Wine & Cookies

Ever since SOBE I've been super interested in this Robert Mondavi guy. He's apparently a pretty big hot shot in Napa Valley.

Solaire is really the wine that I want to try, but the other night I'm with friends who prefer white. (Actually, they prefer jug white zin. They have yet to see the light.)

So we made a compromise and settled on a 2003 Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc.

Tasting Notes listed on the bottle: Sweet, opulent apricot, guava, citrus and crème brûlée character. Toasty vanilla and spice from barrel fermentation and aging.

Drumroll pleeease... and the tasting notes check out! I didn't get the guava so much, but the citrus/crème brûlée combo was right on.

And it was such a perfect addition to our No Bake Cookies.

If you've never had these cookies, go snatch some oats, cocoa, and peanut butter (plus a tasty bottle of sauv blanc) and get to work!

What are you waiting for? GO!

My trip to the supastore

I found wine Disneyland.

Have you ever seen such a place? It was overwhelming. I've heard these types of places exist, I guess my eyes had been closed to it before. I stumbled upon it like Brigadoon. Fate.

Driving home from the FIU North Campus, ironically returning from a South Beach Wine & Food Festival Volunteer Orientation, I casually glanced out the window. "TOTAL WINE," shouts the big red sign, making my head snap to the right. Immediately I make one big U-Turn and head back to scope it out.

This place was literally a warehouse, packed wall to wall, nothing but wine (and a little corner of liquor). I spent one hour cruising every aisle, picking up whichever bottle most interested me at that moment (not quite the place for attention deficit wine-lovers). Some bottles even came personalized with a colorful "Employee Pick" sticker.

So, it kind of felt like a Wal-Mart, everything so cheap, easy and accessible. But for my first trip, I think I made out well.

My purchases (pictured right):

(1) My first Greek red wine! $13
(2) South African white, not my first, but I am no less excited. $12

Full on critiques to come soon on both bottles.

Pass me a blue robe.

I think I've graduated.

In the world of wine, there are baby steps one must take before moving on to the next level.

Basic levels:

1. "OMG I'm totally drinking wine!"
2. "Heck, this is pretty cool... aaaand legal."
3. "What are we waiting for? Pop open the Bordeaux."

At level one, we drink wine coolers or white zinfandel. Neither of which can actually be classified as wine. And neither of which we come to be particularly proud of. But it's just a phase, it shall pass.

Level two, it's the easy white wines. The ones that still kinda taste like a simple, chilled fruit juice. But they have a little kick in them.

Level three, we're down to the good stuff. The deep, complex wines that stain your glass. The ones that make your food taste better. The ones that make your stomach warm. The ones with that special something you detect on the nose; and though you can't quite call it, you know it makes the wine better.

I went to hibachi this week and ordered my tofu stir-fry and California Riesling, which used to be my favorite. Not anymore. It was like drinking apple juice. I was hardly interested. (And at $6.50 a glass, I really should have been.) I wanted something more intricate. Something that I had to work at figuring out. I wanted more than alcoholic fruit juice.

I'm excited to see what my taste buds crave next.