The Wine to Die For.

Hailing from Armida Winery in Healdsbug California, brothers Steve and Bruce Cousins have been producing wines in Sonoma County for twenty years. Some of their most coveted wines include Maple Vineyards Pinot Noir, Durell Vineyard Chardonnay, and Gold Mine Ranch Zinfandel. 

Well, from their seven acre estate comes a wine that's simply to die for. Packaged in a hand etched and hand painted bottle complete with wooden coffin, PoiZin is the Cousins brother's 2011 hand-crafted Zinfandel. An intense and deep maroon color, this full-bodied wine features a nose of plums, raspberries and blackberries. The mouthfeel is sharp, but never overbearing with flavors of red-vine licorice, anise, mocha, strawberry and red currants just bursting to connect with your taste buds. The Petite Sirah and Grenache grapes lends black pepper spice, pungent acidity, and pastoral charm to the slightly spicy flavor generally associated with the typical Zinfandel varieties. Aged for eleven months in equal parts American and French oak, it's moderation contributes to it's smoky nuance and long vanilla finish. 

Perhaps what I love most about this wine is it's fun bottling, slightly unorthodox blend and brooding personality that shows that the Cousins brothers aren't afraid to take risks and have fun - even with their wines. 

This medium-bodied wine is diverse and pairs well with a wide variety of foods including roast meats, lamb and beef dishes, as well as wild game or a tomato based pasta sauce. Stored best at room temperature, and cooled for 15-20 minutes in the fridge before serving, enjoy this supple, velvety wine. And for only $25 it could easily be yours. Enjoy with caution however, because this wine truly is to die for.

Vineyard picture courtesy of Armida Winery and wine bottle image courtesy of total wine.

St. James Strawberry Wine

Wine is usually made from grapes.

Key word in that sentence being usually. However, at St. James Winery in Missouri they took the notion that wine is essentially just the fermented juice of fruits and ran with it. I promise, fresh picked strawberries have never tasted this good. This award winning wine hails from one of the awarded vineyards in the Midwest.

First opened in 1970 by husband and wife duo Jim and Pat Hoffher, St. James winery has grown to become the largest winery in Missouri. In 2009 it was named Winery of the Year in the eastern United States by the Critics Challenge International Wine Competition. 

It got its humble start as a small, family-owned business run by the owners and their four children. Within the first year the Hoffher's were able to produce over 3,000 cases of wine! Drawing inspiration from the spirit of the early Italian immigrants that settled Missouri during the late 1800s and determined to resurrect the winemaking acclaim Missouri was known for before prohibition, their vineyards are composed of 300 acres of Catawba, Vignoles, Chardonel, Concord, Norton, Chambourcin, Seyval and Rougeon grapes. They also have a collection of fruit wines including cherry, peach, blackberry, blueberry and raspberry and of course amazing strawberry being featured today.

This wine is made from sweet, vine-ripened strawberries. It's delicious and sweet without having that overbearing jam-like taste. Best served chilled, St. James's strawberry wine is great with desserts including milk chocolate or even a delicious pound cake. 

Sold online and in over 10 states at only $8.99 a bottle this delicious wine is tasty, affordable and a perfect excuse to have friends over for a dessert party. So try it, I promise it's good!

Images courtesy of St. James Winery.

2009 Oveja Negra Cabernet Franc Carmenère

Although Oveja Negra translated means "black sheep", this blended wine is anything but. Oveja Negra wines are harvested in the Maule Valley region of San Rafael, Chile, a culture rich in wine growing tradition. With a blend consisting of 71% Cabernet Franc and 29% Carmenère, one of the first things that drew me to this wine was it's rich red color and deep violet overtones. The notes are a little intense, evoking scents of ripened fruits like red and black berries, cassis and plums. It takes me back to the days of my childhood, running barefoot through the wide open fields picking berries from the bushes.

Image courtesy of Wine Library. 

Ideally served room temperature with roast meat, seasoned vegetable stews, grilled white meats, or even yesterday's chicken dish, this wine would be perfect for serving at a dinner party, although I must warn it is an acquired taste with it's delicate notes of tobacco and coffee and touch of black pepper and good finish. 

Oveja Negra has quickly transformed itself into one of the chief winemakers of Chile. Their penchant for using sustainable viticulture practices makes for an amazing experience. It's the street corner where innovative style meets responsible structure to create a truly unique wine in which quality takes precedence over everything else.

Oveja Negra is redefining black sheep not as the outcast, but as a unique and extraordinary individual. One that immediately draws all eyes in the room. Dare yourself to be the black sheep of the group and try this earthy wine. At around $13 a bottle it could easily be yours! 

2010 Folonari Moscato

Photo courtesy of Why Go Italy?

A native of the Piedmont region of Italy in the town of d'Asti, the Moscato grape is one of, if not the most popular wine in Italy. If you're new to the wine drinking game, or if you just enjoy a lighter, fruitier wine, a Moscato would be a perfect start for you.

Most commonly known for it's straw-like color, fragrant aromas and light, almost sparkling taste, the Moscato wine tends to be characterized by it's delicate fruity tastes like orange, apple, pear, peach, and even apricot. Best served chilled, this is the perfect summertime staple for picnics consisting of summer salads, lemon breads and cakes, and apple desserts.

Photo courtesy of Fredrick Wildman

Folonari is a historic name in the world wine, dating all the way back to 1825 when Francesco Folonari founded the firm in the Valcamonican alps in the region of Venteto, Italy. Fun fact: later on in the 19th century he and his sons moved to Bresscia, Italy and established one of the first winemaking facilities, where they pioneered and mass produced the wine bottle. This made it possible for the general population to indulge their wine fantasies on an everyday basis while still maintaining the quality and integrity of the wine.

Folonari's Moscato wine is just one brilliant example of the amazing wine quality of wine they produce to this very day. With a subtle combination of sour red pear, apple, melon, honey, and white grape juice it does a great job of combining the sweetness of the fruit with a natural, although slightly overdone, acidic finish. This wine is delicious with a mid afternoon brunch, dessert, or even as a predecessor to the main entree in it's own right. Maybe one of the best parts about this wine is that it's easily accessible and very affordable. At around ten dollars a bottle this wine could certainly be yours tonight!

Got the wine, but all you need is the glass? Kaylee Mendoza of Sweet & Sassy Sips makes darling customized, hand-painted wine glasses. Not only does her etsy shop include wine glasses, but water bottles, coffee cups, and more. And in honor of shark week, use the coupon code SHARK, you will receive 15% off your order. So head on over and check out her adorable selection!

Thank you to Kaylee Mendoza of Sweet & Sassy Sips for allowing me to use her image.

Accepted

Happy Monday guys and dolls! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

It's summertime break for a lot of folks, and to kick things off this week I thought I'd choose a funny, lighthearted Monday movie. The prince of funny and awkward teen comedies, Justin Long, stars in Accepted, a movie about an slacker who decides to start his own college when he gets rejected by all the ones he applied to.

Bartleby Gaines (Long) along with his his friends Schrader, Glen, Holloway, Rory, and the forever funny Lewis Black as Dean Lewis decide to convert an old psychiatric hospital into the South Harmon Institute of Technology for students who got rejected by other schools. At this college the students teach the classes, the dean lives in a trailer in the back, and pretty much anything goes!

Accepted is a hysterical movie that any college bound student or just anybody trying to discover themselves should watch. Justin Long is oddly inspiring as the college's co-founder, and Jonah Hill is simply hilarious as Bartleby's best friend Schrader. Check out the trailer for Accepted below:



Accepted is now on blu-ray and DVD.

Thanks to Imp Awards for the movie poster and St. James for the wine.