Blue Ice Autumn Cocktails

Just in time for cooler weather, Blue Ice Vodka has some great recipes on their website for autumn cocktails, including:

All-American Chilled Apple Pie
1 1/4 oz Blue Ice Vodka
3/4 oz Tuaca Liqueur
1/2 oz Sweet & Sour
Fill with Chilled Apple Cider
Build in order over ice in a 12 oz glass, garnish with a lemon slice, a long cinnamon stick, and a straw.

Blue Ice Pumpkin Pie Martini
4 parts Blue Ice Vodka
1 part DaVinci Pumpkin Pie Syrup
Cinnamon Sugar
Add Blue Ice and Pumpkin Pie Syrup to a cocktail shaker, shake well and strain. Garnish with an orange slice and pour into a cocktail glass rimmed with cinnamon sugar.

Candy Apple Martini
1 ½ oz Blue Ice American Vodka
½ oz Butterscotch Schnapps
¾ oz Apple Schnapps
1oz Cranberry Juice
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake well. Strain into 8oz cocktail glass.

Blue Ice is made in Idaho with Idaho potatoes (makes perfect sense), and it was rated the #1 tasting American vodka in 2003 by the Beverage Tasting Institute.

I think the recipe for chilled apple pie is a great one for the grownups to try while the kids are carving pumpkins...

Raspberry on the Rocks

I read recently about all the awards won by Jip Jip Rocks 2005 Limestone Coast Shiraz from Australia (silver medals in the Australian and NZ wine competitions, etc. etc.) Considering it's about $10 a bottle and I'm a fan of Shiraz, I figured I might as well see if what's inside the bottle lived up to all of the award stickers on the front of the bottle.

When I sniffed it and sipped it, one word came to mind: raspberries. They wafted out of the glass, and nearly exploded on my tongue. The wine is chock full of juicy raspberries, which linger on the finish, along with decent tannins and some vanilla.

Wine Spectator recently named Jip Jip Rocks (actually named for large rock formations on the Limestone Coast) a smart buy, and I agree. If you like Shiraz and are looking for a new name to try, just remember "Jip Jip." It's not easy to forget...

The Wine Lover and The Cure

Looking to donate to help find a cure for breast cancer? October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and here are two options for the wine lover. If you purchase either, part of the proceeds will go towards breast cancer research:

Riedel Vinum Pink Rose Wine Glasses: These are limited edition offerings from Riedel, and 15% of proceeds go to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer Foundation. They are lovely options from which to sip a rose or blush wine, and they also make great gifts for people who just love the color pink. Wine Enthusiast is currently offering free shipping on a set of two.

Wines from Cleavage Creek Cellars: Owner and California winemaker Budge Brown lost his wife of 48 years to breast cancer. He turned his anger and devastation to action, creating a winery that celebrates survivors, and works to find a cure for breast cancer. On the wine's labels are pictures of breast cancer survivors, and 10% of sales go towards research to find a cure.

For more information about breast cancer, visit National Breast Cancer Awareness Month's website.

The comeback of the coupe? No thanks...

Food and Wine did a piece in their October issue about the return of the coupe, that shallow glass for Champagne and sparkling wines with which many of our parents toasted at their wedding receptions years ago.

This is one product that I wish would remain dusty and unused in the dining room cabinet. Coupes are sparkling wines' worst nightmares. The shallow bowls leave the gorgeous bubbles no place or time to bead or trail, while the wide mouths dissipate too quickly the often subtle aromas.

Not to be a codger, but I would rather drink sparkling wine from a cheap flute than a designer coupe. Thanks, but no thanks.

Organic Sauvignon Blanc

Organic wines are becoming more prevalent on store shelves, and more popular with wine drinkers who care both about the environment and about what does (and does not) go into their bodies.

At a local wine store tasting last weekend, I had the Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc from Mendocino, California, which retails for about $10 a bottle. It's an extremely light style of Sauvignon Blanc, and the grapefruit just jumped out of the glass. It had a nice line of racy acidity, along with grapefruit and tangerine on the palate. You could enjoy it as an aperitif, or with light chicken or fish dishes. I usually prefer more of the intense, pungent style of SB, but this was a refreshing break from that.

I wish I would have discovered it in the heat of summer, because it's one of those wines that doesn't make you wilt after a glass or two.

A Super Fruity Aussie Red

Aussie winemakers aren't typically known for having a subtle winemaking style, and I usually really enjoy the over-the-top fruit in their Shiraz and Shiraz blends. The 2005 Terra Barossa Cuvee from Thorne Clarke is made with 47% Shiraz, 29% Petit Verdot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc, and it's full of sweet, jammy fruit like dark berries and sweet plums. The wine tasted a bit overly extracted for my tastes--almost cloying for a dry wine. Chilling it for a bit took away some of that sensation, but it was difficult for me to finish a second glass of it.

But if you like your red wines a la Yellow Tail, with soft and sweet fruit and tannins, then this might be a bottle to try.

Grape Misconceptions

If you live in the Washington, DC Metro region, check out the October issue of Washington Woman for an article I wrote on wine myths debunked.

Otherwise, I'll be featuring the article on my website soon.

Silverwing McLaren Vale Grenache Shiraz

Rarely, if ever, do I open a bottle of wine on a weeknight that costs $10 or more. Dinners during the week are often hectic, not leisurely or gourmet, but that doesn't mean that I don't want a decent glass of wine to go with my meal.

Enter Silverwing 2005 McLaren Vale Grenache Shiraz. At around $10 a bottle, it's just the ticket for a Wednesday night. It has easy-going cherry and plum flavors, as well as just a bit of spice. We chilled it for a half hour, both because the addition of Grenache, a higher alcohol grape, sometimes can make a wine feel "hot" in the mouth, and because it was 85+ degrees in the DC area yesterday...

Our dinner was simple grilled sausage and peppers and a cucumber/tomato salad. Gourmet? No. But enjoyable for an Indian summer October evening.

2007 Weblog Award nominations are under way!

If you like reading my blog, please consider nominating me for a 2007 weblog award. Although there is not a separate category for beverage blogs, they have added one for Best Food Blog this year, and since Kelly's Grape Times often offers food pairing suggestions, I'm hoping that I'll be eligible. I am also eligible for Best Invididual Blogger.

The more nominations I receive, the more consideration my blog will get from the panelists. So if you like reading Kelly's Grape Times, please vote today!

To vote for the Weblog awards, visit this site.

Thanks for thinking of me!

Vanilla Porter

Beers infused with fruits and other flavorings can be interesting and delicious--so long as the flavor is well-integrated and doesn't overshadow the actual beer flavor.

While browsing for some wine to restock my rack, I also perused the create-your-own-six-pack section of my local beer and wine store, and noticed a Vanilla Porter made in Colorado by Breckenridge Brewery. It's brewed in the traditional method, so there is some dark chocolate flavor , but the brewmasters have also included real vanilla beans from Madagascar and Papua New Guinea. I picked up a few single bottles (I wasn't ready to commit to a full six pack...)

We tried it the other night, and the first sip was surprising--the vanilla flavor was definitely there, but it wasn't over the top or cloyingly sweet. Unfortunately, I didn't get the "smooth" finish that the label promised. To me, it was a bit too hoppy (i.e. bitter.). But if you like dark beers and want something a bit different, the Vanilla Porter can be a fun choice for cooler weather.

Initiation into the Wine Century Club

In case you missed my posting last week about the Wine Century Club, here is an article I just wrote for Wine Enthusiast based on that posting.

Enjoy the weekend!

Chefs and wine

I was happy to help out Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page with a quote for their latest weekly column in The Washington Post about chefs pursuing wine education. You can read the article here. It also appears in the Food section of today's print edition.

Turning down the volume a bit, but still enjoying the music

In an attempt to branch from my favorite white wine choice, New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, I thought I would keep the grape, but go to another country. I picked up a bottle of the Santa Rita 120 Sauvignon Blanc (2007) from Chile for about $6. I didn't have exceptionally high hopes for it, but I did know that it's done in all stainless steel, so I figured it would retain its crispness and bright citrus and herbaceous notes, without tasting like a "Chardonnay light" (what happens all too often, I think. So unfortunate for an aromatic, expressive grape to get "dumbed down," so to speak.)

We had our sister-in-law over for an al fresco dinner last evening, and the wine really surprised all of us. With bright acidity, and just the right blend of peaches and herbaceousness, it didn't pack as quite a pungent punch as offerings from New Zealand, but I was actually in the mood for turning down the volume just a tad. It was a fantastic choice for grilled shrimp kabobs marinated in garlic, ginger, lime and coconut milk. The citrus notes in the wine paired with the marinade's lime, while the crispness was a great foil for the coconut milk's richness.

This bottle was $3 cheaper than my favorite "cheap" New Zealand offering--Monkey Bay--and I certainly liked it. I think I'll be heading back to the wine store to see what other SB bargains I can find from Chile.

Martini for Fall

Recently, I tried Stirrings new pear martini mix. Stirrings cocktail mixes are so easy--just mix with liquor and enjoy. We made the martinis with the new Vodka 360 that I reviewed last week. The label called for 2 parts martini mix per 1 part vodka (next time, we'll go a little heavier on the vodka...a pet peeve of mine is "frou frou" martinis that don't have a kick to them. Even a cosmo should pack a punch, in my opinion. If I can chug it down like fruit juice then it's just not made strong enough...)

The flavor was really tasty, and not that sweet, with attractive per flavors...perfect for fall. I could see myself sipping a few of them over the course of an evening.

Next I'm going to try their Caipirinha mix...I just have to go get some Cachaca first.

"100 Bottles of Wine on the Wall, 100 Bottles of Wine..."

I was intrigued when I read a few months ago in the Washington Post's weekly wine column by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page about the existence of the Wine Century Club. The concept is simple: download a checklist of wine varietals, try 100 of them, send it your completed checklist, and get a certificate designating you as a member of the Wine Century Club, (bragging rights included at no charge.)

I figured that in all of the classes and tastings I have held, as well as the courses and trade and consumer tastings that I have gone to, reaching 100 varietals would be a piece of cake. Well, it was not as easy as it sounds. Luckily, blends count, so drinking a lot of Cotes du Rhone, Ports and Spanish reds helped with the total. And I went back through some of my tasting notes and discovered some wines that I forgot I had tasted (guess they weren't that memorable...). There is a spot to write-in other varietals, so some of the grapes I have tasted in VA wines (where I live now) as well as in PA wines (where I am from originally) added a few to my list.

A few weeks ago, I sent in my completed checklist--I made sure that it included a few over 100, just in case there were any discrepancies...and today I was excited to see my certificate come in the mail! The included letter says that only 3.3% of those who download the application actually complete it and turn it in, and while there are only currently a few hundred members of the Club, the eventual goal is to surpass the number of subscribers of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate--currently 40,000.

For more information and to download the checklist, visit their website.

Green Vodka

I recently received a sample bottle of 360 Vodka, touted as the "world's first 'green' vodka." Created with locally grown Kansas and Missouri grains (thereby eliminating fossil fuel use needed for transporting imported grains), the distillation process used in creating 360 Vodka consumes 200% less energy than a pot still. It's bottled with 85% recycled glass, and all of the other packaging uses recycled paper and biodegradable materials. Inks used are water or soy based.

Finally, the cool closure used by the bottle, which reminds me fondly of the cap used to close the returnable bottles of A-Treat soda I used to enjoy growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania, figures prominently in the the company's "360 Close the Loop" program, where $1 will be given to environmental causes for each closure returned.

So how does it taste? While I don't consider myself a vodka connoisseur, Vodka 360 made a really decent martini. My husband and I are more gin lovers than vodka drinkers, but both of us thought it almost tasted like it had a bit of gin's juniper aromatics (but maybe that was in our heads). It has a clean, not too "hot," finish.

If you are looking to make all aspects of your life more green, including what you put into your mouth, then it's worth a look. What 360 Vodka is doing is just the beginning of what will no doubt be a big trend.

Raising a glass to happy memories

On this sixth anniversary of 9/11, my thoughts turn to happy times at the top of the World Trade Center, when I took Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Wine School in the Spring of 2001.

Breathtaking views, fantastic wines, a terrific teacher. It was a two-month experience that I will never forget.

Taming the Savage

Pinotage is one of those "love it or hate it" kind of wines, sort of a diamond in the rough that's not really meant to be polished. It can have funky aromas and flavors ranging from smoked meat, to rubber tires, to nail polish. But with the right grape growing and winemaking skills, these unusual components can be interesting and attractive attributes.

I've always been in the "love it" camp when it comes to Pinotage, but then again, I like funky flavors in wine. The PR firm representing Golden Kaan winery recently sent me a sample bottle of their Pinotage. I remember trying it a few years ago, and thinking that it was a decent economy-priced introduction to the grape.

This time around, I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. The wine was pleasant enough, and easy drinking, but that was the problem. I didn't really taste the varietal character of Pinotage--this wine was more like a mass-produced Shiraz. The amount of sugar that was left in the wine even made me draw a comparison to the made-for-the-American-market Yellow Tail. Don't get me wrong--it wasn't a bad wine, and for $8-$10 a bottle, it's certainly quaffable. It just didn't scream "Pinotage" to me.

Washington Post 2007 Cooking Class List

Looking to brush up your culinary skills? Check out The Washington Post's annual listing of food and cooking classes.

FYI--There is also a section on wine and beer at the end, and my business is there, listed under "Wine Consulting".

Post-Labor Day BBQs

I'm back after a relaxing week in the Outer Banks. Hope you had a happy Labor Day weekend.

Even though that holiday signals the unofficial end of summer, it hardly feels like it in the DC area. And the cool weather doesn't stop die hard grillers (like me) from searing their steaks or grilling their shrimp kabobs. Here are some wines to enjoy with food on fire.