Good Morning!

When it gets warm out, I find myself drinking more white wines and the lighter, the crisper, the better for my taste. It’s been really nice out and I started enjoying the pool a few weeks ago and though it is not summer yet our warm winter and early sunny days demanded I find the time to read by the water when I can. I love my Nook and I love the refreshing wine, they seem to contribute to a perfect Saturday afternoon.

Yesterday, I had the afternoon to myself and I found myself by the pool reading and I did not have a glass of wine with me….after I got over the shock of my mis-step, I walked into the kitchen and found I did not have any white wine that I felt like enjoying. I looked over and saw I had 4 Pinot Noirs’ slightly chilled and I thought, this will be a lovely alternative for today.

I don’t know why but this winter I really got into a rhythm of having Pinot Noir as a pairing with grilled meats and brie cheese. I hate it when I get in a rut. I threw caution to the wind and opened the Pinot Noir by Siduri and as soon as I took the first sniff, I fell in love again. The complex flavors and the light mouthfeel made me melt. I was in a good mood before I opened it, but I was instantly in a greater mood. I wrapped a chill sleeve around the bottle and headed back to the pool.

All the while I was reading another wine book, every sip I took reminded me of being in Willamette Valley and Russian River. I was not just delighted by the “lift” of the alcohol, I was feeling the joy of the beautiful wine and the memories of the places I have traveled and had the fortune to make wine in these exceptional locations. Both places are ideal for growing Pinot Noir, they are award winning wines and a challenging grape to grow.

If you have never tried a Pinot Noir, here’s what you might experience, on the nose, you will get ripe cherries and smokiness, think warm cherry pie by a campfire. This red wine will be lighter in color than a Merlot or Cab or most reds for that matter. This wine will have a much softer and lighter mouthfeel but you will still get the “dry” sensation in your mouth.

This grape is a still one of my favorite wines ever and if you want to try the Pinot Noir grape from France find a bottle of Burgundy…that is actually the grape Burgundy is made from!

I fell in love with the grape again yesterday by the pool, I hope you will try some for yourself!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I was still enjoying the last of my chocolate Easter eggs and this AM I stepped on the scale and the word Eeek came out. After I gave the leftover candy to the neighbor boy, Liam, I thought I better back off the rich foods and start moving a little more than I eat, so I set out to see what I could make for dinner tonight and I thought grilled shrimp sounds nice, but what about wine?

I will not give up wine to lose weight or for any other reason. Well unless the Doctor says stop while you take this medicine. I can easily stop for a week or two but if I had to give it up for good, that would flat out suck. So I started thinking about eating lighter and pairing lighter foods with what I have in the cellar right now….I like to eat salad and as long as I stay away from the fatty, creamy dressing I can eat as much as I want….Bob Harper, on Biggest Loser,always says, nobody gets fat on iceberg lettuce and peppers!

I am having a milestone birthday this August and there will be a massive party and I want to feel as happy as possible and feeling weighed down, is not gonna work for me. But I have a ton of travel coming up and it’s hard to watch what I eat when folks are treating you to winemaker’s dinners and wine tasting events. So I thought I would share a few ways with you that I will use to try to be at my perfect healthy body before the big day in Vegas this summer.

Wine is about 100-120 calories a glass, white white is just a few calories less than red wine, but for me the trick is what am I going to eat with the wine. I have no thyroid and my body thinks it’s hungry all the time, so I really have to fool myself so I think I am satisfied. A big salad, lean protein and lots of water should be a great start and just enough carbs to keep me from feeling hungry…then I can step up my working out and I should be just fine.

The wines I like to pair with the lighter foods, tonight I will serve the Rose’ by Gundlach Bundschu, it is complex, yet light and will work perfectly with seafood and chicken in the next several months. If I am going to enjoy salads as a meal, I have to stock up on Venho Verde, this super light crisp wine will not fight the vinegar based dressing and since I like very little dressing on my greens, I should end up feeling full and happy not all unfulfilled.

I have no intention on wearing a bikini or tube top this summer, just want last year’s shorts to not give me the “muffin top” effect!

I have ranted enough today, I am headed to the gym! Not to worry, I am not hung up on how I look..it’s all about how I feel.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

Tonight is the Men’s NCAA Basketball Finals Kentucky vs. Kansas… I do not have a favorite but I did see a news segment about a woman who is over 100 who follows and goes to every single Kansas game, I figure she deserves to see a National Championship for all the years she has been a fan, so I think I will cheer for Kansas.

As for the Women’s Finals, they will be played tomorrow night and it will be Baylor vs. Notre Dame, You know since the Lady Vols were elimanted my love for the game always fades but I am going to cheer for my home state of Indiana team of Notre Dame. I am going to rant here for just a second…Baylor might have the best player in the country currently, Brittney Griner, she is 6′ 8″ and she dunks. I am not sure anyone can beat them, because her height creates so many issues, if you slow her down, the rest of the team steps up and if you don’t have at least 2 players on her, she will take every rebound and she just takes up so much space in the paint, well, I am just glad the tallest woman I ever had to play against was 6 foot….she cleaned the floor with my 5′ 5″ body. I like to think I made her work for it, but she was better and wanted it more. I am really glad that today, as a young woman you can actually dream about a career in basketball after college besides coaching. The WNBA and the international league have been awesome for the sport.

OK, I am done talking about basketball at least for a few months…what is really important about the games are the wines, I enjoyed and the food that I paired it with!

The UCONN and Notre Dame game, I made roasted red potatoes stuffed with sour cream and bacon for an appetizer, we paired this little show starter with Ramey 2006 Napa Chardonnay….I know I hear ya gasping at the pairing, who puts bacon with Chardonnay, Right? Well the wine was pretty oaky and the play between the acid of the sour cream and wine was really lovely and the smokiness of the bacon really was a main player without taking over. Bacon or any smoked meats for that matter, demand to be heard, but for some reason, that being the sour cream, the bacon was happy being a supporting player! The game went into OVERTIME and honestly, I wish I had made about 8000 more of these little bites, we would have been happy with this pairing forever.

Second game, Baylor vs Stanford I made crab legs and of course we had lemon and butter everywhere…the sweet meat was paired with the most balanced and minerally Chardonnay made by Truchard the 2009, this chardonnay is very flinty and stoney and crisp with a beautiful and light acidity….it paired with the buttery and sweet and cut the fatty sensation. So, as you can see Sunday at my place was really pretty stellar in the land of food and wine…as for the games, I wanted Stanford to win…because I figure if you are smart enough to get into Stanford, get the grades and play ball on the level of National Champs, go for it….plus this was their 5th Final Four in a row and I am tired of them being a bridesmaid.

I hope you have an awesome Monday!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I spent my weekend watching Men’s and Women’s NCAA Basketball tournaments and enjoying some great wines and even a few beers. I witnessed a few upsets and many dominate teams and players. The Men’s tournament is down to the Final Four and the Women’s will be down to the Final Four tonight. I am super sad to report my Lady Vols were knocked out of the tournament last night by the Baylor Bears. (Note to self if I am ever going to play a team with a 6′ 8″ center, I better have a great 3 point shot and an outside game) But I will say it is awesome to be alive at a time where a young woman of that size and skill is playing my favorite game, she has dunked twice so far in the Tournament!

Enough of my chatter about the NCAA basketball, let’s talk about my 2nd annual March Madness of Wine. I have been pelted with emails from you telling me about wines which should be on my list, you might be right…but since I can only have on my list what I have actually tried over the past year, I can only have a “wine-off” with what I have notes on. But I have made a list of all the wines you guys have suggested and I will do my best to try them this year!

Below is my Final Four and the story behind each wine and below that is my 2012 WINNER! Enjoy!

Region 1 Big Ass Reds Region

1999 Casa Lapostolle Merlot Chile – This is the wine I enjoyed with Madame Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle on the porch of her residence in Chile. I was working as the apprentice winemaker under Andrea Leon and this bottle of wine was from her private cellar. This bottle has such a deep meaning to me because not only was this wine fantastic and complex, but the experience of that time in my life and that particular day in my life, they probably could have served me water and I would still remember every single minute and every feeling I had.

Region 2 Spectacular White Wine Region

2009 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley – This wine and winemaker have had a very serious affect on my thoughts about wine and how it should be nurtured. I love Merry Edwards, she too could serve me water and I would love it. This wine is so complex and simple at the same time. Her thoughts on how they manage their grapes, watching the areas conditions, monitoring during fermentation and aging…no detail is forgotten and this wine had an amazing impact on me. I just have to say, I hope someday to make a wine half as good as this Sauvignon Blanc. Most Sauvignon Blancs are crisp and light and they are poolside and porch guzzlers…you could do that with this wine, but it is so smooth, so balanced that you want to take your time and make an evening of this wine. A friend said this about this wine, this is not the girl you wanna hook up with, this is the girl you want to show off and let everyone know your cool enough to have her….I thought in a guys’ mind that is perfectly said…in a woman’s mind it might sound like this….this is the George Clooney of Sauvignon Blanc or white wines for that matter.

Region 3 Bubbles, Champagne, Cava and Prosecco Region

Pol Roger Brut Reserve Non-Vintage – My family and friends had so many reasons to celebrate in 2011 and we drank so many sparklings and Champagnes, Cava and Prosecco. I honestly started looking at all my tasting notes and really got excited when I saw how many of these fizzy friends I met last year! Our son turned 21, close friends got married, we hit a milestone year in our relationship just to name a few events. This summer I will hit a really big milestone birthday and I am prepared with the wine I want to serve, my fav Champagne of this year was Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV. I know you might say, what a minute, wasn’t that the champagne Wills and Kate served at their reception? YES, but they served a vintage year and they are by far more glamorous that my tribe will ever be. I tried a little over 300 different kinds of sparkling wines this past year….this by far is what I enjoyed and did not feel like I was busting the bank to impress anything but my taste buds. I LOVE this Champagne and when I turn 50, this will be flowing like a river.

Region 4 The Miscellaneous Region Reds, Whites and Pink Region

2009 Veramonte Ritual Pinot Noir Casablanca Valley, Chile – I want to say, this region gets a bad rap. These wines are not after thoughts, they just did not easily fall into another category and since I only have 16 slots in each region, they fill up rather quickly and I use this region as the “Elite” individual category! I chose this wine because of the silky texture and the sublime full smoked cherry thing it did in my mouth. This wine might be the best pure drinking wine and also best food friendly wine I had all of last season. I have served this with lamb, steak, salmon, salads, vegan and dairy and it has held it’s own as the leader of flavor or the perfect complement to the food. This wine is OUTSTANDING!. I first tasted this wine on the Veranda of Veramonte in Chile on a day after I had finished harvest for Laposotlle and my family flew across the world to meet me and visit the country of Chile. The day was perfect. I was surrounded with the best people I know and love and I had just finished one of the most inspiring projects of my life. I was filled with joy, satisfaction and total connection to my personal dream, when I open this wine, I am transported to that moment and each time this Pinot Noir is the perfect accompaniment.

To put these wines into prospective for myself, here is how I wold classify them.

Wine I could drink every night with dinner would be the Veramonte Ritual Pinot Noir.

Wine I would have by the pool hagging out with pals on the weekend Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine I would open for a very special celebration is the Pol Roger.

The wine that had the most significant impact on my life last year was the 1999 Merlot from Casa Lapostolle. That means I have picked my winner while sitting on the porch of the Lapostolle Residence in Chile, I had my moment with wine and the winemakers and Madame Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle.

I can not wait to see what 2012-2013 season brings…I have been taking lots of notes and I hope to try over 2000 wines over the next 11 months!

Thank you for letting me share my experiences in wine with you!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I watched more men’s basketball last night and will do so again tonight…then tomorrow will watch the women’s NCAA tournament (Still believing my Tennessee Lady Vol’s will win). Then on Sunday will watch more and Monday will watch the Men’s finals and Tuesday watch the women’s….Yes, if you are a college BBall fan you will be right there with me and since I will be sitting mostly still, I will be drinking wine and using my highlighters to mark if I got the bracket right or wrong depending on who I picked to win the game.

Last year, I decided to create my personal March Madness of wines for 3 different reasons

1. To entertain myself (reason I do almost anything).

2. So I would take time to reflect on the wines I had tried over the year and maybe try them again.

3. If I found wines I loved, I wanted to share the brand, names and grape varietals with my friends.

I had a pretty elaborate lay out of my Wine Madness last year and the blog took over 3 weeks to unfold, putting up wine against wine and giving in great details my thoughts…well by the end of the 3 weeks, many of you said…enough, just tell us the Final Four…this year I did a more streamlined wine bracket and regions and I just want to say thanks for all the great feedback and Yes, I am aware some of these wines cost a different amount depending on where you live and some of these wines you might have to get through a broker depending on where you live….Next year, I will try to be more in tune with those issues! But Thank YOU, for reading my blog and thank you for taking the time to email me and let me know what you are thinking!

Also, I want to thank the guy who emails me constantly and questions my tastes in wine…I may not sound like it…but honestly you make me think about everything I say and write….I can only write about what I’ve tried and the wines you have suggested to me, I will find and try and report back! You make me stretch my wine mentality! Thanks!

OK, so the Final Four of March Madness looks like this:

Region 1 Big Ass Reds Region

1999 Casa Lapostolle Merlot Chile – This is the wine I enjoyed with Madame Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle on the porch of her residence in Chile. I was working as the apprentice winemaker under Andrea Leon and this bottle of wine was from her private cellar. This bottle has such a deep meaning to me because not only was this wine fantastic and complex, but the experience of that time in my life and that particular day in my life, they probably could have served me water and I would still remember every single minute and every feeling I had.

Region 2 Spectacular White Wine Region

2009 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley – This wine and winemaker have had a very serious affect on my thoughts about wine and how it should be nurtured. I love Merry Edwards, she too could serve me water and I would love it. This wine is so complex and simple at the same time. Her thoughts on how they manage their grapes, watching the areas conditions, monitoring during fermentation and aging…no detail is forgotten and this wine had an amazing impact on me. I just have to say, I hope someday to make a wine half as good as this Sauvignon Blanc. Most Sauvignon Blancs are crisp and light and they are poolside and porch guzzlers…you could do that with this wine, but it is so smooth, so balanced that you want to take your time and make an evening of this wine. A friend said this about this wine, this is not the girl you wanna hook up with, this is the girl you want to show off and let everyone know your cool enough to have her….I thought in a guys’ mind that is perfectly said…in a woman’s mind it might sound like this….this is the George Clooney of Sauvignon Blanc or white wines for that matter.

Region 3 Bubbles, Champagne, Cava and Prosecco Region

Pol Roger Brut Reserve Non-Vintage – My family and friends had so many reasons to celebrate in 2011 and we drank so many sparklings and Champagnes, Cava and Prosecco. I honestly started looking at all my tasting notes and really got excited when I saw how many of these fizzy friends I met last year! Our son turned 21, close friends got married, we hit a milestone year in our relationship just to name a few events. This summer I will hit a really big milestone birthday and I am prepared with the wine I want to serve, my fav Champagne of this year was Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV. I know you might say, what a minute, wasn’t that the champagne Wills and Kate served at their reception? YES, but they served a vintage year and they are by far more glamorous that my tribe will ever be. I tried a little over 300 different kinds of sparkling wines this past year….this by far is what I enjoyed and did not feel like I was busting the bank to impress anything but my taste buds. I LOVE this Champagne and when I turn 50, this will be flowing like a river.

Region 4 The Miscellaneous Region Reds, Whites and Pink Region

2009 Veramonte Ritual Pinot Noir Casablanca Valley, Chile – I want to say, this region gets a bad rap. These wines are not after thoughts, they just did not easily fall into another category and since I only have 16 slots in each region, they fill up rather quickly and I use this region as the “Elite” individual category! I chose this wine because of the silky texture and the sublime full smoked cherry thing it did in my mouth. This wine might be the best pure drinking wine and also best food friendly wine I had all of last season. I have served this with lamb, steak, salmon, salads, vegan and dairy and it has held it’s own as the leader of flavor or the perfect complement to the food. This wine is OUTSTANDING!. I first tasted this wine on the Veranda of Veramonte in Chile on a day after I had finished harvest for Laposotlle and my family flew across the world to meet me and visit the country of Chile. The day was perfect. I was surrounded with the best people I know and love and I had just finished one of the most inspiring projects of my life. I was filled with joy, satisfaction and total connection to my personal dream, when I open this wine, I am transported to that moment and each time this Pinot Noir is the perfect accompaniment.

On Monday, I will share with you which wine I am picking as my Champ! I hope you have a fantastic weekend and if your not into BBall, I hope you do something you love with someone you love doing it with!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi