Good Morning!

I was ask what I drank for New Years eve, how much I drank and if I had a hangover. I thought that was a fun email to get, let’s start with the hangover, nope, not this year! Over the past 10-15 years, I have spent New Years eve in some pretty cool places and had some great times and sometimes what I drank might surprise you.

Most of my adult life, I have thrown a party on NYE, or should I say my gang of friends would start at my house and about 10:30 we would head out to a local club or someplace having a bigger bash and we would ring in the new year. All parties at my place back in Indianapolis, I severed 3 kinds of drinks, wine, beer and my famous friendship sangria (it is really a grown up version of Hairy Buffalo, if you don’t know what Hairy Buffalo is…its served at a party in college. You bring out a huge trash can and every one brings a different booze over and someone adds a slight bit of fruit juice. It is high alcohol, tastes like jet fuel and the hangover the next day is brutal). The adult version of “friendship sangria” is more refined, just vodka and some great juices and lots of fruit floating around, it packs a punch with out throwing you on the floor instantly. And you serve this punch in a real glass not the red solo cup!

Last year we went to Austin, Texas for NYE, had dinner at Ruth’s Chris steakhouse, drank bottles of fantastic wine and we were all in a food coma by midnight. The previous year, we headed to Key West and watched a drag queen named Sushi drop in a high heel from the top of the building at midnight, we did manage to make it on CNN too. 4 years ago, I was in San Francisco and we were in gowns and drinking champagne and listening to big band music. Several years back from that we were in Fort Lauderdale, Florida playing pool in a dive bar.

As you can see, I have brought the new year in, in many places and many ways. Some years I have had beer from a keg or a can, some years had $300 bottles of wine, some years jello shots and this year I was in San Antonio, Texas watching fireworks drinking 1998 Comtes de Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs. It was just myself and a friend, no crazy hats, not silly noise makers just watching the excitement shoot into the air. It was a glorious visual display. I understand the drought in Texas this summer kept everyone from being about to celebrate July 4th, so they made up for the lost display of lights. It really was spectacular. The champagne we were drinking was perfect, tight little bubbles, very tight surface tension and a very foamy, mousse kinda froth on the top of the wine.

I had 3 glasses of wine and really loved the great light show. It was sort of low key compared to past year’s festivities, but I felt like last year was such a whirlwind, I wanted to the night to slow down and just enjoy the last few hours before 2011 had “passed”. Then I would start cranking forward for 2012.

It was fun and the mood fit the past year perfectly. So there you have it….Champagne, 3 glasses and no hangover…awesome start to 2012.

Let me know what you had for NYE, I’d love to hear about what you enjoyed in your glass and we can compare tasting notes!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I took a few weeks off from blogging over the holidays and I received so many emails asking me what have I been drinking and thought I would write just a bit about my recent wine conquests. 2 wines really stick out for me and I can give you a little story about each one and maybe you will see why I loved the whole experience of each wine.

Both of these wines are Chilean, that will probably not surprise anyone, the two wines are both from wineries I spent some considerable time in last spring when I worked in Chile for Lapostolle wines as an apprentice winemaker. The first wine I fell in love with is the 2008 Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva Chardonnay. It is an unoaked Chardonnay and the grapes are grown in the Casablanca valley in Chile. Chile is split into three main areas of grape growing and Casablanca looks very similar to Sonoma valley. It is not fancy like Napa, you will see more trucks than sedans, you will see amazing tasting rooms located in the middle of next to nowhere and it is peaceful. Beautiful and scenic and the wines really reflect the area. This Chardonnay is so crisp, clean and pure with a bite a granny smith apple. I have fallen in love with unoaked Chardonnay’s since my fav winemaker Cindy Cosco introduced me to her Passaggio wines. Since these wines spend no time in a barrel all you get is the true flavors of the grapes. You can find Cindy’s wines on the internet at www.passaggio.com but to find the Casas del Bosque, I found this bottle in the grocery store in the middle of San Antonio, Texas. It was $14 bucks and the second I took a sip, I was transformed right back to Chile in the heat of March and it was like magic. It is not a complex wine, it’s not supposed to be, it is perfect for a warm day, it is perfect while surfing the net, it is perfect while watching a sappy Christmas movie as well….you can see what I was doing while I was enjoying this bottle.

The other bottle from Chile was Cousino-Macul 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maipo Valley the second major growing region in Chile for wine grapes. When I first landed in Santiago, I was taken to this winery, which when first built it was outside of the major city, but because the city has grown so much it sits in the city. Some of the grapes are grown right there, but many are grown miles away at the vineyards. This winery is beautiful (I know, they all are). I had an english speaking guide named Martin, say it Mar teen…it sounds better in Spanish, anyway, Martin is a full on sommelier and I loved him, he told me stories of the damage that happened to the winery after flooding and filled me with tons of memories to last forever in my mind. He took me to a tasting room and we must of tried 8-10 wines and the wine I liked the best during my trip to Cousino-Macul was their Riesling. I know, Riesling? But it was crisp and almost oily and the nose was so unique, I bought a several bottles of the Riesling to bring back…this really surprised me.

So anytime I see wines from Cousino-Macul, I buy them, because I know once I tried the Riesling, I never gave the rest of the wines a chance. I found in the grocery store their 2010 Cab and picked it up. I was making short ribs and my step-son was here for Christmas. I had been cooking for what seemed to be an eternity and I opened the bottle and put two cups in the pan with the ribs and poured myself and Corey a glass. He said “Damn, that is good”. He is not a wine guru, he is 21 and I am thrilled he has picked up a little wine knowledge from me but I want him to feel empowered when he talks about wine, so I said what do you mean, he says it tastes so smooth. (This is a massive step up from it tastes good). I said what are you experiencing, he said I smell blackberries and kinda some smokiness. He always asks about alcohol content, so I told him it was about 14%. I really had fun enjoying this Cabernet with my main man. It was smooth, young and balanced. It had hints of green pepper and leather in it which I thought was interesting since it was such a young wine. This wine was $15 in the store.

Neither wine was a wallet busting price, both wines took me back to my time in Chile and I created a few moments with Corey while we made Christmas dinner. I have a couple more bottles I opened over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday I will share with you tomorrow!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

Happy New Year! It’s 2012 and every single year I have the same resolutions: lose weight, work out more, save more money, spend more time with family and friends and volunteer more. These have honestly been my same goals for years. Some years, I make it happen and some years I do not.

When I do not keep my resolutions, I feel guilty and feel like I failed and I hate that feeling. This year I decided to just focus on something I could and should do besides the list above….instead of having to give up something like beer and red meat and extra tv time…I am going to drink more wine. I know it sounds SO hard to accomplish….but I want to learn more about wine. I want to really feel powerful when I discuss my thoughts on wine and how I “judge” what I taste wine if I think it is awesome or just OK. I want to read more about the real chemistry and the biological aspects of what happens when you yeast, what happens or does not happen when I blend two varietals and why is enhances the “nose” of the wine.

As my good friend Jon Swain always says, I yearn for knowledge! I want to be more of a student and if I had the time and discipline, I would march into UC Davis and finish my degree and feel as smart as some of my other wine making counterparts. Some of these folks are so brilliant and know things I probably will think about. But I am self taught and I have no shame in saying, I don’t know something. I think you have to be stronger to admit when you do not understand something, than stand there are act like you know something and you don’t have a clue. (be honest, we have all done that from time to time).

I have 6 new “technical” wine books laid out ready for me to start reading, I have 6 more wine books written by experts on other wine related topics, like law and pairings and I have my three magazine subscriptions pelting me with the greatest info ever about running a successful winery and wine brand. I am signed up to 2 more conversational Spanish classes at the jr college here in my town. I have joined two private wine clubs where we gather monthly and geek out on the wine of the month. I am also planning to travel all over and work at wineries who need a hand and just slam the winemakers with questions and ideas so I can know more.

This will be an awesome year, I dream that I will have the same goal next year and all the years that follow. I love to learn and I am tired of having New Year’s resolutions that did not feed my true loves…losing weight and saving money are great, but studying wine speaks to my soul, so I feel pretty powerful about 2012.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

The other day I posted my recipe for homemade Bailey’s Irish Cream and I received all kinds of questions about other things I make for the holidays, either to serve or to give as gifts. I thought today, I would also share another recipe with you for homemade Kahlua. My friends love to drink White Russians, so when they found out I have made my own Kahlua, they wanted to try it and one Christmas I handed out bottles as gifts, they ask me about making it again for them.

I just find some cool bottles, like I used for the Bailey’s with the hinge and rubber stopper, and bottle it up and put it in a gift bag for my friends. I found bottles at World Market, Hobby Lobby and Micheal’s, but I happen to have extra screw-top bottles left over from my Sauvignon Blanc bottling, so I used those this time.

So here is my recipe….

Homemade Kahlua
2 quarts boiling water
7 cups sugar
1 cup Instant Coffee
2 oz. vanilla
1 oz. almond extract
1 quart 190 Proof Grain Alcohol

Bring to boil 2 quarts of water and add sugar, continue to boil until all sugar is completely dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, keep the mixture boiling and add in the instant coffee and let boil for 1 more minute. After the coffee is blended in remove from the heat and let cool at least 30 minutes, then stir in the vanilla and almond extract and then when completely cooled, add in the 1 quart 190 proof grain alcohol. (some folks prefer vodka to grain alcohol, I find the vodka imparts a taste/flavor that makes the Kahlua have a bitterness, that I do not enjoy, but some folks LOVE, so play with this recipe until you find your booze groove).

This homemade delight does have a good shelf life and does not need refrigeration, so Your friends can enjoy this well into the new year! I hope you are having as much fun this holiday season as I am making gifts for friends and clients! If you have a recipe I should know about, send it to me and I’ll try it!

Much LOVE and wine and Kahlua,

Tammi

Good Morning!

Over the weekend, I attended a party of some new folks I was just meeting and they are self proclaimed true “Texans”. I was intrigued by how much “Texas” stuff was everywhere in their beautiful home and if it was not from Texas, you could bet it was made in America or at least it was painted red, white and blue or shaped like the lone star or the state of Texas. I have spent half my time in Texas over the past year and a half and I have joking said this state has more pride than any Division 1 National Champs college campus.

I have grown to really like the folks in Texas and their enthusiasm for all things cowboy, trucks and big hats. They love their country, state and are pretty vocal about how they feel about family and religion. So while I was meeting everyone and having some holiday cheer, I noticed all the wine out for our enjoyment was french. This kinda surprised me, but I filled my glass and enjoyed. The home we were in was exceptional and the hosts had amazing tastes in decor, style, food and friends. Their home sat on about 40 acres and they had cattle and horses. The backyard looked like a resort, outdoor living at it’s finest.

While talking to one of the men who kept filling up my glass and calling me darlin’ he was raising his voice and talking about buying American and getting this country back on it’s feet. We discussed the series Diane Sawyer has been doing on CBS and how when we all shop we are being mindful of what we are buying and if there is an American made version, etc…

The host of the house was walking through and heard our conversation and jumped in about cars, and they only buy American cars and trucks now. I thought this was funny since Toyota manufactures Tundras and Tacoma’s right in San Antonio and employee over 2800 folks, but I did not say anything. Then we started talking about wines, and I ask if he liked California’s big reds from Napa or has he tried any of the awesome wines coming out of Paso Robles. The look I received and the sharp comment after really made me stop and think, he said when the US starts making decent wines I will drink it! Then he launched into the wine industry is not really a money maker in this country.

I know I was in his home as a guest, so I just said, Wow. All these thoughts shot through my brain, in 2010 the US surpassed France in wine consumption and the total wine sales in the US was over $30 Billion. Total production in 2010 was 330 million cases of wine and 61% of that wine is from California. Sparkling and Champagne sales were up 10% in the US. I think there might be something to this whole wine industry thing, it could be a money maker for someone.

I enjoyed myself at the party, met some new people, had great food and truly fine wine, but I can honestly say, I have had wines from the US that would have been as spectacular as the french we had and actually, if these folks want to help get this country back on it’s feet, try buying some US wines, even jump on some of the Syrah’s produced here in Texas, GrapeCreek, Chisholm Trail, Rancho Ponte, Bending Branch, Flat Creek Becker Vineyards, just to name a few that have fantastic wines. You know I will try any wine from anywhere in the world, but I will always have a soft spot for wines from California, Oregon, Washington and this next year, I will be making my way to New York, I hear I will be blown away by Finger Lakes area wineries.

Just wanted to share my weekend wine experience with you! I hope you had a great weekend and if you had any wines you want to tell me about, I’d love to hear about it!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi