Cheers and Happy New Year!!!

Asti

     I know, I know, I said that I would post weekly and so far, nada!  I do apologize...  What was I thinking when I decided to start a blog in the middle of the holiday season?!?  Enough procrastinating let's get this started....

     What better way to start this year of tasting than a sparkling wine and that's exactly where we will begin.
     When I choose a sparkling wine or Champagne I tend to choose one on the sweet side, (whereas when I choose a wine, I like it dry).  So my choice for my New Year celebration is an Asti a.k.a. Asti Spumante.
     Made from the muscat grape and grown in the Piedmont area of northwestern Italy the Asti is grown mainly in the town of Asti and Alba.  This sparkling wine is light, low in alcohol and generally inexpensive.  I chose Asti Soria at a price of $11.99 from Total Wine in Orlando.

     Upon opening this bottle I was very pleased with the bouquet, full of wild flowers and honey.  The color was very clear, pale yellow and tasted of honey, pears and peaches.  I was very surprised that for a sparkling wine, this particular bubbly was not that bubbly, something I found to my liking.  It's never lady like to have to burp after taking a sip of sparkly...  Normally if I drink any wine under $10 I get a headache, I loved that I didn't have a headache with this one!  

     If I were to pair this with food, I would definitely keep it light, say a nice fruit salad, mimicking the same flavors in the wine.  Fruit desserts, such as a cobbler, compote or tart.   I would definitely try this wine in the future with a baked Camembert. (recipe to follow)

Baked Brie Recipe

• One - Sheet of Puff Pastry
• One - Wheel of Brie or Camembert
• 1/2 cup - Packed brown sugar
• Honey 
• Nuts (optional)
• Egg wash

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Place your thawed puff pastry on the lined cookie sheet and place your Brie or Camembert onto the puff pastry.  Top your cheese with the brown sugar, drizzle honey onto the brown sugar (I like to drizzle the honey until it coats the entire surface of the sugar).  Add nuts at this time.

To seal:  Grab opposite corners of the pastry and pinch, repeat with the remaining corners creating a pyramid.  Seal all seams completely.  Brush entire pastry with your egg wash.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes (if you can wait that long).

Serving suggestions.  Cut into wedges and serve as is, sometimes I like to cut up granny smith apples to offset the sweetness in this dish. 

Well, that's my first post of the year, I hope you find it informative and inspiring!  

I'd really like to get your feedback on the wine or the recipe, feel free to comment me, hopefully you'll try both!

Wine Accessories and do I really need a decanter???

     Before tasting any wine, you must first open the bottle!  Makes sense right?  But then what?  Should I just pour it into the glass and drink it, should I aerate it? If so, what type of aerator would be best? 

     Ughhh!!! No wonder I was so intimidated by wine!  I'm sure I am not alone here...right?  Well no more!  I am here to help with all that!

     Here are a few of my suggestions for necessary accessories:

1. Chiller
2. Corkscrew
3. Decanter/Aerator

     You're probably wondering, is that it?  Yes!  You chill the wine, open the wine, drink the wine....  Tada!  Simple.  Don't overthink it, it will hurt your brain.  Wine should be relaxing not frustrating.


Chiller
     A simple bucket will suffice, don't have one, use a large pot, it works great in a pinch.  You could even use a small cooler.  Just make sure that whatever you use it will be large enough to hold a bottle of wine, ice cubes and water. 

     There are a bazillion different type of chillers out there from simple wine buckets to fancy electric chillers.

 

Corkscrew
     There are so many corkscrews to choose from, I have several and always carry one in my purse.  You never know when an emergency corkscrew will be needed.  Trust me, there has been a couple of events where it came in handy.  Once at a wedding and another a meet and greet. 

     Most of all, choose one that works well and is comfortable for you, not because it's fashionable, cute or the next in thing.  There is nothing worse then having cork floating around in your wine because it was shredded during its removal.  Very embarrassing...

Waiters Corkscrew - Small and portable

Winged Corkscrew - Excellent for home use.

 

Pronged Corkscrew - Great for avoiding holes in the cork, hard to use.

 

Electric Corkscrew - I have not mastered this yet

Table Corkscrew -  Elegant addition to any bar

 


Houdini Corkscrew - My Favorite

 

     My favorite is the Houdini, I find it very easy and simple to use.  The Winged Corkscrew is my back up and the Waiters Corkscrew is what I carry around in my purse.  Eventually I would like to get a Table Corkscrew, I just don't have any space for it right now.


Decanter
     Decant or not to decant, that is the question!  Certainly every wine drinker should have a decanter whether they use it or not.  I tend to use my decanter quite a bit, my husband says if the wine is good, there's no need to decant.  So as you can see, we disagree on this one.  I tend to decant wines that are young.  It helps to blow off the harsh alcohol and tannins that may be prominent because the wine has not had time to age.  Although you can do the same by pouring it into a glass and swirling, I like the way wine looks in a decanter. 

     Choose one that isn't heavy and makes pouring easy.  Decanters do not come with a stopper, so never store wine in the decanter.  I never have left over wine, so that isn't a problem for me.



My choice of Decanter

     My theory is if you try a wine straight out of the bottle and it is a bit harsh tasting, lots of tannins and a sting on your tongue, Decant.  Use an aerator as you do so, this will help to open up the flavors and aroma of the wine even further.
 

Why a Blog?

     I have considered starting a wine blog for a very long time in an effort to continue my hands-on learning.  As they say, the only way to figure out what kind of wine you like is to try it!  Or was it me that just said it?  Hmmm... 

     Unfortunately, I could not figure out a way to organize my thoughts into something cohesive and simple.  Thankfully, I have finally figured it out!  Yay me...  I've decided to travel (albeit in the comforts of my own home) through different regions of the world via Grape Varietal.  Each Wednesday I will try to do my best to give you as much information as I can muster up (without being confusing) on each grape, to include:

• Origin
• Taste
• Food Pairing

     In addition, I will provide my tasting notes on a wine that I have chosen for that particular weekly varietal.  (I was going to do a daily tasting, but thought that could get way expensive, not to mention, bad for my liver).

     If I attend a wine tasting, I will post those here too.  Additionally, there may be other wine information as well.  (See what I mean, cohesive, simple...)

     So, for those of you willing to take this Journey with me as I Travel Through Wine, Cheers!!!