The Guavalicious Life

For many, many reasons (some of which I will blog about tomorrow), I am happy to say see ya to October and hello to November. November is one of my favorite months. No matter where I live, it finally feels like Fall, my favorite season. For me, November is all about enjoying the season and preparing for the holidays.

And it has Thanksgiving, the most awesome holiday. What could be better than a day centered around good food and time with family and friends? I usually host on Thanksgiving, a tradition started back when I was first married. That first Thanksgiving meal I prepared was the first time I tasted Beaujolais Nouveau.

I was working next to a Whole Foods at the time and I wandered in on my lunch break the day before Thanksgiving to find wine to go with turkey. After I professed my love of red, the wine guy pointed me in direction of the Beaujolais and my love affair with this light red was born. Now every November, I look forward to tasting the new vintage.

This year I will be celebrating with Wine Twits and Georges Duboeuf. Georges Duboeuf has created the 1st (soon to be annual) Beaujolais #NouveauDay. Nouveau Day celebrates the official arrival of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau on the third Thursday in November. They are celebrating with “Nouveau Expression: living in the moment and loving every minute of it!”

You can join this virtual tasting too. Purchase a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau on November 17th and jump on twitter and follow the hashtag #NouveauDay. You can taste and tweet. Register today to be included in this year’s #NouveauDay Virtual Tasting Event! Click here.

The folks over at Moon Mountain had this recipe created for them by Kathy Casey Liquid Kitchen™. To celebrate National Vodka Day I attempted to make it. It was supposed to be my first vlog but man that it harder than it looks!

So instead, if you want to give it a go:

Harvest Highball

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Moon Mountain Organic Vodka
3/4 ounce Housemade Cranberry Syrup including 3- 4 of the berries (recipe follows)
3/4 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice
1 1/2 ounces Fresh Orange Juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Preparation
1. Measure the Moon Mountain Vodka, Cranberry Syrup including a few of the berries, lemon juice and orange juice into a cocktail shaker.
2. Fill with ice and add the bitters.
3. Shake vigorously and pour into a tall glass.

Housemade Cranberry Syrup
Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients
1 cup Fresh Cranberries
1 cup Water
1 cup Sugar

Preparation
1. Place ingredients into a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
3. Simmer for 1 minute then turn off heat.
4. Let syrup infuse for one hour and then refrigerate.

So Wine Enthusiast announced their 2011 Wine Star Award Nominees today. And they shocked me. Not by who was picked, I am not that knowledgeable about wine, but by how unfamiliar the list was. I consider myself to be fairly into wine but what I’ve realized is that I am into the same wine.

Take their wine region of the year nominees:
Prosecco (Italy)
Provence (France)
Ribera del Duero (Spain)
Russian River Valley (California)
Willamette Valley (Oregon)

Out of those five, I had never heard of the Ribera del Duero region. And though I know the other four well (a little too well at times, heh), I only regularly drink wines from the Willamette Valley and Prosecco (mainly in cocktails). I can’t even remember the last time I drank anything from Provence. So I’ve basically been ignoring some of the best wines being produced. Go me. Perhaps this is why Klout took me off their influential about wine lists.

So, clue me in… what should I be drinking? What’s your favorite region?

And as a side note, Vino Volo was nominated as one of the top retailers of the year. I spent a layover at their location in Baltimore on Sunday and was blown away. They’ve plunked down a wine bar in the middle of 12 US airports. The Wall Street Journal describes it as a “suave chain of wine bars with first-rate food” and that pretty much sums it up. I was able to sit down in a comfy chair and enjoy three tastes of “new world reds” and a bowl of chorizo chickpea chili for $14 (pre tax). No airport markup here.

If you like what you’re tasting you can buy a bottle and take it home with you (or have shipped). Best travel souvenir ever? This place is done so well that it would seriously be the tipping point between flights if my layover was in an airport with one. I highly recommend stopping in one if you have the chance.

Last night I participated in a virtual tasting through Wine Twits. Bloggers and Tweeters all over the country tried the same three wines together and tweeted their thoughts. The suggested pairing was with burgers and we were all sent three delicious recipes created byChef Bob Waggoner from PBS’s Uncook’s with Chef Bob. My favorite were the turkey burger sliders with sundried tomato and basil. You can get the recipe here.

The three wines for the tasting were:

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages 2009 : suggested retail price $9.99

“a bilberry color and complex, generous dark fruit aromas (blackcurrant, black cherry) with hints of kirsch. Hearty, full bodied, fleshy and structured on the palate, with a smooth finish”

Georges Duboeuf Julieanes Chateau des Capitans 2009 : suggested retail $17.99

“An intense crimson color, this wine is a fine expression of the “Capitans” Terroir with highly complex aromas on the nose and palate. There are hints of flowers, roasting, mocha, and vanilla, fruit, spices, and liquorices. Remarkably rich on the palate. Decant an hour before serving.

Georges Duboeuf Brouilly 2009 : suggested retail $13.99

“deep radiant ruby color, intensely perfumed with aromas of jam like fruits. The texture is opulent and velvety. Best in its youth.”

To learn more about these wines, check out the Georges Duboeuf Facebook page and the Wine Twits event page.

Several people had very fancy tasting sessions but mine was not as glamorous. My friend Jen Lee Reeves and I took the bottles, two glasses, and a bowl full of sweet potato fries to the couch and chatted and tweeted while trying all three. My favorite: the Brouilly. The smooth texture, balanced composition, and delicate flavor won us over. I definitely recommend picking up a bottle. At the suggested retail price of $13.99, it’s a great value and makes a perfect summer red. Be sure to chill for three hours before opening!

Summertime and the living is easy. And hot. So very hot. When the heat index reaches above ninety, in this household it’s time to pull out the crab wine. Crab wine is our nickname for our favorite vinho verde. What’s that you might ask? Vinho verdes are Portuguese wine whose name translates to “Green Wine” (red or white). That moniker refers to its youthful freshness that leads to a very slight green color. They are very light, fresh, and slightly effervescent.

I first encounted vinho verdes when I moved to San Antonio Texas. After all the California reds I was used to drinking, it tasted like punch. But soon I realized the appeal of it. On a hot summer day, there is nothing better than a favorable white that is easy to drink. And it’s always hot in San Antonio. I’ve drunk this wine on New Year’s Day there.

Now that we’ve moved away I don’t drink it as much but on a hot summer day, my mouth waters for it. In the past few years they have become more popular in the US. So of course the prices have risen. But this is still a budget wine with decent bottles selling for $7 to $9. Plus it is meant to be drunk young. No waiting around for this stuff.

There are many higher rated vinho verdes out there but we still love our classic crab wine, Santola which retails for around $7. I recommend picking up multiple bottles. It does go down easy.

What is your favorite wine to drink in the summer?

So once the girls turned four I decided it was high time to get rid of the “baby weight” once and for all. I started running (okay I’ve been once but it was at six am so that counts for four times at least). I’ve been eating better. And I tried to employ my favorite weight losing tactic: stopping drinking.

But did I mention the four year old twins. I could take out a prescription for Valium but instead I decided to lay off the craft beer for awhile and come up with some low calorie alternatives.

First off is my first love red wine, it clocks in at around 150 calories for six ounces. And six ounces is a fair amount of wine. With summer impending, I also wanted something a little lighter. The skinny margarita is great in theory but I am way too lazy to squeeze limes and buy orange liquor. So instead I make my own version. I love to use Trader Joe’s margarita mix since it’s low calorie and not neon green. When lacking that I use lime juice mixed with cold water to preferred tart level. Then I add in agave nectar or sugar for sweetness. Then a shot of Tequila. Depending on the mix, this usually caps out at 250.

If you’re really feeling fancy, I love this new recipe from Godiva Spirits: The Legendary Lady.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces Godiva Chocolate Raspberry Infused Vodka
3 ounces iced tea
3 to 4 lemon wedges for garnish

Preparation:
1. Combine Godiva Chocolate Raspberry Infused Vodka and iced tea in a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake well and strain into a highball glass over ice.
3. Garnish with lemon wedges

They suggested it for Mother’s Day and I took their suggestion. It does take effort since I have to buy specialty vodka. But it makes me think I am drinking chocolate. And it’s healthy, because of the antioxidants in the tea. That’s my story and I am sticking to it. Plus it comes in at under 200 calories.