Martini & Rossi Sparkling Wine

For some reason I felt like opening a sparking wine and I've had this one for a little while. Stephen wanted to try a new way of opening sparklers called "kniving" I think. Basically you open the top of the bottle but leave the cork in. Then, you rub a knife up and down against the neck of the bottle really fast and its supposed to build up the carbonation. Finally, the cork should shoot out.

Well we tried it and it WORKED! The only thing is that the cork did not exactly shoot out, it shot off a piece of the bottle with it...

It was very fun. As for the actual wine, I liked it! It was somewhat sweet and very drinkable. I wanted to try it also because I've heard champagnes and other sparkling wines that something in them that amplifies the effects of the wine, making you feel slightly different. 

I'm not sure I'd get this wine again just for fun, but if I needed a sparkling wine for some reason I would consider it. 

 

Becker Barbera

Stephen and I had his sister and her boyfriend over for wii and wine and we had them pick a wine. They chose this Becker barbera, which is an EXCELLENT wine. This wine has a really unique smell and I was trying to look online somewhere for what it is and came across sandalwood. That is exactly it! And possibly a bit of mint? The flavor is also amazing - it has a subtle spiciness yet is a relatively light wine. It doesn't taste or feel thin at all though, which is something I hate in a wine. There is still some fruit in here, but it is not the dominant flavor.

I am sad to say that the barbera is no longer on the Becker website, which leads me to believe they are not making it any more? :( This may the last bottle I ever have! Also, speaking of Becker, Stephen and I joined their wine club when we went up there in June and haven't picked up our shipment yet. We signed up for 3 wines every 3 months, and they are supposed to be special limited release and exclusive wines. At this point, we are just going to wait a few more weeks and pick up our September shipment along with our December one (which is supposed to have the Raven wine in it - their special!).

To go along with our wine, I made a cheese plate! Ahhh the days of cheese plates, they have been severely lacking in my life lately. Anyway, I cut us up some aged gouda, gruyere, and parrano and all were delicious. I think the consensus was that the parrano was the best one, although all were amazing. In my opinion, the gouda paired best with the barbera.

Chisholm Trail Blanc du Bois

I'm not sure how, but we have THREE of these wines. I think the Round Rock Grapevine Market closing sale is partly to blame. Anyway, it is definitely time to drink one of them. Stephen just got back from a week long business trip to New York, so we decided wine was in order. As always, this blanc du bois is exceptional. I was curious as to what grapes are in here so I looked it up and found out blanc du bois IS the grape. Apparently it's some man made hybrid? It's similar to a sauvignon blanc but with just a hint of sweetness. The flavors are perfectly balanced and this particular wine has definitely citrus but also some floral notes as well as peach.

I love this wine so much I am definitely going to have to investigate other blanc du bois. In fact, I have a blanc du bois Haak white port that is A...MA...ZING that I got at the wine festival in May that I might have to revisit soon. This might have to be my "it" wine of the moment. 2 thumbs up!