In theory, clicking on the photo or the photo’s hyperlink to the right should take you to the full collection of Flickr photos that I uploaded from yesterday’s awesome winetasting trip on The Grapeline. It’s become a yearly event each January … we will definitely be back in 2011.
But just in case you don’t feel like clicking and journeying elsewhere on these here Interwebs, here are some of the best photos, capturing some of the most important and enjoyable parts of yesterday’s adventure:
Wal-Mart and wine; ok, it didnt roll off my tongue at first either; Kind of like 7-11 and wine. But, It’s there. And they”re big. Walk past the tomatoes, past the craftsmen power saws and there it is; the Welcome Wagon of wine Wal-Mart style!
Hometown super-duper wine selection right in your neighborhood!
In my mission to find some hidden gem’s at the local Wal-Mart here in FL , I came across this Chilean Cab. Sauv for under $10.
Concha y Toro’s Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 from Chile was a mere $8.97.
This Chilean beauty proved me wrong! It’s earthy, cigar box and dark chocolate notes made my mouth water for a char-grilled steak.
Make sure to let this new world beauty breathe & decant for a few, it got so much better by the third, um, I mean second glass…:-P
Watch this to see how the “Devil” got in my glass and what Casillero del Diablo means !
Cheers!
PS follow me ALL year long when I post next January my OFFICIAL Hidden Gem Wines List from Wal-Mart to see who makes the cut! Who knows this Chilean could be at the bottom!?
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I have a pretty sweet divorce.
After five years of a fairly decent, yet disappointing marriage, Ex-Husband and I split up. Once I got past the brief period of post-divorce insanity and worked through the awaiting rotten emotional garbage, I was exactly where I wanted to be: On my own, starting over, with endless possibilities! Ahh… delicious divorce.
Now, a few years later, Ex-Husband and I have a respectful relationship, that even somewhat resembles a friendship. Braden, Ex-Husband and I all benefit from the rewards of our cooperative, drama-free co-parenting arrangement. Braden’s dad and I have both moved on and found more fulfilling relationships with new significant others, and we’re genuinely happy for each other. It’s not uncommon to see any combination of the five of us at an event or one of our homes. (Well, one combination is uncommon: My boyfriend and Ex-Husband’s Girlfriend alone together might raise an eyebrow…)
It wasn’t until recently that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Ex-Husband’s Girlfriend. They have been together for a little over two years now, but she and I only just started to interact beyond a brief “hello” within the last couple of months. I never imagined our relationship would blossom into what it has.
It began on email. Then we exchanged digits. Next, a dinner “date” (as Ex-Husband calls it, to poke fun at her). We had such a great time at dinner that we sat at that table for three hours! Did I call it dinner? I meant to say “at bottle of wine with some food on the side.” We shared stories, laughter and even a few tears. Going into the dinner, I was a little worried that it might be awkward — but it turned out to be anything but.
We found out that we have a lot in common, which I think was a surprise to both of us. We also learned about our extreme differences in upbringing and adult lives. I talked about coming to the decision to divorce and the struggles and rewards associated with that decision, and she discussed the decision to enter into a serious relationship with a single dad and the struggles and rewards associated with that.
Our dynamic is so interesting, so rewarding and so amazing that even I can’t find words to explain it or express my appreciation for it. Because this wonderful woman has entered my son’s life with an open mind and an open heart, we have been able to spend time together on each of the last three holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Today, she, Braden and I went out to lunch and then to see The Princess and the Frog. We had a blast! Braden beamed with excitement the entire time. We agreed to have these girls’ days with Braden on a regular basis. Family takes on a whole new meaning when it’s one you choose.
Ex-Husband’s girlfriend isn’t a mother, nor an ex-wife — so coming into our situation was a huge life adjustment. One that I am so grateful that she committed to making. Through my relationship with her, I’ve learned that we can find some of our most amazing blessings in the most unexpected places. Hers are not easy shoes to be in, but she wears them so very well.
For these reasons, Ex-Husband’s girlfriend is, without a doubt, the icing on my divorce cake!
The National Wine Centre of Australia (commonly the “Wine Centre“) is a public exhibition building about winemaking and its industry in South Australia. It contains an interactive permanent exhibition of winemaking, introducing visitors to the technology, varieties and styles of wine. It also has a wine tasting area, giving visitors the opportunity to taste and compare wines from different areas of Australia. The Wine Centre is situated at the eastern end of North Terrace, Adelaide in the east parklands and adjacent to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The building is designed and uses building materials to reflect items used in making wine. The external of the building looks like a section of a wine barrel. Outside the building are rows of grapevines, showing seven different varieties of grapes to curious visitors who normally wouldn’t have access to a vineyard to see the differences for themselves.
More WINE stuff. I know Wine Is Not An Emulator but my trials and errors with running emulators in WINE are as follows. SSF, the Saturn emulator, worked a little. The GUI loaded, but I didn’t have a Saturn disc to test. no$gba ran a Nintendo DS rom. Need For Speed 2 didn’t work and came up with some errors. I will post my screen shots below. The SSF screen shot looks pathetic as I couldn’t load anything without a disc, but you will notice that the GUI loaded ok.
Here’s a quick video on the Innocent Bystander’s – slightly bubbly Pink Moscato 2009
It was full aromas and had lots and lots of berry fruit just jumping out of the glass.
And by no means sickly, with bubbles and balanced acidity it just cleansed the palate.
Available at various online retailers – check wine-searcher and Harvey-Nics for about £5.99 – that’s a half-bottle, by the way.
