Blog Archive
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
Guess who’s coming to dinner? I’d give you the tea, but good girls don’t cook and tell. I will share this, when making mussels, don’t use a cheap wine for your sauce. The recipe (for 2) calls for one cup of dry white wine, so splurge! Trust me, if you [...]
Black Manhattan
Amaro (Italian for bitter) is a bittersweet Italian liquor usually serves as a digestive. CH Distillery, a Chicago based company produces a yummy amaro that I love to substitute for sweet vermouth when making a If Manhattan. This amaro has baking spice and bittersweet chocolate flavors which adds some complexity [...]
Bodegas Lan Rioja Reserva
WINE:Bodegas Lan Rioja Reserva 2011 REGION: Rioja GRAPE VARIETIES:92% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano TASTING NOTES: I want a ring the color of this wine- a deep, glowing garnet. The nose has aromas of red and black berries, vanilla, leather and black licorice. The palate is abundant with flavors of black berries, leather, spices [...]
Bourbon Love
Bourbon lovers if you’re not up on Barrell Bourbon I am about to change your life. You may love and hate me for introducing you to this brown liquor deliciousness. Here’s the story, Barrell Bourbon blend products from “different distillation methods, barrels and aging environments, and bottle them at cask strength. Every batch [...]
Put This On Your Sweet Map
Put this on your sweet map: H.M Borges Old Reserve 10 Years Old Bual Madeira!What is Madeira? It’s a fortified wine, like Port or Sherry. Madeira wine gets its name from the volcanic island of Madeira in Portugal. In the 1600-1700s, Brandy was often added to wine in an attempt [...]
Sunday Funday
I have a short list of people who I clear my calendar for. My family, best friends, a certain lover and Tavi. When @chiataglance sends me an invite, I know good food, cocktails and wine will be had- good bye plans. Sunday funday was spent dinning at Bobby’s Lincoln Park ( 2518 [...]
Find a Little Balance
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc producers are usually doing the most. Too much grapefruit, grass and or sugar. I rarely find one that is balanced. I don’t mind a dramatic wine but I prefer those that show some restraint. When a wine class or meal calls for a New Zealand Sauv [...]
Agitation of the Waters
From Searching For Cloves and Lilies: The Wine Edition “I begin the chapter Agitation of the Waters with Psalm 139 because these poems expose the hidden and ask, “Who will love my darkness?” I paired it with the mysterious Chateau Musar Red. The wine starts off secretive. So tight and [...]
Shakespearean Bubbles
Song of the Champagne Witches: “Bubble, bubble toast and trouble”By Regine Rousseau, shamelessly inspired by William Shakespeare (Macbeth). Forgive me English Lit Professors. Bubble, bubble toast and trouble;Yeast and sugar added to bubble.Wines of a vintage past,In the bottle-crown- ferment;Riddle me this riddle me that,When will she pop the cap. Juniper [...]