News Archives - Page 3 of 13 - Time To Unwine-D

Chocolate – It’s All About The Stout!

August 23, 2015
melissa
News
0 Comments

Okay, okay, I know that this is a WINE blog, but I drank a beer today that was just so darned good that I had to tell you about it.

Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout is one heck of a beer! It is the most “chocolatey” stout I’ve ever had, and I mean that in a GOOD way. This beer is almost sweet, with a creamy mouthful and some vanilla and coffee flavors to add to the chocolate. It is well balanced and has a long finish. Some beer drinkers may think that it’s too much, but I really love it.

This stout is brewed with well water from the brewery’s original well, which was sunk back in 1758. Samuel Smith brews in traditional coppers and uses stone Yorkshire Square vessels for fermentation.

Samuel Smith Brewery is located in North Yorkshire where my ancestors are from! Now maybe that makes me a little partial, but I don’t think that is the reason I enjoy this stout so much! I think it’s because they make some delicious beer. Who knows, perhaps some of my long lost relatives even help with the brewing!

To check out Samuel Smith Brewery’s website, click here: http://www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk/site/

Looking for Beer in Orlando?

July 26, 2015
melissa
News
0 Comments

Living in Florida makes winery visits a travel adventure. Okay, we have fruit wines here. We even have a few wineries utilizing hybrid and muscadine variety grapes, which I really do need to check out sometime. A visit to wineries using the Vitis vinifera varieties that I so love, however, requires either a plane ride or a long road trip.

Brewery visits, on the other hand, can be made in abundance. Nice and close to home for me is The Crooked Can Brewery, only about a 15 minute drive from my house. And the beer? Pretty darned good!

Located in Winter Garden, Florida (a suburb of Orlando), Crooked Can isn’t the only show in town. Winter Garden is turning into quite the spot for food and beverage.

Plant Street Market in historical downtown Winter Garden is home to a fun array of shops, restaurants and this fun spot to drink. It reminds me a lot of a very clean, mini version of Pike Place Market in Seattle, without the fish throwing! Some of the many vendors include a bakery called Euro Bake World, a great coffee shop Axum Coffee, a pretty flower shop called E Fusion Botanical and the wonderful Market to Table Cuisine, where one can purchase fresh cooking ingredients and products to take home! I bought some truffle artichoke dip, leek & truffle premade soup, maple pecan butter, an Italian marinade and more!!!!

But I digress. I’m here to talk about the beer!

We started out having their Chocolate Stout. It was my favorite of the day, but actually seems more like Coffee Stout. I really like it though. It is brewed in collaboration with Axum Coffee Shop (mentioned above) by using a variety of their coffee beans. It is a deep colored stout with lots of coffee flavors and a bit of cocoa powder on the palate. With only 5.1% alcohol, I could have had another!

Instead, after finishing off our glasses of Stout, we decided to order a flight. I love their flight presentation, using an “airplane” to carry the small glasses of beer.

Our personally selected flight included:

Domestic Bliss – This is a Belgian style Ale with a beautiful golden color and a wonderful rich and creamy mouth feel. There is lots of spice on the palate, especially clove! I really enjoyed this Ale. This goes down very easily, but at 9.5% alcohol, beware of how many you order if you’re driving!

McStagger Imperial IPA – This is a Double IPA with grapefruit galore on the palate. I enjoyed it a lot, but it’s 9% alcohol, so again, drivers beware of too many!!

Cloud Chaser Hefeweizen – This German style wheat beer has some fruit and spice, along with a bit of a medicinal Band-Aid essence on the palate. My husband liked this one a lot, and at only 5.3% alcohol, drink away!!!!

Stout – This is another deep colored Stout with lots of coffee on the nose and palate. I really liked this beer, but still preferred the Chocolate Stout. This has 6.7% alcohol.

Crooked Can Brewery is a really fun place. We’ve been here a few times now. We often sit outside on their huge patio listening to live music while hanging with friends. They also have a service window from the outside, which makes it very convenient and easy to grab another brew.

Oh, and if you prefer cider, they have that too!!!!

For more information, check them out here:

http://www.crookedcan.com

Red, White & JOLY!!!

July 9, 2015
melissa
News
0 Comments

When it comes to the 4^th of July at our house, we throw an annual Red, White & Bubbles celebration!!! A pyro pro from Disney World lives behind us, and provides the night’s entertainment. We, along with our friends, provide the wines. It’s always great fun to try a fun variety of wine with friends and fellow wine geeks to toast our country’s independence.

One of the most interesting wines I cracked open for the 2015 Independence Day celebration was a bottle of the 2004 Nicolas Joly “Roche Aux Moines Clos de la Bergerie” Savennières.

Savennières is an AOC located on the right bank of the Loire River in the Loire Valley of France. La Roche aux Moines (along with Coulée de Serrant) achieved independent AOC status in 2011. In fact, the 7 hectares Coulée de Serrant AOC is owned exclusively by Joly! The Savennières region produces what many believe to be France’s most age-worthy white wines, usually made exclusively from the Chenin Blanc grape.

The 2004 Nicolas Joly “Roche Aux Moines Clos de la Bergerie” Savennières (100% Chenin Blanc) is a golden copper in color and has overripe apricot, yellow apple, honey, and almond nuttiness on the nose. The palate is ripe, not sweet, and is loaded with candied orange, baked apricot and honeyed nuts on the palate. The slight oxidation reminds me of a wonderful sherry. This exciting quality entices my nose and taste buds and makes me want more. Oh what a lovely wine this is, balanced by its acidity and concentration of flavor. Only 100 cases were made.

Nicolas Joly is one of the leading personalities in the biodynamic winemaking movement, having written extensively on the subject and having practiced this method of viticulture since 1980. Predating organics, biodynamic viticulture was developed in the early 20^th century by Rudolf Steiner. This philosophy of agriculture believes that all parts of the universe are interconnected, and that the alignment of the planets and phases of the moon direct the progress in the vineyards and the winery. It actually makes a lot of sense to me, and Joly’s wines are great examples of why I’m a believer!

If you’d like to try some of the worlds most special and unique examples of the fabulous Chenin Blanc varietal, look for wines from the Loire Valley. In fact, head to the Savennières region and check out Nicolas Joly’s wines in particular!

Here’s a wonderful website detailing Joly’s wines, vineyards and viticulture philosophy: http://coulee-de-serrant.com/uk/

Hitting the WINE Jackpot in Sin City!

June 18, 2015
melissa
News
0 Comments

When one thinks of Las Vegas it’s rarely of wine. I personally think of the jubilant sounds of slot machines paying lucky winners, or of the electrifying screams heard at a hot craps table. But wine???? Hmmmm.

As Vegas has “grown up” over the years, fine dining has become a very integral part of the attraction to “Sin City”. Along with great food, of course, often comes great wine!

While visiting last month I hit an old and familiar (for me) place. My husband and I get to Vegas often, and on a long ago trip we discovered The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room at the Rio Suites Hotel and Casino.

If you like wine, this is the best bet in Vegas. You don’t have the chance to win a bunch of cash in this quaint & chilly cellar, but you do have the opportunity to try some great wines! Plus, it’s a great way to relax in some comfy chairs and sofas and disappear from the commotion of the casino above!

The Wine Cellar is home to about 10,000 bottles valued at more that $10 million and offers bottles, glasses and a large selection of different flights. In fact, they offer over 100 wines by the glass, as well as some wonderful international cheeses and crusty bread with which to pair the wines.

It’s a fun place to look around as well. They have some intriguing rare historical wines displayed in this “Wine Museum” including a bottle of Madeira from 1800 that was once owned by one of America’s first oenophiles Thomas Jefferson. They also have bottlings of Chateau d’Yquem with vintages from 1858 and on, as well as a 1924 Mouton Rothschild.

We must have been in a New World kind of mood that night (which is rather rare for me), because my husband ordered the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon flight and I ordered a flight of New World Merlot. In past visits, however, I’ve sampled everything from lovely Burgundy from Pommard to a 1963 Port.

So while you’re in Vegas, check this place out. If you win some cash and want to splurge, head on down and order a Sassicaia or a Penfold’s Grange. If you just want to get out of the hustle and bustle of the strip, head down to enjoy a fun flight or a glass or bottle of whatever you like. Either way, you’ll feel like you hit the jackpot!

Old World Style in the New World!

February 12, 2015
melissa
News
0 Comments

If you follow my blog, you know that I love to travel! And when I travel, it’s usually to a wine region somewhere in the world! Well last week my husband and I hit California’s Central Coast AVA. We visited a few different areas, but today I’m going to tell you about three wineries from Santa Barbara County that really stood out to me!

First up was Whitcraft, located in Santa Barbara! Fresh off the airplane, this was our first stop. I’ve always wanted to taste here and was very excited. I wasn’t disappointed! Sadly, Chris Whitcraft (who started making wine as a hobby and turned it into an award winning winery) passed last year. Happily, his very talented son Drake is now in charge of the winemaking and operations of Whitcraft Winery. He also happened to be pouring in the tasting room that day!

We had a wonderful tasting here, perhaps my favorite of the entire trip!!! Whitcraft’s Chardonnay is powerful with fruit, and has notes of earth and minerals. The Pinot Noir and Syrah are lovely “Old World” representatives that make me very happy! I can tell that Drake cares about the fruit! The wines are not overdone; he lets them speak for themselves. I bought three of his Pinots and one of his Chards. Believe me, if I lived in the area I’d buy his wines by the truckload!

Oh, and by the way, Whitcraft has a very cute Wine Dog named Terra!

Another winery that definitely stood out was Transcendence! I’m a very picky Pinot Noir drinker (see above). I admit it! Most “New World” Pinots just don’t rock my boat. Transcendence, on the other hand … WOW!

Once again we were fortunate to taste with owner/winemaker Joey Gummere in their Lompoc tasting room. His Pinot Noirs are (in my opinion) being made the way Pinot Noir is supposed to be made! There is some earthy funkiness behind the fruit, along with lovely floral notes. He also does some nice Chardonnay and some rockin’ Rhone blends. In fact, I’m drinking a bottle of his 2012 Parea (50% Syrah, 29% Mourvèdre and 21% Grenache) as I write this! I bought a bunch, and he gave me a nice deal on shipping.

Last (but not least!) was Liquid Farm. Located in Buellton, this winery focuses on Chardonnay. I love the name (their goal is to promote that what happens above and below the ground produces the liquid in the bottle) and I also love the wine.

Anna set us up with a tasting with the Assistant Winemaker Tanner and his playful Wine Dog Button. We tasted through 5 different Chardonnays, and there wasn’t a dud in the group! My personal favorites were the 2013 Golden Slope, named for the famous Côte-d’Or of Burgundy France and the 2013 Bien Bien, which had a wonderful finish and reminded me of a Chassagne-Montrachet! I’m a sucker for Chassagne-Montrachet, so you can imagine how much I loved this wine!