Fàilte! Welcome to the next installment of Exploring the Wine Glass. Mike and I are big proponents of you should drink what you like and you are the only one who can taste like you. We advocate the fact that everyone experiences the wine differently, so in these posts we do not discuss our tasting notes. Instead we include basic information about each of the wineries, and/or a bit about what was happening in our lives while we were enjoying them. With that said, if you are interested in reading our tasting notes and our ratings head on over to Delectable and check us out. We tell it as we taste it over there. Click here to see the chart we use to describe the color or if you want to see the wines themselves as they are poured, visit our YouTube Channel and watch for yourself. As always, since as oenophiles we love to celebrate #WineWednesday, our week runs from one Wednesday to the next.
Week 1
No, you are not having Déjà vu. Mike came home tonight and said “We didn’t really have any #WineWednesday wines, so he stopped off and picked one up. When I asked him what he grabbed, he told me 2014 Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel. I reminded him that I had a rather long conversation with him while he was in Barcelona about which Lodi wine I should purchase for last week’s #Wininghourchat. (which happens on Tuesday nights at 9pm EST) He stopped, tilted his head [he must be taking lessons from Vegas] and he said that’s why it sounded familiar to him while he was in the store. He said the it was in the forefront of his mind when he was walking through the aisle. Yeah, I wonder why? It was about a 10 minute back and forth conversation! Oh well, there are definitely worse things in this world than drinking Ravenswood Zinfandel two weeks in a row.
Oh how I love the weekend, I get to sleep in, and I can relax. But this weekend is better than any other because it is March Madness! College Basketball baby! Mike and I live for this time of year. Unfortunately, my Arkansas Razorbacks did not make the Dance. [it’s been awhile since they have] but Mike’s Hoosiers did and not only did they make it they won their first two rounds. Indiana beating Kentucky was a major win and Mike was ecstatic! For wine we chose an Adelaida Pinot Noir and we paired it with a pasta dish that had sausage and asparagus. Let me tell you, this was a great wine, but sadly it was a lone soldier and we don’t have another one to enjoy. This was such an outstanding wine, I felt compelled to do an “In Dracaena’s Glass” episode on it. So please check it out to learn more about this winery, including our tasting notes!
It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to have a happy hour with my girlfriend. We finally found time to get together and we decided to head to the wine bar that is nearby. It is hard to believe, but wine bars are not that popular here. This is probably the only one in the close vicinity. My personal opinion is they would do a lot better if they had a decent food list. It is BAD! But it is an easy location to get to and they are not outrageously priced. I started with a Hayes Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. I had a heck of time finding them on the web. This is the information I found from snooth.com
Hayes Ranch is a wine produced in California by Wente Family Estates since 2005. The brand was created to embody the spirit of the West, and it was named after an original local family of pioneers. The brand’s motto is “California wine with a Western spirit.” The wines have names like Best Foot Forward Chardonnay, with a label depicting a spurred boot, and In the Saddle Cabernet.
The owner of the establishment came in and was feeling a little generous, so he offered to buy a round for everyone in the winebar. [all four of us!] I wanted to try something different and I went against all the tasting rules and chose a white wine after a red. [and the world didn’t come to a standstill!] I asked for a sample of Boulder Bank Sauvignon Blanc. The bartender poured me a small glass. I did a little swirl and brought the glass up to my nose! Holy cow! The aromatics blew me away. It was love at first smell!
When checking out their website, I was immediately drawn to them since the pictures on their homepage has the entire family in the vineryard. I loved it! Then I read their quote and became even more determined to find the wine for my own cellar! Talk about Pursue Your Passion. [I may need to reach out for a guest post]
“Winemaking has been a passion that has fueled our dreams and enriched our lives. Even our children have become involved, whether by pitching in during harvest and crush or by helping pack “dad’s” bags as I head off to New Zealand and Argentina several times a year.” ~Nick Goldschmidt, Winemaker
Week 2
This Wednesday, I texted Mike and told him I wanted a “real wine” not a #WineWednesday wine and that I would make a homemade pizza. Just curious, does anyone else out there have this classification or something like it? We have wines that we typically open a mass produced mid-week or when we aren’t haven’t a sit down meal. Then we have wines that we are willing to open when we know we have time to sit, relax and enjoy the experience. It’s not always a dollar value that determines day of week opening, but I will admit that our weekend wines tend to be from smaller producers or smaller lot wines.
Mike texted back and told me to go to the Cellar Tracker app and pick something from the cellar. Well, right after that, one of my lovely kiddos decided to do something really stupid in class and I never got around to picking a wine. So Mike had to decide. He had chosen…wisely. [virtual high-five to who can name that movie]. We opened a 2013 Field Recordings Tempranillo.
Field Recordings is located in the up and coming Tin City region of Paso Robles. Tin City was just recently written up in Wine Country Getaways and was called THE NEXT WINE LOVER’S PARADISE by Snooth. As Field Recordings website states: They are far from the typical winery. Yep, this is the winery that makes wine in cans. [before you foo foo it away, the wine is good! Very good! Andrew Jones, spends his days in the vineyards planting vines for farmers all across California. Being the person who planted many of the vines and the man that spends his days alongside the vines, he knows which vineyards are “diamonds in the rough” and when he gets offered small lots, he accepts and works his magic. The impressive label represents starling bird flocks in flight. Each numbered, unique bottle features its own print.
The Field Recordings wines are a catalog of single vineyard sites that produces wines with a sense of place and personality
Hope you have had some great wines and times these past two weeks. Remember, always Pursue Your Passion. We would love for you to leave a comment telling us what your favorite recent wine was.
~Sláinte
I’ve heard of Field Recording but haven’t found a bottle yet! I’ll have to do a little digging here in DC to try it out. Thanks for the post!
Rachel if you can find them definitely grab it. I’m not sure how much they distribute. We purchased this at the winery. And quite honestly the canned wine is surprisingly better than you would think. But you end up drinking more than you expect because you are thinking one can of beer. ?.