Wine Weekend

It's my favorite time of year here in Idaho, I love Thanksgiving because I love cooking and this is the ultimate feast.  After enjoying the company of family and friends, and eating lots of wonderful food I don't prepare for Black Friday (it's cold here and I'm not going out at 2 am to freeze my arse off).  Nope, I am gearing up for WINE WEEKEND!  If there is any question about why I call it wine weekend, just take a look at this list events I got from the Idaho Commission Website:

NOV
NOV23	Bitner Vineyards Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.18.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV23	3 Horse Ranch Vineyard Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.16.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Williamson Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.26.2011
NOV25	Indian Creek Thanksgiving Open House 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	St. Chapelle Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.26.2011
NOV25	Cinder Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Coiled Wines Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Hells Canyon & Zhoo Zhoo Thanksgiving Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.26.2011
NOV25	Huston Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Periple Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Sawtooth Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.26.2011
NOV25	Snake River Winery Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Vale Wine Co. Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011
NOV25	Cold Springs Winery Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Fujishin Family Cellars Thanksgiving 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Fraser Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Davis Creek Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.25.2011 - 11.27.2011
NOV25	Pend d'Oreille Winery's Live Music Line-up Every Friday between 11.04.2011 and 11.25.2011
NOV26	Pend d'Oreille Winery's Live Music Line-up 11.26.2011
NOV26	Terra Nativa Thanksgiving Barrel Tasting 11.26.2011

I hope to see you all out there enjoying Idaho Wines!

Indian Creek

By far the biggest crowd was at Indian Creek today.  The old fashioned party atmosphere is enjoyable. The 2008 relase of their Star Garnet is very nice, hubby likes it better than the 2007.  And as always mama Mui did a great job on the food. All in all a great Valentines Wine Weekend.

Bitner

Quick stop at Bitner for the Menopause Merlot. It was a little tart on the finish, but it will mellow given more time in the bottle, they just bottled it a couple of months ago. My plan is to set it aside until my 40th birthday, summer 2012. Next stop Indian Creek.

Davis Creek

I never thought I'd be bummed that the Idaho Vandals lost to the Boise Broncos, however their loss meant no screaming deals at Davis creek today. The wine is still good and a bottle of Rose' found it's way into the trunk for BBQ dinner later this year.

Hells Canyon

Screaming deals at Hells Canyon today. The tasting was free and we couldn't resist their Sportsman selection for just $69, it includes a bottle of my favorite Merlot.  The chocolate dipped grapes were a nice treat too.

Where Next?

Brunch was excellent.  The bacon at Brick 29 is out of this world, a delectable mix of sweet and spicy.  Next stop, Hells Canyon for the Zhoo Zhoo groupon special: 5 bottles of wine and a special gift. Can't wait!

Texting It In

I am trying something new today. Today is the Sunday before Valentine's day and hubby is taking me to brunch at Brick 29 Bistro in Nampa, ID.  So I thought I would text in the blog.  Hope it works.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!  Yesterday we enjoyed family, friends, football, and lots of wine!


We follow a southern tradition in our household and serve Hoppin' John (Black-eyed Peas and Ham Hocks served over brown rice) starting at half-time of the Rose Bowl.  Also on the menu was Artichoke Dip with Pita Chips, Fresh Veggies with Salmon Dip or Ranch Dip.  I think a bag of plain potato chips made it's way to the table too.  Leave a comment below if you'd like any of my recipes.


We had plenty of wine on hand including a mulled wine I made using Sawtooth Skyline Red.  With it being the new year we served a couple of sparkling wines.  Idaho doesn't have a lot of options for sparkling wines (only one that I know of, a Sparkling Chardonnay from Woodriver Cellars), so we relied on our favorite local wine shop, Bueno Cheapo Vino, for some inexpensive imports.


One of my favorites is a Prosecco from Riondo Spago Argento called Pink.  What I love about Pink is the hint of berry flavor.  It's really light and if, like me, you have friends that swear they only like syrupy Ice Wines, they will find this one refreshing too.  Another really nice Prosecco we served was from Casalnova, it has really nice crisp apple like flavor.  We then had a German sparkling wine from Henkell Trocken, which is known for its lasting bubbles and I would definitely describe this wine as very bubbly.  Next on the list is a really nice 2009 Gewürztraminer from Sun Garden.  As I reflect on the evening and review the bottles; stacked neatly waiting for recycle at Sustainable Futures, I realized we served some sweeter white wines:  Sawtooth Reserve 2007 Ice Wine Gewürztraminer and Koenig Vineyards 2008 Riesling (like I said I have some friends with a sweet tooth).  Not all the wines were super sweet, but pleasantly sweet like the Indian Creek 2009 White Pinot Noir (yum).  I also saw that hubby decided to share one of his favorite reds, a rare bottle of Cinder 2008 Tempranillo.  We were only allowed to purchase two bottles and I'm pretty sure it sold out.  We don't mind holding onto a bottle of wine for a "special occasion", but we're pretty liberal with our definition of such occasions.  Special occasions could be a holiday, like yesterday, or it can be an evening we decide to serve a special wine we've been saving.


I want to thank all my friends and family that were able to join us last night.  I really appreciate that clean up this morning was really negligible, what great guests!


Again, Happy New Year Everyone.  I am looking forward to more wine adventures.