I know I’ve said it before, but sometimes I buy/try wine based on the label and this week’s wine find is no exception to that.

I was walking down the wine aisle in my neighborhood grocery store when I spied a bottle that said Hey Mambo and described itself as a sultry red wine.

This wine is produce by The Other Guys, Inc. who make this Sauvignon Blanc we found at Costco for about $8 that was delicious that is bottled under the Lesse-Fitch label, just as an FYI.

Remember the B-Side wine I posted about 2 weeks back?  Well this wine is made by a family member, though I have no idea how they are related.  But needless to say they have a history in making wine and know what they are doing!

I thought this wine was good…but not one particular thing stood out.  This wine is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, Barbera, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouchet grapes.  Those are some powerful grapes!  Though I’ve never heard of Alicante Bouchet, have you?

It is a bold wine, with rich flavors that I probably should have decanted to let it really open up…I just sometimes can’t wait for that! I think this would be a great winter wine because of its heaviness. It isn’t really a refreshing light wine you’d want during the Texas summer heat.  Or at least it wouldn’t be my preference.

It is definitely a wine I would have again, I just need to check the price point to determine how often I would have it again.  These wine makers have quite a portfolio of wine that I’d like to sample.

What will you have in your glass today?  Have you made the switch to whites yet or are do you stick with red all year round?

I purchased and tried this Mettler Family Zinfindal because a wine rep friend suggested it, and it was amazing!  I went to a wine tasting event at Corner Wines in Plano.  If you haven’t been to this cool wine shop you really should check it out, they’ve got a great selection to chose from.

Since I had never heard of the Mettler Family Vineyards before I went and checked out their website.  Apparently they really know their wine.  Their family has been a part of the wine industry back to the 1770s in the Lodi Valley.

To ensure the wines they produce are of the highest quality they only produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel.

This Zinfandel was full of flavor or as they say on their website, full of personality.  Being the bad wino I sometimes am, I haven’t used my decanter in forever, but decided to get it out for this wine.  Each glass got better and better!

I will definitely be buying this wine again and highly recommend you give it a try as well.  Now I just need to track down their Cabernet and see if it is as good as the Zinfandel.

Thanks Rino for recommending this wine I really enjoyed it!  Sorry I drank it without you!

I have noticed this B-Side Cabernet at my local grocery store multiple times over the last year and it has caught my eye on may occasions, but I have never tried it.  So tonight I finally did and boy and I glad!

Lately I’ve been on a Pinot Noir quick and haven’t been drinking much Cabernet.  I don’t know if it’s my sabbatical from Cabernet that made this such a nice find or it’s really just that good; pretty sure it’s just THAT good.

This wine is made by Don Sebastiani and Sons.  They have quite a collection of wines.  But this is the best one I’ve have.

I like that they’ve called this wine the B-Side because as they describe it, it represents the flip side of Napa Valley.  This smooth wine is a mix of Cabernet grapes grown in two separate vineyards in Rutherford and the Stags Leap District.  It is 90% Cabernet and 10% Malbec.

The small hint of Malbec gives this wine a nice spice but without making it a heavy wine. And the color of this wine is absolutely beautiful!

Apparently the 2010 vintage received a score of 92 points, so I am not the only who enjoys this wine.  I believe it runs right around $20. If you come across this wine I definitely recommend giving it a try!

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I am in the B.R. Cohn wine club and have been for about 4 years, I believe.  Twice a year, usually April and October, I place an order for the bottles I want to receive.  I love this! Most wine clubs determine what bottles you’ll get in each shipment, so the fact that I get to chose with B.R. Cohn is why I joined their club.

But sometimes I feel like I need to appologize to them for being the lamest wine club member they have!  I like quite a few of their wines but my favorite is the “Classic Car Wine” because the price point is awesome and the wines never disappoint.  Because of this I rarely order much else, thus not spending much money.

In my April shpiment I ordered the Coupe Cuvee.  This is the first time, that I know of, that I have tried a Cuvee.  It was very refreshing but dangerous.  I know that wine is made up of grapes but this literally just tasted like grape juice, as in very easy to drink.

Though the longer it sat open the more it opened up and the more depth it seemed to develop.   More of the fruit flavors opened up and the wine got even more smooth.

I was nervous about trying this wine because I have shyed away from white wines in the last few years, but with how hot it gets in Texas in the summer time you almost have to drink white wine.  Or at least keep your reds in the fridge to get nice and cold!

Once again I am sad I didn’t just go out on a limb and order 2 bottles of this wine on the off chance I liked it.  Oh, well I’m sure October will be here before I know it and it will be time to place my next order!

Wow it’s been awhile since I did a wine wednesday post, sorry about that! But it doesn’t mean I haven’t been drinking wine so don’t worry!

I first tried a Hahn Winery wine on a trip down to Dee Lincoln’s Bubble Bar and really enjoyed it. I believe it was a Pinot Noir.  But tonight I want to talk about the 2010 St Lucia Highlands Chardonnay.  Since the warmer weather has already started arriving here in Dallas, I’ve been drinking a few more white wines, just because it is a bit more refreshing.

We just had a Spec’s Wine & Beer store open in the neighborhood and I love their wine selection.  They had several Hahn wines for just about $12  so I thought I’d give them a try.

This Chardonnay reminds me more of a Pinot Grigio because of its citrus taste.  I didn’t really get the buttery flavor that most Chardonnays emit but overall I thought this was  pretty good Chardonnay.

Chardonnay was once my favorite wine but since moving on to red wines I’ve become more of a Sauvignon Blanc fan if I had to pick a white.  But I did enjoy this wine.  I drank it over a few nights and I don’t think aging it made that big of a difference but aerating it may have.  I might have to try that next time.

According to the Hahn Winery site, there is a coconut flavor to this Chardonnay and that just may be what is keeping me from falling in love with it.  Not to say I wouldn’t drink this particular wine again.  I’m just a bigger fan of their Pinot Noir and GSM.  They are both fabulous and the price point is pretty awesome as well!  I love when you can find a good wine that doesn’t make you feel like you were robbed when you walked out of the store with.

First of all, let me apologize if you are tired of hearing about my book…I am just really, really excited about each step I take in the progress of getting Creative Chaos out and available in as many forms as possible. I spent the better part of the weekend formatting the book for print and sent it to my sister in law, Tiffany, yesterday morning and she surprised me last night with a copy of my book in print.

It’s like when I finished the cover design and couldn’t stop staring at it; I just want to flip through it and carry it around with me.  Confession, I have a copy in my purse!  There were a few very minor tweeks to be made, but we are on track to have it printed and ready the last week of March.  In fact, if you’re in the Dallas area, I’ll be having a “Book Release” on Tuesday, March 27th (details to follow).  In the mean time it’s available on the Kindle, the Nook and for iBooks.

Side note, if you have read Creative Chaos, can you dome a huge favor? I need reviews and ratings, if you could rate it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or even Goodreads I would be SO grateful!

This week’s wine for Wine Wednesday was another purely asthetic pick.  I’ve seen this Petite Petite wine before but never tried. See isn’t it cute:

The Petite Petit is bold and full of flavor, but I didn’t love it. I find it ironic this wine is so big because it is 85% Petite Sirah and 15% Petite Verdot.  You would think as a combination of two “Petite” wines the flavor would be small or wimpy.

This wine needed lots of time to breath; we’re talking hours to really open up. We started drinking it as soon as we opened it and it wasn’t until I got towards the bottom of the glass that it became a bit more than just drinkable.

Typically I am Sirah fan and a Petite Verdot fan, so I am surprised that I didn’t particularly enjoy this wine. Now don’t get me wrong; this wine wasn’t terrible, it’s just a wine I’m anxious to drink again.

I was able to try the wine the next night because we didn’t finish the bottle.  It was a little better but oddly even though it seemed like it opened up the night before; the second night it seemed like the wine was back at square one.

I was really tempted to turn this wine post into an update on Creative Chaos; but decided instead to just include both.  I mean there is wine on the cover!  But how could there not be?

One thing you’ve probably figured out about me is, I don’t discriminate when it comes to wine. I’ll drink fancy wine, I’ll drink cheap wine…just so long as it’s good! And most of the time my big concern is it fitting into my budget!

Last night after a fun sister sushi (stay tuned, I can’t wait to review the new sushi place next week!), Beth & I grabbed a bottle of wine so I could get home and finish entering all the edits for Creative Chaos and finish up the cover:

I am SO excited with how it turned out and truth be told I kind of can’t stop staring at it.  I might just have to have physical books made after all!

Tonight we drank the Naked Grape Pinot Noir.  Now if you remember a few weeks back I made the garlic crock pot chicken with wine in the sauce.  I used the Naked Grape Pinot Grigio for that recipe.

Naked Grape makes some pretty good wines! I am not a fan of Pinot Grigio but really enjoyed it when I had a glass with the chicken.

This Pinot Noir was a little boring to me, but not in a bad.  It just didn’t overwhelm you with a fruity taste but since I was distracted with the cover art, I was taking my sweet time drinking my glass of wine, just ask Beth!  So by the time I got around to finishing it it really had opened up.

I would definitely recommend having Naked Grape wines around your house.  I don’t think you can go wrong!

My favorite thing about the Naked Grape wines is their price point.  I have yet to see one go over $10 and I am a big fan of that!