Mark Twain and Drunk Dialing

A quote from Mark Twain:

New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions.

I guess Mark Twain knew about drunk dialing before the phone was invented :).


I hope you all have a safe and happy New Years celebration with lots of wine, champagne or whatever it is you care to drink.

Wine Wipes Meet Wine Naps

I wrote about Wine Wipes after receiving a press release. I was going to order some to see how good they are, but the description says they come in a compact with a purple velvet carrying case. Not sure I am secure enough in my manhood to carry around a compact in a purple velvet carrying case.

Fortunately, WineNaps have come to my rescue! The same basic concept, but they come in a little package similar to the type that are used by manufacturers of wetnaps. Kristin was kind enough to send me a free sample and they work really well (I was very lucky to have a glass of red wine handy).

Kristin was also nice enough to let me buy a case of them (1000) for $450 -- I don't know if I should be flattered or insulted at how much wine she thinks I drink.

Anyway, if you are like me and would rather spend your $450 buying wine you can purchase them through their website for $.79 each. And, if you have tried the Wine Wipes, I would love to hear your opinion.

Happy Holidays!

Something a little different (for this blog): The Telegraph provides a British take on last minute wines for Christmas. I love this paragraph:

Follow my suggestions below and you too can have good quality, cut-price vino this Christmas. Bunk off the carols and we can share a glass on the naughty step.

I am not exactly sure what it means to share a glass on the naughty step, but I am certainly willing to give it a go :). i hope you all have a great holiday!

Discounted Tickets to the DC Wine and Food Festival

The DC Wine and Food Festival is coming to the Ronald Reagan building February 14th and 15th. This is the 10th anniversary of the festival and looks to be a lot of fun with over 200 wineries from all over the world participating. Their are two tiers of tickets: The Grand Cru Lounge Tasting, at $125 and the regular tasting at $85. You can also get tickets for both days for $140 each.

The reason I am sharing all this with you this early is that they have a special that runs through tomorrow. You can save $15 off any of the tickets by using the following promo codes at checkout:

$15 off Saturday or Sunday tasting: HOLIDAY15
$15 off Saturday and Sunday tasting: 2DGT15
$15 off Grand Cru Wine Lounge: GCWl15

Casanel Vineyards

Casanel Vineyards is one of the newest wineries in Loudoun County. One of the cool things about Virginia wineries is that many of them have been able to take advantage of existing buildings to make really unique tasting rooms. Willowcroft and Sunset Hills are just two examples of wineries that have created really unique tasting venues.

Casanel follows in this tradition with their efforts to turn a 200+ year old stone barn into a tasting room. They've even documented their progress.

Of course a unique tasting experience is no good without good wines to match. While they have planted their own grapes, it will still be a year or two before those are ready. In the meantime they are making their wines over at Hillsborough. Make no mistake, these are not Hillsborough wines re-labelled, these are Casanel wines.

They currently offer 4 wines, a Viognier which is crisp and dry and a Norton, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The reds are all 2007, so they are still a little young, but they show promise. The Cabernet Sauvignon was the standout here, it is immediately drinkable, but letting it decant for a while really brings out the flavors.

Dog Friendly Wineries

A nice list of dog friendly wineries in Virginia. It is not comprehensive, but it is a start.

Do You Want to Become a Wine Critic?

I have to confess, this looks like a lot of fun and I am thinking about signing up for it. I know the basics of proper wine tasting and certainly have drunk enough wines to be able to distinguish certain flavors and aromas. But, it would be really cool to understand the structure behind the review process and figure out how to give more focused reviews.

Review: 2008 Domaine Manoir Du Carra

Wine: 2008 Domaine Manoir Du Carra Beaujolais Nouveau



Review: Normally I like my wines a little bit of depth, but there is something compelling about a good Beaujolais Nouveau that sucks me in. Maybe its because I buy into the Beaujolais Nouveau hype, or maybe the wines are really that good. This year Lucinda, at the Wine Seller, recommended Domaine Manoir Du Carra and it was an excellent suggestion.

The wine was a light amethyst color and the taste matched the color. It had a very fruity aroma with hints of cherry and peaches and was very light on the palette. An easy, refreshing, wine.

Price: $15

Grade: 90

Microfiber Towels

One of the biggest pains about wine drinking is the cleaning of the stemware. While the wine glasses I use are not particularly fancy, i do like the keep them clean and I hate watermarks or anything that can interfere with the presentation of the wine.

I really wasn't happy with the way the wine glasses looked when they came out of the dishwasher, so I started washing them by hand. The problem with hand washing is that I either had to let them air dry. which almost always left streaks or towel-dry them, which left lint.

A friend of mine turned me on to microfiber towels. They dry really well and they don't leave any lint behind...well, at least they are not supposed to. Unfortunately, these towels are very sensitive to their environment, so they pick up dirt and dust and can leave it behind.

Fortunately, I found these, from Method they are designed for glass and work amazingly well. I highly recommend them.

That being said -- I am always on the lookout for better ways to keep my stemware clean. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

Route 9 Barrel Tasting

It is supposed to be nice out today, so if you are looking for a break from all the holiday shopping, you might want to check out the Route 9 Barrel Tasting. 5 wineries along route 9 are participating: Breaux, Doukenie, Sunset Hills, Loudoun Valley and Corcoran. All really good wineries and barrel tastings are a lot of fun. The cost is $50 per person.

New Wine Bar in Leesburg

I've always thought that Leesburg needed a wine bar; low and behold one is here. They opened up November 22nd and it looks like the wine selection is good.

I talked briefly to Jason, one of the owners, this afternoon and it sounds like they have some good plans. I'll check it out over the next couple of weeks and report back.

Update: Don't forget to check out their blog

Wine Bars

I didn't bring my camera with me, but back in October I finally got to go to Central Michel richard and had a great time. The restaurant itself has a nice atmosphere, it is bright, cheery and not too loud.

From the appetizer menu, the Oysters and Smoked salmon were excellent, but the Ceviche was a little bland. The mussels and the Tagliatelle Bolognese were both very well done and enjoyable.

The wine list is where the restaurant really shines. Given the restaurants namesake, I expected a strong French presence and I was not disappointed. Beyond the French wines there were excellent selections from Argentina, California, Australia and Italy. The bottled wines were reasonably priced, especially given the quality of the selection.

For desert, the four of us were able to split the rich Michel's Chocolate Bar.

There is a reason why Central was chosen as the best new restaurant for 2008, everything was great from start to finish.