Country: Italy

Type: Prosecco

Average Retail Price: $9.99 USD

Taste (1 = yucky 10=yummy): 8

Snobby Wine Words: Less fruity than your average prosecco, this should satisfy your basic bubbly needs this Holiday season.

Drink When: You want to celebrate, on a budget, without feeling like you are celebrating on a budget.

Notes:

And so, the year draws to a close and a harried mother’s mind turns to one thing: bubbly. But in these trying economic times, how can a lady on a budget justify filling her champagne flute when her kids are wearing clothes two sizes too small, her husband is forced to walk seven miles to work, and even the dog is working night shifts as a bartender to help make ends meet? What are you, Mark Zuckerberg? Oprah? Kate Middleton? Hardly. When your “yacht” is an inner tube at the local water park, your “limo” is public transportation, and your “mansion” is a third floor walkup above the 7-11, actual French champagne can be seem as elusive as a stateroom on the Queen Mary II.

Thankfully, we “real folk” have alternatives to the fancy-pants stuff from the land of cheese and Poodles, among them California sparkling wine, Spanish cava, and Italian prosecco.

Prosecco is notoriously fruity, as opposed to dry like champagne, so if you’re having the Queen over for your New Year’s festivities, as you do, she won’t be fooled. But if you just want to impress your friends with something fizzy and Continental, prosecco is your pal. And for ten smackers, you could do a whole lot worse than the Cupcake brand. I’m not a fan of overly fruity wines that make me feel like they should be served in a coconut shell with a paper umbrella sticking out, so I like Cupcake prosecco. I feel like I’m drinking something special, rather than something the Italians tossed over here with a grunt and a smirk. Your less wine knowledgeable friends probably won’t even know this isn’t French champagne.

And, since this wine runs drier than most other proseccos, it’ll go well mixed with orange juice for those mimosas you act like you drink because it’s a classy thing to do and not because you need hair-of-the-dog in the morning.

So, fill up your $4 plastic Ikea flutes with some $10 Cupcake Prosecco, and here’s to a wine-full and whine-free 2012 for all of us!

P.S. Here is some free advice, too: chilling wine can kill the flavor, so instead of putting bubbly in the fridge I suggest putting your glasses in the freezer – and keeping the wine at room temperature or just below – for about 10 minutes before serving this or any white wine. You’re welcome.

Whining Down:
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred wine sips….how do YOU measure a year?

Alright, that’s a lot of sips. But December is a month of measure; of reflection, togetherness, celebration, and Advil (various reasons). What measures are we taking in order to achieve balance, peace, and satisfaction within our families and in our relationships with others? What IS your measure of happiness?

What’s my measure? That’s simple. Holiday Cards! I am freakishly excited to check the mailbox throughout the month of December; sometimes I even remember to put on a bra. The small enveloped treasures that tell me so much about the friendships I’ve gained and/or maintained in a year’s time, are truly gifts. I feel like I am opening little pieces of heaven when I see growing families through these photo cards, notes of goodwill, and familiar faces. With each opened card, I am reminded of the things that are most important. Now that’s worth celebrating.

Speaking of celebrating, what says ‘Yay Happiness!’ better than a glass of champagne…or in this case, sparkling wine? I chose to review the Mionetto Prosecco Brut D.o.c. because I wanted to sample a brut (an appropriate base for Bellinis and Mimosas) and I liked the price!

Vineyard: Mionetto, Italy
Year: NV
Alc: 11%

Price: Regularly $14.99…I measure it was on sale for $12.99 USD!

Prescription: “I’ve got 36 paper cuts, but looking at the Holiday card collage I’ve created; it’s immeasurably worth it…and the bubbly helps with the stinging.”

Review:
Initially I was aiming to check out a French Champagne, but I decided to go with a less expensive option as I intended to buy more than one bottle for all of the awesome celebrating I am fixing to do.

See Jane See: The color is a light yellow.
See Jane Swirl: Pleasantly bubbly and light. Think Goldie Hawn…in the 80’s.
See Jane Smell: Strong aromas of apple, honey, and citrus.
See Jane Sip: Definitely apples and citrus with a very satisfying fizz.
See Jane Swallow: Well-balanced and medium bodied with an off-dry finish.

Rating: Either as the main event or mixed with some OJ (breakfast of champions), I would rate this 4 out of 5 kids driving me to drink this worthy.

Pairing: with paper cuts, scotch tape, an old (or new) friend, and LOTS of Holiday Cheer.

Wine:  Mount Palomar 2008 Bella Cuvee; Mount Palomar Castelletto 2008 Trovato
Vintage: 2008 Bella Cuvee; 2008 Trovato
Alcohol percentage: 14.6% Bella Cuvee; 13.9% Trovato
Found at: The California Wine Club

Did everyone survive the beginning of the holiday season? Our holiday season started a week early, as we planned to cook our Turkey dinner on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. We had the opportunity to spend the holiday in a warmer climate, so we rearranged the date with our family, pulled out the Pilgrim costumes a little early and basted the bird.

I made the decision to share this month’s selection from the California Wine Club with my family because a.) I like to share; b.) My mom doesn’t drink (more for me!) and c.) Wine makes every holiday family gathering better. I uncorked the first bottle, the 2008 Bella Cuvee and poured out some samples. I have had Cuvee in the past, but I have come to learn that they are all very different. This one was a blend of Cinsaut, Charbono and Tannat. Quite honestly, these are 3 varieties that I know very little about. The good news is that we all agreed that this wine was a winner. It was full and round in the mouth, with juicy red fruit flavors. The best thing about this wine was the finish. There was just a hint of mint. Something I have never experienced without a piece of gum in my mouth while drinking… The hint of mint was enough to make us all ponder why things suddenly seemed minty fresh. I slow sipped this wine while nibbling cheese and crackers, and wished I had a second bottle to get me through dessert.

I popped open the second selection to serve with dinner. The Mount Palomar 2008 Trovato is billed as a premium table wine. Hmm…red wine, turkey, and over-eating! My eyes were already starting to close as I neared a tryptophan overdose. This wine was much different than the Bella Cuvee. It was a blend primarily of Sangiovese, a wine I don’t usually choose, however, I was surprised how different it tasted alone, than with food. Alone, I found the wine to be pleasant, not too dry, with a long finish, and maybe a little earthy? But, pair this wine with an olive from the olive tray and bam! It tasted completely different! The earthy tones were more accentuated, and I almost wondered if I was drinking some sort of dirty martini with red wine instead of gin. Everyone agreed that this wine was a great pick for dinner, and it was fun to discuss olives over turkey over mashed potatoes and the different ways the wine presented. Two great picks for the holiday season, and I can say for sure, these wines made our family gathering great!

Country: Loire Region, France
Type: Chenin Blanc
Average Retail Price: $7.96 on AstorWines.com
Taste (1 = yucky 10=yummy): 8
Snobby Wine Words: Tart, but lush with a lingering finish. Like your aunt. The one slurring dirty jokes to your 7-year old.

Drink When: The turkey’s ready.

Notes:
Ah, Thanksgiving. That American holiday tradition when we all put ourselves through a special level of travel Hell to spend a single dinner with people who drove us to therapy and drinking. Happy Holidays!

Most people pair white wine with Thanksgiving, I think, because it knocks you out slightly less than red wine does (especially with all that tryptophan in the turkey) and also because the red-wine-purple-teeth-stain is unbecoming of the best of us, and outright horrifying on your father’s drunk lawyer friend who spends Thanksgiving talking about Nevada brothels he’s visited.

If your family is like mine – drunk – they’ll probably be hitting the bottle early in the day, when the pumpkin pie is still in the oven and the Jonas Brothers are still lip-synching on the Macy’s parade float. After that, but before your father passes out on his armchair while watching football and your grandmother goes to bed early so she can wake up at 2am for the Black Friday specials, you’ll want to crack open this bottle of quality, but affordable, French white wine. This ain’t no guzzling wine, to be desperately tossed down your throat every time your cousin makes a snarky comment about your weight. This is a fine French wine to be enjoyed with the big meal.

Saumur Blanc’s rich, lush texture pairs well with the savory flavors of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, even when you have thirds of stuffing because your assinine uncle is making yet another racist joke and then making fun of you if you say anything about it. And because it’s not too sweet it won’t make your great-aunt’s green bean casserole taste weird(er). And, you know, because we’re celebrating a holiday in which our forefathers left the oppression of England to come to the New World and make new, witch-hunting oppression here, we can feel a little kinship with the French wine. Because the French hate the English? Or something?

Just make sure you don’t tell your father how much the wine cost, because he’s totally the type of person who thinks that expensive equals quality, and if you tell him this is under $8 he’ll complain that it tastes like crap even though he doesn’t know from good wine because he mostly drinks vodka anyway. Just tell him it’s French and you ordered it from a specialty shop in New York and let him be hella impressed with how refined and fancy you’ve become.

Not that I know about ANY of these things.

Whining Down:

Ever notice how quickly the Crystal Light and Atkins bars get replaced by canned pumpkin and stuffing cubes? Sprinkle in Halloween candy rejects, and mom’s easily got herself an extra 5 pounds to ‘round out’ the year. Let’s face it…food is AWESOME and it is everywhere. But how often do we actually take some time to evaluate, understand, and appreciate the foods we are eating? And take it a step further… how much thought are we giving to the appropriate wines that will highlight and best compliment our foods?

Think about how automatically you already pair certain things: pancakes and syrup, pasta and sauce, cereal and milk, salad and ‘dressing’. The month of November begs for comfort foods and culinary challenges that are slightly more complex and involve more than two ingredients. I challenge you to really EARN those 5 pounds. Take some time to experiment with flavors and spend even more time finding that perfect wine to couple with them.

Although I may not be able to provide an exact recommendation for your complex family meal, I am reviewing a wine that should be a fabulous selection for any table set for giving thanks, laughing, and earning pounds…and especially if that table has a roasted turkey (ON it, not sitting AT it). Again, there are SO many choices depending upon the cornucopia of foods prepared. I chose the 2007 Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Riesling because I knew I wanted to review a German Riesling to follow that bird!

Vineyard: Bernkasteler Badstube, Germany

Year: 2007

Alc: 9%

Price: I purchased this little gem at $20.99 (USD)!

Prescription: “I need to sip, savor, and compliment all of these delicious foods, while simultaneously tolerating Uncle Fred (or nameless related others).”

Review:
I went a smidge over my usual wine budget, but I threw my head back and splurged for the sake of giving thanks….speaking of which….thank you, Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler, for a fabulous Riesling!

See Jane see: The color is a light, pale yellow.

See Jane Swirl: Legs are thin and unhurried. Think Meryl Streep.

See Jane Smell: A sweet-smelling peach, apple, and grapefruit nose.

See Jane Sip: I gobbled smooth peach and apple with hints of delicate pineapple.

See Jane Swallow: Medium-bodied with a balanced and spritzy finish.

Rating: This German Riesling, meine freundin, is just what the doctor ordered! 4 out of 5 kids driving me to drink this worthy.

Pairing: I would serve this with any occasion that may or may not induce weight gain.

Wine: Castoro Cellars Blind Faith Pinot Noir, Paso Robles 2010; Gewurztraminer Paso Robles 2010

Vintage: 2010Alcohol percentage: 13.7% Pinot Noir; 12.5% Gewurztraminer

Found at: The California Wine Club

“Blind faith”…what is your definition of blind faith?  Implicit trust?  Do you have blind faith in your partner?  In your spouse?  In your belief in a higher power?   My definition of blind faith boils down to this:  I had blind faith that my husband would not open my special bottle of pinot noir and pour it for me without pointing out that I should be paying close attention to what I am drinking since I will have to write about said wine the next day.  So, imagine my surprise when I found the bottle on the counter the next morning with about an inch of wine left in the bottle.  I mean, who lives in my house?  Who leaves an inch of precious liquid in the bottom of a bottle…UNLESS….unless they realized the error of their ways and threw me a bone.  (Or saved their butt, whichever you prefer)  It would be fair to say that I hit the roof when I saw the near empty bottle.  Backtracking a little bit…it was a tense night filled with high school homework, a chemistry project, and some productive discussion about college visits.  I remember when my husband mentioned he would open “another bottle”.  And I honestly remember the wine feeling and tasting a little different.  But I was two glasses in, and trying to relax.  Not thinking about paying attention, except that it was smooth and warm and making me happy.  Fast forward to the next morning and I am realizing that I might just need to drink Pinot Noir for breakfast or risk the bottle disappearing by the time I returned from work.  Lucky for me, my husband was mortified (and a little scared) after he mistakenly served me the wine so I was able to disappear that evening with the half a glass that remained and gather my thoughts.   At least I knew I was already working with to some degree.  The wine was smooth, fruity and a little smoky.  I tasted strawberries at the onset, and the finish was clean and long.  I could absolutely drink this wine every day.  Paired with food, or stand alone, it was mild enough for you to stay on your toes through homework, yet, spicy enough to take the edge off, and help you to forgive your husband who might not pay close attention to detail.

Moving on to the Gewurtraminer.  This is not a wine that I would select for myself.  Although, I admit, I do not look for this specific varietal when making my selection.  However, once you get past the name and stumbling over and over the pronunciation (including trying to incorporate a ridiculous German accent) it was surprisingly good.  I paired it initially with gingerbread cake.  It was heavy and had a very perfumed scent.  When first sipped, it was sugary, yet had a bitter finish that tasted of grapefruit.  Interestingly, when paired with the cake, the bitterness disappeared and the finish was soft and brought out the flavors of the gingerbread.   I saved a little of the wine and tried again after Trick or Treat night.  It was bitter after the snack size pretzels, but soft after the chocolate, gummy bears, peanut butter cups, and pop rocks.  I think this wine would make a great offering with dessert.