And then there was Hell to Pay: The Hangover

November 23, 2010
By
And then there was Hell to Pay: The Hangover

This is the second part to the story of how I betray the Wine Gods during what seemed to be an innocent Friday night game of Dungeons and Dragons. Our friend’s foster kitten on the table.  He was a party cat for sure. There was hell to pay and I kinda knew it.  It’s about to get very ugly. We made it to bed after the friends left and I surprisingly didn’t feel too shabby.  For a little while I though I was going to be OK.  Four am rolls around and that’s when the fun began.   I lost my dinner.  Ew, I know.  That’s what I was thinking.  I crawled back into bed hoping that was the end of it.  Eight am the alarm goes off and thank goodness it did because I had to puke again.  I felt like hell. We had tickets to watch the live Smodcast Hollywood Babble-On recording with Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman live!!!!  If you have not checked it out I recommend you do so.  After you read my post.    I love getting out of town and Dave was psyched to go see the show.  We had a date with writer, director,

Read more »

Dirty Wine Girl Betrays the Wine Gods

November 23, 2010
By
Dirty Wine Girl Betrays the Wine Gods

So, a couple Friday nights ago we had our usual awesome group of friends over for some games (Dungeons & Dragons actually) and drinks and I did a very very bad thing. D&D miniatures in the heat of battle! First I had a lovely refreshing glass of my favorite white wine, Chariot Gypsy White wine which I still have to review for you.  Then our friend brought a sampling of bottled beer for us to try.  (Mistake #1) I had samples of about six beers which totaled about one very strong beer.  (Mistake #2) I hadn’t eaten any dinner at this point, just a protein shake and some nachos was all I had eaten so far that day and by this point it was around 6:30pm. Beer sampling.  Although it was nice to try them all, I think this was the beginning of my downfall. (Mistake #3) Dave opened a bottle of Pinot Noir and we tried that out.  (Mistake #4) Somehow my glass got a refill and later in the evening I remember thinking, and probably saying, “ew, I think I had too much to drink”.  This worried me because I knew we had to be up by 8am

Read more »

The Tale of Two Pinots: Acacia vs. La Crema

November 6, 2010
By
The Tale of Two Pinots: Acacia vs. La Crema

Acacia Pinot Noir, Napa Valley – Carneros, 2007 Price: ~$19 at Safeway (on sale) Stopped by the local Safeway last night after work to pick up some Friday night supplies.  We grabbed a pizza and of course had to grab a bottle (or two) of wine.  Since all of their wines that cost $20 and up are discounted at 30% off we went with our favorite La Crema Pinot Noir and a bottle of Acacia Pinot Noir to compare side by side.  A bit of a splurge for me since my price range for a bottle of wine is $3 – $10. We reviewed Acacia, re-reviewed La Crema and then compared the two. Mira, que fancy.  What a regal looking label!  We had to see how this matched up against our beloved La Crema! Dave’s Grade: B+ Dave’s Review: Looks like a simple purple wine with a tiny hint of brown.  Its scent reminds him of a new pair of gym shoes and pipe tobacco.  The scent up front is “whoa”!  It really hits the nose.  Underneath the gym shoe scent is pine and a little cotton candy.  At first taste there is some lime and some type of wood. 

Read more »

Chariot!

October 14, 2010
By
Chariot!

Chariot Gypsy, Red Wine, 2008 Price: ~$5 at Trader Joe’s Here’s a wine that I fell in love with and now I cannot find it anymore.  But I will keep checking and when I see it at TJ’s you’ll be the first to know!  Chariot Gypsy is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and Sangiovese from Napa, Sonoma, San Joachin, and Monterey counties. I love this label!  Such a strong lovely Gypsy woman!  (Photo Source) Dave’s Initial Grade: B+ (with spicy sausage he gave it an A-)Dave’s Review: Very good.  The color is maroon with a slightly burned umber color.  It smells like maraschino cherries soaked in alcohol, also smells like orange and sweet and sour pork.  It tastes sweet and smooth with mandarin oranges, strong alcohol taste as well. Dave’s interpretation of Chariot Gypsy’s flavor profile.  It doesn’t drop below a four, the flavor develops and continues to develop pleasantly for a while.  Kelly’s Grade: A-Kelly’s Review: A dark rich red, very inviting indeed!  I can smell alcohol first and then vanilla, orange peel and oak.  I taste apple, caramel, cedar, mint and pepper.  It is delicious alone but I think it would rock with some orange

Read more »

Attitude is (pretty much) Everything!

September 30, 2010
By
Attitude is (pretty much) Everything!

I can’t believe tomorrow is Friday already!  This week has gone by very smoothly despite a sprained ankle that I have been nursing back to health all week.  Basically, I tried to jump over someone in Taekwondo and I failed.  This happened during the beginning of class but I muscled through the next three hours and finished the class the best I could.  (After crying a little first of course.)  Thank you Taekwondo for helping me to toughen up a little. Dave + Me + Taekwondo = lots of good stuff On Monday morning I told Dave, “Don’t worry, this week will go by really fast and it will be Friday in no time.”  I was saying this more to myself since I was completely dreading spending my day at work.  The work week seemed like a vast desert stretched out before me with the weekend an oasis that I could not see yet.  I think I was being a bit dramatic.  To this he answered something about the weekend not always being super great so maybe I should try to enjoy the week also.  Enjoy the work week?  Hmmm…  So I went through my days with a little more

Read more »