Wine – NamastayGrapeful

Wine and Candy pairing for Halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2019October 29, 2019 by NamastayGrapeful

Happy Halloween!!!

Last year I did a blog post on a bottle of wine to have while you passed out candy or stayed up watching scary movies. As well as a recipe for red wine hot chocolate. Which I still recommend to have. It was delicious. I never thought I would like hot red wine. But the right red wine with chocolate is fabulous.

This year I decided to finally try a candy and wine pairing. I realized when I was trying the candies and wine together that I should have made this a YouTube video for my channel because it would have been hilarious because my first tasting did not come out the way I wanted. So next year I am definitely adding this to the list of videos to film in the month of October. I think it would have been so good and hilarious.

This is my honest opinion of these wine pairings. I am not going to lie and just say everything was great. This is the point behind this blog post and or why I started my blog. I would like to think I am a relatable wine drinker. I went off of a candy and wine pairing diagram I found on pinterest and then picked out my favorite candy. From their I found the wine that would pair with this candy. What I didn’t understand was how Starbursts paired with Pinot Noir. But it got even more weird when I tried a Reese cup with Pinot Noir. This first tasting as a total fail. It was what led me to my great idea for a YouTube video. I am sure other pairings fail as well. But thankfully I had great success with the rest of my pairings. I do not think peanut butter and wine go well together. Maybe its my inexperience of tasting wine and understanding the complexities and how pairings work or maybe it was the Pinot Noir I picked out? All and all I did not like either of the candies I had with the Pinot Noir. The wine tasted amazing it just didn’t taste good with candy mixed with it. The Pinot Noir I had picked out was from the winery Ardiri. It was their 2016 California Pinot Noir. Its a robust and fruit forward Pinot. I promise this wine is so good. I would buy this and drink it again.

Twix and Snickers pair so well with Malbec. I used Naked Wineries Perfect Match Malbec. They do not sell it anymore online unfortunately. I was so happy to be able to enjoy the candy with this wine. The Snickers was my favorite but the Twix was super good too. It was interesting how it brought the flavors of the wine out more. I have gone to a food and wine pairing before and that is some amazing shit right there. When it is done so perfectly it is a whole new world that your taste buds have been invited to. One big party in your mouth.

The Sauvignon Blanc and Prosecco blew my mind away. The Sauvignon Blanc and Skittles was my favorite pairing. That Sauvignon Blanc from Winc is a crowd pleaser. Oh my gosh it tastes so crisp and tropical. Which paired insanely well with the skittles. I bet the starbursts would have been good with the Sauv Blanc I should have tried that. The Sauvignon Blanc is from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. My favorite Sauvignon Blancs are from that area. This is now on my list of favorites. So thank you Winc. Tasting notes of grass, green apple, guava and lemon make it for a delicious wine.

The last pairing is a Prosecco with nerds. I think any Prosecco would be good with nerds. It kind of reminded me of pop rocks in my mouth. I preferred the strawberry flavor with the Prosecco but the grape was good as well. I think I liked the strawberry because strawberries and Prosecco pair very well together and makes a great garnish when serving Prosecco.

Hopefully your kids will share some candy with you so you can try some pairings together with what ever wine you are drinking. Or go out and buy the candy and give it a try and let me know what you think! Or what ones you have found that taste great together. Thank you for reading this if you have made it this far. I am really looking forward to next year when I can film a live tasting. Maybe I can get some friends to join me too! Cheers and Happy Halloween!

Wines Mentioned:

Pinot Noir

Naked Winery – Red Wines

Winc

Favorites, Life, Wine, Winery

Union Wine Co. Rose!

Posted on September 18, 2019September 17, 2019 by NamastayGrapeful

Rosé season never ends for me. I am sure others can agree with me when it comes to that. I figured this post was fitting for this time of year because we are all in the Fall spirit but we still want to carry on all the rosé we can into the Fall season. Union Wine Co. spoiled me when they sent me this package. I was expecting a bottle of their rosé and I would have been just as ecstatic about that as well but when these goodies showed up to my door I was over joyed and honored that they were willing to do this for me.

I wanted to do a break down of their 3 rosé’s that you can get bottled or canned. Union Wine co. is one of my favorites for wine. Canned or Bottled. They do such a great job when it comes to design, packaging, taste and even how they ship the wine. They have so many canned varieties. You should check it out and you can order the wine online. I have ordered a few of their canned wines before. Website will be linked below. I discovered Union Wine Co. 2 years ago at a burger restaurant back home in Buffalo NY and that’s where my love for them and canned wine started.

The first rosé is their bottled rosé. With tasting notes of strawberry, ruby red grapefruit and apricot. It is a rosé that can be enjoyed at any time. When I had this rosé for the first time I immediately added it to my go to bottles that I can always count on for a good glass and it would be a crowd pleaser.

“Straight from the Rosé City! Drinkable, unpretentious and travel-ready, this is the perfect wine for action lounging, such as poolside shindigs, outdoor music festivals, backyard BBQ’s with friends or anywhere that calls for serious lounging. It’s set to become your favorite spring and summer staple.”

The next rosé is their rosé bubbles. With tasting notes of wild strawberry, fruit cocktail and tart cherry. It was an easy rosé to drink and delicious. I really enjoyed the flavors of these bubbles. This is definitely my go to for rosé bubbles. It is bottled as well. It is a great option for mimosas, bridal showers, or the just because moments.

“It’s hard to keep your pinky up when you’re drinking wine from a 375 mL can. These are the most approachable and ready-to-travel anywhere wines we produce. Whether you’re sitting in a hot tub after a good day of riding or heading where other wines dare not travel, we have you covered without sacrificing the craft taste Union is known for.”

#pinkiesdown

Last but not certainly least is their rosé in a can. It has different tasting notes from their bottled rosé but it is just as good. With tasting notes of Strawberry, Watermelon, and Peach. I would honestly say this is my go to for canned wine in the summer. This is the one that never fails, tastes good and is travel friendly in a cooler. As Union Wine Co. says, “Good wine should be able to go anywhere.”

#pinkiesdown

Thanks for stopping by for this blog post. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you try Union Wine Co. If you do, let me know what you think! Cheers!

Union Wine Co.

Bibliography:

“2018 UNDERWOOD ROSÉ WINE.” Union Wine Company, shop.unionwinecompany.com/collections/underwood/products/2014-underwood-rose-wine.

“UNDERWOOD ROSÉ.” Union Wine Company, shop.unionwinecompany.com/collections/underwood/products/underwood-in-a-can-rose.

Book Reviews, Travel, Wine

Root Cause Book Review

Posted on September 12, 2019September 12, 2019 by NamastayGrapeful

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.

food, Shopping, Subscription Boxes, Travel, Wine, Winery

Naked Winery Food and Wine Pairing

Posted on August 25, 2019August 22, 2019 by NamastayGrapeful

Diva 3

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.

naked winery

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.

Center piece

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!

Opening 4

Dinner Prep

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.

Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit 2

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.

wine

wine 2

Albarnino

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:

Diva Sangiovese

Making Waves Albarino

Recipes Mentioned:

Zucchini Lasagna Rolls

White fish in a White Wine tomato sauce

Other things mentioned:

Wine Decanter

Amazon, Shopping, Wine

Prime & Wine Wednesday

Posted on August 14, 2019August 13, 2019 by NamastayGrapeful

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!

Platter

Weber’s Mustard

Chiavetta’s Marinade

Duff’s Chicken Wing Sauce

Tim Horton’s Cappuccino Mix

Tim Horton’s Coffee

Air Fryer

Stottle Winery

Amazon, Shopping, Wine

Prime & Wine Wednesday

Posted on August 7, 2019August 7, 2019 by NamastayGrapeful

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:

White shorts

Other pair of white shorts

Purse

Shirt

Shoes

Amazon, Shopping, Wine

Prime & Wine Wednesday

Posted on July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 by NamastayGrapeful

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!

Ardiri Winery

Dog Car Seat Cover

Car Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser

Seat Belt Pads

Car Organizer

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.

Young Living