It’s fall Y’all!!

Yes. This is a bottle of wine dressed in camo. Seemed appropriate considering our next door neighbor was shooting a “critter” in his yard at 11pm yesterday. 

When I first discovered my love for wine, my young taste buds flipped like a lights witch with the seasons. Red when it was cold, white when it was warm. 

Then there was the box wine phase. It was before boxed wine was fancy abd acceptable, and well, all I could afford.

Now I have what I call wine moods. My current wine mood is for something crisp and sparkly. 

Several months ago I did what I always do and bought a bottle of wine because I liked the lable. Sea Salt Sauvignin Blanc came home with me. 

It was so incredible I went back for 4 more bottles to keep on hand to serve friends! It is so refreshing with a citrus bouquet and just the tiniest effervescence. I love it! Not too sweet or tart. A great middle of the road white. 
If my neighbor keeps up his nocturnal hunting I may need a few more bottles…

Cats update: Moonshine has a new way of greeting me when I arrive home. 

Rainstorm wine.

The first time I encountered Rainstorm silver linings Pinot Noir Rosé I was in our beach rental at Wrightsville Beach NC. My family has gone to WB NC yearly for over 100 years, even before there was a bridge to drive onto the charming barrier island. My cousin told me to grab it when we were at the liquor store and I fell in love!

With aromas of pomegranate and rose petals, it holds its own in my opinion, among my favorite rose’s. It might be my favorite. The color is deep blush pink and it is so incredibly smooth. I could drink this all year.

I finally found a bottle locally and a few nights later we had a rainstorm,  so out it came!

It was the perfect sipping wine while I attempted to cook kale that the men in my life would actually eat. 

Guess who ended up eating all of it herself? C’est la guerre. I have 3 sons and a finicky man. My attempts to entice them to try new things are failures. Except for the Pinterest enchiladas of 2014. They beg for those. 

So back to our boring menus of pasta and chicken and pizza, but I’ve got my rainstorm wine and that will just have to do for now. 

Pink Wine in a Lake.

It’s been a fantastic summer of Rosé. I still have some stragglers I want to try, including this bottle of Pigmentum Malbec Rosé. I dragged it with me to the Lake House to try over Labor Day weekend. 

It smelled wonderful, crisp, fresh and fruity. It had subtle flavors of a slightly tart cherry and it was slightly sweet. I enjoyed it, and it’s under $10 price tag, but probably wouldn’t buy it again because of the sweetness.

The rest of the weekend was wonderful. September let it’s presence in Virginia be known with a chilly wind and clouds but I was still able to get a few toddler kayak moments in with my little Blondie. 

The cats stay home, but my sweet old lady Fresca came with b us as usual. She is pushing 12 and has been with me most of those. She doesn’t enjoy swimming but will happily stand on the dock with me. The September wind made her ears quite flappy.

Despite the chill, we enjoyed our weekend. I wish I had thought to bring several types of Rosé and done a tasting with our friends. Maybe next time. Hope you enjoyed your long weekend!

Don’t judge.

I’m probably destroying any future credit I have as a wine blogger, but sometimes I love a cheap glass of an unamed Pinot Grigio in the heat of the summer while I eat seafood with my family at a restaurant with brown paper table cloths. 

My toddler draws with crayons, then dips one in Cajun sauce and tastes it, the guys talk shop and I can unwind, people watch and sip my slightly bland yet enjoyable freezing cold wine. 

It’s heaven really. Deep fried, smothered in some sort of sauce heaven. 

Said toddler puts down an entire bowl of mussels by himself, between bites of cajun smothered crayon, and somehow I’m able to forget how he refused to get in his stroller for both miles of our walk today. Being adorably independent in 98° weather trying to get somewhere on time is not so adorable. 

My salmon is perfect. My salad is boring. But the wine is cold and I don’t even care what I can taste in it, what color it is or if it has legs. It’s just yummy. 

Kitten Smitten.

We had a lovely family and friends filled Saturday exploring a winery which I will write about later this week. This morning I stepped out onto the porch, coffee in hand only to discover moonshine wedged under our railing for now a parent reason. On his back. Flashing the world his glory. He sits like this quite often actually.

Wonder if it’s some sort of cat yoga. 

Now as I sit on the porch in the 92° Virginia heat, going over my winery visit notes, enjoying a chardonnay spritzer in one of the beautiful Lily of The Valley glasses my Mother gave me (my birth month flower), this crazy cat keeps me company.

He swats at the ice cube I offer and frequently attempts a sneaky sip.

He isn’t 21 yet though. Or even One for that matter.

I’m now completely distracted from my task though. 

The Sentimental Wino

I uncovered a veritable treasure trove of my Grandparents’ and Great Grandparents’ books in some boxes we had in storage this week.. A few beautiful Norwegian books from the late 1800’s were the most exciting. 

My Grandmother, and last surviving Grandparent passed away 4 years ago. She enriched my life in more ways than I could ever thank her for. The gifts of her love and guidance and friendship still power me through my days. 

I had her on my mind as we went to Wegmans for groceries after box sorting. My “Ma” loved a cold glass of chardonnay (and martinis but that is another story) so I decided to find a bottle to go with dinner that night. She almost always said as we ordered a glass, “I’ve searched for the perfect chardonnay forever. I don’t think it exists”.

I wish she had lived to come wine tasting with me out here in the country. My favorite Chardonnay in the universe is made less than 4 miles from our home at Pearmund Cellars but I gave my last bottle as a gift last week so I was prowling for something new to try. 

How do you choose a bottle of wine if you have never heard of any of the ones in front of you? I have no idea, so I usually go for a pretty label. Or a clever name. It would probably make more sense to ask for a recommendation, but making sense isn’t really my thing. 

In the mix that day was a bottle of Chardonnay from Bread and Butter Wines in Napa. I felt like it was a sign from the Chardonnay gods. My Ma was the only person I’ve ever known to say “Bread and Butter!”. When we held hands walking somewhere and were forced apart by an obstacle like another person, a tree, a pole etc she would say it to shoo away the bad luck of being separated. I haven’t thought of it in years and there, in the wine aisle I could hear her voice clear as day saying it and laughing a bit with her adorable laugh. 

I was pleasantly surprised by this wine! Clean, fresh and citrusy with slightly floral undertones. I think I even detected a suggestion of vanilla. It was brilliant with the pulled ranch chicken I made for dinner. I will definitely buy more to keep in our collection.

The last glass was enjoyed the next night on the porch with a feather toy and my Moonshine. 

A little Moonshine.

Moving to Virginia after a life in the city, I was surprised to see moonshine everywhere. Apparently its pretty popular now. I had no idea, all I knew about it came from my Grandfather’s stories of people he knew growing up in North Carolina who went blind from drinking it. 

We drive by The Belmont Farm Distillery on our way to Lake Anna most weekends in the summer, and I finally stopped in to buy a bottle to have on hand. I’m not a fan as it turns out. I’ll sip a glass of wine any day over Moonshine.

I am, however, a fan of this Moonshine:

This little fluff joined us when I realized Minnow was hanging around the garage door waiting for me to snuggle her. She needed a friend! 

Most people pick out a kitten for its coloring or playfulness. When I was choosing from a large litter at the rescue, Moonshine was the only kitten who didn’t arch his back and hiss loudly at me. That seemed like a good reason. 

He prefers to be held like a baby, loves to climb trees (and my leg if I’m not quick enough with his food) and is currently obsessed with butterflies. He also has his own instagram hashtag #MoonshineBabyBarnCat if you would like to follow his antics.

I can see how easy it would be to become a crazy cat lady. 

I was a dog person.

I didn’t set out to be a cat person. I even had a career as a dogwalker and rescuer and would probably have a pack of 10 dogs if I were able. 

But then I moved from the city to the country and mice chewed through my brand new Subaru’s fuel line (didn’t know that was a thing!) And I set out to rescue a mean nasty, possibly one eyed old barn cat who needed a home and didnt like people, to live on our yard while protecting it from varmints. 

This brought me to The Orange County Virginia shelter. I had picked out a scary looking feline online and arrived one  afternoon with my enthusiastic 2yr old to collect my new yard protector. 

The wonderful shelter person took us to view said feline in the “cat room” and as she began to tell me how this cat loves to attack children and is madder than a wet hen, my toddler was screaming in glee, jumping up and down and smacking his hand on the cage of another cat. 

I quickly asked if the cat my toddler was screaming at liked kids (I had started visualizing my innocent baby with mean cats scratches all over his body just from playing in the yard). She said yes, and the next thing I knew we were home with a cat in a cardboard box and I couldn’t even remember what she looked like. 

And that is how Minnow joined our family. She was dropped at the shelter because she didn’t like to be held (I can’t keep her off my lap) and has since murdered plenty of mice (oh GOD and so many birds, how do I focus her?) And greets me every morning to walk the dog together with my coffee. 

I was officially a cat person.