Wine: Eberle's Better Half

My Valentine's day was very nice.

After a year of complaining about our mattress, the Husband finally caved and agreed to take me mattress shopping a week ago. Our delivery of the new, miracle, super comfy Sealy Posturepedic was set for Valentines day. How Romantic! But over joyous too, you see, the Husband is a huge cuddle, which means I turn into his Human Body Pillow. We had a knock-off sleep number bed that didn't move from rental to rental to rental to our final home, very well (the foam topper ripped in two....) and eventually the dreaded "crack" was formed in our bed. This is when most nights, I, the Human Body Pillow, would unknowingly end up in "the crack" and awaken with 190 lbs of male on top of me, a stiff back, and 30 lbs of puppies blocking my roll away escape technique.

Needless to say new bed saves me from the nightmare of a stiff back.  Really, who needs flowers on Valentines day when you can finally stop dreaming of the day you can go to bed comfortably? 

End mattress rant. 

We made a simple dinner of T-bone Steaks, hassleback red potatoes, salad, and dun dun dun DUN, Eberle's Better Half wine, a yummy blend of 51% Zinfandel, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon. 

It's a nice hardy red, with a dry finish that I will attribute to the Cabernet, some berry notes that keep it juicy, and a little bit of leather. It has a beautiful dark cranberry color, and a spicey nose that resonates and balances with the taste of the wine itself.  In other words, its good wine and it's easy to share a bottle.

Eberle's Better Half. Share it with your better half. 

Wine: a Month of it.

Moving is Chaotic. Drinking wine is not.

Okay, it can be when you are trying to clear your wine fridge.

So I am presenting to you the wine I have been drinking for the past month to empty said wine fridge. It is a sad time for me; I like to be fully stocked with special wines from wineries we have visited. The bright side? I get to refill the fridge once we are all settled in.... [insert mischievous smile here].*

Alapay Late Harvest Viognior - Pineapple and Apricot notes similar to a moscato, Avila Beach, CA

Fancy Schmancy Chimays

Cypher's Phoenix - Syrah, Paso Robles CA

Tobin James Sangiovese & Zinfandel, Paso Robles CA **

We already drank the Sangiovese, Saving the Zinfandel for our first night in our new home.

**Gifts from my Husbands Coworkers, year subscription included!

Girl talk nights over wine were much needed.  This night included sharing a bottle and a half and talking til 2:00 am. 

Col Di Sasso Cab Sav & Sangiovese Blend (Excellent!)

Big Kahuna (Fresh & Easy , 2.99 comparable to 2 buck Chuck) Shiraz

Alban Vineyards Reva 2008 Syrah was actually a rare find at a local Liquor Store [Old Doc's].

Alban Syrah's usually sell out as soon as they are stocked. It really helped that I was skimming the enire store by chance and found it. It is  the most expensive  wine I have purchased [At 89 dollars] but it was a Christmas gift to my husband; his favorite wine maker. We opened this bottle to celebrate our new beginnings. It was a true Syrah and aging had done it well. I can see what all the fuss is about ***

Ah, the 2008 lace. DeLorimier makes outstanding reds (award winning). This was one of the first wineries we stopped at on our trip up the California and Oregon Coast the summer of 2009. In 2010, my would-be in laws joined us in revisiting this winery and became members. 5 years later we drank this bottle, rich and syrupy, but not too sweet.

For me, wine holds memories of the tastings, of good times with loved ones, and a sensory experience (aromas and tastes). My wine fridge is really a sentimental vessel that takes me back to these shared times, these memories.  

The best part of emptying my fridge? Sharing the wine with Friends and family, and knowing new memories are to come.

*Dear recycled wine bottles; I know I drank more of you, and if you are not on this list, I am terribly sorry. I still enjoyed you, but simply forgot to photograph you.
**Gifts from my Husbands Coworkers, year subscription included!
*** 50 Shades of Grey Author EL James names Alban Vineyard  wines in her book series (in Fifty Shades Darker, chapter Six). It's kinda cool to be able to say you enjoyed drank fancy pants wine; We adore the Roussanne though I can't recall if we have had the 2006 Estate Roussanne that was named in the book (Alban Estate Grenache 2006 was also named). Now to get my hands on a La Grande Annee Rose 1999 Bollinger Champagne, though the price has inflated due to the books release and popularity.

Grocery Store Vino Fresh & Easy

So a friend of mine stayed with me for thanksgiving weeked. She told be she views my blog but is sad I don't update. I told her the ideas of topics I wanted to cover, describe, share, but I just never do them.


She encouraged me [first and foremost, to drink more wine!], to actually carry out these ideas.

So we went to Fresh and Easy and picked out some wines in the following price points:

3.99 Unwined Pinot Noir
4.99 First Fleet Shiraz
6.99 Matuco Cab Sauv
8.99 Confectioner's Sweet Symphony - sweet red

The idea here is to find cheap grocery store wines and compare them to other grocery store deals [and steals!], to see what makes the cut, and what just..., doesn't.

Keep reading for the reviews ;-)

Cabernet Wine Night

Hello friends! Pardon my Hiatus. I had to go put on my big girl panties (got a job!), organize my life (so many wedding plans situated now) and mentally check in (I have no annecdote for this comment, but usually chains of three provide good blogging).

It is exactly 1 month until the big day. But we are not here to discuss weddings. We are going to discuss.... _{dun dun dunnnnnn} ..... WINE

Last night we had an impromptu wine tasting party. After stocking up on some wine essentials (good mozzarella, tomatoes, grapes, kettle chips, nuts, and wasabi peas), as well as 5 bottles from Old Doc's, we got the party ready.

The wines:
A - Two Vines 2008 vintage, Washington State $7.19
B - Garnacha de Fuego 2009 vintage, Spain $7.49
C - Francis Coppola Black Label Claret 2009 vintage, Alexander Valley $21.00
D - The Naked Grape, Modesto $5.98
E - Nonini Vineyards, Fresno $18.00

Nonini happens to be our favorite wine (and is also a local winery we frequent!). Most nights we have a tendency to shove Nonini down everyone's throats so we decided to hide it amongst the rest and see how it really scores. Mind you, no one at the party was a proffesional, or self proclaimed expert. We are all neophytes, finding our own way through this wine filled world!

The results?

^{Dun dun....}_{dun dun.... dunnnnnnnn}

Nonini scored the room's favorite for it's smoothness, and slightly sweeter taste.

The Coppola, however, won the hearts of the two Tannin fans.

The Spanish wine, Garnacha de Fuego, was a second place wine, a good pick for it's price.

To our surprise the Washington (Two Vines) wine scored the least liked. It was still a good wine, but for $5.98 a bottle of Naked Grape beat it out.

Last night was a success, and we're planning on holding other tasting parties. Next wine night?

Chardonnay