Adrift Chenin Blanc

Another great Adrift white! This is a crisp acidic Chenin Blanc. Flavors of green apple, citrus and grapefruit highlight this wine. A great mouth feel, short finish, this wine is easy to drink and is a great match to the easy spaghetti dinner followed by 2 hours of MasterChef. Definitely getting this one again!

So far, I'm really enjoying the selections from Bright Cellars. The only thing missing from this wine club is an app for easy access to the wine selections and pairing information. Want to check them out for yourself? Use this link for 50% off your first box!

Adrift Riesling

Beautiful, fruit forward Riesling from Bright Cellars. Crisp and acidic, a great match for our bbq pork!

I love these bottles! I got 3 Adrift whites in my last Bright Cellars order so I'm hoping the other 2 are as nice. I decided to open the Riesling after listening to a podcast from Wine for Normal People on wines you need to try and Riesling was one. I used to think Riesling was a really sweet wine, when in actuality it's a nice light wine, great for enjoying on the deck! I really need to keep Riesling in a regular rotation.

So You Want to Join a Wine Club @winc

I've never been one to keep my wine opinions to myself. When we moved to Brookings, I was very disappointed in the wine selection. The Liquor Store has improved their selection greatly (thought still no Virginia wine options). But they do have the monopoly and are limited by what the distributor has to offer. Walmart and Hy-Vee has limited selection and the Pheasant Restaurant has a nice, if pricey, selection.

Once the wine shipping laws changed, I began my search for a wine club. The first one I decided to try was Club W, or Winc as it is now known. Like many of the other online clubs, they ask you to take a little quiz to help them understand your tastes to allow them to help you make the selections. 

For the most part, I am enjoying these wines and it's fun to come home to a big box of wine! The challenge is, of course, to be sure there is someone at home over 21 to sign for the box.

I did have an issue with shipping charges (if you order more than 4 bottles, your shipping is refunded -- well, it wasn't this time) on my last order and, while it took longer than it should have to get taken care of, Winc did get me my refund and an apology.

Winc also has an app which makes it really easy to track your shipments, see what's on the list for next month, skip a month and even rate the wines you have had.

Each wine has a page on their site with a short tasting video, information about the wine and a recipe to try for pairing. I haven't tried any of their recipes yet, but maybe soon! They also send you the recipe with the shipment.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this club and do recommend others give it a try. 

Wonderful (White) @winc

Time for another Winc wine club order! I somehow placed a 2nd order while trying to update my debit card and got doubles of the whites (not complaining about an extra 4 bottles, but still trying to figure out how it happened) [and still trying to get shipping refunded]. This time, Rocky was home to sign for the wine so it was waiting for me when I got home! W00T!

The first bottle I opened was a white blend. A mix of Savignon Blanc, Muscat, Viognier & Chenin Blanc, this white is crisp, semi-sweet and great for a #wineWednesday. If it hadn't been raining, I would have enjoyed it on the deck. The tasting notes state flavored including white peach, pear, honeysuckle and lychee candy (no clue).

I love that Winc sends tasting notes and a sample recipe (shrimp tacos with watermelon salsa!!) to go with each wine. 

Overall, I'm enjoying this wine club. The challenge is ensuring someone of age is home to sign for the wine.

Down Memory Lane: Virginia Wine!

Purchasing wine can be an adventure. How do you make a selection? Tried & true? Recommendations? Cool label? Grabbing the closest bottle so you can get out of the store quickly? I can honestly say I've used all these methods with varying degrees of success. Last weekend, however, I used a method I haven't before: nostalgia.

I was in Washington DC for a conference and I flew out a couple of days early to spend some time with my friend Diane who now lives in Springfield. She picked me up at the airport and we drove straight to a local winery, Paradise Springs of Clifton, to enjoy a snack and wine. Diane selected a bottle of Viognier. It was a great match for the meats, cheese & dried apricots!

Later in our weekend, we stopped at Total Wine and headed for the Local Wine section so I could get a bottle of Our Dog Blue to take home. While there, I noticed Lake Anna Winery. It's been 10 years, but back when Maggie was a baby, we took a family weekend trip to Lake Anna, stayed in a cabin with our dogs Nala & Otis and had a quick stop at the Lake Anna Winery. I don't really remember the winery, but I remember it was spring and Maggie was probably 6-7 months old. So, with nothing other to go on than a memory of a weekend with my family, I picked up this pretty rosè Lake Side Sunset.

This is a dry, semi-sweet (gets sweeter as it gets colder). Light & perfect for a warm summers evening. I finished it tonight on the deck. If I were in Virginia, this would be on my regular purchase list!

Girl Scout Wine Pairing Party

I can't believe this post got a little lost! It's been almost a MONTH since my tasting party, but still worth sharing. 

It was a rainy rainy day. I had really hoped we'd be able to hang outside by the fire pit so we could also enjoy s'mores made with Girl Scout Thanks-a-Lots. But it was not to be. The rain let up by the time my friends arrived, but a wet backyard is not my idea of fun!

The sink is STILL my favorite ice bucket -- no mess!

Here are the official pairings. J Lohr Chardonnay with Lemonades. Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin with both Peanut Butter Patties and Peanut Butter Sandwiches (mostly because I didn't have a chance to pre-taste), J Lohr Reisling with the Cranberry Crisps. We also tried the Gnarly Head with the Thin Mints and I must say, again, Wow. I never would have dreamed that Thin Mints would pair well with wine and now I have 2! We all enjoyed the Thin Mint & red blend pairing as well as the Shortbread and Moscato d'Asti. 

Overall, I would drink any of these again, but I think my favorite was the Cranberry Citrus Crisps and the Riesling were my favorites. They balanced together well, bringing out some sweetness in each one.

Wine Club Red Wonderful @winc

I still love a good red blend. A good blend will bring out the best of the grapes used. This red blend Wonderful was really nice, and more so on the 2nd day with a little O2 to round out the flavors. [I kind of wish I had saved this for the wine & Girl Scout cookie pairing as it was pretty good with the Peanut Butter Sandwich cookie!]

A smooth, deep red blend. Hints of strawberry. A nice jammy blend. This could become my next go-to jammy wine