As I had previously mentioned, I am taking the Level 1 Wine Fundamentals course and the learning continues.  You have to love a teacher that advised you to ‘try differnet wines’.  And I have, and I found a new wine that I love.  And that fact it’s under $20, I love it even more.

Clos la Coutale is from the Cahors region of Southwest France.  France, I have learned, is a country that labels its wine by region.  This region is known for its big rich wines, and this one doesn’t disappoint.  The big surprise with this wine is the price tag.  Under 417 at the NLC.  This wine is a Malbec, and those that know me know I love a Malbec from Argentina.  Yes, there are Malbec’s from outside Argentina as well.  I love the color of this wine, it’s dark and fruity, and I love the spicy hint of oak, which doesn’t over-power the wine.  Robert Parker gave this wine an 88 and Wine Spectator gave it a 90.  It reminds me of the under-stated wealthy guy.  This wine has a wealth of taste (like that) but doesn’t need the big flashy price tag.  It’s one of my favorite finds.  Pick up a bottle, and let me know what you think.

Enjoy

Darlene

My apologies for not writing in a while.  Since the last time I wrote, I have started taking the Level 1 Wine Fundamentals Course, working towards my Sommelier certification.  Boy, am I learning about wine.  And loving the course.   I love learning about the history and the different wine making techniques and vintages and so on.  But I digress.  The personalities of wine and people continue.

One of the best things to come out of this course for me was that I am discovering white wines like never before.  I used to drink Reds, and only Reds.  Now I drink 60% Reds and 40% White, and I want to share one of my favorite white wine discoveries.

This is my new favorite white wine to date.  Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc – it reminds me of young love.  It’s new, it’s fresh, it’s exciting each and every visit.  What I love about this wine is that the last sip tastes as great as the first sip.  Drink it young, the younger the better.  (Guess that might make me a cougar, lol!)  In our course, one of the things we have learned is that ‘salad is a wine killer’!  There aren’t too many wines that can go with salads that have a vinaigrette dressing.  This is it!  Crisp, vibrant and aromatic is what comes to mind every time I pour a glass.   And not just salad…. chicken, fish and a stir fry.  Oh and goat cheese and a Sauvignon Blanc – heaven!

Stoneleigh is a great deal at $18.98 a bottle in our liquor stores.  It is in the New Zealand section and is from the Marlborough region, which is in the Northeast tip of the South Island.  The Marlborough region is known for its Sauvignon Blanc and many great vineyards are producing many great Sauvignon Blancs.   Another great one for me is Matua Valley, from the same Marlborough region of New Zealand.  About $1.50 more than the Stoneleigh, it has the same fun and flirty nose and palate.

Want to have that ‘young love’ feeling again.  Go grab a bottle of Stoneleigh  or Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

Everyone who knows me, knows I drink and enjoy wine.  Mostly Reds.  Full bodied lots of personality Reds.   Recently I was describing the personality of a new favorite wine, when I realized I could have been talking about a dear friend.  I do cherish the friend a lot more, but the two of them together makes for a great evening.

Wine is a lot like people.   We, as human beings, are not going to like every single person we meet.  Likewise, we are not going to like every single wine we drink.   As a matter of fact, I like the differences all my friends bring to the table.  And I enjoy the differences a different bottle of wine tends to provide.

Over the coming months I am going to do a blog on the personality of different wines.  Today’s blog is going to be about one of my new favorite wines and what I think is one of the best deals on the shelf.

If the bottle looks familiar, you have probably tried the La Fiole Chateauneuf du Pape.  It’s spectacular, but believe me, it’s the wealthy cousin.  From the same family, the La Fiole Cotes du Rhones sells for $14.57 a bottle in Newfoundland Liquor Stores and I keep scratching my head as to how this vineyard managed to produce such a great wine for $14.57.

Mostly Syrah and Grenache, very fruity for such a young wine, and also very intense.   But then again Syrah (or Shiraz) is a powerful grape.   Known for being very full-bodied,  this one doesn’t disappoint.  Yet the added Grenache softens it out for an awesome combination.

You know someone like that?  Powerful with a soft side?  Not as rich as the wealthy cousin but easier to be around at that price.    You could spend every weekend with this one!!  I have friends like that.

Till next time!  Enjoy a glass!

Darlene

Can you feel it?  Yep, it’s there.  I can feel it in the air.  Yes, all the clichés are coming to mind.  Spring is just around the corner, Spring is in the air… Yes, I can feel it starting to rear its pretty head.  And it’s that same warm and fuzzy feeling when you’re just about to step in a bubble bath with a glass of wine and a book.

I don’t quite know what’s causing the bounce in my step.  Whether it’s the longer days or the fact I just booked a trip to the Turks & Caicos Islands.  Yeah, that will do it.  With my sister no less, can you say ‘fun times’!

But still, I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I see the snow on my patio melting… Now keep in mind that could be a hot flash, but still, I’ll take it.  I’m like a Rebel with the Pause  as my flashes have decided to make another visit.  Being Spring and all.  I used to have Saturday Night Fever, now I have Saturday Night hot flashes, but at least with the Weather warming up, people won’t look at me so funny when I start taking my clothes off!

Take care, I’ll write again soon

Darlene

Well here we are, over halfway through the 2nd month of 2012.  And I have been browsing through some of my past blogs, and came across the one I wrote on December 31st on ‘What Will The New Year Bring.”  I realize Resolutions can put a lot of pressure on people, but I don’t think that’s why we should make them.  We all need something to work toward, and I decided a long time ago to look at Resolutions as goals and inspiration, that can be worked on year after year, rather than insane pressure cookers, that make us feel like failures if we slide at all during the year.  Thus the title of the blog.

Two weeks in to the year I wrote a blog asking people how the year was going to date.  Two weeks into Resolution Time is when they start to slide and I was proud that I was doing pretty good.

So I looked back at what my 2012 will bring and where I wanted the journey to take me.  I have done very well with the smoking, even though I fell off the band-wagon once over the holidays.  Let me re-phrase that, I didn’t fall off the band-wagon, I dove off it, head first, with a crash helmet on.  I have since re-grouped.

I also wanted to shed those unwanted ‘stopped smoking’ pounds and so far have managed to take off 10 pounds, eating more plant based food and less animal fat.  (Another one of my goals).  I wanted to educate myself more and to date I have read 2 business books and now I’m reading ‘My Week With Marilyn’ by Colin Clark, a guilty pleasure of a book that I’m reading just for fun.

One of my other goals was to improve my public speaking.  I have had one opportunity to give a speech so far this year, and to be honest, I haven’t been pushing this one hard.  I have to get past the fear, and Just Do It!  (As the t-shirt says)   There have been a few other struggles to date in 2012, but I try to work through them with a smile on my face and not hear the voices of the toxic negative people that are in my head sometimes and other times behind my back.

All in all, I am proud of how my 2012 is going.  Feeling a bit at a crossroads right now, but hey, I’m ready to embrace change if it comes my way.

How is your 2012 coming along?

Darlene

As I was getting ready to leave work yesterday, all everyone could talk about was the impending blizzard today.   And I couldn’t help but smile as I heard many of my colleagues talk about what they were going to do on their snow day.  And I realized, not since we were kids, have we looked forward to a snow day as much.  Unless you’re a teenager, or in your early 20′s, when its near catastrophic to have a snow storm on a Saturday and heaven forbid be stuck inside the house, I realize as we get older it’s a day in heaven!

What a treat to hear parents talk about the fun snow day they were going to have with their kids.  A pajama day that involved movies, popcorn and laughter.  Or those of us with no kids, a day still involving pajamas, but books, movies and maybe a glass of wine.

You see as adults, if there is a snow storm on a weekday, most of us still have to go to work.  And for those with children, when schools and daycare are closed, it involves finding someone to take care of the children.  Let’s face it, a snowstorm on a weekday, can mean an extra headache to a parent.  But a snowstorm on a weekend, can mean a fun-filled day with your family.

And although the ‘blizzard’ was a little disappointing, not a lot of snow, just  a lot of wind.  For those of you that stocked up like the Apocalypse was coming, I hope you enjoy your snow day anyway.  I am still in my pajamas wondering what wonderful concoction I am going to cook up for supper.  Probably something that goes well with wine.

Enjoy

Darlene

I was so moved by this photograph by Mark Stucker, that I had to write a blog on it.  I changed the title many times.  I started with ‘Are We Doing Enough to Feed the Homeless?”  Then I changed it to “Are You Lonely in a Crowded World?”  And then I decided to call it the True Meaning of Companionship.

We recently surpassed  7 Billion people on this planet, and yet, is it possible that more people are lonelier than ever before?   Have you ever watched people speed by each other in the mall or on the street and do you notice few people make eye contact anymore.  If our total communication depends entirely on the Internet (as I sit here writing a blog), is it any wonder so many people are lonely.  I have been blessed with many wonderful friends and a great family, and I encourage everyone to take time with their friends and/or family for some real face to face time.  Talk to each other if you can.  You’ll be making memories, believe me.

And although we have surpassed 7 billion people, study after study show us that there is enough food to feed everyone on the plant.  The World Health Organization says that we produce enough food to feed everyone. World agriculture produces 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago.  That’s approximately 2700 calories per person.    The main problem is that many people in the world do not have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase, enough food.

Back to the photograph.  In my New Year’s blog I wrote that ‘If you want to feel rich, count all the gifts you have that money can’t buy.”   The man in this photograph probably has less money in the bank than you or I, but in so many ways he is richer than most of the people I passed in the mall this afternoon.  Embrace your friends, your family or even your pet and experience the joy of true companionship.

Thank you Mark Stucker for a photograph that I hope, in some small way, will change someone’s world.

Darlene

I was sitting here, about to write a new blog, when bam!  The power went out.  You don’t fully realize how much we depend on this invention.    The first thing that pops into your mind is ‘What to do now’?  So I comprised this list of things you can do during a power outage.   The list is much longer if the power goes out during the day.  The first is the ‘daytime power outage list’.  Hope you get some ideas!

1. Dive head first in a tub of ice-cream.  That’s right, the power is off.  You can’t let the ice cream go to waste.

2.  Clean – It’s not like your house can’t use it.

3.  Go for a Walk – burn calories before you put your butt on the couch in front of the television… again!

4.  Take a nap

5.  Go shopping in an area of town the power is on

6.  Play a Board Game – FYI – this sucks if you live alone.  And the cat just keeps batting the pieces under the couch.

7.  Look for that flashlight you’ve been meaning to look for

8.  Discover just how crappy those emergency candles are

9.  Read – a great time to catch up on that book or magazine that you can never find the time to do.   Chances are you may learn something new

10.  BBQ – all the meat is thawing out anyway

During the night – it gets a little more challenging

1.  Figure out how you’re going to re-arrange the furniture once the power comes back on, because you keep walking into the coffee table.

2.  Go to bed – after all the crappy emergency candles are just little burning stubs and you never did find that flash light.  On the bright side, you’ll get a great night’s sleep.

Darlene

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I once read something that said ‘if you want to go to heaven – go to church, if you want to go to hell – go to a beauty salon.   I guarentee you its more entertaining than television.

I just had the pleasure of sitting in a beauty salon for 2 hours while a very patient lady took the grey out of my hair.  Oh my!  The perils of getting older.

However, it was a chance to sit between two twenty-somethings and get a different, quite refreshing outlook on life.  Ladies, for all of us, getting older dealing with aches and pains and dreaming of the days when we were 20-something, I say to you – Be Grateful.

First of all, did you know you can pay to have feathers put in your hair! (I am not making this up)  It costs $12.   And apparently this is quite a dilemma.  The good news is the feathers can be straightened, curled and cleaned.  Hmmm, I have dustballs in my home I can do that to, for free.  Can you imagine showing up for work with feathers in your hair?  My co-workers would have a field day.

Plus, did you know that the worst thing that can happen to you when you are twenty-something is not have plans on a Friday night.   Having to stay home with nothing to do but sip on a quiet glass of wine is dastardly – I call that heaven, but then again, I’m not hip!

And then there’s man trouble!  Whew, you learn some pretty new break-up lines in a beauty salon.  ‘We can’t move in together, because my mom won’t approve’!  If that doesn’t have the romance head south faster than a Canadian during a rough winter, I don’t know what will.  Or ‘I will continue to act this way until you break up with me’… Nice guy.

Ladies, there are advantages to being older.  In a hostage situation, you’ll probably be released first and your joints are probably more accurate than the weatherman   But you know what, we tend to discard toxic people and surround ourselves with loving caring friends, and that’s not a bad thing.  We have figured out what’s truly important and are better people for it.

I am proud to be turning 50 this year… yay

Darlene

Mine is fabulous!!  I am loving 2012 and I believe it will only get better from here.  If you read my New Year’s Blog, you know I have set out some goals for myself.

My weight… I am exercising every day and eating better… I know what you’re thinking, it’s only been a week.  Well I have a very smart co-worker who says ‘You have to eat an elephant one bite at a time’.  That’s how I’m tackling the eating better and exercise thing.  I believe I can keep this up till I go on a trip…. which by the way, I am open to suggestions.  Drop me a line of your best vacation or a suggestion for me.  I am open to any and all ideas.

Remember I wanted to read more books that I am able to educate myself.  I am reading 2 books at this time.  My Life With Marilyn by Colin Clark and ‘The Rules of Management’ by Richard Templar.  I am thoroughly enjoying both reads.  If you have any more suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  I read a lot.

I also wanted to do more public speaking.  Well, I booked my first public speaking appearance of the year for this coming Thursday.  I am speaking to a group of sales people and I am looking forward to that.  If you have any words of wisdom to pass along, drop me a note.

The reason for this blog reflects back to the picture above.  Be the Change You Want to See in the World.  You see, it’s one thing to tell people that there are things you want to accomplish, but unless you start to take the steps to accomplish them, you’re just blowing smoke up their butts.  Oh, and I am still off the smokes.

How’s Your New Year so far.  Would love to hear from you

Darlene