Luxuriousness in a bottle

I was looking for a new red wine to try when I spotted a pretty label (anything with pink in it catches my eye) that had “Cashmere” written on it.  Of course, curiosity had set in and I just had to try this wine.  The full name of the red wine is Cline Cashmere and, like the name, it is absolutely divine.  The wine offers just enough sweetness with flavors of cherry, raspberry, and chocolate, yet also has a pleasant kick to it because of a hint (and I mean just a pinch) of black pepper.  I tried the wine slightly chilled (and not because I put it in the fridge, but because my house was so cold!) and the deliciousness was the perfect way to cap off my night.  Overall, the wine is extremely smooth and tastes as luxurious as its name.  One last side note, Cline Cellars donates to various breast cancer foundations, making this wine purchase an even better idea!

Alcohol Content: 14.0%

Price: $12/bottle

Celebrate with some bubbly!

My hubby and I celebrated our one year anniversary two weekends ago; this of course called for some bubbly!  As I mentioned before I love Barefoot wines because they taste great and are extremely inexpensive, so when I was looking for a new type of champagne to try the Barefoot Moscato Spumante caught my eye.  This sparkling wine is DELICIOUS!  It has the sweetness of regular Moscato wine, bursting with flavors of apricot, peaches and apples, with the added bonus of fizz.  My husband, who isn’t a fan of wine and doesn’t stray far from his Bud Light, was adventurous and tried some of the sparkling wine…and he liked it (trust me, that says a lot)!  This is the perfect sparkling wine to make mixed drinks with (add some orange juice and a splash of grenadine…doesn’t that sound good?) or just have on its own.  If you prefer to have some sweetness in your bubbly, Barefoot Moscato Spumate is just for you!

Tastes Like a Jelly Doughnut!

Baker’s Dozen Jammy Pinot Noir tastes more like a sweet red wine than a Pinot Noir; it is actually sweeter than some of the sweet red wines that I have tried.  The first sip surprised me because I wasn’t expecting for it to be as sweet as it is, but my taste buds loved it.  Even though I find it to be a little too sweet to have more than a couple of glasses at a time, it is delicious…it literally tastes like the jelly inside of a jelly doughnut; this wine lives up to its Baker’s Dozen Jammy name!  The flavors are of cherry and brown sugar, which leave a bold (yet pleasant) taste after every sip.  With some wines I find that it is hard to actually taste the flavors that are outlined, but there is no mistaking what flavors are in this Pinot Noir.  One thing that I found with this wine is that the longer it sits in the wine glass, the sweeter it gets; you can actually start to see the sugar left behind on the glass if it sits for too long.  If you don’t prefer red wine to be too sweet then make sure to drink up soon after the wine is poured!

Price: $12/bottle

Wine on the Go

Some wine brands offer convenient, and cute, packaging which makes it easier to bring wine along wherever you go.  I was recently told about a wine pouch that could easily be carried anywhere, but when I couldn’t find the pouch I got these adorable Barefoot Pinot Noir small bottles instead; they come in a case of 4 and each bottle contains about 2 glasses worth of wine.  These are great if you’re going to a party, on a picnic, to the beach, anywhere that you don’t feel like bringing a large bottle of wine to.  The small bottles are also great to just have around if you only want to have a couple of glasses of wine and don’t want to open a large bottle, especially when it comes to white wine (I feel as though a bottle of white wine needs to be used the day that it’s opened otherwise it just doesn’t taste right the next day).  Barefoot offers its other types of wine in these small bottles as well, such as the Pinot Grigio, Moscato, Merlot, etc.  I really enjoy Barefoot wine because it is extremely inexpensive and the wines have a great taste. 

The Barefoot Pinot Noir is a light red wine with the slight flavors of cherries and raspberries; I say that it’s a light red wine because it does not have that strong kick to it that some other red wines tend to have.  I have a friend that prefers white wine over red, but even she doesn’t mind drinking Pinot Noir. 

Next time you need some wine on the go, make sure to pick up a case of these small bottles!

Price: $7.50/case of 4 bottles 

Add Some Fruit!

I’m sure most of you have tried fruit soaked in vodka, but have you tried fruit soaked in wine?  I went out to eat this past weekend and after getting an extremely unpleasant Mojito (which I ended up sending back because it tasted like pure syrup) I decided to stick with what I knew I would like…wine of course.  The restaurant had Moscato wine with bits of fruit in it, sounds tasty right?  That’s because it was!  I love Moscato wine to begin with, it is a very light, fresh tasting wine that usually has a little bit of fizz in it (it’s similar to champagne but not as bubbly); adding pieces of cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and pineapple  to the wine made it that much better.  Once all the wine is gone, there is a yummy little treat left behind.  I’m definitely going to make this drink at home and add some strawberries to it.  It’s a cute and tasty idea that would be great for sprucing up wine drinks at a party.  The best part is that adding fruit just makes it healthier!

Red Velvet - Dessert in a Glass

On my hubby’s last trip to the liquor store, I asked him to surprise me with a type of red wine that I never had before.  When he walked through the door with Red Velvet red wine by Cupcake Vineyards (could the name of this wine be more perfect and enticing?) my eyes lit up; he knows me so well, not only was our wedding cake red velvet, but I just can’t resist anything that is cake flavored.  I was so excited to pour myself a glass of dessert.  The wine has a creamy taste of chocolate and blackberries, with a slight mocha aftertaste.  Although the flavors may sound sweet, this is not a sweet red wine; the wine is a mixture of Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.   While this wine is quite tasty, it is definitely a slow sipping type of wine because of the bold taste and kick it has.  If you are just starting to drink red wine and prefer something that has less of a kick to it, I would recommend starting off with a sweet red wine or Pinot Noir and working your way up to this one.  If you love a stronger tasting red wine, then this is perfect for you.  This is a great wine to have with dinner, especially with spicy food, and it is a match made in heaven when paired with a dessert. 

Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Price: $12 a bottle

Mix it Up!



Venetian Sunset

 I went to Olive Garden this past weekend; besides being beyond excited to have the breadsticks there (how amazing are the breadsticks?) I was also very excited to have the Venetian Sunset, my favorite Olive Garden mixed drink.  The Venetian Sunset is made with Martini & Rossi Asti, along with pineapple and cherry juices…and yes, it is as delicious as it sounds and looks.  Martini & Rossi Asti has a great flavor by itself (it’s my favorite type of champagne), but the pineapple and cherry juices make this drink that much more irresistible.  The Venetian Sunset has the perfect amount of sweetness to it and the bubbles from the champagne makes the drink taste more like a soda than an alcoholic beverage.  This is one drink that you just NEED to try.



Moscato Citrus Berry Splash

 After ordering my precious Venetian Sunset, another wine based mixed drink on the drink menu caught my eye, the Moscato Citrus Berry Splash; doesn’t this just sound like the perfect summer drink?  This drink is made with sparkling Moscato wine, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and whole fresh blueberries.  The drink looked very pretty (yes, drinks can look pretty!) and I just couldn’t wait to try it.  Similar to the Venetian Sunset, the Moscato Citrus Berry Splash tasted like a soda because of the fizz from the sparkling wine, however, this drink was not as sweet as the Venetian Sunset and I would’ve preferred a tiny dab of grenadine, but overall, it was a yummy drink. 

The best part about these drinks is that they seem to be so easy to make!  They would be the perfect summertime girls’ night beverages.      

Relax with some Riesling

RELAX Riesling is one of my favorite white wines.  Walking through the liquor store one day I saw the deep blue colored, tall bottle with RELAX written on it in a large font.  Relax with some wine?  Don’t mind if I do!  It has a light, refreshing flavor of apples and peaches with a hint of citrus.  When I first read what flavors were in the wine, I was worried that the peach flavor would be too intense, but the flavors are all very subtle and mix well together.  There is a slight sweetness to this wine without a strong after bite, which easily leads to one glass after another.  This is a perfect wine for a social event; it is my choice for parties because of the delicate flavor and crispness of taste.  This is also a delicious wine to enjoy on a warm day, the chilled wine helps quench your thirst.  For an extra refreshing wine experience, chill your wine glass by putting it in the freezer for a bit before pouring the wine. Sit back with a glass of Riesling wine and RELAX, what’s better than that?

Alcohol content:   9.5%
Price: $10 a bottle

What’s the Irony?

This past weekend my husband and I went to York Beach, Maine (our little piece of Heaven) for a day to celebrate his 25th birthday.  For the birthday dinner, we went to a delicious restaurant overlooking a beautiful harbor, Cape Neddick Lobster Pound-Harborside Restaurant (say that name ten times fast!).  Looking through the restaurant’s many wine selections I had a hard decision to make; do I get white or red wine?  The name of one particular red wine caught my eye, Irony.  My decision was made, I got the Irony pinot noir; I had to see what the irony was behind this wine.  Looking at the rich color of the pinot noir I was expecting a heavy, bold flavor.  Ironically to my surprise, the wine was very light and smooth with a hint of cherry and vanilla flavors, followed by a cola aftertaste.  Yes, cola.  This wine was a perfect combination to the spicy buffalo wings we had for an appetizer and then to my yummy seafood entrée.  If you’re one that doesn’t enjoy a strong aftertaste when drinking red wine, then this wine is right for you.  It is so smooth and easy to drink that the Irony pinot noir goes down like water; that could be considered a dangerous thing…or a good thing depending on your mood! 

Alcohol content: 13.5%

Don’t Underestimate Boxed Wine

We’ve all had an encounter with boxed wine; slapping the bag of wine at college parties would have never existed without boxed wine.  I feel as though boxed wine isn’t given enough credit, maybe some wine drinkers can’t picture it outside of the “slap the bag” concept.  Whenever I shop for wine I never give boxed wine a thought, I always purchase bottled wine.  My thoughts on boxed wine have quickly changed this past weekend.  I was at a bridal shower that had Franzia boxed wine.  The first sip I had of the Franzia White Zinfandel got me thinking that I missed out on this wonderful wine all these years by only buying bottled wine.  The wine burst with the flavor of strawberry and had a delightful slight fizz to it; it reminds me of a wine cooler.  This is a refreshing wine that goes hand in hand with a hot summer day while you’re laying outside soaking up the sun. 

The box has a convenient spout for easy pouring and is a great deal at only about $15 for a 5 liter box (equivalent to approximately 6 bottles of wine).  Did I mention that a great feature of boxed wine is that it stays fresh longer after being opened than a bottle of wine?  I was so intrigued with this wine that I looked up all the different types and came across the information that stated it stays fresh for up to 6 weeks after being opened.  The thing that I hate about white wine is that I feel as though it doesn’t stay fresh for very long after it is opened.  If I don’t drink an entire bottle of white wine the day that I open it, I always end up having to pour out the rest of it the next day because it tastes so flat.  I even have the special wine stoppers (they have a pump that’s designed to suck out all the air from the bottle) that are supposed to help keep the wine fresh for longer, but they don’t really make a difference.  I’m excited I finally found a white wine that I can keep in my fridge for weeks without it going flat after the first day.     

Sweet Bliss is Pure Bliss

I figured I should do my first post on my favorite wine, Sweet Bliss, a sweet red wine.  This wine is delicious; it is because of this wine that I started getting into drinking red wine.  Although it is a sweet red wine, it does not have an overwhelming sweet taste to it.  Sweet Bliss is very smooth with the flavors of cherry and chocolate, such an amazing combination!  It was the label that got me while searching for a red wine to try; the cherry dipped in chocolate got me thinking that this wine is probably irresistible, and it is.  I like to drink this wine by itself, but it does pair well with spicy food and especially well with anything chocolate, that’s an obvious, right?  Aside from the amazing taste, this wine is only $10 a bottle!  Talk about a great price for a great wine.  Just one warning, this wine is addicting!

Alcohol content: 12.5%