Riding the Red Tide

In not so subtle terms I'm pretty sure I've earned my red wings when it comes to red wines. I set out a while back to find red wines that I actually liked. I don't have anything against whites but they seem to have something against me. Apparently acidic anything and I just don't get along.

On that note - queue the UB40 baby - Mama's putting on her dancing shoes. Kidding - no one actually wants to see me dance, unless of course we are both wearing wine goggles. Over the last few months I've found at least 3 reds that I'd recommend.

First is the Angeline Pinot Noir. This was recommended a while back by a friend of mine who says his girlfriend is a fan (It's ok dude, we won't tell haha). It was surprisingly good. I haven't tried too many Pinot Noirs and those that I have tried usually taste like there was a piece of shoe leather in the bottom of the bottle. The Angeline Pinot wasn't that bad at all. I could taste "hints of leather" but I could also taste other hints too...like hints of blackberry. I won't recommend it for those that are looking to immediately like red wine, but if you have a few tasty reds under your belt this one is great for another notch on the wine rack.This can go into the Cellar of Celebration, it's about $20 a bottle - so if you aren't sure you will probably like it, save it until your taste buds are ready.

Next up is Skulls. Yeah that's what it's called. The bottle is super neat with a label that has a bit of an optical illusion. Our friend Vanessa and I went halfsies on this bottle and were fairly impressed. It's a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Mataro, I don't know much about Mataro but I've tasted a Grenache or two and wasn't blown away. This is pretty ok though - not a lot of leather, not a lot of astringency, but also not a lot of fruitiness. It's a little too "red" for me, not super great, not super bad, just middle of the road. It would probably be better with food, but c'mon we all know I don't drink wine to go with food. I drink wine to get drunk. This will do it though, it made me slightly tipsy after about 2 glasses, but it's a little difficult to drink by itself. I'll say back in the barrel for now, because it's pretty good, I'm just not ready for it...and it's also about $20 a bottle.

Last but not least - is probably one of my new favorites. I've discovered I like Shiraz. It's just good. It's fruity and beautiful and easy to drink. This one is a little tannin-y but not nearly as bad as most reds. There's something about the texture that I'm also in love with. It's kinda thick, but not weird thick, like smooth velvety satin thick. I could probably indulge in all sorts of mildly erotic imagery but I'll spare you. It's good stuff AND it has a 15% alcohol content. For a lush like me that's just win. Oh yea and it's only about $10 and has a variety of fun artsy labels, so it'll look great on your wine rack too. It's a whole bottle of win. Cellar of Celebration for sure.

A really good wine shaped drink!

Today I had what could only be called a rare day.

I went thrifting with Violet; knowing my random and eclectic tastes she helped me pick out a bunch of new records ranging from Bach to Fonzie's Favorites at the local Goodwill. I support and love the Bohemian Chicness that is my best friend, which resulted in an amazing $3.00 embroidered A-line skirt and a super pretty brown paisley print dress. Capped off with a deliciously spicy lunch at The Dancing Avocado Kitchen then wine shopping at World Market. I ended my super chill day with a glass of Olde Savannah Sweet Tea Wine, some leftover fried chicken, and a heated literary discussion with my husband. Since we are a wine blog lets talk about the wine of today.


Olde Savannah Sweet Tea Wine is good, however I am not really sure it can really be called a wine; because really I don't think it comes from grapes. As far as wine shaped drinks go this is a delicious choice. My wine hating sister tried it and liked it. You don't know my wine hating sister but that's a huge complement!

I'm not a huge fan of super sweet but for me this wine perfectly rides that line between alcoholy and sweetness. Bottom line is I would serve this wine at a BBQ or any southern type summery dinner party. It's amazing good. Cellar of Celebration!!


♥♥♥♥
Veruca Vino


Violet's Thoughts

I tried this one night after a few (*cough*pitcher*cough*) margaritas and it was really super awesome. Then I bought a bottle a week later to enjoy on my own and it was only ok. I wouldn't really consider it wine as much as I would consider it a wine shaped drink....it's marketed as wine, but doesn't look or really taste like wine. It's pretty good though, so I'll agree with cellar of celebration, at least for now.

Summertime...and the livin's easy.

Things that taste like summer:
The Ocean
Sweet Tea on a hot day
Cheeseburgers
Hot dogs
Watermelon
Key lime pie,
Crisp white wine...the list can go on and on.

There's no denying it though, summer is officially here. It may not be 'officially' summer, but the kids are all out of school, and every time I get in my car I think my eye balls are sweating. I haven't worn actual shoes in weeks...I currently live in flip flops and tank tops, and what better way to celebrate summer than to enjoy a few things from the list above?

A good friend of mine sent me a message through Facebook the other day asking if I'd tried any of the Keel and Curley Vineyard's wines. Most specifically the strawberry riesling and wild berry pinot, which I said that I had and loved both of them. Then he asked if I'd tried the new Key Lime wine. Oddly, I'd been at World Market earlier in the day shopping for new blog inspiration, and had in fact come across this particular wine. I waffled back and forth a bit, as I already had 2 wines in my basket. One for drinking and one for reviewing...so I decided I would buy the key lime on my next trip. After that Facebook message though, I figured I'd better check it out A.S.A.P. If it was good enough for someone to email me about then it had to be pretty good.

That Friday night I picked a bottle up and proceeded to summon my muse via liquid inspiration. All I wound up with was a headache. The wine was actually *really* tasty. It's a little tart, but with a semi-sweet feel. It's light and crisp and VERY easy to drink. It's mild and would probably go great with just about any summer food you can think of. I personally had a craving for something spicy like a good jerk chicken with some sautéed veggies. It was really great to drink by itself and was one of those wines that makes you want to eat something. I was telling my friend that it seems there are two types of wine pairings: wines that make food taste better and foods that make the wine taste better...this is one that makes the foods better, drinking it all you can think about is what food would this would go with, which is bonus points in my book, because I just love wine and I usually judge my wines based on whether or not I can drink them by themselves rather than pairing them with food. Yes, I am aware that that makes me sound like a lush. It's ok though, I accept me.




I poured glass after glass of this stuff, lost in movies and conversation I didn't realize that I had pretty well finished the bottle...and as I tipped my last glass back and swallowed the last little bit of this liquid sunshine, I thought to myself "wow, this is pretty good stuff!"

Then the headache set in. I drank a huge glass of water, took some ibuprofen, massaged my temples, cleaned my glasses, closed my eyes and even stood up to stretch and walk around a bit...nothing worked. This was one of those alcohol headaches that doesn't stop until it's been slept away. I understand that headaches can come on for a variety of reasons and vary from one person to another as much as our tastes in wines...but I just want you to be warned that for a 12% alcohol by volume wine, the only buzz you'll get is the sound in your ears from your head pounding.

I'll say Cellar of Celebration on this one though, even despite the ice-pick-through-my-eyes feeling. Mostly because I know that the headache could have been a fluke occurrence, but also because this stuff really was tasty. Even the cashier at world market said so when I bought it. Keel and Curley vineyards have a way of really impressing me with their flavors. My inner hippy is also happy because it's a mostly local vineyard (only about 3 hours west of me). So the whole local sustainability thing is total bonus and mostly makes up for the head pounding. You can pick this and most of the other Keel and Curley wines up at your local Publix supermarkets and now World Market, or you can order directly from their website. Most bottles are under the $15 mark which is also pretty awesome.

This Mah Jam, Yo.

Holy sweet summer treats, Batman. Veruca and I recently made a trip to World Market to explore some inexpensive wines. We were mostly successful, aside from one or two questionable wines, I think we did pretty good.

Today I present to you Jam Jar.



I've been trying to write a review for this stuff for two weeks now, and all I can manage to come up with is "Yum." I know that's not much of a review, but it's the truth. This stuff is freakin yum. It tastes like blackberries, it tastes like pie, it tastes like rich southern picnic desserts. It's got a little bit of a bite in the first glass that gives you that weird clenched jaw feeling for the first two or three sips...(apparently that's what they call "Tannins"...who knew?!) - but after that it's sweet smooth sailing. Seriously, it smells like the raspberry jam I put on my toast, it tastes like sweet, fruity, amazingly wonderful goodness...I think somewhere between raspberry and blackberry preserves and pie. Yes, I said pie...and who doesn't love pie?!

I'm going to say this is a perfect spring red pick. Hell, the bottle accents even remind me of spring picnic table cloths. Even better than the amazing taste is the absolutely awesome price of $9.99 a bottle from World Market, $8.99 if you are a member of their whatever club. Which I am, so I bought 2 bottles and saved $2. Booyah, bishes.

And for you lushes out there you really can't go wrong with a 12.5% alcohol content. For the record the hangover is nearly non-existent. Therefore - Jam Jar South African Sweet Shiraz - I salute you. 3 times now I have been intoxicated by your yumminess, and 3 times you have won.

To the Cellar of Celebration. You win.

After thought - I described this wine to my brother as a drinkable version of the seasonal Raspberry Jam I kept for my morning toast. It also makes for a whirlwind of intoxication - but that could just be hormones and the new moon. I still highly recommend as I've recently started in on my 4th (5th? maybe) bottle.