Dealing with my problems

This was from my ever so happy Monday. After a lovely 5 hours of sleep I was greeted to an equally enthusiastic breakup. Fun. in order to keep the day going I enjoyed a nice bottle of Trader Joe's Chilean Savignon Blanc (not pictured). I did share at least at the 3rd barbeque of the season at a friend's place. Of what I could taste, that bottle was delicious. I'm pretty sure in my state it could have been radiator fluid and I still would have finished it, however. I'll give it a 5/5 for being there at the right place and time, and a 4.5 for value. It was 3.99 I believe.

Later on in the evening Mike came by  to make sure I was still alive (albeit curled into the fetal possition on the couch). He brought another of his sale bottles from the local liquer store. This particular wine was a Pinot Grigio from Blue Fish Wineries. While we were expecting a nice dry crisp wine we were greated with a lightly bubbly sweet wine. 1/5 for flavor. 3/5 for value since it was only a few dollars on sale. At regular price (about 13 dollars) it would not be worth it at all. As it was we barely made a dent in it. I'll try it again when I'm having another dissapointing evening I supose.

All in all, these helped me through my day, on to bigger and better things!

Catching up

Its been a little while and i've been a bit bad about emailing pictures to myself from my bricked out Iphone. For a quick catchup- about a week and a half ago Patrick's roommate Marissa treated a few of her awesome friends to a delicious homemade Italian dinner of stuffed pasta. In addition she provided a very tasty and well matched cabernet savignon from Livingston. For 6 dollars, this giant bottle made its way around the room. Sadly, i was not there when the bottle was drained, but it was definitely empty the next time i came by. I'd give it a 4.5 for value (giant bottle!) and a 3.5 for yumminess!
 Moving on to last Thursday! Date night! We didn't get around to eating until about 8pm, and pizza salad was on the menu. We baked some Pillsbury pizza dough up with some freshly grated parm. Then when it was done topped it with salad and some veggies that were sauteed in a fairly tasty pinot from Jacob's creek that was left in the fridge after the classy party (3 for yummines and ? for value... I . We drank some Trader Joe's Costal savignon blanc.Very tasty! Another 4 for taste and 5 for value at 4 dollars.  After dinner we enjoyed some delicious rootbeer floats spiked with vanilla vodka. A great way to top of a relaxing evening. A very filling and relaxing evening. I'm sure there will be more floats this evening since we are celebrating all things Patrick for St. Paddy's day! And while i might be a little Irish via Boston, I too cannot resist celebrating every holiday that employs drinking as its official celebratory act. More to come!

A Lovely Spring Break in Indiana

Its Spring Break! After destroying myself on a massively strenuous backpacking trip, or what others would call a meander through the woods, it was definitely time to settle back to my spot on the couch for a little R and R. The California Collection lingering in my fridge needed to go, and its not risotto season anymore, so down the hatch! Mike came by for some post work TV and brought along his last bottle of on sale Beringer from the Thanksgiving of Awesomely cheap wine. ( I say that with nostalgia since i miss being able to buy these in bulk at such low prices.) It was a lovely Pinot Grigio with a nice smooth mellowness. It was a touch sweet, but it contrasted nicely to the slightly drier, fruiter Savingon Blanc I started the night with. I'd give this bottle a 4.5 for value; how can you beat $2.50 a bottle? For taste its more of a 4, probably a 3 really, but I can't get over how yummy it is for how cheap it is. Or Indiana is just messing with my wine pallet, they do love their sweet table wines.
On a completely unrelated note, tonight is going to be our very own bicycle brewery tour! There might only be one brewery on the tour due to laziness, and my lackluster appreciation for the Lafayette Brewing Company: Peoples. There should be some good photos to come!

Tuesday night TV and wine

 What else is there to do on a lazy Tuesday when all motivation has left the building but crack open whatever wine has been hanging out in the fridge and check the TV for new episodes of Portlandia and Archer (or at least episodes that are new to me)? Especially when a food coma has set in from demolishing some awesomely seasonal Shamrock Shakes. For this exciting occasion I pulled out the second tier Vinho Verde (I'm hoarding the good stuff, it'll pop up on the blog a little bit later. Espiral brand, that I had Mike pick up from Trader Joe's for me for a little under 5 bucks a bottle, is a a good stand in for my favorite type of Vinho Verde. Light and crisp, its more of a summer drink, but I'll drink it anytime I get the chance. For under 5 bucks this bottle is a great value, I'll give it a 4.5, with a 4 for taste. This was a great bottle to start the evening.

Unfortunately, I made the not so great decision to switch bottles midway through to a bottle of California Collection Beringer wine that I picked up for about 4 dollars from Payless last week when I was food shopping. While I was looking for a bottle of  light, drinkable white, I should not have followed up one of my

favorite with a savignon blanc. This wine wasn't sweeter than the Vinho Verde, but it somehow contrasted really poorly to my first glass. I think i'll have to try it again on its own before I can make a real decision on it. It seems like a wine that would be good with dinner as oposed to an accompaniment to some tv time. After this thanksgiving when Beringer wines went on sale for $2.50 a piece for a few varieties of deliciously drinkable wines, thus making my holiday season, I can't just write them off.

I'd also make a note, that yes, those are Ugg slippers behind the bottle. And no, they are not mine, they are Patrick's. :)

Still trying to be classy....

Last weekend was full of new wines to try, so much so, that I almost forgot about my 4 dollar Kroger wine from the Gallo Family Winery. Honesty, I don't remember much about this wine, since it was the second I took part in that night. Overall, it was easy to drink, not too dry, but nothing I plan on purchasing again, unless of course it goes on sale. That's what I get for drinking it after the Peter's Mill White. I'm definitely willing to try others from this winery; there were a few other options hanging out on the bottom shelf, including some reds and a White Zinfandel.







Yesterday,  in an attempt to have a lazy Saturday night, Patrick and I cracked open a bottle of Landshut Riesling from the Aldi down the street. I may have only picked up this bottle because A) it was $5, B) there were only a few left on the shelf, C) because i really like the color of the bottle, forgetting that rieslings are a rather sweet wine, not my usual fare. I was not completely disappointed, though. While sweeter than I would have liked, it was still a very drinkable wine with good flavor (beyond, holy cow, sugar!). Patrick's roommate tried a glass and was pleasantly surprised. For myself, though, I'll stick to the drier side and maybe only enjoy the rest of this bottle for dessert one day this week.
As for ratings, I'd give it a 3 for value and t2.5 for flavor. Better luck next time, Aldi, I should have gone for your classic winking owl.