Paris Las Vegas has teamed with Georges Duboeuf, one of the largest wine merchants in France and well known his product of Beaujolais wines, for a special Beaujolais uncorking package.  This is a perfect getaway for the wine enthusiast to enjoy a 5-day celebration full of Beaujolais Nouveau tastings, special events, and celebration.

Here’s what the package includes:

• Accommodations at Paris Las Vegas (up to 5 nights, valid November 18th – 22nd)
• 2 tickets to Wine 101:  Celebrate the Harvest (wine tasting seminar)
• Bottle of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau and 2 commemorative wine glasses
• VIP passes to Risqué nightclub

You can check out the full Beaujolais Nouveau festival schedule to learn all about the special events that are planned.  You must be at least 21 years of age to book this package.

Package prices depend on number of nights accommodation, and do not include taxes or gratuities.  As with all travel packages, be sure to do your do diligence as to what is and isn’t included, as well as the cancellation policy.

While it would be great to be in Paris, France for this celebration, Paris, Las Vegas may be the next best thing.

Photo credit: personal collection

Post from: Blisstree

Beaujolais Festival at Paris, Las Vegas

Wine related travel is a popular part of Sonoma County, with its 13 American Viticultural areas, each with distinctive characteristics.  The Pacific coastline, redwood forests, fertile valleys, and mountains all add to the mix in producing some truly outstanding wines.

Take a day trip from Oakland or San Francisco, getaway for a weekend of wine, or spend more time tasting and learning about all the Sonoma wineries and wine have to offer.

Everyone has their personal wine preferences, and with over 250 Sonoma-area wineries to choose from, coming in all sizes and flavors, it’s often hard to come up with some favorites.  But that’s just what Sonoma County has done for you – put together a list of 13 wineries that offer a little something more than just great wine.

In alphabetical order, here’s the list, along with some tasting notes:

1. Acorn Winery – Variety of wines offered at this small winery.  Call in advance for a visit, but give it a try even if you’re just down the road.  Located in Healdsburg.
2. Annapolis Winery – Small family owned winery that produces small barrels.  Located in Annapolis.
3. Balletto Vineyards/Dutton Goldfield – Two wineries, one tasting room.  Balletto features Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Pinot Gris.  Dutton Goldfield features Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Located in Santa Rosa.
4. Gundlach Bundschu Winery – Gewurztraminer.  One of the oldest wineries in Sonoma County, located in Sonoma.
5. Hawkes Winery – Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay.  Located in Healdsburg.
6. Matanzas Creek Winery -  Merlot.  The winery is surrounded by lavender fields.  Located a little off the beaten path in Santa Rosa.
7. Mutt Lynch Winery – Dog lovers will love this places with the cleverly named wines, Merlot Over, Play Dead, and Unleashed Chardonnay.  Good wine always goes with good humor.  Located in Healdsburg.
8. Quivira Vineyards – California Grenache, Grenache Rose, and Sauvignon Blanc.  Located in Healdsburg.
9. Robert Rue Vineyard – Old-vine Zinfandel.  Located in Fulton.
10. Robledo Family Winery – Variety of wine offerings.  Open by appointment only, but the owners are very accommodating, and short notice isn’t usually a problem.  Located in Sonoma.
11. Russian River Vineyards – Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.  Winery also has a restaurant.  Located in Forestville.
12. Stryker Sonoma Winery and Vineyards – Zinfandel and Cabernet.  Located in Geyserville.
13. Twomey Cellars – Merlot.  Located in Healdsburg.

Do you have a Sonoma favorite that didn’t make the list?  Leave your favorite, and tell us why, in the comments!

Photo credit: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

13 Sonoma Wineries Not to be Missed

With the popularity of home cooking shows, celebrity chefs and a huge amount of information about them on the internet, , though, I’ve become a little more accepting of the cute little yellow pests as a form of nourishment. This doesn’t, however, mean I’ve tried them yet!

So when I came across the video series at MonkeySee about making your own dandelion wine, I was intrigued. I’ve heard of it before in more a passing kind of way — a link online or a mention from a tv chef — but I’d never given much thought to trying it, much less making my own!

In the video series, Phil Tonks of Grandview Winery explains the basics of dandelion wine making, and to be honest, it doesn’t look that difficult!

He explains that it’s important to pick dandelions that have not been sprayed and to choose plants that are about a foot long and whose flowers, which are what is used to make the wine, have not turned white. (Even the dandelion leaves don’t go to waste — they can be used in a fresh, nutritious salad!)

It takes eight cups of just dandelion petals (no green) to make one gallon of wine!

The next video is about the equipment used in making the dandelion wine. Then there’s the dandelion fermentation process, racking the wine, and bottling the wine.

Have you ever had dandelion wine? Have you ever tried making it?

Post from: Blisstree

Make Your Own Dandelion Wine

Some of the Raley’s stores here in California offer tastings.  My local Raley’s doesn’t offer this, but it sounds fun.  If you log into the Raley’s website, you can see a complete list of tasting locations and I think that the Natomas store would be closest to me, it’s located in Sacramento.

Here’s an example of their tasting schedule for July:

7/2 – Dancing Bull and Madria Sangria
7/9 – Smoking Loon
7/16 – Wente
7/23 – J. Lohr and Gordon Biersch
7/30 – Wine Steward’s Choice

Tastings are offered only to customers whom are 21 or older.

They run from 5:30-7:30 and they cost $3, plus tax, per sampler. You can apply the $3 to your wine purchase.

For information about a tasting near you, take a look at the Raley’s Wine Club.

Image credit: sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Raley’s Supermarket Wine Club

The Nat Decants Drinks Matcher is available for only $2.99. For Apple products, visit here. If you’ve got a Blackberry, click here.

Here are the Top 10 Cheese & Drink Matches from the Nat Decants Drinks Matcher:

1.      Camembert or brie with Champagne
2.      Gouda with Spanish Rioja
3.      Cheddar with Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignon
4.      Manchego with Amontillado Sherry
5.      Mozzarella with German Late Harvest Riesling
6.      Feta with Oregonian Pinot Noir
7.      Goat cheese with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
8.      Stilton blue cheese with Port or Sauternes
9.      Parmigiano with Italian Amarone
10.     Macaroni and cheese with Californian Chardonnay

Image credit: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

New Wine & Food Pairing App For Your Phone

Everyone knows that when the weather sours here in the South, good Southern boys pour bourbon. If the boy has been influenced by his wife, he opens a bottle of wine. For this rainy Wednesday Rick chose a nice Domaine Les Aphillanthes Cotes-du-Rhone.

We turned on the patio TV to baseball and let the red wine warm our bellies. It proved a perfect match to Truman’s new fascination to Bacugons. (What amazing creatures they are!) I’ll toast to that!

Post from: Blisstree

Rainy Wine-y Wednesday Escape

Don't wig out. It's non-fermented pinot noir (a.k.a. grape juice)

Four ounces? Is he kidding? If I had four ounces of wine, I’d want more. And more. And more. As someone who has a hard time stopping after just one glass of wine, did I really want to chance it?

I worked for the March of Dimes during the 12 months I was pregnant. I knew what alcohol consumption during pregnancy could do. I heard the sad stories of children born with fetal alcohol syndrome. And then there is the possibility of increased cognitive or behavior problems spurred by the mother’s alcohol use. What my doctor and other perinatal experts told me at the time is that a little wine or beer on occasion was fine, but some women might take that information as license to down bottles of booze and put their unborn child at risk. So it was just easier to say, ‘Don’t do it.’”

Years ago it was not big deal to have a sip of wine or beer while pregnant. It some cases, I’ve heard that doctors even recommended it to women who were a bit high strung. (That would be me.) But the times, they are a-changing. In countries like England where drinking during pregnancy is largely accepted, some groups are pushing to adopt America’s standard of slapping labels on bottles of alcohol warning of possible alcohol-related birth defects. And some pubs are refusing service to pregnant women who order alcohol.

It’s easy to find arguments on both sides of the issue. As for me, my body seemed to make its own choice. I tried sipping champagne or wine on a handful of occasions, but my paranoia was overwhelming. And so, for that year I was pregnant, I refrained.

But rest assured, the minute my baby was born and the drugs wore off, I celebrated with a toast!

Sources:
The Telegraph
Daily Mail

photo, Flickr, Brett L.

Post from: Blisstree

Toast to a Healthy Pregnancy?

So we broke out Perrier Jouet Grand Brut. The experts say this Champagne is “poised and stylish” and “layers sharp citrus fruit with spicy wood and light toast.” All I know is when I’m walking around with a glass of this, I’m loving life. At about $30 per bottle, this jewel is great for sitting curbside with neighbors and watching 5-year-olds race Big Wheels in the driveway.

“I only drink Champagne when I’m happy, and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.”
- Lily Bollinger

Photo, JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

Wine-y Wednesdays – Reason to CELEBRATE!

My friend Suzanne likes to tell her kids, “I don’t understand Whinese,” but that trick wasn’t working here. It was time to bring out the reinforcements. I call it fighting fire with fire – or fighting whining by wining.

The Wine-y Wednesday pick-o-the-day is Dona Paula Los Cardos sauvignon blanc. It’s a light, crisp Argentinean with just a little kick of grapefruit to compliment this warmer weather. Perfect for helping you tune out a child who is lying on the floor complaining about godknowswhat. Ringing in at under $15 a bottle, you really can drink it like water.

“Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.”
- Ben Franklin

(photo, JWJourney)

Post from: Blisstree

When Kids Whine, You Must Have Wine!

Nat Decants, online home of Natalie MacLean, expert sommelier, now offers a widget that will help you to chose the very best wine or beverage to compliment your meal.

For example, I chose…

“Mushrooms: Chanterelle” and the Wine & Food Matcher widget gave me, “Other drinks: Tea:Assam, Vodka” and “Red Wine: Barbera, Pinot Noir Old World/Burgundy, Shiraz” and “White Wine: Chardonnay: New World (Full-Bodied, Fruity).

Then, I’m given more options – I can click to find a list of wines available to match the dish or find more recipes with complimentary ingredients.

If you really like the Matcher Widget and you want to have easier access to it or you want to share it with your friends, you can post your own copy of it on your desktop, your web site, or your favorite social networking site, like MySpace or Facebook.

I think that this is a great idea, although I’m more of a beer girl, than a wine girl. I wonder which beer goes best with Chanterelles?

Image credit: All Posters.com

Post from: Blisstree

Nat Decants Your Best Wine Choice