Back to Basics - Thirsty Thursday

Hey Thirstybirds!
I am feeling lazy and hot, and (unlike the last three weeks) I don't have anything elaborate prepared for you today. What I do have? Boxed wine in my fridge.

Available at Target - a new variety: Riesling!

Now, if you're a boxed wine aficionado *cough*Lisa*cough*, and especially if you buy your boxed wine from Target, as TH and I do, you might be surprised that I have a riesling! It's new! I was so excited - riesling is one of my favorite wines, and usually they go safe with the boxed stuff and you get Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or sometimes Pinot Gris. At least, that's all I ever see. So this new cube was an exciting discovery.

"It's cold in here."
"I'm very comfortable, actually."

Now, as you may recall from my previous boxed wine post, part of the reason I love the cubes so much is that they keep for so long. Since no oxygen gets in, you don't have to worry about the wine turning if you're having a less-drunk week than usual. Hooray for maximizing my drinking!

"I'm resisting the wine."
"Oh yeah? Well, I'm enjoying the bouquet."

The boys have been grumpy lately because of the heat - it makes the cat crazy and he harasses them.

So this wine is fruity and sweet, but not overly so. It's pretty mild, with a hint of dryness that makes it taste very clean and light. In short, it's perfect for the hot weather I'm currently suffering through.

"OK, now you try enjoying the bouquet, and I'll resist the wine."
"OK."

Do you like boxed wine? What's your go-to favorite?

Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water. ~W.C. Fields

Thirsty Thursday for the Discerning Palate

Hellooooo, there kittens!

Note: I have big Twilight-themed plans for some of these Thursday posts, but this week is not the week for that.

As you know, last weekend TH and I went wine-tasting (again), this time just out to Forest Grove, OR, and surrounding areas. The wineries out that way were hosting the North Willamette Wine Trail Weekend (pronounce that second word "will-AM-ett" or you will be mercilessly mocked by locals, myself included), so we joined up with the Fashions (Mrs Fashion is the one coming with me to FFFFFFOOOOOORRRRRRRKKKKKKSSSSSS), and hit the wine trail. We checked out about six wineries, none of which TH and I had been to previously, and we were pleasantly surprised by a couple, but didn't buy anything (mostly because we splurged so much up in Washington a few weeks ago; check that out here if you missed it). My biggest find of the day was actually a little vinocultural education.

I have discovered a new kind of wine!

OK, well, I didn't actually discover it. Obviously, the winemakers had it in bottles, so they knew about it before I did. But it's new to me, and maybe to you, as well.

I am a bigger fan of white wine than I am of red (although if you bring it, I will drink it). So I am well-versed in which ones I like. I favor Riesling, Pinot Gris, and occasionally a dessert wine like Gewurztraminer. I don't usually like Chardonnay, as it's not usually sweet or crisp enough for me. It does depend what I'm eating (if anything). But never before had I tried Pinot Blanc.

Wait, Blanc? Like Sauvignon Blanc? And how is this different than Pinot Gris? Well, I asked the winemakers (who, interestingly, each had different answers)... and then off to wikipedia I went. The difference, of course, is the grapes.

Pinot Gris grapes (called Pinot Grigio in Italy)

Pinot Blanc grapes

Both are descended from Pinot Noir grapes, both are genetic mutations from the original. The information seems to be a bit fuzzy after that (probably why the winemakers were also confused), but near as I can tell, Pinot Gris is the first mutation and Pinot Blanc is further mutated.

Doesn't the word "mutated" make you want some delicious wine? :D

At any rate, I wanted to share this new find with you all. I found the Pinot Blanc to be sweeter and fuller than the Pinot Gris generally is (although I have found a great deal of range in the flavors and characteristics of Pinot Gris in my experiences, so maybe its just an unreliable varietal). The two wineries where I tried some were: Adea and Apolloni. I think I liked Apolloni's better, but it was hard to be sure, since it was the second-to-last winery we visited, and Adea had been the first. Both had delicious Pinots across the board, though. So, two new wineries for you to check out, if that's your thing. We all know it's mine!

That's it for this week, have to prepare for more drinking (i.e. we're having dinner with my parents this weekend). I'll try to have a Twi-Thirsty Thursday next week. Big plans, I tell you!

What's your favorite white wine?

A man who was fond of wine was offered some grapes at dessert after dinner. "Much obliged," said he, pushing the plate aside, "I am not accustomed to take my wine in pills." ~Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Hang on Tight, SpiderMonkeys! Thirsty Thursday On the Road

Hello there, my parched pretties!
As you may know, Thursdays are Thirsty here at Cheaper Than Therapy, and last week we took a trip! TH and I (in more lucrative times) used to be wine club members at Chateau Ste Michelle Vineyards in Woodinville, WA. Their riesling is my favorite cheap white (generally $5-6 at Safeway or Fred Meyer), and my grandparents were members, and they talked us into it (while plying us with delicious wine) when we were engaged.
Being a member can be expensive, though, and when TH lost his job and was unable to find another, our little luxuries had to go, and wine club membership was among the first. Since we had already paid for our next installment at the time I cancelled, we sent my grandfolks (who live nearer the winery than we do) to pick up the last of our wine, and then we got it from them a few months later.

...Or so I thought.

Two weeks ago, I got a postcard from Chateau Ste Michelle letting me know that they had our last installment of wine from our membership, and would we like to have it shipped or come pick it up? Since TH and I were to be off simultaneously last week, I immediately decided: Road Trip!

Seattle is about three hours up I-5, and Woodinville is just North and slightly East, so hardly any farther. We decided to make a day of it (since that's too much of a drive to just grab my two bottles and go home), and we found some lovely new (for us, anyway) wineries in the process!

First stop, of course, the Chateau.

This is in the super-exclusive members-only tasting room, where we got our drink on at 11am.

We picked up our wine and the nice lady asked if we'd like to try the new wines. Was she kidding? I always want to try the new wines. The standout here was their Cold Creek Syrah, which reminded me of boysenberry pie. YUM.

We ducked into the gift shop, and chatted up an employee (it wasn't Spring Break in the great state of Washington, so the place was empty), who let us try the 2008 Eroica Riesling, which was EXCELLENT, ladies. It was so good. It was like a citrus-y pear explosion of smoothness. It was dee-LISH.

Heaven in a bottle

Oh, it was so good. We thought about buying some, and decided to come back later. How naive we were - we never went back, and now I wish I had a bottle. It's sold out online right now, so hopefully we'll either get back up there soon or they will find more to sell online somehow.

We went to 5 or 6 total wineries, but for lunch, we stopped at the Red Hook Brewery pub, and TH had a beer flight.
I'm not sure whether or not any of you enjoy beer, but I thought I would include it, just in case. From left to right in the picture above, we have LongHammer IPA, Slim Chance Light Ale, ESB original, Mudslinger Brown Ale, and Limited Release 8-4-1 Expedition Ale.

TH's thoughts:
LongHammer IPA - good, not as heavy as most IPA's, might be good with salmon
Slim Chance - good, subtle, light; not as much flavor compared to the IPA
ESB Original - good, less sweet than IPA
Mudslinger - good, but too bitter, not as good as Newcastle
8-4-1 Expedition - good, like a chimay [note: I don't know what this means], weird, sweet and bitter at the same time; on second thought, he doesn't like it.

So, there you have it. :)

Of the wineries we visited, I'm choosing to delve into only two today - the ones we liked best: Alexandria Nicole and Mark Ryan. We also visited J Bookwalther, Januik, and Novelty Hill - the latter two share space for their tasting room. Good wines were had in each place, some bad (or, rather, ones we didn't like as well), and overall, Alexandria Nicole and Mark Ryan were winners.

Alexandria Nicole
My favorite here was the 2008 Crawford Viognier, and TH's favorite was the 2007 Tempranillo.
The Viognier is a white (in case you're unfamiliar), and I have found it to vary greatly between wineries. Some, I really don't like. This one, though, was fantastic. I wrote down that it had a clean tang, which to me describes the way it was both refreshing and gave a bite, kind of like a green apple. I tasted pear and apricot flavors, and just thought it would be a lovely wine for summer. I could drink a great deal of it, that's for sure. ;) We bought some.

The Tempranillo was a super special red wine that they usually only let members drink. Luckily, while we were in the tasting room, so was this lovely older couple (who were members), and we were all having such a fun time together that they talked the tasting manager into letting us try some. Good GOD, it was delicious. Very fruity and clean, not as bitter as many reds, and with kind of a peppery spice to it at the end - mmm... my mouth is watering just remembering.

We also tried some of their red table wine, sauvignon blanc, and a roussane/marsanne/viognier blend that reminded me of caramel apples. Those three were good, too, but the stand-outs were definitely the above two.

Mark Ryan
First of all, this place had motorcycles, which made me think of New Moon.

This one says "Indian" on the side :)
I know literally nothing about motorcycles, so if that's a brand or style, or just something someone painted on it, I've got no idea. I just like it.

I was getting tipsy by this point in the day, so I am relying completely on my notes, which tell me we loved the Water Witch red - a cabernet and merlot blend. Also a stand-out: the Fancy Pants dessert wine. I kid you not, that is the name. It was delicious.


The Water Witch came home with us, and is a spicy, peppery, fruity wine. I look forward to having it with some steak or something.

The Fancy Pants stayed up North, but was a semillon and burst into your mouth like that gum you used to get that had the liquid inside - you could get Cherry 7-up flavor? (That was my favorite one, anyway.) It was sudden and sweet (this is the wine now, not the gum), and tasted like peaches with brown sugar. I don't think I could drink a lot of it at once, but a little with a dish of vanilla ice cream after dinner would be freakin' heavenly.


While driving around, we found this:
TH would like some credit here for pulling up to it (the tasting room was closed, so we couldn't go inside) and saying, "Look! It almost says Cullen!" So if everyone would please clap at TH, I would appreciate it. :p

That was our trip! We went to dinner, I bought some clothes in Bellevue (at my most favorite mall, Bellevue Square - Alice would totally shop there), and we drove home. On the drive, I came down with a horrific cold, which I am only just over. A sucky ending to an otherwise great day with my honey and some delicious wines!

This is what we went up for:
And this is what we came back with:
Success!!

Wine is sunlight, held together by water. ~Galileo

Now opening: one ENORMOUS bottle of wine

Hey thirsty birds!
Thirsty Thursday is taking a field trip this week, so I will be posting about the wine we opened last weekend, and next week you'll get to read all about our winery visit. I might even take Mrs. P.

Since TH and I are on Spring Break this week, we decided to finally open the giant bottle of wine I won at the company Christmas raffle last December. I believe it's the equivalent of four bottles, and since wine starts to go bad once air hits it, we wanted to open it at such a time that we might be able to drink it over the course of a few consecutive days or all at once with some friends. Our friends are all very busy, so the former choice presented itself in the form of Spring Break, and we leapt at it! (Literally, the bottle is that big.)

For comparative purposes - the one on the right is a "normal" sized bottle.

Tonight's wine, then, is a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Rodney Strong Estate Vineyards.
Now, part of the reason we have waited so long to open this is that TH and I were rather at a loss as to HOW to open it. It's giant, and we have but a few normal-sized corkscrews. So, as men will do, TH started with a pocket knife to get through the wax...
It didn't pop right off after the incision made 'round the tip, so he went in again from the top...
And tore off bit by bit the wax.

The cork did not want to go gently into the good night... but TH can be persuasive...
...and destructive.

But, finally, the wine was liberated!

It was delicious.

I think I would call it full and smooth, mostly. It went wonderfully with my leftover cashew chicken and fried rice, and would pair equally well, I think, with a steak or something hearty. TH had his with some leftover Irish Stew, and loved that. The wine was fruity, but not sweet, quite mild, actually. It had a lot of flavor, but not a lot of bite, which I really like in a wine. I do believe you can purchase this wine in smaller bottles (if you don't win it at a raffle), and I recommend it for sure. I have no idea how much it might cost, though. It was good enough that it might be expensive.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, today TH and I are headed up to one of my favorite wineries, Chateau St Michelle in Woodinville, Washington. Look for that post next week, and expect a few more field trips in the next few months! Happy drinking!

**Update: it is Thursday and we are still drinking this bottle. Should the opportunity arise for you, I recommend sharing a bottle this big with as many people as possible - it won't last much longer for us!

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. ~Frank Sinatra

Another Thirsty Thursday!

Alright, kittens, we're going lowbrow this week. Boxed wine.

That's right, I'm bringing the wine cube to this party.

I like to shop at Target (who doesn't?), and on one of my sojourns there with TH, we discovered the wine cube. Feeling particularly broke and not particularly sophisticated, we decided to give it a try. Now, for you to fully understand where I'm coming from, you must now that my Mom is a snobby, anti-box wino and has been my whole life. She's snobby about more than wine but, with regard to wine, she thinks boxed is just beyond the pale. Having been thus taught, I really thought boxed wine would be awful.

It. Is. DELICIOUS.

Now, I'm not slamming your highfaluting bottles, because those can also be good. But I am here to tell you that there are several good boxed wines out there to be had (Black Box is among those). Target might be the most affordable, but I haven't really done that research. They're all pretty affordable, when you consider you're getting about 4 bottles of wine in one box!

OK, to the actual description...

First, one must extract the spout...

TH has a way with his hands... ;-)

He wouldn't let me do it straight into my mouth.

This is a really mild, full wine. It has a lot of flavor, but nothing that would overpower your food. Kind of fruity, a little bitter (in a good, grape-y way), and overall warm. We had it with several different things (it took us more than one day to get through the box - we don't drink that much), and one of my favorite pairings was with a Ding Dong. That's right, I eat Hostess treats while I drink my boxed wine. Don't be a hater.

I recommend this wine for a casual dinner party, or just having around for when you want a glass. That's the best part about boxed wine - it doesn't spoil as quickly because it isn't getting oxygen in its happy little sack inside that box. And when it gets low, you can open the box and massage the sack to get the most out of it (this is true for more than just boxed wine, and my dirty mind is brought to you courtesy of an insane amount of time spent reading fan fic this week). ;-)

Happy drinking, dirty birds!

Thirsty Thursday!

OK, so I like to drink. I really like wine and cocktails best, but occasionally a fruity beer or cider might sneak in there. I also enjoy non-alcoholic beverages, if I have to. :-) Here is another attempt at a regular weekly post, this time with recommendations/recipes for your drinking pleasure.

First up: Red Burgundy!

Mmmm... delicious wine

Just in case you didn't believe me...

One of my book club ladies brought this over last month when I hosted, but we didn't open it because half of our members are pregnant. So TH and I are drinking it. :-)

I've never had a Red Burgundy before, but I have heard of Beaujolais (on SNL, of course). This is Beaujolais-Villages, and it's a French wine. TH and I usually stick to local (living in the Willamette Valley, one of the best areas for domestic wine, helps), not through any principle but just because it's easy and familiar and we like it. Our favorite reds tend to be Pinot Noir (the Oregon specialty), Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shiraz (or Syrah).

TH corked me :-)

I would characterize it as a little weak. It's not bad, just not as robust as what we usually drink. I'm used to a nice, full-bodied red, and this seems kind of thin. (I'm not a big fan of the trendy wine words unless they truly characterize the flavor of the wine, so I'm just going to go ahead and use whatever words I think best describe it.) It has a light, almost smokey-berry flavor. I would think it would pair well with a fish like Salmon or maybe some juicy steak. Something hearty, for sure - even a stew would be good. I'm not pairing it with anything at the moment (just drinkin'), but maybe I'll do a pairing post on an upcoming Thursday or something. We'll see how it goes. All in all, I think you would like it if you don't like how full other reds are, or if you're more of a rosé or white wine fan.

Overall: we would drink this again. Or maybe TH is just happy to be drinking in the first place...

This is your friendly reminder to drink responsibly! I like to drink at home so when I pass out on the floor and TH brings me water to rehydrate and I dump it all over myself and pass out again, I don't have to wake up and explain to anyone why I'm on their floor and wet. That's never not awkward.

Health - what my friends are always drinking to before they fall down. ~Phyllis Diller

Happy it's-almost-the-weekend!