Happy Friday Wine Lovers

The weekend is almost here. What are your plans?

My parents are coming into town from Seattle tomorrow afternoon. I am very much looking forward to it. My dad loves an English pub so no doubt I’ll be taking him out for a beer & burger as soon as he touches down. My mum is excited to see the countryside and otherwise just loves hanging around London. The itinerary is somewhat open for their trip at this stage (I did manage to get them tickets to Book of Mormon on Wednesday afternoon) so do let me know if you have any favourite haunts that I should pass on.

Oh yeah, it’s also my last weekend as a 32-year-old. Sunday I’m having a nice little drinks gathering – I reserved the old wine cellar in the oldest wine bar in London for the whole day. Um AWESOME. Friends are coming from all around London and I couldn’t be more excited to have mum and dad there as well. Even though its tough getting older – I really like being 32 – I am happy to take the step into another year.

To celebrate, I will be tasting a few gems and some old favourites. Not sure exactly what I will pick at this stage but one thing is certain: In my cellar there is a Grand Cru Burgundy with my 33rd Birthday written all over it.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

 

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Love: Wine Aerobics

 

Pridefully stolen from The Wine Economist to brighten up your Thursday.

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Wine Tasting, Valentines Day

Thanks to my wonderful guests who attended the tasting this afternoon. I was glad to meet a few new people and see some good friends’ faces. I hope to see all of you again at a tasting in the future.
As promised, here is a list of the wines that we went through today.

Saumur, Gratien & Meyer Brut, £12
Champagne, Rose Brut, Gauthier, £33
Sauvignon Blanc, Geisen 2011 Marlborough New Zealand, £10
Cabernet, Merlot & Cabernet Franc, Vergelegen 2009, £11 **GROUP FAVOURITE**
Pinotage, Barista 2010 South Africa, £9
Reserve Port, Taylors First Estate, £12
Palo Cortado Viejo, Apostoles £17

Food pairings:
Sparkling – Homemade bread, toasted with goats cheese, basil & garlic
Cabernet – Sliced & grilled chorizo
Pinotage – Chocolate (60% cacao)
Palo Cortado – Banana Walnut & Caramel cake (homemade by Blair – recipe to follow)

Also, I mentioned a few things during the tasting that people asked I make note of:
-My favourite region in Spain is Bierzo. There are some stunning examples available but a lovely one that is widely available is Petalos, Bierzo 2009.
–Viu Manent Reserve Carmenere is an absolute stunner and highly recommended if you enjoy this style.

I will be posting new dates shortly. If you’re interested in learning more about wine – or just meeting some new people – make sure to sign up! I will look forward to hosting you.

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Love: Chile-an on the holidays

I spent the holidays this year with my sister and parents in Minnesota. My sister has moved her family there recently and they have bought a beautiful house in Minnetonka. It was snowy and gorgeous – even though its not the same as Seattle, I felt at home in the icy cold.

In preparation for my trip, I tried out Last Call Wines for the first time to purchase some luxurious wines for greatly discounted prices. I found a Chateau Tanunda Shiraz and a Chilean Carmenere – both were big, bold and IN-YOUR-FACE. I was pleasantly surprised by the Carmenere in particular – which was more balanced and smooth than the Shiraz (too heavy on the oak and the alcohol was quite pronounced). Unfortunately or fortunately – I completely zoned out and never took a picture of the Carmenere but I do have a photo of the wines that we enjoyed on Christmas day (includes a photo of the Shiraz). The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the picture were purchased by my sister and her husband while they were wine tasting near San Diego. Both were lovely and true to character.

 

And to tell the rest of the story of the holidays, I’ve included a few pictures – which describe the experience better than words. Winter walks, cookie making and my nephews playing around.

My 71 year old dad and I went sledding one day after it has snowed a bit the night before. It was icy and pretty rough but my dad handled it like a champ. I however ended up with a ton of bruises and after a spectacular slip while walking on the ice, a really sore head!

Christmas morning my parents and I loaded up the car and made our way over to my sister’s place for the festivities! Did I mention this was at 6:30 in the morning??

 

I hope you and yours had a lovely holiday season. Now on to 2013…

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My NY Resolution…

Looking around London at the moment, you would think that the entire city has gone for an extended jog. Dusting off the cobweb infested trainers and hitting the park, the sidewalk or the riverbank with reckless abandon. I hate to be a spoil sport but I can’t wait for the omg-my-saddle-bags-are-hitting-my-ankles resolutions to be over in a few weeks. I am all for exercise but I enjoy mine when there aren’t a million other people trying to do the same thing. Also given that I have been on an on-off diet for most of my life, ‘losing weight’ isn’t something I focus on only once a year…

My new year resolutions can be summed up in two words: Be Bold. I was talking to a friend last night about career, life and family and he told me that if you’re not going to be bold and take a risk then you will never reap the rewards. Now, at the risk of sounding trite, him saying that really just summed up my current state in life. If you don’t take a step forward, then you will simply stay in the same place. This year is my year. Let’s be bold.

 

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Love: Borsao Barrica 2009

All I can say is WOW.

Ok so I ordered this case of wine from Gauthier Wines recently. It was their Christmas Edition which included 12 bottles (2 x 6 bottles) plus lunch for 2 at their Soho restaurant – Brilliant deal and an exciting selection of wines. Unfortunately, after a week of delays with delivery, I had to get it delivered to my office…Now as I live in London, there is really no way to get it home beyond bringing it back bottle by bottle to my flat. I brought two bottles home yesterday and opened the Borsao Barrica and let me tell you, I was so excited. It was absolutely amazing…rich, spicy and authentically Spanish. Add a bit of cheese & some spicy prawns and you are in business. Plus – I did a quick search to see how much it would set me back to acquire a bit more of this gorgeous tipple and found it here for under £8! I think I’m in love…

Borsao Barrica, 2009, Campo de Borja – BUY IT (IN BULK)

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Thanksgiving @beechmoreroad has commenced!

Today I am having a few of my lovely American friends over for a last-minute-but-amazing potluck Thanksgiving feast. I have already started the planning (you might say, but the dinner is TODAY and you’re not done planning?) and am about to run off to the shops to pick up some lovely bits & bats to complete my dishes. I have offered to make Baked Camembert with balsamic onions, Cornbread & sausage stuffing, Mushroom & truffle gravy and slow cooked Mulled wine…get excited!

And my wine choices for today….

This Cheval-Blanc Signe is one that I’ve wanted to write about for a while – Its a tener from Whole Foods and is SPEC-tacular. Nice solid Cabernet with a certain sophistication that belies the price tag. Absolutely perfect for a foodie feast with friends.
I’ll post some more pics as people arrive with their food (and their wine!!)

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Giving Thanks…

I love this time of year. Who can resist mulled wine, warm fires, cozy sweaters and cold evenings? Not this girl. The whole season kicked off for me this week. I met a friend at the Southbank Winter Festival on Monday evening where we ate hog roast, drank hot wine (wasn’t really mulled…but they tried) and bought Chrissie presents (for ourselves mainly…).

On Sunday I’m having ten of my closest friends in London over for a Thanksgiving feast-ival. Thanksgiving is all about bringing people together, making a potluck with lots of warm and very fattening food and drinking wine, brandy and really anything else you can get your hands on. My contributions to the feast this year will be hot-pot mulled wine and a warm cheese dish (of some sort…). One of my friends has a smoker (yes, he immediately went out and bought it when he moved to London from Texas a few months back…I don’t think they have a can opener but by goodness they must have a smoker!) so we will have proper Texan smoked ham. Another friend is from South Carolina and will be contributing her families sweet potato dish of deliciousness. Everyone has their favourites.

I’m going to break out a few bottles of my French Burgundy that I picked up during my trip in October. I’m excited to see how it goes with all the gorgeous homemade foods. Mostly I’m just excited about having people I love in my home: dancing, chatting, laughing and preparing ourselves for the silly season ahead. I really do love this time of year.

Recommendations for Thanksgiving wines: 
Prosecco is a must. As I always say – any one will do – just pick dry or extra dry. If you like sweet – an Asti would be gorgeous as an aperitif. I added a dash of port to my sparkling last weekend for my tasting and made it a cocktail – yum! Plus its pretty…

Pinot Noir is always a good bet. Ned Pinot Noir, NZ (£10) is a perfect selection.

Port for dessert is very Thanksgiving. That said, a good Botrytis wine could go brilliantly. This one sounds perfect: A Sticky End Noble Sauvignon Blanc (£16)

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Lovenotes: Tasting Wines for the Holidays!

I hosted my second wine tasting at my flat yesterday and welcomed an intimate group of lovely new friends into my home. We tried wines from around the world – with personal stories from the group to match! I have posted pictures of the wines below as well as some notes on our reviews. Please excuse the quality of the pictures – my lovely photographer friend, Jackee, is on holiday so I took them myself (yikes!).

What we covered: 
Introduction to tasting & discussion of glassware
Food & wine pairing – don’t overcomplicate it
New world & Old world wines and what some of the differences are
3 basic steps to tasting a wine
Party tricks for tasting and talking about wine (i.e. impress your friends…or just weird them out with your slurping technique!)

Wines we tried: 
Glass of Prosecco DOC, Corte Alta with Elderflower port (from Yorkshire) to start
Giesen Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 2011
Gran Vendama Rioja Crianza 2009 **CROWD FAVOURITE
Giesen Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2010
Barista Pinotage, South Africa, 2011 **CROWD FAVOURITE
Taylors Late Bottled Harvest Port, 2006
Finished off with french press coffee w/ Baileys to prep my guests for the cold

Everyone left slightly merry with a lot of laughter which is exactly how I like it.

A few suggestions were made for future tastings which I will be taking on board:
Around the world with one grape – find the same grape from different regions around the world and try them all together.
Sherry is not just your Grandma’s drink – this one I will find more challenging as Sherry is not my favourite but alas, when the crowd wants it the show must go on.

If you want to join in on the fun, sign up for a future tasting or drop me a note.

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Reminder: Upcoming wine events!

If you’ve been hoping to increase your knowledge and awareness of amazing wines this holiday season, make sure to sign up for some upcoming tastings. Spots are still available and cost is either by donation or £10 (until 11th Nov). Its a great way to get a handle of what types of wine will impress your friends and family as well as yourself this holiday season.

For the Nov 17th tasting, so far we have a yummy Port, some gorgeous Bordeaux, a few South African stunners and maybe even a cheeky Bierzo. Sign up today!

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