Thanksgiving week back blogging!

I'll start from the beginning... if i'm getting them all straight, its been a long week or so. On the occasion that I remember to pick up wine from the i end up with something like this: Kalbarri cabernet savignon. This australian red wasn't that exciting all and all. I'm really trying to remember when it was consumed, but it was a solid 3/5 for flavor and 3/5 for value. I think it was 5 or 6 dollars. Solidly mediocre. But hey, it wasn't a california red, like what i usually end up with (cheap!). Online it says this wine won tons of awards. I might be mistaken, but i'm pretty sure it didn't rock my socks. Check out the website if you don't believer me: http://www.kalbarriwines.com/

The next wine i brought to one of those "buy lots of sex toys!" parties, so i only got a glass or so, which promptly spilled everywhere. This blended Chianti from Italy was actually pretty yummy. I picked it up for 6 bucks at the local Aldi. They did good, but hey, they usually do. At the party I also picked up a few toys for myself. I'm excited to use them. My boyfriend, the gym, might be jealous, but i see him everyday anyways. These toys are for special occasion only ;).

Next up are the wines I bought for the shenanigan filled trip to Red River Gorge, Kentucky. Strangely  both  black themed. I bought the first one for the house, a cheap 5 dollar california merlot. This Black Oak had a nice bottle, but don't let it food you. This wine has no flavor profile. Its flat, and not in the ok, i'll drink the whole bottle way. In the wait, why am i drinking this way. 1/5 for flavor. I"m sorry :(. 1/5 for value. No value, not worth attempting a second time.

The other purchase, in a classy, classy box was a Chardonnay from Black Box. I like to buy the wine boxes to pack out to the woods when i'm done adventuring or sitting around and need to warm up. I honestly thought this was a red wine with how much bite it had. Its just a tasty chardonnay, i guess. 4/5 for flavor, and at 6 dollars for the box, 3.5/5 or value. Hey, i'm cheap. :). Definitely a good buy if you are going to be playing in the woods and don't want to hassle with glass.

Cheers friends! 

Thesis writing reprieve

What to do when your brain is about to explode from staring at statistical output for hours on end? Drink some wine! Relax for a few minutes or you will be even more useless than usual.
Last week i got to take a quick break with Kerri and Tyler and sip on some yummy reds. I brought the Black mountain Pinot Noir on the right, Tyler coughed up the Chateau Ste. Michelle cabernet savignion i believe. Yeah, shit quality pic. I've been working on getting a camera in working order. Soon my friends, soon.
Anyways, the Black Mountain was a 5 dollar trader joe's find. Easy and drinkable, i have nothing to say negatively about this wine. Its a california red, much better than most you can buy. The only caveat, if you like a wine with bite, this isn't for you. 4.5/5 for value, 3.5/5 for yumminess. Nothing wrong with it, just nothing spectacular.
The Oregon wine was also quite yummy. Probably out of my price range, but tasty, and just a little bit on the acidic side like tyler likes it. 4/5 for flavor. But no idea on value. Try it! Even the wine snob in the group enjoyed (not me i swear, although i did like it).
As I come up to my graduation date things will likely get classier (if i have a job to bankroll my enjoyment of wine) or less class (as i imbibe purple jesus, or anything else for that matter) as i search for a job.
Cheers!

Snobby beer on election days

While i voted absentee ages ago, the rest of my friends scurried around trying to vote yesterday. Most managed to do their duty as an american citizen, while a few others missed the mark. I don't care who they voted for, they just didn't make it to the polls.
Anyways, in celebration? anticipation? fear? we went out for a brew at our favorite overly loud pub. It was 3.75 midwest pint night, and i, unable to pick a beer off the list of 150, asked for help from the waiter. He helped me narrow down my choice to Flat 12 porter, now Pogue's porter from Flat 12 bierworks. This super rich chocolately porter is not for the faint of heart. I really enjoyed it, but if you don't want a brew a spoon can stand up in, you are sniffing up the wrong tree.
I'd have it again, but one was my limit at 5.5 abv when i wanted to drive home. That and it really managed to fill my stomach. Try some. Also, VOTE next time if you didn't already.
Just as a note: if you read other reviews of this beer, i had mine on tap with almost no head. It was delicious. I hear from the bottle its a mixed bag. But hey, most things are better on tap (in my opinion some ciders aren't but hey, opinions are like assholes....).

Happy Tuesday!

When it feels like the holiday season

A cold snap has finally dawned on us. On a run today, i was pelleted with tiny little snowballs. Fun. There are good aspects to the season, however. One of them came from an unexpected place: a box of franzia.
The other day I was out picking up some stuff at the supermarket with Tyler, and I couldn't resist a 6 dollar on sale box of franzia. It was chillable red, but hey, whatever, i'll give it a shot. I threw it in the fridge and popped it open a couple of days later.

Unexpectedly, it brought me back, back all the way to last winter when i spent a couple of weeks bumming around Europe with some of the coolest hobos i know. In Germany and the Czech republic this time of year, well maybe closer to Christmas, is Gluhwein season. Cheap, ubiquitous, and not too bad with a shot of absenthe or rum in it, Gluhwein can also lead to some hearty hangovers and bad decision making. Essentially its cheap red wine, mulled 'til it smells like Christmas. Or popuri. Whichever. I swore after drinking probably a half gallon of this stuff when the hostel i was staying at was giving it away for free to get rid of it, that I would never, ever bother drinking it again. I guess i'm wrong. this box of franzia with its fruity, not really wine at all flavors makes me reminisce for that mulled wine. It might be that it tastes like the cheap red base for the stuff. Who knows, but i might be getting some mulling spice soon, to try this stuff out hot.
Happy November everyone, now i'm off for a pint.