Wine Temperature: To Chill or Not to Chill?

I have tasted a lot of wines and I can honestly say there is nothing worse than sipping on a warm glass of wine! If you are one of those people who pops the cork without considering the temperature of your wine, you are missing out on its true flavor! To get the most out of your bottle, consider chilling before popping- It will change the way you taste wine forever.

In my experience, most people think you can open red wine at room temperature, but did you know that chilling it just a bit will help the flavors really stand out? What is the correct temperature your wine should be chilled? Are you chilling your white wine for too long? Should I chill my reds?? Luckily our friends at Corkcicle have all the answers!

One of my favorite accessories to chill wine is the Corkcicle. Not only is it one of Oprah's Favorite Things for 2012, it will dramatically change the way you taste and think about wine. It keeps your chilled whites and lighter chilled reds at perfect drinking temperature and it is super easy to use. Simply start by chilling the corkcicle in the freezer. For white wine, pour the first chilled glass. For red wines, pour a 'splash' out to make room for the corkcicle. Then pop it into your white or red bottle (15 min for reds) to keep it chilled. When you are done with it, just give it a wash and use again!

While you are perusing through their collection be sure to check out their latest blog: Wine Temperature...What's All The Fuss About? 

Cheers!

Now in Color!

Original Corkcicle

5 Great Wines Under $10

Over the past few months I have been buying and trying several types of wines that are affordable and that I call "everyday wines". These are wines that you can feel comfortable serving at a dinner party, a small get together, or give as a gift. They won't break the bank and they don't taste 'cheap'. Let's face it, there are some wines out there that do taste cheap and are just not very good. If you are going to spend your money, you may as well buy something that you actually like drinking! You can spend $10 on a very good bottle, or $10 on a really terrible bottle, but you don't really know until you try it.
I have done some of the trying and have come up with Five Great Wines $10 and Under.

Please note that with any wine, it is important to open it at least an hour ahead of serving so it has time to breath. If you don't have an hour then use a wine aerotor while pouring into glasses. Pouring the bottle into a carafe will help open the wine up as well.

Cheers!

McManis Family Merlot (2011)
California
Total Wine or K&L Wine Merchant
$7.99- $8.99

La Finca Malbe (2011)
Argentina
Trader Joe's
$4.99

Altes Grenache (2011)
Spain
K&L Wine Merchant
$9.99

Carmenair Red Blend (2010)
Chile
Trader Joe's
$5.99

Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon (2010)
North Coast
Total Wine
$9.99

Beringer Cellar Sale

Napa here I come!

The Beringer Cellar Sale only comes twice a year and it is a great time to stock up on your favorite Beringer wine's and grab some hidden gems! You can save up to 50% on selected current releases, older vintages, closeout wines, merchandise and more. The event provides lots of wine tasting, food pairings, cave tours, and live music!

Come enjoy the fun on March 23rd, 2013.

Cheers!

Bubbly For Any Occasion

Did you know champagne pairs well with Thai food? What about Seafood?  Or Cheese?

Many people tend to think you can only drink champagne at formal events. They couldn't be more wrong. Champagne pairs well with a variety of different foods and can be drank at any time of the day.

Before you pop a bottle, take into consideration these simple guidelines:

Champagne or Sparkline Wine? 
The new craze is having mimosa's with brunch. It's a great idea but if you are adding orange juice, cranberry juice, or any other juice, do not splurge on an expensive bottle! I would recommend an affordable bottle of sparkling wine that you can find at any grocery store. Truly great champagne should be drank by itself.

Know the Difference.
Champagne is a sparkling wine that is produced in the Champagne region of France. It can not be labeled Champagne if the grapes are not from Champagne region.
Sparkling wines are produced worldwide and have many different names. Cava (Spain), Prosecco (Italy), Brut (British).
The bottle posted below is a $40 bottle of real champagne and is rated higher than $100 bottles on the same shelf. The reason: Some makers will buy their grapes from other wineries in the champagne region, which they in turn pass the cost on to you. A winery that has their own champagne grapes isn't passing all the extra costs of buying, labeling, packaging the grapes on to the consumer.

Bubbles
It has been said, the less bubbles in a glass, the better the champagne will taste. The bubbles should be tiny and float just enough for you to see them before disappearing or settles.


These notes and opinions are entirely my own. Grab a bottle and judge for yourself. There is no right or wrong way in choosing when and where to pop a bottle of bubbly!

A great way to learn more about Champagne is to ask your local wine store sommelier.

Click here to learn more about Champagne and Sparkling Wines

Cheers!

Amo Il Vino

Translation, "I love wine!" 

Today, my blog will take a new direction. I recently discovered that I have many, many, many pictures of wine bottles on my phone. What good do the pictures do if I can't share a great bottle with my friends! I will now be posting these photos to my blog and updating with my thoughts (ie, great buy, keep looking, jammy, fruity, definitely aerate, great for date night). One thing you'll notice is that I take a lot of pictures that include cheese and other accompaniments. I think we can all agree that presentation is everything!

To make sure I start this off on the right foot, I posted one of my favorite bottles of wine. You may not be into sports or care that my San Francisco Giants won the World Series two of the last three years (shame on you), but we can all agree that Duckhorn makes a fantastic wine. This is a special release of 2010 red table wine produced by Duckhorn. It will run you around $30 at Cost Plus or any other wine specialty store.

Swirl, taste, enjoy!