Good Morning!

Why do I drink wine? This was the question I was ask by my neighbor kid. He is 8 and was begging for something to drink and I am sure to him it looked similar to Kool-aid. He was hopping all over the patio begging his mama to give him a taste, after he took a healthy swig, he said why would you drink that? He spit out the mouthful and I went inside to get him a Popsicle to cleanse his baby taste buds and also, keep him busy while his mom and I are chatting about the national debt ceiling.

Later that night, I had taken my patio back and I was thinking of the little guy and is question. The first time I had wine or alcohol for that matter, I did not like it and I started on “sweet” wines and how did I get on the dry wine? Is wine even refreshing? My head was spinning and I thought I better write out my thoughts and see if I was crazy or not…the verdict is still out on my sanity.

I thought, most people drink to quench a thirst, water during a workout, a icy lemonade after mowing the yard, Gatorade when you are trying to restore the vitamins and anything else that your body had burned through. I don’t find my lovely dry wines to be particularly thirst quenching. But, I will say on a warm day a light, chilled wine can be quite refreshing, but if the alcohol by volume is higher than you expect, it is not really going to make you say awwwww.

If I don’t drink wine to refresh, then I might do it for recreation, But I don’t drink to get hammered. Though, I have been known to have a glass or two too many; but that’s not the main purpose. So, do I drink it to unwind, maybe…Life can certainly be challenging and I can say wine does make me rethink my own drama, but that is still not it. I drink wine because it is like a great friend who stops by and when you open the door you connect instantly. It is like a favorite song, when you are driving down the road and it is the first great sunny day of the season and your “jam” starts and you are grinning and singing along without a care in the world. Wine is like the wonderful aromas coming from your Grandma’s kitchen on the holidays, wine is like when you hear little kids giggle or you see a really clumsy puppy.

It is one of life’s surprises that just makes you smile and enjoy the journey. Not to say wine is simple…seriously wine is all about chemistry, fermentation, soil, weather, area of the world it was grown, wine making techniques and a million other factors that make this amazing drink what it is in the glass.

When I thought of what wine is to my world…Wine is that piece of art you found that no one else has. For me I have an original Supreme’s concert poster from 1963 and I had matted about 20 years ago, if my house was burning, I would grab my family albums and Diana Ross. It might not be worth a dime but I love it. Never have I lived in a place where I did not see this art everyday. This piece tells me I am home.

I have ranted about this subject long enough, wine means something different to everyone and to me it is just a part of me, like my DNA, my religious beliefs and my family. It makes anything I do better….from housework to reading, to washing the car, to hanging with friends, wine makes everyday experience even richer, it’s like having a really loyal dog who will always be in the room with you and sometimes sits on your lap or sometimes he hangs out across the room, but he is always right there.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

Yesterday I had an email asking about how I choice the grapes I blended together to create my red wine called Fireplace. He ask me about wine blending in general and then ask how do you know if it will work. Thanks Bobby…Here are my thoughts!

Blending happened for me by accident…Back 15 years ago, I still made kit wine and I loved the final product, and I just let myself enjoy it. The moment blending happened for me was when I had Cabernet in my glass and brought out a bottle of the Merlot I had just bottled and when I went back into the house to grab some crackers and more cheese, he filled up my glass with the Merlot.

This was really no big deal to me but when the glass got to my nose I noticed the aroma was completely different and once I had a sip, I liked what was in my glass. after that glass was finished. I refilled with the Merlot and I did not like the wine as well as the Cab/Merlot combination. That got me to thinking about how to pair my wines and make something I might like better. How did I know if it would work?
Honestly, I had no clue but every time I made batches of wine I would save a few bottles back for my “library”. Once, I thought something might work I would open the two bottles and get out a piece of paper and write down what I thought I was tasting and aromas and etc.

Then I would get a glass and pour equal amounts of the wine and try to create something better than each one tasted alone. It was crazy fun and I learned much about my personal preferences. At this point I only tried this with my wines. I was starting to get wiser about reading wine labels and learning how much of which varietal was in each producers bottle. I like the bottles that when you turn to the back label it will say Syrah 85%, Merlot, 10% and Cabernet 5%. I could not tell how of each wine or the grapes I was tasting but I keep trying. I would play a great party game when friends came over and I would bust out my new blends and see which wine they would gravitate to.

Blending is like dating. You can tell if someone has potential. If they are your “style”, if your attracted and do you want some more? I remember saying to a friend, this wine is rich, this one is light, this one has a long finish and she said, I wish finding a husband was this easy! I said well, the great thing about wine is if your tastes change you really don’t need to get a divorce, you just open a new bottle. She laughed and I was right.

I made two blends that won in amateur winemaking competitions. One was Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion and I made a Pinot Noir and Cabernet blend that both took Gold medals at the Indianapolis Wine Competition in 2005 and 2006. I loved the combinations and so did the judges.

I hope this gets you thinking about flavors you like alone or flavors you might not like so much and try to create your own blends!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I watch Food TV and The Cooking Channel often. I like to cook and grill and I love to bake. Sometimes the tv will be on and a show will catch my attention, I have my favorites Barefoot Contessa, 30 minute meals etc…I am a horrible sleeper, I wake up after just a few hours of sleep a few time each night, sometimes I read and sometimes I flip on the television and sometimes it is HGTV, or E! but many times it is some kinda cooking show.

One night, I was watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and he was in San Antonio, TX and he went to a pizza place called Dough. Guy (the host) raved about the handmade mozzorilla cheeses and he went on about the oven that was shipped from Italy and it weighs like 3-4 tons and how quickly the pizza baked and how crisp the crust was, etc… Well, I have seen him at some locations where I am sure the food is very good, but sometimes you can just tell he LOVES the food. Dough was one of those places! It is located in a strip mall close to a huge mall that has what I think might be the biggest cowboy boots in the world standing infront of Macy’s.

Anyway, since I have spent so much time in San Antonio this summer, I made a point to find this place and see what I thought of the food and wine. Dough opens up with a line of people waiting. We were 6th in line and the place is not huge maybe seats about 40-50, I could be wrong….but it is not a big place. When we walked in, They sat us at the bar…think about sitting at the bar in a sushi place, well, these were the best seats in the house and I was thrilled.

I ordered Petronius Chianti Classico 2007 and started looking at the menu. The first thing our server ask was if we had seen the show on TV. I said yes and she said this is the cheese that they featured pointing to the Black Truffle Rollatini…hand made mozz, with black truffles and basil and prosciutto rolled up in it. All the Mozzarella and Burrata looked amazing and we wanted to try it all so order the sampler platter and then ordered a Pork Love pizza.

We watched the pizza dough fly from one end of the counter to the other and when our cheese arrived…I have to say the way that Guy went crazy for the cheese, so did we…we did not even speak…we really just soaked in the amazing flavors, subtle, intense, so masterfully delicate, I really had a food “moment”. The wine paired beautifully and then they sat down the pizza and it was beautiful. Just looking at it was spectacular. The meats and sauce with the crisp crust was pizza utopia! I can honestly say the best pizza I have ever had…and I eat pizza at least 1-2 times each week. The quality of the cheese was so amazing, it makes my wonderful homemade pizza tastes like a Totino’s frozen pizza! Yikes!

Anyway, the service was AWESOME, we had Susy as our server all her suggestions were spot-on and when she said dessert, I was not sure we saved room but when she described the panna cotta, we say yes and ordered another glass of wine…I am so glad I did it…I do not care if I have to walk a few extra miles, swim more laps, pump more weights, whatever, I will do it and not complain.

This was an exceptional experience. I will put this on my list of every time I am in the area I will be sitting at the bar watching the pizzas and people creating them. I rarely do a full on food and wine kinda review…but I have to tell you when I have a full on experience like this I want to share it with you, so if you are ever in the area, you will try to visit the place and create the same for yourself. The wine was perfect and I hope to someday you will create the same experience with friends and family and my wine be a small part of the entire experience!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I got a call from the grower where I buy grapes for my wine and he said well, it has started. He is talking about veraison. Veraison is the point in the grape growing season where the little green clusters of berries change color and either turn, red, yellow or whatever color the variety. This season is later than many seasons in the past, they think that is because it has been a wetter spring and a cooler summer.

Next in this process is called “hang time” that is what the time between veraison until harvesting the grapes. The longer the hang time the greater the fruit’s depth and complexity. Perfectly ripe grapes will produce superior, long-aging wines. But if the hang time is too long, the overripe grapes will affect the flavors and aromas of the finished wine.

So this time of year is pivotal for the vineyard manager. He is watching and monitoring all the vines and soil to make sure the sugars are developing to create a perfect finished wines. The vineyard manager and the winemaker are many times the same person, but if this winery has two people who oversee these roles, they are talking constantly.

Back at the wineries cellar, they are starting to prepare the cellar for the new grapes and this year’s vintage. They are bottling and cleaning tanks and barrels and preparing for all the fun that is harvest.

Currently, my first vintage is in tanks and barrels getting ready to be bottled and my second vintage is doing it’s thing…hang time until the grapes are ready to live out it’s wine destiny!

I am fired up. I can not wait for you to enjoy it. and I will be thrilled to have the first release out of the way so I can write even ore about what it is I have learned in the process.

Have an awesome weekend! I am thinking bubbles in the glass and sometime grilling by the pool.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

After posting my blog yesterday about which wines I pair with which friends, I received an email from a friend that I totally forgot to make a pairing with (My bad) and they suggested I should lay out some pairings of wines and day to day tasks. I think that sounds perfect and I started thinking about what I am normally doing with what wines, so here are some of my thoughts.

Before I start the list, I am taking into consideration the weather or time of year…that might not be important to you, but it seems to play a big factor in my wine consumption.

1. Watering the yard or plants…I always seem to be drinking Pinot Grigio. I think it is because it is crisp, light and refreshing and it pairs perfectly with the water spraying on the deck and the plants drinking in the H2O.

2. Baking…I mostly only bake around the holidays, because if I baked all the time, I would have to become a contestant on the Biggest Loser. But I love a high alcohol very rich and lush red. My favorite wine to drink while baking bread is Whitehall Lane Cabernet. I love these two things together. I have tried 100’s of wines while baking, but this is my go to wine.

3. Housework…YUCK, I pray for the day I can again have a housekeeper and I can just drink wine and watch him or her clean. But I seem to always open Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc. It is light, clean and easy to drink. I think one of the reasons I also like this wine with dusting, sweeping and using Windex, is after I finish cleaning I always make a quick little salad and mostly it is a Caprese salad and the Sauvignon Blanc.

4. Washing the car or mowing the yard….I will have a beer, Miller lite or Corona Light with lime. Sometimes wine is not the answer…this is why I rarely wash the car myself…They make so many of those great drive thru car washes, I mostly choose that opinion.

5. Grilling…It will depend on what I am grilling. Here is my list.
a. Ribs- mostly zinfandel
b. Salmon- Sauvignon Blanc
c. Chicken- Rose’
d. Lamb- Pinot Noir
e. Steak- Cabernet or Syrah
g. Veggies- Vinho Verde
I try everything so this is not set in stone.

6. Grocery shopping…If you are like me, I shop at places where they have wine tastings, so I can normally have a few new sips while shopping.

7. Paying Bills…This can be a bummer task so I am looking for comfort and I like to have Merlot. I have enjoyed many bottles over the years and I find Merlot is fruity enough to keep me entertained but not to lively that I would pay more to the electric company than they deserve.

8. Reading…This is when I get creative. I have many bottles from tasting all the time and I always have leftovers and this is when I enjoy these wines. I read for at least an hour everyday, so this really lets me clean up the clutter in the house.

9. Cooking dinner…I normally drink whatever I am going to serve with dinner…I think most folks think the same way.

Well, this is my list of what I drink while I am doing my normal routine. I’d love to hear if you have pairings to share, like Golf league and Chardonnay, reading to the kids and Viognier, cleaning out the garage and anything from Rhone.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi