Wake up Blog!

I thought I'd wake up the Winey Thoughts to share what I've been drinking this summer.  I've been mixing it up between expensive beer and cheap wine.  Get excited!

First up my FAVORITE beer right now is Domaine Dupage by Two Brothers Brewery.  A "local" brewery from Warrenville IL.  C and I need to make a trip to do a tour because really all their beers are good.

Domaine is a versitile beer.  I would describe it as a really good red or amber ale, loaded with lots of flavor.  It tasted great during the hottest hot stretch of summer (100 plus degrees) and now that it's starting to chill out a bit for fall I'm still craving this beer.  That's hard to do for me...I'm usually a seasonal beer drinker and a summer one does not go great for me in fall.  Honestly though, I can see myself sticking w/ Domaine until winter hits and almost skipping the Oktoberfests...almost.  It's a pricey beer.  You can easily spend $10 on a six pack, I think we've even seen it higher down here in Ptown.  But to my delight lots of bars have started carrying it on tap.  I might have had a tall Domaine Dupage at Buffalo Wild Wings for $5.75!  and it was delish.

Skype Wine Night - November

We may have failed a little in keeping this blog updated. Don't get us wrong, we've been drinking wine, but we just haven't been writing very much. However, there is a new feature we're going to start (at least for a few months or so) where Crymson and Miranda will have a monthly skype wine night. Basically we're trying to catch up and drink some great wine 2,000 miles away.

And as all things necessary in a civilized society there are a few rules:

1) We each drink the same type of wine

2) We each prepare a recipe

3) Guests are both welcome and encouraged

This past weekend we had our first organized Skype date and we decided that we would also try to cross of one of the wines on our 'Wines To Try' list. It's surprisingly harder than you would think to be able to find the same wine to try in Illinois and California. We resorted to the Internet and UPS to be able to help us out. Now the one downside to ordering wine online (if there can even be such a thing) is that the price of shipping can be nearly as much as the bottle of wine. So we'll have to do some good searching to make sure we're both drinking the same wine.

The Details:

Wine - One Hope Winery's Pinot Noir (featured on Drinking for a Cause post)

Amy's Recipe - Brie En Croute

Miranda's Recipe - Apple Crisp with Dried Cranberries

Amy's take: It was a nice wine, a lot lighter than the pinot noirs I'm used to. But the flavors were nice and smooth and sweet. It went down fast. I'd probably give it 4 stars...any other wine would have probably only gotten three but since this was One Hope and it's a charity that ups it. Kinda fun that we ordered the wine too. At least until we noticed the shipping rates. I made baked brie or if you want to get fancy like Paula Deen, Brie En Croute. It was good and super easy to make. It was more than the three of us could handle though, very rich. I'd bake brie again for a bigger group and I think I'd use an unusual jelly to top it instead of the candied pecans.

Miranda's take: I really enjoyed the wine. It was not nearly as dark red as I thought it would be, but it still had a pretty rich taste. So two thumbs up for One Hope. One for donating 1/2 the profits to charity and one for having a yummy pinot. Overall I'd rate it a three star wine.

Now let me just say that my apple crisp is freaking delicious. I accidentally misjudged the recipe and the size of the pan it needed. I thought a pie plate would be enough so I had to make two batches. And I had nearly finished the first batch prior to wine night. Oops! But seriously I give the recipe like 4 stars.

Does anyone else have skype dates? Any suggestions on a good, but readily available wine? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

dinner and drinks

Last night's dinner was full of all sorts of lovely things that were wine. I decided to try my second attempt at braising a roast in wine. My first attempt was good but the meat wasn't as tender as I'd heard it should be. This time I didn't follow a recipe. I had a roast and browned it on all sides in olive oil and added salt and pepper. Then I put that in my dutch oven threw in some potatoes, cut up onions, carrots and celery. I dumped a bottle cabernet savignon on stop, covered it up and put it on my stove to bring to a boil. Once I got to a boil I turned off the heat and put it in my stove set at 275 for 4 hours.

After about 2hrs the entire house smelled like cab sav. I didn't think it was possible, but it was lovely. Now came the decision of what to drink while making the rest of the meal and while eating. It sorta of seemed that since I was cooking with a cab sav I should be drinking a cab sav. But I've been more in the mood for Syrah's lately. I'm not sure what the rules are or if there are rules about what wines to drink when cooking with wine. I went with the syrah and had a bottle of Cycles Gladiator Syrah. It was yummy

I've had Cycles Gladiator pinot noir and it is a standby for me and good pinot noirs. I enjoyed the syrah just as much. I had opened it the day before and thought it was good, but with dinner and being open for a day it was delish. I had planned on just a small glass. C and I shared two large glasses. I would have finished the bottle except R hasn't been letting us sleep much lately and any more wine would have forced my eyes shut by 8 last night.

Dinner turned out wonderfully. The meat cut like butter which is how I've heard it described on top chef. That's the essence of braising, long and slow under low heat in an acid environment. I've read you can also braise in beer. The wine turned the onions a lovely purple color as well as the other veggies. It was such a nice dinner. I can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch today!

Toast of the Town Chicago

After two years of talking nonstop about wanting to attend this amazing event we splurged and bought VIP tickets. This is Wine Enthusiast's Toast of the Town event, taking place in 5 cities across the country. In Chicago it takes place at the Field Museum, my personal favorite of the city's museums. I was in love with the idea of tasting delicious wine and tasting fancy food underneath Sue. That experience was everything I had hoped it would be.

Over 500 wines were available for tasting. I didn't get through half of them but I did taste some wonderful wines. 35 local restaurants were there each supplying a single bite of something delicious. And it was all wonderful. I even found myself at one point focusing more on tasting the different foods than the wines. It was fun trying new things and different flavor combinations. I would totally go to a foodie event like this. I'm not sure they exist but they definitely should.

Favorite wines tasted are Twisted Old Vine Zin and J Lohr's Pinot Noir. I think they were both reserve wines which could be hard to find. But they both have their non-reserve wines available at local stores and I plan to pick them up soon. I can't really pick a favorite food that I tried. It would be difficult to choose from lobster sandwiches, fried octopus, spicy sushi, lemon ginger gelato, deconstructed upside-down pineapple cake (amazing) and many more. Everything was really good.

It was a fun event and C and I both said we'd do again. M was wonderful enough to come out to Chi-town to join us this year. One of the other city's this is held at is in San Fransisco. I think that sounds like an excuse to head to California for a weekend!!

Scott Harvey Barbera 2007

I haven't been around much mostly b/c life has been busy and taken over any extra blogging time. Also b/c early summer tends to be beer drinking time for me, so not a lot of new wines have been tried. Until recently...

A few weeks ago we drove up to Chicago to visit the fam and stopped by my favorite wine shop. It was a chilly weekend and rainy, I wanted something red to warm me up. So I asked the wine nerd who worked their to recommend a syrah to me and he recommended Opolo's syrah. I haven't tried this out yet but I'm very excited to. Then I asked him what his fave wine was in the store right then and he immediately went to Scott Harvey's Barbera.

I'd never had a barbera before, in fact I'd never heard of it. An Italian grape that produces good yields and is known for it's deep color, low tannins, and high acid. It's definitely low on tannins, didn't need much air to smooth it out. And the next day the wine's still good and tasty. It's a good wine and I'm glad that I tried it out. I paid $20 for the bottle and I'd get it again. Although it was good it's not on my favorite list I give it 4 stars.

Wine in Hollywood

Miranda blogged recently about some fave links of hers that she wanted to share. One of those was a link to wines in films by Wine Enthusiaist magazine. They took a look at movies that featured wine in either a lead or supporting role in the movie. I was intrguied by the movies they came up with. Lot's I hadn't see or heard of before. Others are classics that I've been meaning to watch to ages. I did some other searching and came across another article at SFgate.com with their list of the top 10 wine movies. I'm combining the lists and looking for more movies that feature wine in them. I'm actually hoping to find some foreign films where wine has a role. I enjoy foreign films and would love to see some new ones. Here's the list so far:

• Casablanca 1942 apparently there's lots of champagne drinking in this film. Just another excuse to see this classic.


• Notorious by Alfred Hitchcock in 1946


• An Affair to Remember 1957 A couple falls in love and agrees to meet on top of the Empire State Building to drink pink champagne.


• Gigi 1958 A young girl in training to become a courtisan learns the arts of flirting and wine drinking while practicing a rich playboy.


• This Earth is Mine 1959 about a wine company stuggling during Prohibition


• Dr. No 1962 I have not see any of the Sean Connery James Bond films. I'm very excited to watch this and maybe a few others. Apparently this is before Bond switch to martinis, in this film he mostly drinks champagne.


• The Secret of Santa Vittoria 1969 the main character schemes to find a way to hide the town's wine from the approaching German army


• Theres a Girl in my Soup 1970 recommended in the comments section. He's a food/wine critic who takes a very young Goldie Hawn to a disaterious wine tasting.


• Killer Bees 1974 A strong willed woman not only dominates her wine making family but also has a strange hold over the colony of bees in the vineyard.


• The Muppet Movie 1979 Steve Martin's cameo is how this made the list. He plays a sommelier to Kermit and Miss Piggy during a fine dinner scene and they order some bubbly.


• Silence of the Lambs 1991 Theres no wine in this movie it is responsible for one of the most famous wine pairings in cinema.


• Year of the Comet 1992 a comedey about the discovery of an almost 200 year old bottle of Bordeaux


• A Walk in the Clouds 1995 I've heard this is bad, but it's a love story and her family is has a vineyard


• French Kiss 1995 romantic comedy with Kevin Klien and Meg Ryan. She travels to France to win back the boy. He a son of a wine maker finds her stranded and offers to help her win back the boy.


• Blood and Wine 1996 Jack Nicholson plays a Miami wine shop owner in this mystery


• Sideways 2004 I love this movie and can watch it again and again. Sort of a dark comedey about relationships starting and ending and drinking wine to find their way.


• A Good Year 2006 I hadn't heard of this movie until now, about a New York tycoon tamed by the romaticism of the vineyard while visiting after an Uncle's death.


• Bottle Shock 2009 based loosely on the true story of how the world found out California can make good wine.

Have I missed anything worth seeing?

Charles Krug Cab Sav

Have you ever had a really good cabernet sauvignon? One that just melts in your mouth its so smooth and just gets better as it breathes. The color of these cab savs are an amazing deep red like gazing into a ruby. And probably as precious as that ruby. I haven't done a lot of experimenting with cab savs. I know that a really good one is worth its weight in those rubies. I also know there are a lot of bad ones out there.

Charles Krug cab sav which is part of the Peter Mondavi family wines is one of those really good cabs. I would never have picked it out myself, with the bland label and I've seen the price range from $24 (what I paid) to $30 a bottle. It was actually recommended to me by a fellow vino lover who has similar wine tastes to me. I threw it in my cart next to my cigar zin and palo alto and left a happy camper.

This is the first and only wine drank at our lil slumber party that I can review. It had the perfect amount of oakiness, a small bite that smoothed out as the air hit it. The flavors where strong and complex. This is not a light berryish wine. I would drink this wine with a big meal or while nibbling on dark chocolate. Or by itself. I give it 5 stars, a lip licking good wine. I'll have to get it again just to see if another bottle will bring as much satisfaction.

CigarZin

Back in December I posted about a search for CigarZin. I'd tasted it at a local restaurant called 309 and very much wanted a bottle. In January I took C back to 309 and ordered a glass but was told that the Cosentino winery had been bought out and that they didn't have any of the cigarzin left and weren't sure if they were going to continue making it. I was bummed. We tried their normal zinfandel and it was good but not as spicey and wonderful as the cigarzin.

Then a couple weeks ago while at the wine tasting at UFS I ran into bottles and bottles of cigarzin. Another quick check of their website shows that they did merge with Vintage Wine Estates early this year. But their wine shop very much looks like they will continue to make and sell the CigarZin. The website lists the bottle at $22, I paid $14 or $15 at UFS a local discount store (with a huge liquor section).

I do perfer that good wineries stay small and family owned. Not that I know a lot about this but I love the romatic idea of it. Large wine companies that take over all the smaller ones ruin that dreamy perception. But I know that can get sorta political and I'll stick to more of what I know...good tasting wine.

CigarZin is yummy and yes that is now an official term to describe good wine. It has a nice rich berry flavor thats followed up by this spicey bite that makes me say hmmmmm. I could drink this wine by itself but it would be supurb with a nice meal. I will be buying more of this wine in the future. I give it 4 stars!

wine shopping

Two weeks ago was the semi annual wine tasting at UFS a local savers store. I know lots of people that go there for their booze but you can also get pretty much anything at this store. I'd heard about these tastings, free wine and spirit tastings and usually a fairly good selection. So C, R, M, and I went to check out the hub bub.

Apparently it wasn't as big as it usually is but it was still a good time. I tasted a bunch of wines and a margarita in a can. The margarita in a can tasted like Sprite, which was eh at the time but it's still in my head. I may have to pick some up. We tasted good wines, and bad ones. One bad the guy said had hints of grapefruit, I'm pretty sure it was grapefruit juice. We left with 3 lovely bottles plus M picked up a red Greek wine for us to drink. I don't remember what the name of it was but it was pretty good. Not too dry not sweet either. A nicely balanced wine. I should have kept the bottle for a real review.

One week later we had a slumber party that destroyed my wine stash. 6 bottles were emptied between 3 of us. My beautifully stocked wine rack reduced to 2 meager bottles. 2 that were more expensive and didn't want to waste on our drunkenness. Good times good times. That's what wine nights/slumber parties are all about. =)

Echelon Pinot Noir

Echelon pinot noir was the other bottle I bought at World Market up in Chicago. I paid $10 and had high hopes. I hate to blog this, but this wine was a disappointment. C and I opened it while cooking dinner. It was harsh and very alcoholy. We poured large glasses and swirled and let it breath while we cooked dinner. The thought being air and food would tame it a bit. Unfortunately not, we still found the wine undrinkable and ended up dumping the bottle. Perhaps the bottle was contaminated with cork rot, but the cork looked to be in good condition. Doesn't matter though, I cannot give it another chance. I give it 1 star.

Oscar Night follow up

Yep it took a while to type up the Oscar night follow up, I've been sick again. This has been one heck of a year for colds, flus, and infections. At the moment everyone in my house is one the mend, and I'm playing blog catch up. With Miranda in town and tonight's wine slumber party lots of wine will be had.

So....

Oscar night was fun. We skyped across the country and drank together. There was a slight lag so California knew who the winner was about 5 seconds before we did but it was still fun. Unfortunately we had a big storm pass through and the we lost the channel showing the Oscars for a good part of the show. This kinda sucked but we did make do by watching Daniel Craig as James Bond, which sorta makes up for anything.

The first bottle opened for the red carpet and beginning of the show was Four Vines 2008 Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel. I bought it at World Market a few weeks back when I was up in Chicago visiting the fam. I think I paid $10. This was a decent wine for the price. Smooth and fruity tasting. It's great for an every day cheap wine. It's good for I'd buy it again." On a side note while visiting their website I found they are doing a 4V Drink Naked Tour. I kinda wish their blog was updated.

The second bottle opened was Gnarly Head Pinot Noir. I've had their Old Vine Zin before and remember it being good. The pinot noir was $10 and I figured worth a try. It was ok. Not a lot of depth of flavor and it didn't get better w/ air over the next few days. It wasn't offensive or bad, but didn't stand out to me. I give it two stars.

Academy Awards Wine Night

Miranda often credits me on her blog for getting her addicted to things like photography, cooking, and sometimes even wine. Although the wine thing is silly we each got hooked on that together. When she lived in town we had a wine night every week. We'd buy based on label, price, or at one time whether or not the bottle had a real cork.

Well the road goes both ways and she's left her impact on me as well. She's gotten me hooked on Liberty of London scarves and their target collection. She's officially hooked me on West Wing, Six Feet Under, Project Runway, and Brothers and Sisters. And she's gotten me hooked on watching the Academy Awards. Now I'd always been kinda interested and would watch here and there. But the last few years I've found myself seeking out date, times, and channels it will air on. And now I can't watch it w/out watching at least an hour of the red carpet before hand. What makes this event even better is a bottle of wine. This year we are stepping this up a bit and watching it together through skype. It's a cross country wine night with lots of wine and red carpet celebs. I'm super excited about tonight. I have no idea what I'll drink but I went wine shopping so I'd have a selection to choose from.
Do you watch the Academy Awards? Does it involve wine? Are there any events worth cross country skyping to watch together w/ a bestie?

Testaroassa Palazzio 2006 Pinot Noir

About a year and a half ago I discovered the wine shop in Naperville I mentioned in the last post. They had recently bought out a wine shop that had been there since I'd met my hubby. At first I was a bit hesitant since I tend to be loyal to the shops I enjoy. But then I discovered first their huge variety of wines, and second the glorious sale they have every year around my birthday. Every year they have a huge sale, a buy one bottle get another for a penny. Any bottle as long as you buy two of the same. The owner happened to be there when I discovered the sale and was wonderfully lost and overwhelmed in a sea of wine trying to figure out what to buy.
He steered me to some wines that were higher priced and I hadn't heard of before. We chatted about what we enjoyed to drink and he told me about how his wife had the daunting task of tasting all the wines and figuring out what they should sell/stock. She happened to particularly like the Testarosa 2006 Palazzio Pinot Noir. They were priced at thirty something dollars a bottle but with the sale I figured that was reasonable and I wanted to try something new and exciting.
I opened the first bottle not long after I purchased them and found it to be strong and very bitey for a pinot noir. This was probably the first pinot noir priced over $12 that I'd ever drank, and so I was not used to needing to let a pinot noir breath. Of course at the time I didn't realize this and figured it was kinda a eh wine. More of what I would expect from a cab sav, which was not what I was wanting then. The second bottle was put on the rack and forgotten about. And then I got pregnant.
It took until the babe was near 9mo old and my wine supply freakishly low before I thought about opening this second bottle. This time I let it breath. I poured it into my decanter and then poured a glass and let it all sit in the air for at least an hour. The first sip is still sorta bitey for a pinot noir but that bite goes away after the second sip. And then by the third it turns into a sigh of contentment. Not many wines let me make yummy noises w/ every sip, this one does/did. It's a beautiful crimson red wine with complex flavors. I can't pin point the fruit in it and that makes me happy. And its oh so smooth, how air does wonders for some wines. Or maybe maturity of my pallet but this wine is definitely 5 stars, lip licking good, and won't be forgotten for quite some time. You definitely can't just a wine by its label or even its first taste in this case.

Hayes Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Peterson Wine Cellars is an awesome wine store in Naperville IL, only about 5min from my inlaws house. I visit this shop almost every time we're in town. C enjoys their beer selection and I always find different wines here. They have some fun and amazing sales. They have a top sellers area where they show the top 10 bottles that sold the best that week or month. I bought their number one to see how the tastes of Napervillians compare to my own. So I got their number one sold bottle, Hayes Ranch In the Saddle Cabernet Sauvignon.

I let this bottle breath a half hour to an hour in my decanter. It's really a yummy wine. You can taste berries in front and then you get a bit of the oak and the sauvignon bite at the end. It's a nice bite, not too much. And then I got sick, a cold which turned into the flu, and I was out of commission for a while. 2 and a half weeks later feeling better and craving a little wine I poured a glass of the remaining wine. It's still a decent wine! A little bit more of a bite than when fresh but it was definitely still drinkable and delicious. I give this wine 5 stars, lip licking good, both fresh and two weeks later.

two passions margaret river 2008 chardonnay

Produced by the Wildberry Estate in Australia. I haven't dabbled much in Australian wines, although I've had a few New Zealand ones, all of which are red. This is the first Chardonnay I've had in a while. I chose it exclusively based on the pretty label and the price $15. It also had a wine spectator sign next to the price saying it received 91 points but that was more icing on the cake.

C and I drank this together, sipping on it after R went to bed after the big snow storm. I had even chilled in in a giant pile of snow outside. I did not care for this wine. I thought it tasted like really old apple juice. Which then reminded me that that's what I've thought of other Chardonnays. Maybe that is the draw people have to this variety, or I just haven't had a good one yet. I didn't get any complex flavors or even any oak. C liked it alright and finished the bottle. I give this 2 stars.

I'm looking for suggestions/recommendations for a good chardonnay? Anyone have any faves? Or how about some good Australian wines? I'm always looking to add to my list of to drinks!

Tiz 2004 Red wine

I bought this wine to have around Christmas time and just now got to drinking it. It was cheap about $7.99 from Fresh Market. Between the price and the pretty label I was sold.

It was an ok wine. A blend of merlot, cab sav, and syrah, that's not too bad. You get a bit of the fruit up front then a bit of bite to behind but nothing too bad. It tasted better when I drank it with dinner than it did while I was cooking dinner. By the third day it had smoothed out a bit and was actually quite tastey. The fourth day was a rapid down hill. A little air definitely helped but the decline is sharp so drink her up quick.

I'd rate it a 3 "eh." I wouldn't go out and buy this again but if its on hand its not too bad a wine to have.

time out for immune systems

All of us are recovering from head colds, stomach viruses, or something or other. Wine has been put on the shelf while recovering and drinking beer during football games. C did buy me a good Cab Sav to review while up in Chi town for the weekend. So new reviews to come soon. In the mean time enjoy a photo of some antique decanters. I love them, they are my mom's. I want to go antiquing just to look for some cool old decanters.

Blackstone Merlot

Merlots elude me, seems like every one I've tried is different. I don't remember any that have really stuck with me as I gotta have that again. A few months ago I ordered a glass of Merlot while out for dinner and really enjoyed it. I remember it being dry but with a wonderful plum flavor that really won me over. I really thought it was a Blackstone Merlot, so I picked up a bottle to see if I would like it at home.

I opened this bottle as a sipping wine which could be my first mistake. Some how I'm thinking merlots are more a wine you drink with dinner. I didn't taste any fruit the first day this was open. It was bitey and very dry. I slowly sipped a glass, poured the rest in the decanter. The next day I sipped another glass with dinner and it was better. I still didn't taste the plummy flavor from the restaurant so maybe it wasn't Blackstone that I had. I finished the bottle with C on the third night while cooking dinner. It was still ok. Not a fave. And I would rate it "eh."

What are some good Merlots I should try? Anyone have any faves?

OZV lodi zinfandel 2007

After a long day at work coming home to a baby who's starting to learn separation anxiety. We cooked up a supper that turned out so-so, but opened this bottle of wine. OZV, old zin vin, from the Oak Ridge Winery in Lodi California.

This wine was good right from uncorking. The first sip had sweet drips on the tip of the tongue in the beginning. And then the wine turned rich and jammy and smooth. Delicious. And got better as it breathed in our glasses. Both C and I polished the bottle off after baby went to bed.

The rating was unanimous between the two of us.... Lip Licking Good wine. It's a bottle we'd definitely buy again. I'm not sure how much it cost since it was a Christmas gift. But no matter the cost I'd get it again for both a gift and for us. I'd be curious if a second bottle is as enjoyable as this one. In fact after looking at the Oak Ridge winery website I'd look for and try any of the wines they make.

2011 winey goals

A New Year, a new look, and more wine. That's my plan for 2011. More specifically I'd like to explore some cheaper wines. I kinda already do this but I'd like to make it official. The whole you get what you pay for is definitely true when it comes to wine. But at some point I have to wonder really how wonderful is a $500 bottle vs say a $100 or a $50 bottle. I can't afford that experiment this year, but I know you can get some decent wines for under $20 bottle. So I'd like to explore price range and grape. Is there a major difference in a $20 bottle vs a $15 or under $10? Do certain grapes make better cheaper wines than others?

This will also contribute to my second winey goal for the year. Branch out of my normal wine buying habits and look for other varieties I may like. I tend to buy zinfandels, pinot noirs, pinot grigios, and an occasional petite syrah and riesling. Seems like a good selection but really there are tons of other types of wines out there. I tend to stay away from merlots and chardonnays. And they could be the two more popular wines made or sold in the US. My figuring is that there are too many bad ones to find the good. But I'm turning a new leaf. I'm out to find at least one under merlot and chardonnay that I like and would buy again.

Finally I've come up with a rating system to rate the wines I review.
It's a 1-5 system.
1=ugh it was vinegar
2=not my fave
3=eh
4=pretty good I'd drink it again
5=lip licking good wine