Le vin ou la vie?

This wine adventure is once again featuring my best friend and cousin, Sarah! For this experience we went to Land Run Grill and Wine Bar just around the corner from my apartment. I was tired from a long day. I am a dance teacher and my students had their Christmas recital that day and afterwards I had gone out for dinner with the teachers. So let's just say when it cam time for this late dinner, I was pretty exhausted, but I was excited for the last wine assignment opportunity.  The wine pairing aspect of this assignment was a little wonky. We had a bartender who definitely knew next to nothing about pairing wines, but wanted it to seem like he was an expert. Though I could tell he didn't know much, he pressured me into hurrying and deciding and I wasn't sure why. After observing him further, I realized it was because he was trying to watch the Seahawks football game and we were a distraction. His name was Connor. Not my favorite guy I've met on my wine

Sarah and I upon entering the Winery. For this wine adventure I went with my friend, Sarah. She spent most of the day being jealous she can't get a grade for a winery tour. On a beautiful, crazy windy day, we trekked down to Lexington, Oklahoma to get a tour of the Canadian River Winery, a family owned and operated business. When we walked in we were immediately asked what kind of wine we would like that we could sip on and take on the tour. I knew right away these were my kind of people! I asked for a Cabernet Sauvignon since I've been on quite a Cab Kick! (Kab Kick? Cab Cick? Patent Pending) This Cab was particularly sweet and fruity. Lots of berry, with a strong cherry flavor. Gene, the founder and owner of the Canadian River Winery, led our small tour group from the small, cozy tasting room to the winery itself. Aside from my friend and me, the tour also included a couple. I suspect they were newly together or newlyweds because they couldn't keep their hands of

I've never tried a Bordeaux before this. While that may not seem like a big deal, I have actually visited Bordeaux. I bought a bottle of Bordeaux. I brought it back with me from France and never drank it, instead keeping it as a souvenir. And I have just never bothered to try a glass of it since. Until tonight.      I bought this 2014 bottle of Chateau Pilet for $12.99 at the Wine Gallery. Obviously coming from the Bordeaux region of France , it does not list the variety on the bottle as it is known by its region rather than the variety and is a red blend.     WineMag offers this review:  This is a spicy wine, but it is more about ripe fruits, apricot and peach as well as a twist of lemon. The aftertaste is fresh and fruity. The Queyren family's 100 years in the wine business makes good use of its Entre-Deux-Mers' vineyard of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Sémillon.      Upon smelling this wine, it was immediately spicy with peppery notes and warm vanilla. It tasted like ch

     When perusing the selection of wines at the Wine Gallery, I decided to buy a wine that my roommate would also enjoy so we could enjoy some Saturday night drinking at home together. To accommodate her sweet palate, I bought an Italian sparkling moscato, grown in the region of Colli Euganei. The full name is Petalo Il Vino dell'Amore, produced by Bottega. When I read the description saying how it was the perfect romantic wine, the wine of love, I knew it was perfect for two best friends watching Austenland on a Staurday night. It cost me $19.99 for this bottle of loveliness.      The winemaker's notes are: The "Wine of Love" adds a romantic sparkle to every occasion. This delicately sweet sparkling white is crafted from Moscato grapes grown in northern Italy between the two Fabled cities of love, Venice and Verona. Petalo exudes a subtle scent of roses, with frgrant notes of apple and white peach. Fresh fruit flavors mingle on the palate in perfect balance with

As a French major, I realized it is unacceptable that we are coming to the end of the semester and I haven't done a report on trying a French wine. Of course while I studied abroad, I drank almost exclusively French wine. Since returning to the states, I haven't had any French wine.  This comes from the Beaujolais  region of France and this bottle is the first of the 2017 harvest. I bought this for $15.99 at The Wine Gallery in south OKC. This is mostly made of the Gamay variety made by the Georges Duboeuf. The winemaker's notes are: " Vibrant red fruits, such as strawberries and currants, on the palate and an intense perfume."  The smell seems intensely young with sharp fruity flavors. I get lots of black cherry, licorice, sweet vanilla. The taste is a perfect harmony of tannins and sweet cherry. Full bodied with a sharp finish, I was transported back to Clermont-Ferrand, France and walking down the street with a bottle in my hand, hoping I finish it

This Thanksgiving was hosted at my parents' and included my parents, brothers, grandma, uncle, and great aunt, and the family of my brother's friend. We practically avoided politics the entire time and the food was amazing. But the real star of this Thanksgiving was my online Geography of Wine class. My family thought it was hilarious that I was actually taking an online wine class that involved drinking wine. Me and the fam. Left to right: Uncle Bill, Mom, Aunt Wayna, Dad, Me, Gabriel, Grandma, Nathaniel. Photo taken by my brother's friend's Dad.  For this dinner, my mom did most of the cooking and I supplied the wine. The Wednesday before, I went wine shopping at the Wine Gallery in South OKC, less than a mile from my house. This was the first time that I had been to a liquor store and needed to get a shopping cart. When checking out, rather than putting it in the sack, the cashier let me take a box because I had bought so much. Check that off my bucket list! T

I have a confession to make: I bought this because of the label. As soon as I saw it, I thought it was cute. But then I read the label where it says "I just rescued some wine, it was trapped in a bottle." Well at that moment, the Middle Sister had me. For $13.99 at The Wine Gallery in South OKC, I now owned a bottle of The Middle Sister's Drama Queen, or Pinot Grigio. Produced in California, USA, this non-vintage wine is described by the winemaker as " An explosion of apples and pears, with a slight touch of mineral on the finish." While this is by no means my favorite wine, this crisp floral Pinot Grigio was a fun change from my now normal pattern of big reds. The smell reminded me of a tight, sour apple. The taste was a crisp apple taste with grass and lemony flavors. It was smooth, almost flat. Fruity and enjoyable, but not something I would regularly  drink.