noir. It was so good. It paired nicely with the chorizo croquettes and pulled pork empanadas.
Since I am such a huge fan of Ferrari Carano wines, I had to make this wine a feature on our YouTube channel’s show “In Dracaena’s Glass.” In the video I discuss why I am such a nutcase when it comes to Ferrari Carano. Honestly, there is a real reason!
Week 2
This has been a very exciting week for me. This Friday is the first Cabernet Franc Day! I have really been a one person brigade to give Cabernet Franc its due justice. Come on, all of his offspring have their days (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec) and even the pretty little grape he spent the evening with to give us Cabernet Sauvignon has her own day. (Sauvignon Blanc) So I ask you, how could Cabernet Franc not have its own day? Well, it should! I have worked hard to promote this day and am have a great feeling that this Friday will be the first of many #CabFrancDays!
In honor of Friday, I had to have a Cabernet Franc for this #WineWednesday. I have
never had a Cab Franc from the east coast even though both New York and Virginia are very popular for the varietal, so I decided to hunt one down. Unfortunately there was not much choice. I went to two stores and only had one option. 2013 Millbrook Cabernet Franc from New York State.
Millbrook Winery is located in the Hudson River Region. According to their website, they were called “the Hudson Valley’s flagship winery” by The New York Times and “a great place to visit” by The Wall Street Journal. They offer two different tastings that are conducted in their restored 1940’s Dutch style barn and loft space.
It is December 4, and it is an exciting day! Today is the very first #CabFrancDay! And I must say it was quite successful! I can not believe how much support there is for this varietal. There were tweets from people I do not know on Social Media. There were so many wineries tweeting and involved in supporting the day and it really seemed like people enjoyed the tweetup. It was my first time hosting one, and I was nervous how it was going to go. In addition, I wasn’t home, I was away in Kansas City for the weekend and was hoping that the hotel wifi was going to be functioning. Luckily, it worked, a little slow, but it was there for me.
Since we were out-of-town, I was a bit nervous about how I was going to be able to celebrate with at least a glass of Cabernet Franc. Mike and I checked out some wine bars in the area, but it wasn’t looking good, since we couldn’t find a Cab Franc on a menu! Really! Not one! I wish we had a bottle of our own and a Coravin- I would have poured for them to show what they are missing out on their wine list! But alas, we did not have any of our own- mostly because we hate checking our luggage. But as luck would have it, we found a winery in town- Yes, a winery in downtown Kansas City. And they make a Cabernet Franc. Crisis diverted!
Amigoni Urban Winery located in the historic Daily Drover Telegram Newspaper building in what is known as Stockyards District. Although they boast that they have their wines on tap, all our pours were from the bottles. Not sure why. As a sidebar, they also have local beer on tap. I must admit, that is brilliant. When we open our tasting room [whenever that is] we will have beer. Think about your friends. They may not like wine, but if they know they can get a beer instead, they will more than likely be happy to go tasting with you!
Their story begins in 1997, when Michael and Kerry Amigoni planted forty Cabernet Franc vines in the backyard of their Leawood, KS, home. After winning some awards in local competitions, they decided to take the next step in 2000 and purchased 10 acres of pastureland in Centerview, Missouri [45 minutes east of KC]. Their first harvest was in 2006, under the name, Inland Sea. They then decided to re-branded with their family name as the Amigoni Urban Winery.
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 your favorite recent wine was.
~Sláinte
