Too much Cambria…

Last night turned out to be one of the best nights I have had in a long time. We (Michelle and me) went out to one of the nicest restaurants in our area JJ’s at the Copperpot for wine and appeteeeeeezers. We sat at the bar the with the greatest bartender ever, Jeff, with the sweet sounds of Micheal V on the piano. JJ’s at the Copper Pot offers several different highly rated fine wines, so you can’t go wrong when choosing which one to drink, but Jeff rang us in a bottle of Cambria. We have had Cambria a few times before, but it is one of those wines that will not get old. Never. Now, I can’t exactly tell you what it tastes/or smells like (because I don’t really remember), but I can tell you the effect it had on me and Michelle… This wine has to be higher in alcohol content than your average wine. It hit me and it hit me fast! I couldn’t talk right and when I could, I would say something so far from intelligent that people were questioning my abilities to teach the youth of our country. And all we could say was “Too much Cambria” with the hopes that the people we were talking to would excuse our idiocy and understand that we weren’t ourselves. Anyway, I highly recommend Cambria Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008. It is smooth with earthy flavors and a long finish. It’s not overbearing, but subtle, and you don’t get that shocking feeling in your mouth at the first sip. It’s an easy going, but full flavored wine that definitely delivers an unforgettable experience (unless you drink too much) and each sip leads you to another and another until it’s all gone.

We decided to order some of the best deep fried calamari and a new appetizer JJ’s has to offer… The firecracker fireflies (or firefly firecracker… I can’t remember, but I know the words firecracker and fireflies were in the name). Heaven on a stick with BBQ sauce is what it is. They blacken then deep fry this chicken on a skewer and then smother it in the most amazing BBQ sauce you will ever have, and then you dip it in their homemade and very delicious ranch dressing ( at  least I think this is how its made. I was drinking Cambria when they told us how it was made, so who knows). This was absolutely amazing. Good wine, good food, and great company Thanks Mary, Joseph, Jeff Super, and Jeff the bartender.

However, our night didn’t end their. We thought it would be a great idea, which it was, to continue getting our drink on at the Depot Lounge. This is our local town bar, located right on the corner of the only major intersection in our itty-bitty town. We are good friends with the bar manager and he was nice enough to order us whatever kind of wine we wanted, so he ordered us our all time favorite Smokin Loon Pinot Noir. We have been good friends with this bottle for a while now and have never had a bad time!  Smoking Loon, which me may have already blogged about, offers a mildly fruity flavor with a subtle smokey finish. It is light bodied and a perfect ‘already been drinking, but want to drink more without over doing it’ wine. But unfortunately, I think we did over-do it.

All the events of the night led up to us going home and trying to sneak out of our houses and go on a bike ride with a bunch of other drunk people at 2:30 in the morning (let me remind you that we are 25 and 34. So why were we trying to sneak out? That, I cannot explain). We thought we could be really sneaky, but we got caught by Michelle’s husband, who asked us why on earth we would go on a bike ride at that time and all we could do was laugh out loud. I think laughing our aces off wore us out before we even got the bikes out and decided it wasn’t a good idea even though it sounded like a ton of fun at the time… Now, it’s recovery time.

By Shannon
Published: July 31, 2011
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Black Swan Merlot – 2004

I must say, this wine is good, but not the best. I do like it, but it may be a while before I purchase this one again… Not my favorite, but it will do. It is a fairly smooth Merlot with subtle berry aromas and cherry flavors. There is a tad bit of a bite at the end, to me anyway, which I find fairly common in Australian wines for some reason. I have been very skeptical and hesitant when it comes to Australian wines, because I heard that Australian wines are cheaply made and have very, very high alcohol content (which is good for a buzz, but not good for flavor). However, this was before Australia, as a continent, developed a more ‘fine wine’ approach to winemaking. Now, Australia is known to be ahead of the United States in exporting wine and for exporting high quality wine for an affordable price. Most of the wineries in Australia are located in the Southern regions where the climate is much cooler. This is where our Black Swan is from However, Australians have a different philosophy when it comes to winemaking… The blend wines, which is contrary to most of the world’s idea of good wine. Winemakers in Australia choose select grapes from separate lots, depending on their quality level, and blend them all together. So, this Black Swan, for example, is from South Eastern Australia. The grapes in this are not all from the same location. They were selected by the makers from different locations and blended together. This is interesting because climate greatly affects many different aspects of a grape and these people are blending them together. This explains why Australian wines seem so different than any other wine. They do this blending thing in order to maintain consistency in flavor year after year.I have had wine from Australia that was really, really good, but this one wasn’t. It was good, but  not really, really.

I never thought where a wine was made really made any difference, but apparently it does. And some grapes don’t do well in certain climates or regions, while some become ‘icons’ to that area. Australia is known for their Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shiraz. I hear those are the very best of Australia and the majority of them can be bought for under $10!

By Shannon
Published: July 28, 2011
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Camping With Rex

What a hot, hot, hot weekend to go camping, but my family and I decided to stick it out anyway and take to the canoes out for a float trip. It was a splendid and sweaty time, and the best part is that I got to bring a friend with me. His name is Rex Goliath. According to history, Rex was a very famous circus attraction at the turn of the century. Yes, it’s true!! He was once the world’s largest rooster, weighing in at 47 lbs. Rex Goliath became my best friend on this trip.

I am usually not into drinking red wine on a hot summer night, but I was really in the mood to pop this guy open anyway. I was glad I did, because it turns out that this big rooster was delish. This wine got its name because of its hearty, dark, and intense body as well as its pleasurable fruit flavors. This wine has raspberry, plum, mocha, and vanilla aromas. The taste is fruity and smooth for a rich red wine. I am usually a big fan of cabernets because of their boastful flavors and I can say Rex is, for sure, a great cab (by my standards, of course). I hear that this wine goes great with red meats and, particularly, hamburgers. This is great because you can either dress this wine up with a fancy filet mignon, or dress it down with a big juicy cheeseburger. In my eyes, you can’t go wrong when you choose Rex to be your next guest to a dinner party or cook out.

And here he is… The life of the party, Rex Goliath…

This 47 pound Rooster is 13.5% alcohol and aged in French oak.

By Shannon
Published: July 24, 2011
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Things I need…

While dining at one of our favorite restaurants on the Lake, Baxter’s (or as my husband likes to call it, “Bastard’s”), we ordered a bottle of wine, of course, and the bar tender used this thing while he was pouring our wine. I had no idea what this thing was (because I am new when it comes all of the contraptions and accessories for wine), so I asked, “Sir, what is that thing you are using to pour our wine?” His answer was an aerator. I decided I needed to know a little bit more about this little thingy and found out that it helps your wine “breathe”. With most fancy red wines rich in tannins or bold in flavor, it is often a good idea to let your wine breathe before diving into it. Depending on the wine, it is good to allow anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour of breathing time, but who has the time or desire to open a bottle, pour a glass, and just let it sit there for an hour or so? This is especially inconvenient when you are having a party, or maybe hosting a wine tasting (who does that? We need to be friends). Actually, letting your wine breathe for this amount of time is inconvenient ALWAYS. So that’s where this little aerator comes in. As you pour your wine into the aerator, it creates pressure as it goes down, which drags air up into the aerator, allowing the wine and air to mix immediately. If you use an aerator while pouring your wine, there is no need to let it sit and breathe because the aerator helps bring out the individual characteristics and aromas of the wine very quickly. Perfect. It also makes your first sip a lot smoother. There are several different kinds of aerators you can buy, ranging from about $15 to $50, but the one that this bartender had is the coolest looking one.

 This is the Vinturi Wine Aerator (just click the picture if you want to purchase one). I want it, need it, and have to have it. This particular aerator is on the more expensive side of the spectrum, but I hear it is worth it to pay for this one. If you look at others you will see that they are a little bigger or a little more complicated and definitely not as cool looking. This one is just one piece and it is fairly small, so you can carry it in your pocket, if you would like. That way when someone is in need of an aerator you can just pull yours out of your pocket and lend a helping hand! Because who knows when someone will need an aerator. It’s good to be prepared for anything. So why haven’t I bought myself one, you ask…. Well, if you know my husband, then you know the answer. If you don’t, then all I have to say is… Tight-wad. My arguing point to justify this purchase when I inevitably do buy one will be that this aerator will make our fancy wines taste fancy. It will make our $2o bottle taste like a $20 bottle, rather than a $5 bottle. As if we buy $20 bottles of wine…

By Shannon
Published: July 20, 2011
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Zen of Zin – Old Vine Zinfandel – 2008

Hello readers! Long time, no posting Unfortunately, Michelle and I have been busier than we thought we would be this summer. As an educator, I thought that having the summers off from work would provide me with tons of extra time to focus on my hobbies… But I was wrong. Somehow I put too much stuff on my to do list and have had visitors or have been traveling since my summer break started. My time is finally free (although I still have several D.I.Y. projects left to do)! But just because we have been busy doesn’t mean that we haven’t been drinking wine… We just haven’t had time to blog about it. So since it has been eons since we have posted and I can’t remember every bottle of wine I have drank in the past few months, I’ll just start with the last one I drank and finished…

Zen of Zin - Old Vine Zinfandel – 2008

From Sonoma, CA, this conveniently priced red is a great partner with prime rib, roast chicken, pork, and chocolate. Let me emphasize the chocolate! Chocolate defines this wine’s chocolate, toffee, and blackberry notes. My personal experience with this wine varied with each glass. I shared this bottle with two other people (one of which doesn’t often drink dry,bold, or even red wines for that matter) and they seemed to enjoy it. My first thoughts were “It’s good, but I’ve had better” (that’s what she said), but then after a few more sips, my pallet began to really enjoy this ‘Zen of Zin’. This wine was an added joy to our summer evening boat cruise. However, I recommend using a straw or some sort of sippy-cup if you are drinking wine on a boat. Or at least wear something dark! It was light, but full of flavor, which worked out because I wasn’t in the mood for a white wine (which is usually the case), but it was way too warm for a bold red wine. This is one I will probably buy again sometime, but not until I am satisfied with the variety of wines I have tasted.

Hopefully we won’t wait as long to post again. Over and out.

By admin
Published: July 19, 2011
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