Welcome my fellow winos and foodies and everything in between. My name is Kim and I am so excited you are here! Click over to my about page to get a look as to what my blog is about and what to expect. I hope you enjoy it! Cheers!
Root Cause Book Review
A world without wine would be a scary place, and Corvina Guerra is investigating who is trying to harm vineyards all over the world. That is what Root Cause by Steven Laine is about. An experienced traveling winemaker and her passion for wine and finding out who is poisoning the vineyards all over the world.
I loved reading this book because I felt like I was right their with Corvina, tasting wine, traveling to different places and trying to figure out who was to blame for the Phylloxera outbreak. The book travels to many parts of the world from Italy, to London, Spain, Ontario Canada and more. It is a thrilling book for any wine lover or some one who just needs a good read. When Corvina discovered the Phylloxera on vines in a vineyard in Italy her and her friend Brian were immediately on the job of finding out who caused this to happen. They want to put a stop to this to protect the vineyard and many others. And what a ride it was reading the book and watching the story unfold. The action in the book starts right away. You don’t have to get through 10 chapters to finally get to some of the parts that have action. This book will not disappoint. This book has me wanting a sequel.
About the book:
“Can you imagine a world without wine?
Corvina Guerra is a flying winemaker who dreams of one day settling down in her native Italy on her family’s vineyard. On a visit to a vineyard in Italy, Corvina makes a startling discovery: Phylloxera, a menacing plant louse that devastated vineyards in Europe more than a hundred years ago, has infested the vines.
After reporting her findings to her company, Universal Wines, Corvina is charged with investigating the spread of the bug. Nicknamed Philomena by the media, the aphid is soon discovered in vineyards around the world. To aid in her investigation, Corvina recruits a wine expert in London, Brian Lawless. In pursuit of its origins, Corvina and Brian embark on a thrilling globetrot on which they uncover that Philomena is a genetically modified strain of Phylloxera and is being intentionally spread.
The deeper Corvina and Brian search, the more they become convinced that Universal Wines holds the answer to everything, and the harder they pursue their investigation the more surprises pile up for both of them.
In spite of devastating consequences, Corvina and Brian vow to continue their investigation and do what they can to contain the spread of the infestation – but time is running short and they always seem to be a step behind. Unless they can find a way to stop the Philomena – vineyards around the world will be ruined for decades; potentially causing the collapse of the wine industry. Can Corvina and Brian get to the root cause and save the international wine industry from ruin?”
About the Author Steven Laine:
Steven Laine is from Ontario, Canada and has dual Canadian and British citizenship. He has travelled the world working in luxury hotels for international brands including The Ritz, Hilton, Starwood, Marriott, Jumeirah and Pan Pacific. When he was Beverage Manager of a five star hotel in London, he learned all about wine and has since visited over one hundred vineyards and wineries in Napa, Sonoma, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Lebanon, Australia, and South Africa. As the only North American ever invited to be a Member of the Champagne Academy, he had the privilege to visit and learn from the major Champagne Houses in France. His circle of friends is made up of winemakers, Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, restaurant managers, and wine lovers and distributors from all over the globe.
Steven’s debut novel, Root Cause, will be released on February 19, 2019, published by Turner Publishing. Steven currently lives in Singapore and is now working on his next novel Dragonvine.
Bibliography:
Laine, Steven. “Root Cause.” Google Books, 2019, books.google.com/books/about/Root_Cause.html?id=3fjStwEACAAJ&source=kp_book_description.
Laine, Steven. “BIO.” Stevelaine 1, 2019, http://www.stevenlaine.com/bio.
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Naked Winery Food and Wine Pairing
I am so happy to be bringing you this blog post of 2 of my favorite wines from Naked Winery. I paired them both with a meal you can make at home. This made my culinary soul so happy. I felt like I was back in school taking my cooking exams (I actually enjoyed that part of culinary school) and I think I passed this test with flying colors…. even though it wasn’t a test.
Naked Winery says it best as how to describe their company (About Naked Winery) They started in 2005. And what a community they have built. I visit Bend Oregon often and this is definitely one of the stops I have to make when I am in town. The staff at the location in the Old Mill District is so kind and fun to be around. I actually became friends with 2 of the girls who work their. So shout out to Kennedy and Jess for always making me feel right at home at the Bend location.
I discovered Naked Winery 3 years ago on my 25th birthday. Naked Winery had already been apart of my life because their wine corks were in my center pieces at my wedding! (3 years ago Tuesday we will have been married!). My Aunt had shipped some of their wine corks to me when I was in need of a lot of corks for 12 center pieces for the wedding. I asked my husband if we could make a trip to Bend for my birthday because its my happy place. We were in the Old Mill on my birthday walking around and shopping when we decided to stop in because I had remembered their wine corks. We fell in love with the wine and the vibe of the winery/company. We signed up for our membership right then and their that day. And its been a beautiful love story ever since with Naked Winery.
Naked Winery sent me the Diva Sangiovese and the Making Waves Albarino. The Diva is medium bodied wine, with aromas of pomegranate, and cocoa. The tasting palette is of cranberry with rich oak characteristics. I really enjoyed this Sangiovese as a summer red wine. I am normally very particular to whites and roses in the summer because I can’t handle the heaviness of a red wine in the middle of summer. But I personally did not think it was heavy at all. I really enjoyed it that night. I could have sat on my patio chatting with friends all night with a bottle of this. Summer campfire anyone? The Albarino makes me wish I was on a boat, on a lake just cruising around. It would be a great beach day wine. With aromas of coconut and pineapple. Flavors of ripe melon and juicy peach make it for a great summer wine.
I decided to pair the Sangiovese with zucchini lasagna rolls and the Albarino with a white fish in a wine, tomato basil sauce. Yum! Saturday night we started with the Zucchini Lasagna Rolls and they were so fun to make. I definitely recommend if you make these to make it a date night idea with you and your significant other because the rolling part of the Zucchini is a little time consuming. But I really enjoyed doing it together with my husband. Another way Naked Winery brings people together, good wine, and good food. So open your wine and get to rolling!
I prefer to decant my red wine and I have this super cute decanter that I found on Overstock. I also thought my dog mother wine lover t-shirt was fitting for this occasion as well. If you can spot my dog Brooke in the one picture she is there. She always likes to make an appearance. These zucchini lasagna rolls tasted so good! I always enjoy a lighter version of a pasta dish every so often. This Sangiovese would be great with a meat sauce as well. I made a loaf of garlic bread to go with the lasagna. All I do for garlic bread is cut a good loaf of Italian bread in half, thaw out some salted butter and add a couple of cloves of garlic to it and then spread it on. Heat your oven to 375 and bake for 20 minutes.
On Sunday I made the halibut in a white wine, tomato basil sauce. I was able to cook with the Albarino too because the recipe calls for a 1/4c of white wine. I only ever cook with wine that I would drink. This recipe is super easy, you make the sauce, and then pan fry the fish and finish it in the oven. I roasted some baby potatoes as a side dish. The recipe is for cod but I love halibut so I just switched the type of fish. This recipe also goes well with shrimp or scallop dishes. It is a great summer wine and this is a great summer dish.
I have been truly honored to work with Naked Winery and bring you this post. I am a huge fan of them and I hope you visit them if you are near anyone of their locations in Oregon. They are also opening a spot in Vancouver Washington next fall. I can’t wait to visit it! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Wine mentioned:
Recipes Mentioned:
White fish in a White Wine tomato sauce
Other things mentioned:
Prime & Wine Wednesday
Happy Prime & Wine Wednesday!
This week I am going to bring you some Buffalo NY favorites. Its food and drink related. If you like Italian sausage, wings, coffee and cappuccinos. Then this is going to be a great post for you. I am also going to teach you how to make the best air fryer chicken wings. If you are going to have chicken wings they need to be crispy, and served with blue cheese. #sorrynotsorry #noranch . I will still support and love you if you have ranch, I just may judge you a tiny bit haha :).
You can get mostly everything I mention off of amazon. Minus the wine. I actually got the platter pictured above off of amazon too.
Lets start with the Tim Horton’s items. I love Tim Horton’s or as some of us call it back home “Timmy Hos.” Tim Horton’s is technically Canadian but since Buffalo is so close to the border of Canada we just get to reap the benefits. I don’t drink coffee but all my friends back home who drink it love it. I also like their cappuccino mix they have too. You can buy both on amazon. I bet the 2 combo’d together would be pretty tasty.
My husband and I had so much fun making the wings and then the Italian sausage. It was also delicious to eat. If you like a spicy mustard, Weber’s mustard is perfect for you. Its a horseradish mustard. It tastes great on sausage. We made sandwiches with pepper, onions and sauerkraut. I definitely recommend it if you need to spice it up a bit.
Next up is the chicken wings. We made hot chicken wings and then chivettas chicken wings. Normally when I use the chivettas marinade I marinate chicken breasts over night and then I grill them. You definitely want to let your chicken marinate with this if you purchase and use it. Its a vinegar based marinade but it is so tasty. I used my air fryer to make the chicken wings because I wanted them crispy. Its the only way I like my wings. I purchased my air fryer from Target because it was on sale but I will link it below anyway in case you are in the market for one. I love mine. It is quick and easy to use. The clean up is not bad at all either. I was surprised how well the chicken wings did because this was my first time making chicken wings with it and they came out so good. I marinated the chivettas one and then I pre seasoned the ones that were getting the hot sauce from Duffs.
Pre season chicken wings with olive oil, salt and pepper and a little garlic powder. Stir and combine. Place in your air fryer and cook at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes on each side. I noticed the chivettas ones crisped up quicker than the plain ones. After you have done both sides you can toss them in the Duffs hot sauce. If you don’t like them too hot you will need to add butter. That will take down some of the heat. I am sure the cooking time will vary depending on how big or small your wings are too so just be aware of that.
I am particular to Duffs hot sauce because that is my favorite place to have chicken wings back home in Buffalo. But you really can’t go wrong at any hole in the wall bar or pizzeria. Anchor bar is the home and origin of the Buffalo wing but I just think Duffs tastes so much better.
The wine I paired with this weeks purchase was a rose of Sangiovese from Stottle Winery here in Washington. There is a tasting room close to our apartment and I really enjoyed their wine when I went in to visit. Their grapes are grown in the Horse Heaven Hills area of Washington. It has aromas of guava, passion fruit, tart peach, strawberries, and rose hips followed by juicy flavors of nectarine, strawberry, honeysuckle, and tropical fruit.
I hope you enjoyed this weeks post! Cheers! Please let me know if you try anything from this post or my previous posts! I would love to know what you think!
My journey with Yoga Teacher Training
I am officially certified to teach Yoga!
It’s really crazy typing this up right now because on October 23rd 2018 was when I made this draft post for my blog. WOAH! I completed my 200 hours at Wild Thing Yoga in Bend Oregon. Helen Cloots is the yoga teacher that taught us 6 girls for 3 weeks.
Let me give you my yoga background first…..
I had been wanting to get certified for a really long time. I fell in love with yoga in high school. I started going my freshman year and I did it all through high school. I would go with my Mom, my neighbor Debbie and her daughter Lindsey. We both live on either side of a hill in my hometown back in NY. It was really kind of cool. We went to see a woman named Rose who was teaching at a local restaurant in East Aurora NY called the Roycroft. The Roycroft is very historic to East Aurora and they had other buildings on the property so she used a spare building to teach yoga. That place had some crazy vibes. I totally felt peoples past energies in that building. There was actually a specific part of the room that Rose showed me that had some really weird temperature changes and you could feel the air was thicker. It was one of my first experiences with anything like that. I just remember it so vividly with Rose. After a few months their Rose was renting a space at a church and then she opened up her own studio. It was a beautiful space. The building was bright pink and purple on the outside. But it had a very calm energy on the inside. I am so thankful for Rose. I needed yoga during high school because it helped me a lot through some depression, self harming, the abuse from my alcoholic father. It was my counselor at the time. When I got to college I didn’t put yoga first anymore to help myself and I just spiraled out and didn’t want to do yoga even though I knew how much it had helped me. I came back to yoga when I was 21/22. I am 27 now. I wish I had had a more frequent practice like I did in high school which was once a week every Tuesday. I started my at home practice and I would use YouTube and I would watch Yoga with Adrienne. Around that time was when I was like wow this would be so cool to get certified to teach. I never said anything to anyone about it. I just kept it to myself. Then a few years after that I saw a medium for the first time. I had never met her before. And one of the many things that came up was teaching yoga. I was shocked. I left feeling so good because I got messages from loved ones that I wasn’t expecting but they were so fulfilling. Then hearing about the yoga teaching I was like omg wow. I finally told my husband about me wanting to do this. I worked towards this goal. I originally wanted to do this last year but it just so happened to work out better this year. And that was it. I had signed up for YTT and I was finally going to get certified.
I made a mini vlog that I am going to post to my YouTube channel today as well, of my feelings before going into my first class and a little bit during and then the end. Its not anything too fancy. I wish I could have gotten more clips. It was such a roller coaster of emotions. It was challenging as well. But in the best way. It really helped grow me and broaden my knowledge. I plan on re-reading my training manual, which I call my yoga bible now, over and over.
I broke my pinky toe on my left foot on our first day off, while grocery shopping. It was really frustrating, I cried because I thought this was going to hinder me from participating more in the practice teaching. Thankfully it didn’t. I was still able to participate and do the best I could.
Most mornings I would go to the coffee place right next to the yoga studio and get a chai latte and an avocado bagel. I loved coming here before starting the day. I would sometimes get a matcha latte in the afternoon when I needed a pick me up.
There were 6 girls total and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to go through this journey with. They were all so nice and supportive. I miss them so much. It was so nice to be in a small group. I was worried it was going to be a big group and that was going to make me more shy and it was going to be hard to get along but that was not the case. We went shopping on our first day together, we got dinner, and even went out on a girls night too. I wish we all lived close so we could see each other a lot more.
During this I made sure to take the time to get a massage. I tried cupping for the first time and I am addicted. I love it. I need to find a place in Olympia for me to do it at. It is so important if you go through YTT to take the time to rest, and take care of yourself. It was a 3 week immersion so it was way more intense than some other YTT out there.
YTT was very healing and eye opening for me. When we got through to the mediation part of training. I was not expecting to be so emotional for me. During a mala bead meditation we did. Which is a meditation where you use a string of them. There are 108 beads on one necklace. You start at the larger bead that the 108 beads connect to and you pick a mantra and then say your mantra 108 times as you move your index finger and thumb over the bead. That day I picked the mantra “I am beautiful, I can do this.” I said that 108 times and I got so emotional. I was the last person to speak in our group of how I felt after and I completely lost it. I don’t believe the mantra I said to myself. But I know it is something I need to start believing. It was a beautiful process and I was shocked I got so emotional over it.
I was so nervous to teach my final class. I figured out my demographic of what I wanted to teach a little late to the game compared to my fellow yogis. So I personally didn’t feel prepared to teach but I did it anyway. I was happy because I taught a 40 minute class. It wasn’t an hour but my goal was at least 30 minutes. I was so proud of myself and it felt so good to do it and complete it!
And the next day we graduated! I couldn’t believe it was done! I am not sure what I want to do from here. I don’t want to teach in a studio. I actually would like to make videos to add to my YouTube channel. I have one big idea but I am keeping it to myself and I am trying to manifest it into happening. I hope to be able to share with you what this plan is but in case it doesn’t happen I will keep it to myself.
When I graduated I was so pleasantly surprised that my sister, a good friend, my Aunt and my Husband surprised me with gifts. Such fun gifts too! Like really thought out which made me feel even more special because it all related to yoga which was so much fun.
Thanks for reading! Cheers & Namaste!
Prime & Wine Wednesday
Happy Prime & Wine Wednesday!
This week I am bringing you a full outfit from amazon. Shorts, shirt, purse and shoes. Its a great outfit for the summer time.
I loved these shorts because they were comfortable and I liked the style. I can’t do anything too short so these were the perfect length.
The shirt I am obsessed with! How cute is the back?! I got it in a size large and I am glad I did because its sort of cropped at the bottom of the shirt. But I really like the way it fits.
The handwoven cross body bag is so adorable. It has enough room for a small wallet, keys, phone and maybe a few other things. I really like the look of this bag for summer. I would only wear it if I was going out to do something. Its not really an every day purse.
The shoes I got are by Steve Madden. Its his Greece sandal. This type of sandal has been so in this summer. Unfortunately with my broken toe that is still healing, these shoes hurt but I had to slip them on for a few photos since it goes with the complete look. I own them in white as well. I took the white pair to Jamaica.
I paired this weeks purchase with our night out at Olympia’s Brew Fest. We had such a great time! There were a lot of good vendors there and we had a lot of good beer. My favorite was the one that tasted like a mojito. It was a hibiscus mint and lime beer and its pictured in one of the photos that is by the bay. I miss out on a beer that was aged in a Sauignon Blanc barrel. They will be at another brew fest coming up so that is going to be my first and maybe only stop at that festival.
Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!
Amazon Items:
Prime & Wine Wednesday
Happy Prime & Wine Wednesday!
This week I am bringing you some car items that I have purchased on Amazon. I like to keep my car organized. My dog is in my car a lot so a cover and seat belt is needed for her. The car seat cover I am sharing with you today comes with a seat belt to hook to a harness.
I have bought 3 different car covers for my dog and this one is my favorite. Its durable, and it has a mesh section so the air can continue to flow through to my dog in the middle seat.
The next item is an essential oil diffuser. Its a metal holder, felt pads and then your favorite essential oil. I had been looking for something like that for my car. I have bought the diffusers that plug into your cigarette lighter but they take up so much space and a lot of them are made of plastic and I have heard that essential oils eat through plastic so I wasn’t going to be messing with that stuff anymore.I had bought other car fresheners from Amazon but I ended up not liking them. I don’t think they work at all. I purchased a lavender scent and I was so excited and I didn’t even smell it when my car was on with the air coming through the vent. I like these because you can use the felt pads a few times with an essential oil of choice. I have been loving stress away from Young Living.
Does anyone else’s seat belt cut into their neck? Mine does and it was driving me nuts so I had to get seat belt pads and they’re the best thing ever. I don’t have to constantly move my seat belt now so it doesn’t rub my neck. This just protects me and its comfortable.
The last item before we get to the wine I paired with this purchase this week is a car organizer. I had a big bin for my car because I had a lot of stuff in my back seat. I was raised to always have tools, jumper cables, and safety equipment just in case. I liked that bin but I didn’t take it with me when we moved. Right now I have an organizer that clips to the back seat and it fits quite a bit! I can put my dogs water dish in their, my jumper cables and safety vest.
The wine I paired with this purchase was from a winery in the Willamette Valley. Ardiri is small and beautiful vineyard. They have a white wine called the Chehalem Gold and it has been so nice to sip on this summer. Chehalem Gold is their estate blend of Pinot Gros and Pinot Blanc. With crisp notes of pear and apple it is for sure summer in a glass.
How cute is this wine stopper?!
Thanks for stopping by! Links are below! Cheers!
Car Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser
P.S
If you are ever interested in signing up for Young Living and to buy products here is a link to get you started.
Prime & Wine Wednesday
I am so happy to be back!!
I had a blast at Yoga Teacher Training and I miss it and the girls so much but I am happy to be back to my life and routine.
This week I am bringing you a swim suit I found on amazon that I actually really like and found it very flattering on me. I normally don’t like high waisted bathing suits because I always felt like it accentuated parts I didn’t want to stand out. But I am all about feeling good in clothes and swim suits and if you feel good in it, ROCK IT! You get it girl! I felt great in this suit and that is really hard for me to find a suit that works that well for me. I loved the color and pattern. I also liked the top because it had the extra layer of sass to it haha.
I paired this weeks purchase with Naked Wineries Outdoor Vino! Their Picnic Table Pink, which is basically a rosé. It was the perfect add to the outfit and the day at the river in Bend. I love their Outdoor Vino line of wines. BPA free plastic bottles that you can literally take outdoors. It’s a lot easier to hike around with this than a glass bottle. It’s reusable and recyclable. It also has a screw cap so you can leave the wine opener at home. Just pack the wine and some stainless steal glasses and you are good to go! Hydro Flask makes some great wine glasses. I will link those below. The tasting notes for this wine and I will quote how Naked Winery breaks it down because its literally perfect. I couldn’t have said it better.
“Smells of cherry limeade followed by a blast of strawberry, melon
and a lemonade punch on the tongue. Lingering citrus flavors add
to a long well-balanced finish.”
Cheers! 🙂
Bibliography:
Winery, Naked. “Picnic Table Pink Sell Sheet.” OV Picnic Table Pink Sell Sheet, 2016, http://www.nakedwinery.com/assets/client/File/FACT-SHEETS/OUTDOOR-VINO/OV%20Picnic%20Table%20Pink%20Sell%20Sheet%202016.pdf.
