Wine at Olive Garden

It’s my brother’s birthday today! Not only are we celebrating his birthday, but he just graduated college and just got a job offer ON HIS BIRTHDAY! My family’s favorite restaurant is Olive Garden so we decided to go there for a late lunch to celebrate everything.

We had a really nice waiter, Josh, who gave us some wine recommendations and I FINALLY got my mom to order a glass of wine! She got a sample of Chateau St. Michelle Riesling but ended up not liking it THAT much, so she got the Castello del Poggio moscato, which she loves. This wine is all over the place recently! Its super sweet and only 7% alcohol, so it’s just perfect for everyone. I tried the red wine sample, which was a Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel and I liked it pretty well. I don’t know if its as good as the Cline Zinfandel I like but it was still yummy so I ordered that for lunch. My mom hated it btw (no surprise there).

I’m still not sure about pairing wines with food, because I’m pretty sure my zinfandel would have gone well with a steak or beef of some sort but I don’t like those things so I had it with shrimp. To me, I like the wine and I like the food so that’s enough for me. Perhaps it is something I will develop later on though.

Shannon Ridge Syrah

Time for the first Syrah/Shiraz from my Christmas present! I started with the Shannon Ridge, which was the lowest price one from California coming in around $12. I’m really excited that there are so many syrahs and shirazes to taste, because it’s a type of wine I don’t know very much about, and haven’t tasted much of.

I thought this wine was great! It was a bit spicy and bold yet really fruity and delicious! On the bottle it says blueberry flavors  but I didn’t taste that. I had this wine with some of the leftover gouda from around Christmas and it made the wine even better. If this is supposedly the worst of the 13 wines, I can’t even IMAGINE what the others must taste like! Too bad I have such a long time to wait.

Christmas Presents!

Wow people really do know me... I got a lot of wine and cheese related presents this Christmas! :) First, I got a wine aerator which I've always wanted to try,

and a set of cheese tools including specialty knives!

I also got some special stone serving trays for cheese, including a chalk pencil to write what types of cheeses I serve on the stone!

I also got a book about cheese, which pairs with another cheese book I have! :)

I LOVE everything! :o

I also got the most incredible present ever, I couldn't even believe it. It was a case of shiraz and syrah wines!!! :o 13 total! They vary in region and price point.

There are 13 so that I can drink one each month for the next year starting with this December and going until next December.

December, January, and February...

March, April, and May...

June, July and August...

September, October, November, and December...

Christmas Gewurztraminer

As I have mentioned before, my parents do not really like wine that much. They will try it only if I bring it over, and are very limited in what they think is good. Basically they like rieslings ok, and are not very interested in trying much else. So for Christmas I decided to bring a gewurztraminer, which I thought would be a little different, yet still delicious.

The one I picked was the Helrich Gewurztraminer. I tried a Helrich pinot gris at a tasting a while back and bought the bottle and LOVED IT! I have also been told the riesling by that brand was amazing, so figured the Gewurztraminer would be excellent as well. I went to Specs and asked for a recommendation and that was the first one shown to me - so why wouldn't I get it?

The parents ended up thinking it was ok, but not really great. It definitely was not as sweet as the riesling and was more citrusy and sour. My mom and dad said it tasted like a grapefruit! I thought it was a little better when it wasn't so cold, but it still wasn't something I liked. :/

Christmas Wines and Cheeses

My boyfriend's family is hosting a Christmas party and needed some wine and cheese, so I was sent out to create (another) cheese plate and pick out a few bottles of wine for the event. Again, I tried to vary cheeses that were pretty simple and easy with more challenging and interesting ones.

Because the aged gouda went over so well at the work party, I decided to get some more for Christmas. I also chose a manchego again since it was popular as well. I saw a mushroom brie that I actually thought was a bad idea but decided to get it as well as a swiss with herbs on the rind which I tried before and was great. For wines, I wanted a red and a white that most people would like but something a little less ordinary than chardonnay and cabernet. One of my favorite whites is the Crios Torrontes, so decided on that along with the Crios Malbec. For 14 people, I spent about $25 on cheese and $25 on wine.

The malbec was a big hit! It sounds like a lot of people had a glass of it with lunch, but the torrontes was not as popular. Maybe people just didnt really want a second glass after lunch? Also, the mushroom brie was the most popular! Really?

Work Party Cheese Plate

My boyfriend and I were going to to a party with some of his work friends and everyone was supposed to bring a snack, so we decided to bring a cheese plate! Apparently he told his friends that I was really into cheese, so the pressure was on. What could I pick that everyone would like, yet would be a little out of the ordinary?

I was already at the Specs wine tasting, so I figured I would just get the cheese from there. The first cheese was easy, as they were sampling a very delicious sharp Irish Dubliner Cheddar. Cheddar is always a good staple to have in a cheese plate because everyone knows what it is. The next one I picked was a 6 month manchego because its one of my favorites, its a sheep cheese, and whenever I bring it for people to try, I always get a good reaction. I thought it would be cool to have a cows, sheep, and goat cheese for variety, so for the final cheese, I really wanted a goat gouda, but couldnt find one :(. So instead, I got a very aged "Vintage" gouda. It was really hard and crumbly and I thought this might be the least liked of the 3 cheeses, because it has such a strong flavor.

We got to the party and the cheeses were a big hit! Much to my surprise, aged gouda was the favorite of the night! Next was the manchago, and the cheddar was last! So maybe the flavor wasnt too strong? I think we bought about $11 worth of cheese, which was probably 3/4 lb or so and there was still about half of it left over.

Champagne

I have only had a small amount of champagne in my life, almost exclusively on New Years and I usually hate it. Its bitter mostly and I don't really like carbonated drinks. However, I was babysitting this Saturday and the family was about to go out to a party and had a glass of champagne and offered me one. Never turning down a sample, I figured I'd try it.

I don't know if this was actually "champagne", as that is a specific type of sparkling wine that comes from Champagne, France. Either way, it was some sort of sparkler. At first it was the same old bitter bubbly, but I gave it a chance. Then... it started to get better! It started to taste fruity and the crisp bitterness was almost refreshing! I even loved the carbonation! They said I could have a little more when they left, so I poured 1/2 a glass and found some strawberries and decided to try the classic combo of champagne and strawberries.

WOW! What a difference! The sweetness of the strawberries paired SO well with the champagne! How have I never tried this before? It was amazing! Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the champagne or really know anything about it. However, Im inspired to try more champagnes and other sparking wines in the future!

Franzia Boxed Wine

I've been hearing about Franzia for years and always thought it would be terrible and a disgrace to wine, so never tried it. However, I figured the time had come! I wasn't expecting much, but wanted to try it just for the experience. At HEB, you can buy a 5 liter box of Franzia, which is equal to about 6 bottles of wine, for about $11. I figured at that price, I could throw it out if I didn't like it. There are like a million flavors, and I chose the Crisp White, thinking it would be hardest to screw up.

The wine is in a bag inside the box, and supposedly stays fresh for up to 6 weeks! Its got a spout, so you just keep it in the fridge and open the spout when you want some, like a water cooler. So if the wine is good, this is AMAZING! 6 bottles of wine... for 6 weeks... for only $11. Ok time to try...

Not bad! I mean its not GOOD, its pretty plain and uninteresting, but its definitely not bad. In fact it tastes almost like regular apple juice. The Crisp White is only 9%, so its very light and I can barely taste the alcohol at all. Its kinda cool having it in the fridge and not having to worry about it going bad. I can just have a little at a time and stretch it out.

Im not sure that I LIKE it, and after having it for a little bit its kind of boring. However, I would also be interested in trying other flavors just to see what they're like.

Thanksgiving Riesling

Thanksgiving means delicious food and wine and this year was no exception. I went to visit my parents and brother, none of whom are big wine fans. My dad and brother actually hate wine, so bringing a wine everyone would like was a big challenge. Luckily, I knew the perfect wine!

Schloss Vollrads riesling, one of the best rieslings I've ever had. I originally had it in a restaurant in Dallas and loved it, but haven't had it in a couple of years. When Grapevine Market had their closeout sale, I got a couple of bottles for $10 instead of $15. I remembered it being amazing, and hoped it still would be a few years later, for a group of people who are not into wine.

The wine ended up being a success! My mom has had a few rieslings before and its the only type of wine she even kind of likes, so I wasn't surprised she liked it. My dad hasn't had wine since college and never drinks, and he liked it too! My brother only likes beer and never drinks wine, and even he said it wasn't bad! Success! :)

The wine is very light and fruity. It tastes almost slightly bubbly, and is inoffensive in every way. Its very refreshing and versatile and is pretty inexpensive so basically its an all around winner! I will definitely get this wine again!

Goat Cheeses

So many amazing cheeses! Here are a few of the cheeses Im enjoying this week! Here is a very herby goat cheese from Whole Foods:

And a honey goat cheese with pecans on top:

YUM!

Juan Gil and Manchego

Manchego is probably one of my FAVORITE cheeses of all time. It is an oily, salty, Spanish sheep cheese that you really just have to try. Everyone I've shared it with loves it as well, which is why I brought it for a wine night. To go with the sheep cheese, we had a Juan Gil red wine, also from Spain. I bought the wine a while back and the Specs guy recommended it to go with sheep cheese, so I thought this would be a match made in heaven. Each thing was delicious separately, but I still cant really tell if a wine and cheese "pair" well.

Note: These pictures are TERRIBLE! :(

Le Roule

As I've said before, I love soft cheeses with herbs and Le Roule is no exception! I used to get this cheese at Central Market but just recently found it at Sun Harvest for a lot cheaper! The cheese itself is super creamy and soft and there is a layer of herbs winding throughout the cheese.

Its amazing!

Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Yum, yum, yum! I had no idea goat cheese cheesecake existed, but I ran across it at Specs during the wine tasting! So of course I had to get a slice to try it. Goat cheese usually has a distinct flavor and texture, so I was a little bit nervous to see its take on cheesecake but it was really delicious! In fact, it tasted exactly like a regular cheesecake haha. It wasn't overly sweet, which I liked, and there was a bit of cherries or cranberries or something that paired well with it.

Im not a huge cheesecake fan, but this was pretty good. Im glad I tried it, just to see what it was, but I probably wouldnt get it again because it just tastes like regular cheesecake.

Texas Hills Orange Moscato

This Texas Hills Orange Moscato is probably one of my favorite wines. I visited the winery about a year ago and took home this bottle and decided to finally open it this week.

This wine comes in a 2/3 sized bottle and is 14% alcohol yet still sweet, so its almost like a dessert wine. It is... SO good.

I cant even describe it well enough, so here is the description from the winery's website -

"The Orange Muscat grape has a natural orange zest essence that presents itself in the wine. Pleasantly sweet, (less than 5%Residual Sugar); nicely balanced; with an alcohol level of 14% (highest alcohol level we've ever done with the Orange Moscato) this wine has a smooth orange zest presentation with just a hint of peach and tropical fruit. "

It really is sweet, but not overly so like a lot of moscatos Ive had. I think its cool how that particular grape has a natural orange flavor, and the almost bitter orange zest flavor pairs so well with the sweetness of the wine. If you've never had it, I would definitely recommend everyone go out and get this wine! :)

Stocking up at Grapevine

Ok so Im not going to lie - I spent a fortune at Grapevine Market. All the wines were 30% off! I took this as a once in a lifetime opportunity to stock up on some of my favorite more expensive wines that I never buy. So here they are...

I actually have two more that I bought after the picture was taken. On the left are 2 Schloss Vollrads, which is an AMAZING german riesling that I had a few years ago in a restaurant. Its usually $15 and with the discount they were only $10 each. Then I have 2 orange moscatos from Texas Hills and Flat Creek, both around $19, discounted to $13. Then a Pine Ridge chenin blanc/viognier that I like, not too pricey but delicious. Then an argentinian torrontes that is one of my faves, from $16 down to 11. The rest are just wines I like and would probably buy otherwise. Spanish and Chilean red wines and 2 vino verdes that I got just because they were super cheap and its good to have those around (I think they were like $5 and $6 with the discount).

I also got an almond sparkling wine from Flat Creek ($15 down to $10) that I predict will be amazing, based on the past 3 almond sparklers I've tried. Also I got the Chisholm Trail Desperado wine($20 down to $14), because I've been to that winery and remember it being very good. So basically my wine rack is completely full and in fact overflowing now. Im not planning on buying wine again until after I move next summer!

Cheeses!

I just love the Whole Foods mini cheese section. I went there and got 5 mini cheeses ranging from about 50 cents to a dollar. I got a garlic cheddar, brigante (never tried it), green heart gouda, havarti with jalapeno and traditional emmenthaler.

The garlic cheddar was very good, and the havarti with jalapeno was better than I expected! I got it just to try it, but I turned out liking it a lot. The emmenthaler swiss was not very good - it was kinda hard and tough. Im sure I will be trying the other 2 soon!

Grapevine Market is closing! :(

Noooooooo! It cant be true! Grapevine Market on Anderson Lane is closing for good. This makes me sad because they had some cool events I never got a chance to go to (and always wanted to), and a unique cheese department that I loved to check out. I loved going in there to browse and sample a dozen cheeses or so!

HOWEVER, there is one huuuge upside to a store closing... clearance sales! :o From now until the store closes, they will be selling all wines and foods at 30% off, and liquors at 25% off. This means that I can finally get some of those more expensive things I've tasted and been eyeing, and maybe stock up on some lesser expensive favorites. I have to say Grapevine's regular prices are a little high, so I have to factor that in. Im wondering if they will offer even deeper discounts as the sale goes on. Either way, I went yesterday and a lot of the nicer stuff has already run out but there are TONS left. So... people in Austin... get yourselves down to Grapevine asap and see what you can find!

Tilia Chardonnay

I got this chardonnay at a Whole Foods tasting probably close to 6 months ago and just now opened it. They were doing a tasting of probably 10 wines all from Argentina including about 5 malbecs, which was REALLY cool to be able to taste so many similar wines together. Our favorite ended up being this atypical chardonnay!

Its fresh and juicy with lots of fruit flavors and was wonderful to drink. Im always on the lookout for inexpensive chardonnays to keep around and this one is one of my favorites so far. Its not as interesting as the Printhie Chardonnay, but definitely more subtle and easy to drink. Its a bit cheaper too, around $11 or 12 and I would probably buy it again if I saw it somewhere on sale.

The Past 2 Weeks

I keep forgetting to keep up with this blog while there are so many other things going on right now! Here is what has been going on wine-and-cheese-wise the past few weeks:

We had our October Wino Divino which was fun as always. The theme was white wnes and I'd say the selection of wines this time was really amazing. I wrote them all down but seem to have misplaced the paper somewhere... anyway I remember some of them! We had the Carl Sittman Riesling from the Twin Liquors wine class and it was delicious the second time around just like the first. We also tried 24/7 Riesling and it was pretty good too, nothing too special. Mine was a moscato d'asti which was a slightly sparkling sweet white and it was DELICIOUS! I had gotten it at a Specs tasting and I need to look up that tasting paper and find out exactly what it was so I can get it again. We also had a champagne that was pretty sweet and delicious - I like sweet dessert style wines. Finally we had a port which everyone loved as well - Otima either 10 or 20 yrs. The only bad wine was a sauv blanc that smelled and tasted like pickles. :/

In the world of cheese, we decided to deviate from the norm this month and got a few smoked, soft, and kinda bland cheeses. Usually we go for the aged, potent, melt in your mouth cheeses so this was a big change. We got smoked mozzarella, smoked provolone, and a soft swiss. They were all alright but nothing blew me away. I know these cheeses are meant more for melting on things or as part of a sandwich, but we ate them in little chunks like we usually do. I couldn't even tell the difference between the mozzarella and provolone.

Finally, I tried a few bottles of wine this month that have long been finished and mostly forgotten. I tried the Blackstone Merlot (Sonoma Reserve) which was originally $19 but I got it on sale at HEB for $11 a while back. I also tried the Pegovino Granache and Syrah blend which was recommended to me by a Specs guy as one of the best of its style. I liked the merlot more than I thought I would, but was a little disappointed with the Pegovino. I had high hopes for it and I thought it was kinda bland with nothing special about it. Both were good, but not something Id get again.

Wine Grapes

So I was looking around at Whole Foods and they had wine grapes!!! :o There were 3 - grenache, carignan, and a white grape one I forgot the name of. I ended up getting the two red ones and was SO excited to see what they tasted like. Would they taste like wine? Perhaps thats stupid, but who really knows? The one on the left was the grenache and the right one was carignan.

Basically they tasted like regular grapes haha. And whats worse was that they had SEEDS! I guess I've been spoiled on seedless grapes because I cant even remember the last time I had grapes with seeds. :( Big, hard ones! Its just too much work to eat these, so I'm not sure what Im going to do.

So not too exciting, but cool to try!

Helfrich Pinot Gris

Mmmm this wine is delicious! I got it from a Specs tasting a few months ago and loved it there and loved it a second time tonight. I found out not too long ago that pinot gris and pinot grigio are actually the same grape, just named differently depending on where they're from. I've tried a few pinot grigios before and never been impressed, but this wine was just fantastic.

It was not only delicious, it was interesting. The smell alone was like whoa. It smelled all smoky, possibly like a smoked ham. There were also a lot of fruity flavors like peach and apricot and it was a little bit earthy. And yet... creamy as well! It was just the full package and it disappeared before I knew it! At around $12 or 13 dollars its pretty reasonable too! Extremely drinkable, delicious, and intriguing - I give it an A and will definitely buy it again.

Specs Wine Tasting

The September wine tasting was pretty good overall. It seemed a little heavy on the reds, which I prefer over whites, but when its a tasting I think its best to have about an equal number of both. Why? Because by the end of the night I could hardly taste anything due to all the similar super tannic bold reds. Aside from being delicious, the whites act as a nice palate cleanser and break between reds. Thats why I love when there is a red and a white at each station. This time there were only 6 whites compared to 14 reds.

Because of this, I tasted some really great reds, but they all tasted about the same. :( Sad. I did get to taste a carignan for the first time which was cool, and I was told by other people there that it was really great. My favorite of the night was an Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which was tart and citrusy yet still FRUITY. Very balanced and delicious, but I didnt end up getting it.

There were also more expensive wines tonight. The Meerlust Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were normally $26 (on sale for $23) and I tried them and thought they were great! However, I wonder how much the price influenced my opinion of it. There were also several other ones over $20, which are always interesting to try since I don't normally buy wine over about $15.

There were 2 wines I hated, and surprisingly (or not) they were from the same producer - Andeluna Chardonnay and Malbec. Very alcoholic tasting and just very... gross.

There was also some very delicious cheese there and a super nice lady who let us keep coming back for more samples! My favorites were the wine washed goat cheese and cave aged gruyere! Unfortunately there was also a super gross one from Neal's Yard. This is about the 5th or 6th time I've tried a cheese from there and I've hated them ALL! How is that even possible?

Even though I may hate some of the wine and cheese I still love to try them! I cant wait until the next tasting!

Marques de Casa Concha Chardonnay

This is another one of those wines I've had for a year or two and it was just time to drink. Im not a big fan of chardonnays, so I think I was putting this one off. I originally bought it back when a nearby HEB had a clearance sale on some of their wines (originally $16).

I was pretty pleased with this wine! For a chardonnay, it was not what I was expecting, which is the usual oak and vanilla overkill. It was fruity and light with a lot of citrus and apple flavors. Yum!

Speaking of Chardonnays, I read the Wall Street Journal's wine reviews and they frequently write about chardonnays - a hot topic I suppose. Here is one about the best chardonnays under $20, and there was another one recently about high end chardonnays and which were the best. I cant find it now (ugh) but when I do, I would like to try one of the amazing ones sometime to see WHAT a really good chardonnay is supposed to taste like. I dont think I know!

Also, I usually do not drink wine with meals and I wonder if that greatly affects my opinions of them. I've heard that some wines are definitely better with certain flavors, so maybe some of the wines I dont like on here would be amazing with the right foods? I usually end up picking a wine after dinner, mostly with cheese, but maybe I will try pairing some wines with some foods in the future.

Twin Liquors Wine Tasting

Im branching out from Specs and went to the big Twin Liquor wine tasting! Just like Specs, there were 20 wines, but the tasting was set up a bit differently. All the wines were in the front of the store in a row, close together. They gave you a wine glass and you went around to taste the ones you were interested in. Of course we were interested in all of them, so we just went in line.

Everyone was super nice, but there were a few downsides to this approach. For one thing, you end up tasting wines too fast because you feel like you have to keep moving along. At Specs, there are 10 stations around the store, which lets you walk around, chat, and take your time between samples. Because of this, we got wayyy tipsier than normal - not good. In fact, because it was so quick, it didn't hit us until we were about done which is awkward and not safe if you're planning on leaving any time soon. We ended up drinking all the wine in under an hour and milling about the store chatting for another hour just to let it all wear off.

Another thing that was weird was that there was no tasting sheet to tell us what the wines were and how much they cost. No huge deal, but I like to make notes about the wines and take it home with me to look at later.

One very sad thing was that there was no food! This also contributed to the increased tipsiness, as we had nothing in our stomachs. Twin Liquors doesn't really sell food that I know of, so its not their fault... but I was craving some cheese with all that wine for sure.

The upsides: there were some really great wines! I thought overall the wines were more expensive here, with a lot of them being around $18 or 19 and only 1 or 2 were under $10. This, coupled with the fact that we were going to the chocolate festival afterward caused me not to buy any that day.

Another REALLY cool thing about this tasting was that there was a bar area where they were serving wines. Which meant you could put... your... glass... down! This is a small thing, but when you're usually juggling a glass, and food sample, and paper and pencil... it was so nice to just relax with it.

So on to the wines! I cant remember them that well since I didn't have a sheet to bring home, but I'll do my best. We tried some organic wines which were good, but wine is so variable that I didnt see what difference the fact that they were organic made. We also had a really good cab from Alexander Valley and an awesome Montecillo Crianza that we both loved. There was a pink port, which I had never heard of, and the guy served it to us mixed with sparking water which was strange. Other than those, there wasn't anything that really stood out to me.

So I liked this tasting, and will definitely make it a regular part of my monthly tasting schedule, but I would say it didn't quite compare to Specs.

Fall Creek Muscat Canelli

As you may know, I have been really interested in muscat canellis recently, and this was my absolute favorite wine from the Austin Wine Festival back in May. I haven't had it since, but finally decided to try it again when I was looking for something dessert like.

I guess I was expecting to be blown away by sweetness, when in fact that's not what I got. At the festival, we tried sooo many wines that this one probably stood out for the lightness and sweetness and seemed overly so compared to all the other wines there. I was surprised and happy to find that this was a very balanced wine the second time around. There were fruit and acidity as well that made the wine very delicious and not at all like I was drinking a marshmallow. It was very smooth and peachy and super easy to drink. I got it at Specs for around $12 and would definitely buy this wine again!

Yali Sauvignon Blanc

Ewww, ewww, and ewww! I hardly ever buy wines I haven't tasted before, just because I go to so many tastings! So I actually wanted to buy a completely random wine and take my chances and this is what I got. This sauvignon blanc was on a display at Whole Foods, and as you can kinda see, is from the "winemakers selection", which I guess I thought meant it was really good or something.

Sauvignon blancs can be really good, or taste like cat pee and although this wasn't pee-like, it was definitely bad. Here's the rundown... it smells like nail polish remover (and pear) and tastes like watered down wine. There is a bit of citrus, but its not distinguishable and overall its very blah. I don't think its undrinkable, but its close and I would DEFINITELY not get it again.

However, not everyone shares my opinions!

Marques de Caceres Crianza

There havent been too many posts lately because I have been slowly working on the same bottle of Marques de Caceres Crianza. I LOVE this wine! This crianza was recommended as one of the best reds to serve cold and I was skeptical at first based on the last red we tried cold. However, this one is great! It holds all the flavors you would normally expect from a nice red wine, but the lower temperature makes it nice and refreshing! It feels very light even though its still 13.5% alcohol.

It has changed a bit from the first glass to the last, and I've probably kept it open a tad too long... going on... 5 or 6 days now so oops about that. But even now and ESPECIALLY when it was first opened, its simply delicious. So delicious and refreshing that I want to go get another bottle to drink soon, which is something I rarely do. Normally once I drink something, I try not to have it again for 6+ months or so just because there are so many wonderful things to try. I believe its pretty easy to find and was around $12 - 13.

UPDATE: I went to Specs and was talking with one of my favorite wine guys about the white rioja from the same maker and he said he HATES the red rioja I just reviewed! He said it lacks structure and is nothing but fruit! HMMMM o rly? Is that perhaps why it makes such a nice chilled red? Because it is basically a wine cooler in disguise? Interesting! Well I still like it either way, but he steered me away from the white one, saying there are much better ones.

Twin Liquors Wine Class

Whoa so who knew Twin Liquors had all this cool stuff? Apparently they have a wine class every 2 weeks and a huge wine tasting with 20 samples once a month! Aside from that they also have other small tastings every week. I can already tell this is going to be on my regular list of "wine to dos". So of course a friend and I had to check out the wine class... would it be painfully obvious or helpful?

Turns out it was really good! It was a sit down thing, with an instructor and a packet of notes so it was a little more formal than I expected but that was actually a plus. Everyone there including the instructor were laid back and really friendly and I thought it was at just the right level for me.

The main idea was to talk about the six major wines produced, which are riesling, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon. We had about an ounce of each in glasses and talked about them in that order. Mostly it was what they typically smell like, taste like, where good regions to buy from are, and what to pair with them. The reason I loved this is because although I have tasted a lot of wines, I sometimes wonder "ok, but what MAKES it a chardonnay?", so I felt like this class answered some of my questions.

The wines there were pretty good overall too! My favorites were the Carl Sittman Riesling, the Carmel Road Pinot Noir, and the Robert Mondavi Cab. HOWEVER, I didn't get any because of something very important I learned! Wines are not meant to be kept for very long unless you have the proper way to store them... oops! I have wines on my rack from a year or so ago, and I keep collecting them! Apparently I need to start drinking some of my older ones before I buy any more, but I will keep the wines from tonight in mind the next time I buy.

I dont think there is a need for me to go to too many of these classes, as its the same basic idea each time - same 6 wine types although the specific wines differ. Here's an idea: maybe do the NEXT 6 popular wine types in a class, or a class of blends... eh Twin Liquors?

Wine, Cheese, and Friends

My best friend in the whole world is visiting from California and we had to get together for wine and cheese. He is even more of a wine and cheese aficionado that me, and brought some amazing things for us to enjoy together.

He brought a chilled Peju blend that looks like a rose, but is actually a blend of red and white wine. This was one of his favorite casual drinking wines and I loved it as well.

Its soft and very drinkable with still some intrigue. It's one of those wines you drink and are like "wow this is really good..." and get back to your conversation. Its not something you have to ponder and think about, which I liked.

To go with the wine we had an interesting cheese plate. He brought an 18 month aged gouda and a Moliterno sheep cheese with truffles.

The gouda was SO GOOD. Seriously it's one of my new favorite cheeses. It was aged for just the right amount of time where it was potent with crunchy spots yet soft and smooth overall. It was just... perfect. The sheep cheese was a little more complex. It was a cheese with truffle bits chopped in, but also it was infused in truffle oil. It was REALLY good at first, but the more I ate, the more overwhelming it tasted. It really was quite delicious, but I would stick to small amounts of this one.

Since we were trying cheeses, I wanted to get his opinion about that crazy coffee and lavender cheese I bought.

The consensus was that this cheese is weird. Its interesting in that it has crazy flavors and perhaps the middle part is ok, but overall its just... weird. The coffee dusting leaves a strange taste in your mouth, and we didn't taste the lavender at all this time. It was kind of a bust.

Just for fun I had him try a piece of that Fiscalini Cheddar I hated... he spit it out and called it an abomination in the name of cheese.

While we were eating and drinking we got on the subject of (what else?) wines. While talking about the vouvrays I was recommended to try, he told me they are the same thing as chenin blancs! All of a sudden we wanted to try one, so I got out the Pine Ridge chenin blanc/viognier from my birthday dinner!

Mmmm it was smooth and creamy and as delicious as before. I didn't take notes of any particular flavors or details but Im sure I will be buying it again. We all agreed it was great.

It was a big night full of lots of wine, cheese, and catching up, simply amazing! :)

I Won!

I always forget to turn in my raffle ticket at the Specs wine tastings and have only remembered the past 2 times. Well this time I actually WON!

It's mostly just snacks in there - some that look good and some I will no doubt give away. Sadly there is no wine but there is a wine book so thats exciting! Im so shocked and thrilled! :)

Update: It is NOT a wine book, it is a WHISKEY book haha. Interesting...

Specs Wine Tasting

Wow what a tasting! Last month I went to Specs I didn't end up getting anything but this time was an absolute goldmine. There were so many amazing wines this time I had a hard time choosing.

The winner of the night was the Helfrich Pinot Gris. Normally I don't like these types of dry whites, but this pinot gris was very fruity and sweet in the middle and dry at the end, making it very refreshing without being overwhelming. My other favorite was the Castello del Proggio Moscato. As I've said before, Im starting to really love moscatos. I used to really like rieslings because they were so sweet and refreshing and have taken the next step in moscatos since they are even sweeter without being overly fruity. I ended up getting both of these wines for about $12 each.

Tonight was really cool because it seemed to be an unofficial Spanish Tempranillo night. There were FIVE tonight and since I love this type of wine it was really cool to try so many different ones almost side by side. The wines ranged from $7 to $17 and my favorite ended up being the Arzuaga la Planta, although I can't say exactly why. Just a personal preference perhaps, but I didn't end up getting it because I had too many other things and all were so good it was kinda hard to choose.

The wines I did NOT like were only three - 2 California chardonnays that tasted very unoriginal and blah and one African Shiraz that was just weird. On top of the 3 I really liked and the 3 I really didn't like, were about 10 other ones that were very good. I decided at the last minute to get one other wine because it was pretty good and only $3.73! It was a sauvignon blanc fron Chile and although it was not fantastic, it was solid and still delicious and definitely worth the few dollars I spent on it. These types of wines are good to have on hand for a super casual night or even as a second bottle of the night :o.

As always happens at wine parties, you get to chat with some really cool people about wine. We ended up talking to this guy about the moscato and he recommended I try a vouvray so we went to look at some and Specs ended up not having the one he was talking about. That brought me to an employee and we started talking about rose's and he had some great recommendations for me. I almost got one of those too, but seeing as I already had quite a few to buy and the rose was not one of the featured (and on sale) wines, I decided to wait. It will probably be the next bottle of wine I get though.

Now for the cheese!

The cheeses here are always interesting to try and I usually get a few. There was a cheese with fenugreek seeds in it that tasted like maple syrup which was really cool but not really my thing. One of the cheeses I ended up getting was a trucket and was really good and wanted to sample it further. Probably the most bizarre cheese was a cheese that had coffee and lavender flavors and when you first try it you think WHOA... but as you keep eating it you keep wanting more and more. So I got the trucket and the coffee/lavendar cheese and found a Parrano that was for some reason 50% off so got that too.

Hooray for Specs wine nights being back on track! Id say 75% of the wines were either good or great, which is how it should be in my opinion!

More Goat Cheese

I cant stop! Goat cheese is too delicious and I want to try it all! Since Whole Foods apparently has a few different soft goat cheeses in roatation, I will just have to try each one and compare them. I got this one, which has cracked pepper around the edges:

This was alright, but not great. The pepper flavor was weird and Im not a huge fan of pepper anyway. I DID put it on some crackers with the smoked tomato pesto and it was soooo good! It was suggested to me that I should just buy a chunk of plain cheese and then put my own herbs or whatever around it, so that will definitely be something I should look into! What a great idea!

So I had to get a plain one as well! Of course it tastes like the middle of the other ones and I haven't yet decided what to add on to it so for now Im just eating it as is. Its probably not the most flavorful or creamiest plain goat cheese I've had, so unless Im getting an herby one I will stick with another brand.

Full Quiver Farms Strawberry Cheese Spread

As I've said before, I love cream cheese, especially flavored ones. I still have the jalapeno cream cheese from the farmers market and Im trying to decide what to pair that with, but in the meantime I decided to get another one! I was at Whole Foods and wanted some to eat with crackers so I got the strawberry kind.

Its pretty good! I was surprised to find that its whipped... I don't remember the other ones being like that but who knows. This made it surprisingly light and fluffy and it actually reminded me more of icing on a cake! Delicious! Unlike at the farmers market, Whole Foods sells it by the pound, so I think it was actually a little cheaper there.

Maybe people who don't know me very well are wondering "Does she really eat ALL that cheese"? It seems like I should be 500 pounds by now eating all the cheese I write about! The truth is I get very small amounts of everything, and always share it with other people. If I get huge chunks of something I will get bored of it anyway.

Printhie Chardonnay

This is one of the wines I bought a few months ago at a Specs tasting because it was so interesting and different from many chardonnays I've tried in the past. Normally I don't like chardonnays because I think of 2 things: oak and vanilla. I have actually tried quite a few through tastings because it seems to be a popular type of wine, but have rarely found one that has any kind of actual flavor.

This Printhie Chardonnay is completely different though. Its from Australia, and I think one of the things that makes it taste so good is that its actually 90% chardonnay and 10% viognier I believe. There was another Printhie wine being sampled (I think sauvignon blanc) and it too was mixed with a little viognier and it was good as well! It is very creamy without tasting like vanilla, and it actually tastes like fruit. I still have some left so I will take better note of those flavors the next time I drink it.

One of the main things that struck me was the smell. It almost smelled like something was toasted or smokey, and a little nutty. I don't think I've ever smelled this before in a wine so it definitely caught my attention.

When I first tasted this wine at Specs I loved it and had to buy it because it was so unique. At a higher price point than I am used to (around $17) it makes me think that there may be hope for me and chardonnays. I really liked this wine and enjoyed drinking it and tasting it again, but I'm not sure it will be added to my list of wines I love and have to keep on hand.

Rondin Honey Goat Cheese

Mmmm this cheese is amazing! I got this at Central Market because I was curious what a honey goat cheese would taste like. Previously, I had bought a honey goat cheese spread, but the flavors were obviously mixed together in the little tub along with others... and this piece of cheese looks just plain! I was also worried it would be too fakely sweet and its not! Its smells delicious and just tastes like a normal cheese with a touch of sweetness. It is SO good! Like the dill one, this is another cheese that makes a good breakfast! :)

Fiscalini Cheddar

The cheese I am trying tonight is Fiscalini Cheddar... although it doesn't taste very much like a cheddar to me. I'm having a hard time figuring out what this tastes like, as its pretty bland and tasteless. When it warmed up I could taste a hint of white cheddar, but Im working hard to taste it. The texture is ok, but a little rubbery for my taste. Overall this cheese is pretty tasteless and odorless, and since I like a nice robust cheese, I don't think its really for me. Good thing I just bought a small chunk to try. There are too many amazing cheddars out there for me to get this again unfortunately.

Sunset Valley Farmers Market

Since I was in the area this Saturday morning, my boyfriend and I decided to stop by the Sunset Valley Farmers Market. I used to go there every few weeks but haven't been in probably a year or so because it's a little far from me. There are too many delicious foods to mention everything but among my favorites are the pestos, fresh lemonades, and of course the cheeses.

One of my favorite cheese places near Austin is Pure Luck creamery but I didn't see them at the market today. My other favorite is Full Quiver Farm, which makes a delicious array of cream cheeses and as I found out today, hard cheeses as well!

Here are some of there delicious cream cheeses, which are flavored as spinach artichoke, chive, jalapeno, and some fruit ones like blueberry, strawberry, and pineapple. I've gotten a few of these before, but ended up getting the jalapeno cream cheese this time. I was thinking it would be great on crackers, maybe with some jam.

They also have more cheeses which I've never seen in stores before - a cheddar, colby, feta, mozzarella, pepper jack and gruyere. All of the ones I tried were delicious and although they didn't have a sample, we decided to get the gruyere.

There was another cheese place at the Farmers Market that had amazing goat cheese but I forgot the name of it. They had a great blueberry lemon goat cheese that I wanted to get, but at $10 for a small container I had to pass this time. To go with the gruyere and jalapeno cream cheese, we ended up getting 2 really great pestos - Smoked Tomato and Cilantro Serrano which are AMAZING. I definitely need to start going to the farmers market here more.

Goat Cheese for Breakfast

While most people eat cereal or eggs for breakfast, my favorite way to start the day is with cheese. The best cheeses are something soft and flavorful, preferably on a cracker. I've started to crave cheese spreads, cream cheese, and most of all goat cheese.

I feel like the cheese festival made me realize just how many amazing cheeses there are out there, and especially opened me up to the large variety of soft goat cheeses, as I've already mentioned those were my favorites there. Im thinking about getting a variety of a few and comparing them maybe side by side later this week.

Tthe cheese I am currently eating is "Capricho de Cabra Herbed" which looks like a small round chunk of creamy white cheese with dill and lemon zest around the edges. I looove these kinds of cheese and I had never had one with dill before.

Anyway, this cheese was delicious as always, but i wasn't really loving the herbs around the edges. It makes the cheese taste a little too tangy and sour for my taste, but once I got past the outer edge, the inside was pretty good. I actually prefer when the herbs are more robust.

Daily Texan Article!

While at the cheese festival, my friends and I were approached by a writer for the Daily Texan, who asked our thoughts about the cheeses there. We told him our favorites and our least favorites and when he asked to see the bad ones we directed him to the chocolate cheddar and the 10 year cheddar (which I personally liked but nobody else did ). He took some notes and we have been wondering if we'd be in the article...

and it turns out we are! :)

"Three recent UT graduates, Dominique Tremino, Becca Aiello and Katie Gannon, were huddled around a fresh mozzarella table and giggling as they watched me try “cocoa cheddar” and a cheddar aged for 10 years, which they affirmed were the “nastiest” cheeses at the festival."

Hooray!

Chalone Vineyard Cabernet and Goat Brie

I have so many bottles of wine on my wine rack and buy wine so frequently that I sometime forget about bottles for long periods of time. I thought it was about time I try one of my oldest bottles, and that was this Chalone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

I bought this bottle at HEB once when they were having a half off sale, and it was originally $16 and I have just seemed to forget about it until now. I've probably had it for about 2 years now, and Im pretty sure its not the type of wine that needs to be aged.

One thing I immediately noticed about this wine that was it was not as dry and tannic as I would have expected. It was very smooth, fruity, and drinkable.

To go with the wine, I had a goat brie that I picked up at Whole Foods. As is pretty obvious, Im really into goat cheese lately and at the cheese festival I found that I really do like bries, which surprised me. I used to not like them at all, but maybe they are growing on me.

Festival of Cheese - Market

I went back to the Hilton Sunday morning to see what kind of cheese I could buy at the cheese market. I didn't really know what to expect other than that the cheeses would be heavily discounted and I should probably get their early. I arrived just after it opened, around 10:15 and already there were about 100 people roaming a very small room with mountains of cheese in their arms. The cheeses were in HUGE chunks, like whole wheels and multi-pound blocks.

What was truly amazing was the fact that ALL cheese was being sold at $5/lb. FIVE DOLLARS A POUND! You cant even get a chunk of kraft cheddar at the grocery store for that. We're talking artisan cheese at $20-30+ a pound normally. So anyway this was amazing, but would have been even more amazing if you could buy smaller chunks of the cheeses. I really don't want 5 lbs of gouda even if I do love it! Although I looked hard, it appears that any small chunks there might have been had been snatched up already.

Another annoying thing was that hardly anything was marked. The cheeses were vaguely arranged by types on the tables, but you couldn't tell what anything really was. So aside from having to buy a huge chunk of something, it might not be something you love.

Anyway, as I mentioned in my last post, my favorite cheeses of the night were all soft cheeses and those were all in individual packages and containers. So thats what I focused on. I ended up getting 5 things and wish I had gotten more. I found a container of Alouette cream cheese spread (also available at HEB) that I always love, as well as an herb covered goat cheese from Pure Luck Austin cheesery. I also found one of my favorites from last night, the soft cheese with raspberry puree. Rounding out my purchase was a small unflavored goat cheese, and a goat brie. I couldn't tell how much all that would be, and there really wasnt too much to choose from, so I just stopped there.

At the cash register I picked up 2 boxes of these AMAZING crispbread crackers to go with all the soft cheeses. These crackers are wafer thin and pretty much taste like an ice cream cone - which is nothing. They add no flavor to cheese, have barely any calories, and are just perfect.

My total for the 5 cheeses was only $10 and at $2 a box of crackers, my total came out to be $14, which is WAY underpriced for all the stuff I got! I only wish I had bought more!