Wine!

We have a cavernous basement, I mean, it is absolutely huge and empty, not to mention dark and creepy. I thought and M thought that it would be a great place for a wine cellar. We aren't yuppie enough yet for the de facto wine fridge in the kitchen and if you have seen our kitchen, it needs much more than a wine fridge to spruce it up ...Yet the basement, however, gives multitudinous possibilities.

I have loved drinking wine for some years, mostly 2 Buck Chuck or whatever I could afford. I definitely lean toward strong reds with mineral flavors. I don't care for sweet or jammy wines or many white wines, so my tastes may be different than yours. I've never purchased an entire case of wine, I was terrified at the thought, ( It's so much money!) We entertained the idea many times because we drink wine on the regular and spend more than we should by buying per bottle. Last week we went to one of the local wine shops just to grab some beers and a few bottles of wine. I casually asked the clerk what the discount was for a mixed case. He replied 15%!!!!! Holy smokes, I was grabbing bottles faster than you can say cheese. We experimented a bit and to be honest some of the bottles weren't so great, but most of them were (and discounted!)we're prepared for next time. This is what we found;

Grenache Noir - Domaine de Gournier, France
(Oops) - Cab Franc and Carmenere, Chile
Strong Arms - Shiraz, Southern Australia
Little James Basket Press - Vin de Table, France
Domaine de la Petit Cassagne - France
Albarino Burgans - Albarino, Spain (white)
Cassilero del Diablo - Carmenere, Chile

The Cassilero is an old standby, almost every one of their wines is satisfying and affordable. Their Carmenere is basically our standard Vin de Table. So the next time you think about buying a mixed case, just do it. We did and found some amazing new wines and saved some money, but it is surprising how quickly they go.

le cuisine

Our weekend wasn't as simple and idyllic as usual. We were engaged to attend two functions, one being the DIY art opening of a friend in the funky neighborhood of Hampden, the wedding of two close friends way out beyond Frederick,(read 60+ miles) I can triumphantly say that we made it to both just in time. My natural proclivity to slothfulness almost killed both events. Jen's art show was awesome. Saturday however was another story, getting trapped and lost in city traffic,then driving at NASCAR speeds on the Intersate we entered the church at a run and were forced to hop over the bride's train to get a seat. Not the most classy of entrances, but we made it and drank much to the bride and groom's health at the reception. That left Sunday to do house things, and nothing much got done. I organized a linen closet and M decided, after 2 episodes of Anthony Bourdain and 1 bottle of wine, that it was a good time to take out the window a/c in the living room. Enter much groaning and many expletives as he hauled the unit down to the basement.In lieu of actual progress I am left with views of the kitchen and our new awesome fridge!