Announcing: the Winos are taking a wine tour around the world! We're not leaving Hampton Roads, mind you...but we are going to tackle theme nights of wine and cuisine. Erica tweaked this map to highlight our destinations, starting with France! (Japan, by the way, will be our first sake night!)
Lauren hosted our visit to France, and created a lovely spread on her ironically French country-themed dining table. She had crudite (veggies tossed with dressing)...
French bread and nutella...
Raspberry mousse (with a varietal of mint leaves that taste like chocolate and mint...AHHHH-mazing)...
Truffles...
Bacon-wrapped dates...
And smoked salmon with sour cream and guacamole.
We each popped over to the France section of our local wine shops and grocery stores and ended up with:
- Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages: a bright, fruity, light red that was very drinkable and smooth. An eensy bit spicy. Beaujolais is made from the Gamay grape, which is low in tannins. In laymen's terms, that means it's easier to drink and should be consumed when it's young.
- Barton & Guestier Beaujolais-Villages: I brought this one, and it was good, but I slightly preferred the Louis Jadot. This one was a bit spicier.
- J.V. Fleury GSM: A GSM is short-hand for a wine made with three grapes: grenache, shiraz and mourvedre. It's fruity, but spicy and dryer than the beaujolais.
Miss Lauren scrambled to grab a bottle and couldn't find one from France that wasn't too pricey at her grocery store, so she grabbed a California wine that had a fleur de lis on the label. That counts, right? She got
De Loach chardonnay. As chardonnays go, this was easy-drinking, not too dry, and that's big words from someone who isn't a big chard fan.
We also enjoyed this lovely
Frenchhouse Vin de Pays D'oc rose. Erica taught us that "vin de pays d'oc" basically means a wine you drink daily ... it implies it's an easygoing, easy-drinking wine that doesn't sacrifice flavor for a lower price point.
And we finished with what I would say is arguably one of the best real-deal champagnes I've had:
Mailly Grand Cru Demi Sec. I'm not a fan of extra brut champagnes (I like a little sweeter), so I loved this. Believe me, I was shaking the last drop out of the bottle, much to Erica's chagrin when she went to get another glass.
We had a fun night hanging out with my bestie, Bailey, and talking about everything from the most incredibly absorbent maxi pads to the glory that will be
Magic Mike.
Lauren donned the Chanel logo to get her Francophile on...
And I wore my trusty striped shirt. My efforts at Bardot hair = failure (my god, my hair cannot hold a tease for more than an hour).
We even enjoyed an outdoor fire...before the lightning storm picked up and scared us back inside.
It was a great kick-off to our journey around the world. Next up: New Zealand!
1 comment:
I will continue wearing navy stripes long after they've gone out of fashion. I lovelovelove them.
Also, my hair doesn't like teasing on its own, but it really cooperates when the method is paired with Big Sexy Hair Powder Play Volumizing & Texturizing Powder to lock it up. Cheap, easy. (The powder feels wet when you first apply it, but it ISN'T. I can't explain that.)
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