In the middle of January, my boyfriend the Champion, our room mate Spicy J and I all got sick. In fact, everyone who came over got sick. It was a terrible, terrible plague indeed.

Spicy J, however, had a solution. Wine slushies!

Think 7-11 slushies…but wine instead.

Pretty damn yummy.

The ingredients!

Spicy J’s mom gave us the slush mix and that combined with the Riunite Lambrusco (which is already a very sweet wine) worked very, very well.

I think it even made us feel a little better.

This would be perfect if you used Sangria. Actually, you could probably bypass the slush mix altogether and just use sangria, fruit and ice. I’m sure that would be just as tasty but with less sugar.

Sounds like a perfect summer drink to me, I’ll have to remember to try that out when the weather gets hotter again.

Or sooner ;)

A most tragic thing happened this weekend. My room mate, Spicy J, and I ran out of wine!

After purchasing five bottles (or so) last week we still managed to run out Saturday night.

Devastating…

Today that dry spell ended (yes, we consider twelve hours or less of no wine a “dry spell”). We journeyed to the store to pick up a bottle each and I might have a new love interest.

Writer’s Block wine…

Except I’m too low on funds until pay day so the wine man at the store recommended a different one (based entirely on my love for Menage A Trois so you can guess who’s going back there for a that coveted Writer’s Block bottle and a serious conversation with the wine man.)

Since funds were low he pointed me to Renegade Wine, and he did not steer me wrong!

This is a bold, expensive tasting Washington wine for ten bucks. I really did not expect much but was in a hurry. I had, admittedly, heard good things about it but did not think I would like a wine that was so Cabernet Sauvignon (95% actually and for a Red Queen, I am not really a Cab fan) but this packs quite the bang for the buck.

I’m also reconsidering my feelings on Cabs…

Oh yes! It’s happens to be a Washington wine and I’ve already mentioned giving my local wines an honest try so this ended up being a two for one!

This bottle is actually a side project from Sleight Of Hand Cellars (typically they produce wines a little too expensive for me but I’ve been curious nonetheless) and those guys know what they’re doing! Rich, balanced, bold and totally worth it. The wine man and I are going to have a conversation….soon. I’d like to see what else he might have in store for me.

This one I paired with Amy’s vegan cheese less pizza and some amazing marzipan some family members of mine are kind enough to send from Germany. It went perfectly.

Oh, and the back of the bottle read “Glasses? We don’t need no stinking glasses!” so I decided to just drink it straight from the bottle.

Like a damn renegade!

aldouse:

#wine

A beautiful picture of my favorite go-to wine! Excellent!

So, last weekend I picked up a rather interesting bottle of wine.

There I was, browsing the wine aisle on my lunch break, attempting to find a new one to try (but was also on sale) when I tilted my head and looked up at the shelf above me.

A strange man in even stranger spectacles looked back down from a bottle that read “Stark Raving”.

I finished the sentence with a whisper. “Mad..Stark raving mad,”

If there was someone else in the aisle, I didn’t notice them. Therefore, I didn’t care if anyone overheard me talking to wine in public (again).

Let me tell you though, it was totally like that scene in Alice in Wonderland. You know the one…

And so the Alice in WineO Land prophecy is fulfilled, I have succumbed to madness. I suppose I wasn’t far off in the first place, but still. I knew the bottle to buy.

It was also conveniently on sale!

The founder of Rosenblum Cellars (where Stark Raving is created) apparently quit their day job to pursue their interest in wine making. Honestly, who can’t respect that dream?

They also believe “that a little dose of madness can lead to extraordinary things” and I must say I agree. Wholeheartedly.

This bottle was definitely worth it, I recommend everyone give it a try. I mean, we’re all mad here, right?

akabiggirlnow:

My intentions:

What really happens: 

Pretty much…except it’s a bottle of red.

The other night, my room mate Spicy J, my boyfriend The Champion and I decided to have spaghetti night with, of course, some vino!

Making spaghetti vegan is pretty easy to do. Double check the noodle ingredients, get some tasty sauce (I’m a garlic fan) and throw some fake meat or fake meat balls in there if you want to make it fancy. I went with vegetarian ground meat, heated it up and threw it in the sauce.

To amp the meal up though (up in carbs that is but don’t judge, we drank a lot the night before), I made some vegan garlic bread. Real easy to do!

Earth balance butter, add garlic powder, melt it in the microwave and then spread it on some bread (double check ingredients).

Toss that in the oven for a few on 350 and you’re done! Real quick and easy.

Wine wise, I picked up a bottle of Headsnapper Radiant Red.

“Warning: May cause whiplash”-Back of the bottle.

An Argentinian wine for spaghetti night? Why not?

It was a very light and fruity red, but not overly sweet which I always appreciate. It actually went quite well with dinner (take that you “recommended meat pairings”!).

I got it because of its colorful label (which went nicely with our colorful spaghetti plates) and because it was on sale. 

See? What a beautiful combo!

Headsnapper is a bright and colorful wine that went perfectly, I definitely recommend it.

Bellissimo!

We, like any group of young adults, decided to throw a little New Years Eve party.

Unsure of how many people were going to arrive, my boyfriend, my room mate Spicy J and I decided to pick up a few bottles of cheap champagne and asked everyone coming to do the same.

Needless to say we had quite a few bottles (though it never feels like enough, does it?)

We only got the cheap stuff because A.) it was purchased last minute and B.) we didn’t have much to throw down and quantity mattered a tad more than quality this time around.

So Ballatore it was! My favorite brand of cheap champagne!

Except the store was out of that too…

So Cooks it was!

Lots.

Luckily I already had several sets of champagne flutes.

(Fun fact about me: I have more alcohol specific drink ware than regular glasses…also a lot of coffee mugs.)

Fabulous, no?

Now, quick rant. Champagne, is not technically Champagne unless it’s from the Champagne Province in France.

Everything else is sparkling wine. I am fine with this though, honestly I am. I just wanted to set that straight.

Okay, back to New Years. We popped those corks like a firing squad about five minutes before midnight and toasted to 2013. The year “anything goes” (we come up with slogans for each year however from 2010-2012 it was “the year we don’t give a shit”. Yup, we didn’t give a shit for three years in a row).

I felt snazzy!

I have no real qualms against Cooks. It’s certainly not my favorite but after enough vodka tonics and it being the last night of the year and all, I enjoyed myself.

Next year though, I’m certainly going to just let it spray all over me and my New Years kiss, now that’s a way to end and start a year! Soaked in champagne!

Lush Life 2012

My favorite wines and lovable lushes of the year!

Wines of 2012:

Menage A Trois (CA), Donnaluna (Italy), Undone (Germany), Class Act Pinot Noir (OR), Thorny Rose (WA), Chocolate Shop (WA), Twisted (CA), and Pro.Mis.Q.Ous (CA).

Lovable Lushes of 2012:

Spicy J, my new room mate (featured in “Popping Corks”) We didn’t drink much wine in 2012 together except for New Years but 2013 has already been quite lush with this guy around. Finally! Another wine drinker in the apartment!

PS and VB, the French kids (Featured in “The French Invasion”). They were a ton of fun and my boyfriend The Champion and I can’t wait to see them in France.

The Redd Queen (Featured in “Girls Night: Wine and Chocolate”). She’s been a lovely chocolate and wine companion all year long and was a fun temporary room mate.

The Champion, my boyfriend (Featured in “Girls Night: Wine and Chocolate”, “The French Invasion”, “Holidays and Open Fires”, Popping Corks”, “Space Bag”) He’s been there for the grand majority of my wine adventures this year and he’s not even a wine drinker. Still a lush though ;)

Ms. Alaska (Featured in “Space Bag”) was here for many wine adventures as well and taught me about space bags! What’s not to love!?

Ma mere et mon pere! (Featured in “First Flight” “Holidays and Open Fires”). They’ve encouraged me and taught me much about wine and more this year. I love my parents.

Brit Viscous (Featured in “Getting Twisted”) has been around this place for many adventures and a ton of fun to hang out with. I love this girl!

Ana Tomy, my dance partner. (Featured in “Girls Night: Wine and Chocolate”). Every time we’re choreographing a new dance routine, we’ve got a bottle of something (we’re professionals obviously) and she’s probably been around the most this year. We’ve gotten drunk together for the bad nights, the amazing nights, and the crazy nights. We’ve toasted for strength to move on from hardships, and we’ve toasted to our bright futures. For her awesome friendship and all the great times and successful performances we’ve had, she’s my number one lovable lush of the year.

This said, I love all of my friends and family and can’t wait to see what 2013 brings! 

Every year, my family will bring out this handmade pot and burner set and we make some traditional, German Feuerzangenbowle. Whether it be Thanksgiving, Yule or Xmas, this baby comes out.

My dad likes to call this “Fire Wine” named because of the exciting, flammable process it takes to make it which I will describe here.

Oh yeah, I know you want some of this…

Recipe and Procedure (Taken from Wikipedia):

“Feuerzangenbowle is prepared in a bowl, similar to a fondue set, which usually is suspended over a small burner (rechaud). The bowl is filled with heated dry red wine spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves and orange peel, similar to mulled wine. The Feuerzange was originally a pair of tongs, but nowadays it is common for a purpose-designed metal grate mounted on top of the bowl to hold the Zuckerhut (sugarloaf or literally “sugar hat”), a sugar cone around seven inches long. The sugar is soaked with rum and set alight, melting and caramelizing. The rum should have at least 54% alcohol per volume and room temperature in order to burn properly. More rum is poured with a ladle until all the sugar has melted and mixed with the wine. The resulting punch is served in mugs while the burner keeps the bowl warm. For some the ceremony is more important than the drink itself, celebrating the gathering of friends and conveying a notion of Gemütlichkeit.”

We usually use Bacardi 151 for the sugarloaf and this year we used a bottle of Glühwein and half a bottle of merlot in the pot. Very, very delicious and a lovely beverage for cold nights, holidays and friends.

Prost!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feuerzangenbowle

I’m glad I get plenty of help ;)

In case you didn’t know, I am a part of a tribal belly dance troupe. I love belly dance and doing tribal with a troupe of beautiful women is a ton of fun.

We also have some pretty awesome, little troupe parties.

For our last troupe meeting of the year, I picked up a bottle of Pro-mis-Q-ous wine.

Honestly, sexy wines always grab my attention. I’ll be walking down an aisle, browsing the selection and then some hot, lean bottle will start flirting with me.

“Come on baby, how about a Menage A Trois?”

“Hey, good looking! Let’s do something bold and spicy!”

“Hey girl, feeling PromisQous?”

Yes…yes I am, let me introduce you to some friends of mine in fact…

Come on, with a label this how can you say no?

You can’t, not to this tempting vino…

It was actually a very refreshing red. Typically I’m not used to reds being “refreshing”, I tend to go for bold and rich wines but this fruity concoction was pretty light, sweet and quite nice. It went well with our spread of homemade guacamole, salsa, chips, crackers and veggies so I’m pretty confidant on it’s versatile pairings.

So, if you’re in the mood for something flexible, bright, delicious and sexy, try this one out ;)