Blueberry Pinot

  Last weekend I was out doing some site seeing.  I was not planning on buying any wine.  My wine rack is flowing over and I made a promise to myself I needed to open a few more bottles before I add another.  We  ventured to National Harbor right outside of Washington DC.  Fortunately for us there was a little open air market going on.  We walked around, picked up some amazingly yummy tomatoes and nectarines.  Just as we were about to head to the car, we saw a small tent offering wine samples.  Well, I don't know about you, but when I see wine samples...I'm like a moth to a flame.  I cannot walk away.

  The winery was Solomon Island Winery.  This is a local Maryland vineyard located in Lusby, Maryland.  This day they were offering their Island Mist collection.  I sipped Kiwi Pear Sauvignon Blanc, Mango Symphony, Watermelon White Merlot and last but not least Blueberry Pinot Noir.  I liked all of them, but the Blueberry Pinot Noir stood out.  

  It is labeled as a sweet wine.  Compared to many sweet wines that I've had the pleasure of tasting I did not come off as a sugary sweet wine.  Instead, it was more of a strong blueberry pinot noir.  It is recommended to be served chilled.  I don't typically like my pinots cold.  To me, if a wine is too cold it loses a lot of the flavor.  I tried this chilled and room temperature and both were absolutely delish!!  I must admit slightly cool is my favorite.  Will I purchase another bottle?  No.  I will pick up a case next chance I can!

Where to buy?

Totally Random

  I was perusing my most recent shipment of wines from Vinesse Light and Sweet Wine Club when I discovered Totally Random Moscato.  I wasn't sure if I was in a moscato mood, until I read the back of the bottle:

When a quiet night at home becomes a dance party, or a dinner with friends starts at dusk and ends at sunrise - life is giving you its best when you least expect it.  So prepare for the unexpected.  Be.  Live.  Totally Random

  After reading I popped the cork and decided to live a little, and boy did I!  This wine is perfect for a night in with your sweet wine loving mate.  I also think it's a great bottle to have around in case friends stop by or for that spontaneous summer cook out.  It's sweet, ripe, fruity, but most importantly it's YUM!!  My "I-only-drink-sweet" husband really enjoyed this with me.  Grab a bottle and let me know your thoughts!

You can pick up a bottle here.

Spiced Apple Wine-Our Kinda Wine

This week on #winechat the theme was local wine. I was looking forward to this. I'd been wanting to find a wine that I could enjoy with my hubby (my drinking partner). Since he loves sweet, I thought of this as an opportunity to pick up a semi sweet flavored wine. I decided upon a bottle of Berrywine Plantations Spiced Apple wine from Linganore Winery.


Linganore Winery is a local Maryland wine. Located in Mount Airy, Maryland, this family operated vineyard is rich in beauty and history. From their website:

Berrywine Plantations / Linganore Winecellars is a family operated vineyard and winery nestled on 230 acres of picturesque rolling countryside, 4.5 miles northeast of historic New Market, Maryland.
Established by Jack and Lucille Aellen in 1971, our first 6 acres of vineyards were planted in 1972 and the winery opened in 1976 in the lower half of a 19th century post and beam barn which previously housed the farm’s dairy operation. Using Lucille’s father’s hand winemaking equipment, we processed 6 tons of grapes our first year. In 1977, we held Maryland’s first wine festival as a way to introduce our first vintage to the public. In 1978, to meet consumer demand, we introduced the state’s first semi sweet grape wines, an off shoot of our German-Swiss winemaking heritage. With the knowledge and experience in the production of these lighter style wines came the introduction that same year of our honey and pure fruit wines.
By the early ‘80s, the winemaking responsibilities were taken over by Jack and Lucille’s son Anthony. Also in the early ‘80s, new experimental grape varieties from the grape breeding program at Cornell University were planted in test plots in our vineyards. The success of many of these new hybrids has been shown in expanded acreage and dedication to winery production.

I've had the pleasure of tasting their wines in the past at local wine events. I knew when I walked into my wine store that I would find something fantastic from them. A wine that was sweet, but not too sweet. Spiced Apple Wine is just that. Having tasted quite a few apple wines in the past I was thinking this would be similar to those. Previous apple wines have been extremely tart. I often felt as if I was biting into a crisp green apple, with those wines. Berrywine Plantations Spiced Apple Wine, is no crisp green apple. First sip, it reminded me of biting into a slice of warm apple pie, and then allowing yourself to savour all those flavors. I tasted cinnamon, nutmeg, and baked apple. Yes, it is sweet. But I didn't feel as if it was too sugary or syrupy. I wasn't sure how my husband would feel. The bottle suggests to serve it warm. I knew he didn't care for warm wines that often. For me, leaving it room temperature added to the warm apple pie taste. The hubby, after one sip, smiled, looked at me and said, "This is my kinda wine!" I could not agree more. I will buy this again. I'm thinking a case may be in our future. I'm looking forward to pairing this with warm apples and pears! Please try and share your thoughts.

You can purchase their wine here.

Barbera B. Lovely

How did you spend your St. Patty's day? I actually had a pretty quiet one. In years past I would spend my day drinking with friends.

A good friend after too many Irish Car Bombs-St. Patty's Day Past

But this year I decided to spend the day in with my drinking buddy. ;-) We put the top down (it was a gorgeous day) and headed off to a local wine shop. I wanted to purchase some wine off my list and look into Barbera. As you may or may not know I have a twitter account and recently I noticed a conversation or tweets about Barbera. Are you asking the same thing I was? What is a Barbera?
A Barbera is a versatile Italian red grape. It generally produces lighter style wines with cherry and raspberry fruit flavors and aromas, mixed with rustic spice. This wine has a fantastic crispness and is ideal with food. Barbera is capable of producing medium to full bodied wines.

While at the store I found myself having a fantastic conversation with an employee. He reiterated that Barbera is very fruity, yet dry and while it can go with just about any food it would pair best with a bold, spicy red sauce. The prices ranged from $9.99 up to $30+. The salesman suggested I try an inexpensive one first ($9.99) just to see if I liked it. We decided upon Cren della Lepre Barbera Piemonte 2010.

Green label for St. Patty's Day


I have to admit, I was slightly concerned. The salesman stressed this was a fruity, yet dry wine. With my first sip I knew I had nothing to fear. I found this wine to be light, fruity and dry. Not too dry or too fruity, it reminded me a grape jelly, just not as sweet.

While I was learning about this wine, my drinking buddy discovered a tasting going on a few aisles over. In the spirit of the holiday he tried Irish whiskey (a few times) and a few wines. He found two that he liked. Now keep in mind he is super new to wine and so far only has enjoyed the sweeter ones. The first wine he liked and actually purchased was B. Lovely 2010 Late Harvest Riesling and the other, which we plan to go back and purchase Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz. Since we had the B. Lovely in the house, I might as well give you my thoughts on it.

I thought this Riesling was very sweet, crisp and tart. Probably a perfect wine for someone who favors sweet wines. For me, it was a little too sweet. I'm sure I'll purchase this again, not for me, but for him and his non-wine drinking friends. ;-)