All About The Labels!

So, I guess I have to eat my words about the French wine industry, saying they are uptight. But that is quite alright. After I made that statement, I see fun French labels everywhere I go lol. The issue probably was that there is not that many French wines in the stores that I go to, and if I went to France, it would probably be even more of them.

I like label shopping. I’m on a budget with my wine buying/tasting, so that gives me something to play around with. And it lightens things up a bit.

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a bottle of French Pinot Noir. Arrogant Frog from Jean Claude Mas. A nice Pinot that was not as light as some of the French I have tried. Could definitely taste cherries. I tried this wine with soft cheese and chicken, both paired excellent. Actually I even tried cooking with this wine. Not the best wine for that thou. Probably would have been better with a bolder wine, but after what I considered a great save (red wine vinegar, vegetable broth and honey for making up for too much red wine vinegar) my garlic, mushroom red wine sauce came out pretty good.

This was also the first French wine with a screw cork. All I had seen before this, was real corks on the Frenchies. Think I’m having a screw cork week. After using up the only bottle I had left in the house, for cooking…. I had to go to the store. (I have to finish preparing my taxes, so I can meet my accountant on Monday, can’t do that without wine, right?) Picked up another screw cork bottle from California!

OMG! Super sipping wine! This one competes with Cupcake Red Velvet for the throne of great sipping wines. This is desert in a glass, and you don’t need anything else. Kind of dangerous really. I might finish this bottle tonight, and who knows how my filing is gonna go. To be recommended: Scoops Red Wine Blend from Central Coast California!

I have to get back to that other job that I have to do, so happy Saturday, and keep sipping great wines. Cheers!

    

French Wines Are Serious Business!

Went label shopping in one of the local liquor stores today, and had a hard time finding something that looked interesting. This was not one of the best stores around, but still I thought I would be able to find a cool label. I was some how drawn towards the Italian and French section again, and since I had a couple of Italian wines recently, I figured I’d go French tonight. But to find a fun label on a French wine, is easier said than done. I really havent seen one yet. Ok, there is not that many French wines in the stores that I go to, but still…. so here it is, the only French label that was… at least a little different….

I guess they don’t like to joke about their wines over there. Ended up with a 2010 Barton & Guestier Bistro Pinot Noir. As the label shows, in France the local bistro is where folks go to relax, drink wine and dine in a friendly setting. And this wine did not make me any less of a fan of French wine. Love it! A nice light Pinot that would pair well with a lot of different foods.

Ok, back to the uptight French, is there any fun labels out there? If anyone finds one, please send a photo. I would love to see it. You can find me at http://www.facebook.com/Finewineglassesandmorecom. For now, I’m just going to keep sipping this delicious French juice. Cheers!

Went seasonal with a crash!

Ok, my Wednesday night plans got changed (not a bad thing), I got invited to my friend’s house for dinner. I just can’t pass that up… We were having a roast that had been cooked in the slow cooker for hours. How can anyone pass that up. And we were pairing it with a seasonal wine from Tomasello Winery, called Broomstick Brew. It has the coolest label, and is perfect for the Halloween season.

We should have read the label better. It’s supposed to be served warm, and would be a lot better fit in front of a fire on a very cold night, not with a roast. It’s a very sweet wine with a lot of spices. I find the spices enjoyable, but way to sweet to drink with dinner. This wine reminds me a lot of what us Norwegians call Glogg. We serve it warm with almonds and raisins in it. We drink this after a long day of skiing, or maybe as a welcome drink at a holiday party. We ended up with beer with dinner tonight. Witch really…. is ok! As usual dinner was awesome, and I’m already looking forward to next time.

Cheers!