Why drinking then Whiskey isn't a good idea.

Remember the post about fireball? Well this little gem is from the same day. We are lucky I remember it. Leonard Kreusch Riesling. While I'm not normally a riesling person, due to their tendency to be cloyingly sweet and well, kinda gross, this one might make me change my mind on the whole low priced riesling category. I'm not sure who's bottle this was, Adam, Junior, or Kumar's, but it was darned delicious. Cheers to you good sir! Also, cheers for opening it when i needed it most.
Ok, back to the wine. This light wine is actually fairly dry, and at about 8 dollars a bottle, I'd say this would be great for a date or night of relaxed drinking. Not so much for when your friend (me) is on a bender. I'll give this wine a 4.5/5 for flavor :D! and a 5/5 for value. Mostly for resuscitating rieslings as a drinking and overall enjoyable drinking experience. Until, of course, I decided to drink more cinnamon whiskey than my poor liver could process.
Cheers!

Chicago is a nice little town

What to do over a "long" weekend when you are too stressed to take a full 3 days off, your friends have to finish their thesis, get jobs or work? Well you jaunt off to Chicago to experience the city. On the way there Keith and stopped by Three Floyds Brewery to see if we could get a tour. While that never managed to happen we did both get some really tasty beer. I think i ordered the I ordered the Jinx Proof which was a nice, crisp pilsner, and Keith got the Zombie dust. While wayyy hoppier than my beer, I really enjoyed them both, and I love going to great local places. Support local business. That and they were DELICIOUS. I've yet to develop a beer rating system, but based on my wine scale they'd get 5/5 out of yumminess and 4/5 for value. They were great local beers, but i'm cheap, and 5 dollars a pint is fairly standard, but not cheap.
If you are ever headed to Chicago or in the area, definitely stop by. It appears they have a rabid following, and a really yummy menu to go along with their great beer.
Now what do you do when you get to Chicago? If you are my friends and I, you pound a bunch of cupcakes (that's not slang or a euphemism or anything, we just ate a bunch of cupcakes) drink some Rolling rock and go out for pizza. We also managed to hit trader joes and some local shops, but this blog is about drinking.
Rolling rock doesn't really need a rating. I categorize it under "Take it or leave it". I have friends that swear by it, but i'll never actually buy it. Its not a great value, brewed by the big beer companies, and honestly doesn't boast great flavors. So, the next day we switched to Cinnamon Whiskey (that deserves its own post, so i'm going to leave that gem for later), and THINGS FROM TRADER JOES!

On the right we have Josephbrau pilsner or (plznr) not sure whats up with that. Its just what it says it is, a super cheap and yummy pilsner from TJ's. On the left we have the much classier Cut the Fluff wine. Its a light fruity white wine blend, and it went really well with my stromboli from Gino's Origional. I'd give it a 4/5 for flavor. It smelled crisp but had a light sweetness, and 4.5/5 for value at $4.99 a bottle. This would make a great unimposing dinner wine.
Also, yes, i peel the labels off my beer bottles, what of it?
Back to reality tomorrow, more to come this week!

Weekends are Always more fun!

 

This picture might look awful classy, but it was just at the sober end of a really great Cinco de Mayo BBQ. (Great job Hermes!) While not quite in the spirit of the holiday, this Beringer, California Collection Chardonnay was way better than i remember the last California collection wine i had being. I think this bottle was about 7 dollars, making it a 3 or so for value out of 5. For taste it gets a solid 4. Light, refreshing, not overly sweet or dry; it was a great wine to enjoy with chips and salsa. Followed by margaritas and banderitas, of course.

Last weekend was an awesome trip to the red river gorge in KY. Sitting around a campfire is never quite complete without something yummy to drink, so we stopped on the way before we hit the dry counties and stocked up for the weekend. I found the lovely juicebox packaged Bandit wine. While a Pinot Grigio is not my top pick for camping, the box noted that this wine would be a great option to take outside camping and hiking. I had no choice but to give it a try. 

The box, weighing in at 1.3 times the normal wine bottle size would have been great to save and pack with me if there had actually been any left after it was passed around a few times. I'd give it at 8 dollars for the box a 3.5/5 for value and 4/5 for taste.

Please don't judge the picture. No one is pretty after 6 hours hours in the car followed by camping in Kentucky.

Wednesday night Chardonnay

Today Mike came over to chill for a bit since I was ready to crash ant 7:30pm. He brought with him Santa Barbara Chardonnay from Trader Joe's. Super cheap and his first win on the wine front in a while! It was about 4 dollars (sorry already forgot) making it a 4.5/5 for value. Its a 3.5/5 for taste, but overall its drinkable, more than drinkable in fact. I easily finished half a bottle, yum, yum! We finished the bottle while watching the ever entertaining Forgetting Sarah Marshall. This wine would be great with some heavy pasta or cold weather meal.
Spaten today, beer, and pancakes!

Prom and Green Wine

With the return of some nicer weather, I was elated to find a bottle of green wine (vinho verde) in the local VBS. Normally back home i only spend about 3 dollars a bottle for this type of wine, but at 7, this wasn't a bad deal. I'd give it a 4.5/5 for value. As for taste, it was nice, true to type of wine- light, crisp and refreshing. There are plenty of places you can find reviews for this type of wine alluding to how damn good it is for so little money. Its also always good to note that this crisp summer wine is also lower in alcohol, which would have been nice if i hadn't chased it was some much worse wine (not pictured and i have no idea what it was). The hangover was legendary, I'm still trying to work it off one giant Quodoba burrito later.

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!

Sometimes there is food, too!

After a long weekend of sleeping as much as possible, running almost 12 miles (I know! There is a little bit of an overachiever in me.) and grading papers, a relaxing Monday night was definitely in order. I decided ill-advisedly to try my hand at some vegetarian Moussaka, which while delicious took FOREVER to assemble. Yes the photo is me showing off. 

Charles and Patrick meandered over to try some of the outcome and watch some bad television, my entertainment of choice. Patrick showed up with a bottle of Fontana Candida Pinot Grigio. With low expectations we wrestled the cork from the bottle and were pleasantly surprised. This 9 dollar bottle was purchased from the Village Bottle Shop across the intersection from house. Officially, this is now the only wine we have ever gotten from there that I would consider drinking again. In a quick search of other reviews this wine is labeled compelling. While this may be true for some, I find this wine a decent deal, maybe a 3/5 for 9 dollars, putting it in my mid-range price category. Light, refreshing, and overall, doesn't have anything that stands out as bad or horribly wrong (that standard being set by home brew of course.) I'd give it a 3 for flavor. 

Just a note on my current price categories:
Category 1: $6.99 or less
Category 2: $7-15
Category 3: Things I cannot afford.

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.

Patrick's Classy Fondu Party

Last weekend was filled with delicious wine! Patrick and his lovely roommate hosted a very classy chocolate fondu party that rapidly turned into a multiple bottle per person semi classy, stuffing yourself with food party. In order to fit in, I brought the bottle of Wildcat Creek Peter's Mill White that i purchased last semester after a wine tasting at this local winery.
If you are ever in Lafayette, IN, I would highly recommend a visit to this tidy little winery off route 38 (near 65). Set off the road by a picturesque creek that is boat-able and float-able in summer, this winery purchases grape juice concentrates for their wines, like most other local wineries. They did say at my last visit, however, that they were working on maturing their own vines. Overall, I find many of their wines to be too sweet for my palate, but this, one of their drier whites, is light, drinkable and at 14 dollars, a pretty good deal when bought at one of their free tastings. Their shop staff are super friendly as well as the wine makers who frequently drop in and are more than happy to answer questions.
As for ratings, I'd give this a 4/5 for value and a 3.5/5 for flavor, but hey, I might be a tough judge, and i'll basically drink a 2 and above.

First Post!!!!

So, I'm actually putting this together, even though you probably thought I would never get around to it. I figured this blog would be a nice place to share what we've discovered in our adventures through cheap alcohol, more specifically the bottom shelf and sale department of the local Payless wine isle and other liqueur selling locations.
At right you will see two types of the Tavernello wine that Kate and I aquired at a Coop in Venice, Italy. For 1.49 Euro we enjoyed the best that juice-boxed wine has to offer in both red and white. Both were a bit dry, and overall, well worth the trip to Venice. I can't wait to go back!